Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
2 months later...
It's 2 months today we moved to Shanghai and I think we've made very good progress. Everyone is sleeping better and more soundly in the new place - and we are eating more meals at home.
Eating at home. It's a simple thing but to do but to get to this point, it means, having the water filter installed and the output tested for potability, having pots and pans to cook with, having simple things like oil, soya sauce and salt, crockery to serve your food in, utensils to eat with and a place to sit and gather around for the meal.
So yes. 2 months later, we are finally eating at home.
Eating at home. It's a simple thing but to do but to get to this point, it means, having the water filter installed and the output tested for potability, having pots and pans to cook with, having simple things like oil, soya sauce and salt, crockery to serve your food in, utensils to eat with and a place to sit and gather around for the meal.
So yes. 2 months later, we are finally eating at home.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Changes
Things are quickly settling down ...but still, we have to deal with human craziness:
When crossing the road, even if it's a one-way street for cars, remember to look left and right and left... bikes are allowed to travel the other way.
Even if there are pedestrian markings, you wait until it is relatively clear of vehicals. There is really no point pitting flesh against 20-ton buses and they know!!!
If the road is very wide, i.e 8 lanes, remember to look for signals in the middle of the road! The green man at the other end of the road is meant for pedestrians starting from the middle!
Don't wait until the lights turns red to run... RUN before it happens. Once the lights are not in your favor, and if you are still on the road, say prayers immediately.
When taking the train during peak hours, it is possible to be so packed that there is no room to spread your feet wider than your shoulders and no way to reach any handrails / bars etc. Surprisingly, because it is so packed, there is no room to fall. So you just sway with the crowd and lean on each other for support. It's like packing your luggage - the more you pack in, the less likely the stuff inside will move around. Unlikely the carriage will burst open so relax and enjoy the ride!
When crossing the road, even if it's a one-way street for cars, remember to look left and right and left... bikes are allowed to travel the other way.
Even if there are pedestrian markings, you wait until it is relatively clear of vehicals. There is really no point pitting flesh against 20-ton buses and they know!!!
If the road is very wide, i.e 8 lanes, remember to look for signals in the middle of the road! The green man at the other end of the road is meant for pedestrians starting from the middle!
Don't wait until the lights turns red to run... RUN before it happens. Once the lights are not in your favor, and if you are still on the road, say prayers immediately.
When taking the train during peak hours, it is possible to be so packed that there is no room to spread your feet wider than your shoulders and no way to reach any handrails / bars etc. Surprisingly, because it is so packed, there is no room to fall. So you just sway with the crowd and lean on each other for support. It's like packing your luggage - the more you pack in, the less likely the stuff inside will move around. Unlikely the carriage will burst open so relax and enjoy the ride!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Own notes
Broadband:http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20040604_broadband_internet_providers_in_shanghai.htm
China Mobile - checking balance & topping up: http://www.1on1mandarin.com/blog/checking-minutes-on-china-mobile/
China Mobile - checking balance & topping up: http://www.1on1mandarin.com/blog/checking-minutes-on-china-mobile/
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
LOA - Leave of absense
We applied for the small one's leave of absence from the school he has not yet stepped into today. What this means is that upon our return, he can be readmitted to the school directly. What this also means is that the school will send us their major examinations and test papers and keep us informed of the developments in the school and the local education scene.
Surprise surprise!!!
He big one dropped his phone - pouch and all.
2 hours later, we got it back.
It all happens in China.
2 hours later, we got it back.
It all happens in China.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Shipment
Our shipment arrived today. I still don't understand how so few things can be packed into 81 boxes but that's not quite the point. What's more significant is that the arrival of our stuff from Singapore has made this move official.
A colleague who had just completed a 5 year assignment in Shanghai, left us with her favourite mantra - a famous quote from the philosopher Henry David Thoreau - "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you imagine."
I've made many attempts to move out of Singapore... but chickened out on quite a few attempts.
- decided not to pursue my degree overseas.
- even though I was jobless, did not move to the Philippines with the Big One ( then boyfriend)
- did not move to Thailand with the Big One ( whom I had married by then)
- rejected a 2-year assignment to London 3 years ago and then quit that company instead.
This move to Shanghai will not have happened if I had not dreamed it some in the first place. So yes, I do want this and couldn't have done it without the clear support from the people around me.
I am very lucky.
A colleague who had just completed a 5 year assignment in Shanghai, left us with her favourite mantra - a famous quote from the philosopher Henry David Thoreau - "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you imagine."
I've made many attempts to move out of Singapore... but chickened out on quite a few attempts.
- decided not to pursue my degree overseas.
- even though I was jobless, did not move to the Philippines with the Big One ( then boyfriend)
- did not move to Thailand with the Big One ( whom I had married by then)
- rejected a 2-year assignment to London 3 years ago and then quit that company instead.
This move to Shanghai will not have happened if I had not dreamed it some in the first place. So yes, I do want this and couldn't have done it without the clear support from the people around me.
I am very lucky.
Friday, October 08, 2010
THE BIGGEST UGLIEST BRUISE EVER!!!!
""...WHAT HAPPENED???!? .....HOW DID YOU GET THAT???!!?? TELL ME!! ""
He explains... and I saw this in my head:
He explains... and I saw this in my head:
Home
These are the reasons I'm really liking my new home:
The boy gets picked up by his school bus half an hour later than where we stayed previously.
My workplace is only 4 train stops away and the entire journey takes 20 minutes door-to-door.
There's a supermarket just 100 steps away that sells just about everything you see at Jasons. (was thinking Cold Storage but this beats that with their wide selection of cheese and cold cuts)
There's a huge park with a pond that has fishes and a couple of black swans swimming in it about 10-15 minutes away by foot.
....and hundreds of small eateries and big restaurants around to choose from within a 10 minute radius.
And oh, some other points to make:
I've seen more seats on the trains being given up for the eldery, pregnant and young than I've ever seen in Singapore.
Have you seen automatic/self-service/ token-less lockers before? You punch a button and the door to an empty locker swings open. You put your stuff in, retrieve a docket and close the door. When you go back, you put the docket against the infrared scanner and ta-dah! The correct door pops open automatically and you get back your stuff. Oohhh.. the 'villager' from Singapore couldn't resist punching the button for a second go at this marvellous machine. the small 'villager' wanted to try it AGAIN too but we were attracting too much unwanted attention. NEXT TIME OK?
Walkie Talkies carried by train workers here have COLORED LED displays!
Other than these discoveries
These 2 months have gone by very quickly. I've been busy enough to fly into Shanghai 4 times in these 2 months. If not for the long China National Day holidays which meant I didn't have to work all the time (still had to take some calls, meet a couple of deadlines, hold an event), wake up before 7am to wake the boy up, or rush to work or back from work, I would have simply collasped from exhaustion.
There's still a lot going on at work and this is usually the peak season for me. Am looking forward to the year-end, maybe a short break in between Christmas and New Year and then a much longer one over the Chinese New Year period - we've already booked our tickets back to Singapore! YAY!
The boy gets picked up by his school bus half an hour later than where we stayed previously.
My workplace is only 4 train stops away and the entire journey takes 20 minutes door-to-door.
There's a supermarket just 100 steps away that sells just about everything you see at Jasons. (was thinking Cold Storage but this beats that with their wide selection of cheese and cold cuts)
There's a huge park with a pond that has fishes and a couple of black swans swimming in it about 10-15 minutes away by foot.
....and hundreds of small eateries and big restaurants around to choose from within a 10 minute radius.
And oh, some other points to make:
I've seen more seats on the trains being given up for the eldery, pregnant and young than I've ever seen in Singapore.
Have you seen automatic/self-service/ token-less lockers before? You punch a button and the door to an empty locker swings open. You put your stuff in, retrieve a docket and close the door. When you go back, you put the docket against the infrared scanner and ta-dah! The correct door pops open automatically and you get back your stuff. Oohhh.. the 'villager' from Singapore couldn't resist punching the button for a second go at this marvellous machine. the small 'villager' wanted to try it AGAIN too but we were attracting too much unwanted attention. NEXT TIME OK?
Walkie Talkies carried by train workers here have COLORED LED displays!
Other than these discoveries
These 2 months have gone by very quickly. I've been busy enough to fly into Shanghai 4 times in these 2 months. If not for the long China National Day holidays which meant I didn't have to work all the time (still had to take some calls, meet a couple of deadlines, hold an event), wake up before 7am to wake the boy up, or rush to work or back from work, I would have simply collasped from exhaustion.
There's still a lot going on at work and this is usually the peak season for me. Am looking forward to the year-end, maybe a short break in between Christmas and New Year and then a much longer one over the Chinese New Year period - we've already booked our tickets back to Singapore! YAY!
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