[Last week at work]

I'm really going to miss the people at work. They're such an awesome bunch!! =D It's constant laughs everyday but we still get our job done. Even though I find my supervisor EXTREMELY annoying at times, when he's not being anal, it's so much fun poking fun at each other. The girls are awesome too especially Heidi and Abby. The 3 of us all started working at the same time and it's thanks to them for keeping me sane when the going gets tough (ie. retarded people over the phone). Some memories that I'll be taking back with me:

1) CX sleep test (Our first project!):
Endless days of calling up "dai lup los" (ie. big shots) to convince them to do a 9 hour long study. There wasn't a day that we got off work before 8pm.

2) JEC interviews:
Going to the American Consulate!! And running around Central looking spiffy in my "power suit". =P

3) My first C&E project:
Getting yelled at by a pair of RUDE Egyptians. What a bunch of meanies. Those two were DAMN ugly btw.

4) My ever growing list of nicknames:
"Pearl da Vinci" (I was reading the Da Vinci code one day during lunch)
"Sweetie Pearl" (crazy lady from CX started that b/c she thought I had a sweet voice)
"Pearl Jam" (for obvious reasons)
"Sweet Pearl Jam" (stupid Sam decided to put those 2 together =P)

5) Best project:
CPLP!! My favourite project in the entire world!! The interviews are so short and it's good pay/interview too! =)

6) Worst project:
MBV...what a nightmare...


In short...what an experience!! =)

Trip to Shanghai

Shanghai was awesome but man am I glad to be back! Trying to jam so many sights into a 4 day trip is exhausting work.

[Day 1]
We spent the first day exploring the old city and hanging out by the Huangpu River. There was so much to see in the old city: quant little shops filled with incredibly cheap stuff like silk items, artistic tea pots, chinese fans in different shades of the rainbow. It was like stepping back 100 years in time.


The old city of Shanghai 

In the evening we took a sightseeing cruise up and down the Huangpu River just as the sun was setting. The views were spectacular. For dinner we went to this really shady place on Nanjing Rd (the touristy shopping district). The usher was this girl dressed in traditional Chinese attire who led us down a really creepy alley to the restaurant. The food was alright but OMG the portions were HUGE!! I found a long piece of hair in one of the dishes but surprisingly it didn't bother me too much.


View of Shanghai Pudong District 

[Day 2]
We woke up bright and early to catch the train to Suzhou where many of the famed Chinese gardens are. The train ride was nice, like sitting in an airplane, not like what I thought: wooden benches down the sides of the car jam packed with people. As soon as we got off the train, self-proclaimed tour guides rushed right up to us and harrassed us to no end offering us rides and tours of the gardens. We kept telling them no it's ok but they would keep following you. Talk about being desperate.

The gardens were lovely! We took tons of pictures which I hope to get developed soon. The most beautiful garden by far was the Humble Administrators Garden. The place was huge with a wide variety of different structures for example a grass hut which honestly seemed a little out of place. The Lion's Forest was very interesting too but that architect must have had a really big sense of humour! To get from one side of a rock wall to another you'd have to go up and down flights of stairs, through caves and down winding paths. We pretty much gave up on seeing some of the sights. Too much work!


Stone boat in Suzhou's Lion's Forest garden 

[Day 3]
Again we had to wake up early this time to catch a bus to Tongli Town. When we arrived, we got on a boat to an island where there was a mix of buddhist and taoist temples. I even got to practice some archery! =P Mind you I was never really ever that good at it even in high school but I still managed to win a souvenir! Next we got on these battery power golf carts to go into Tongli town. Tongli town is pretty small but still one of the major canal towns in the province with a lot of old town flavour. Everyone travelled around the town either by foot, bike, rickshaw or motorbike.


One of the main streets in Tongli town 


Boats all lined up and ready to go 

One of the town's oldest traditions involved the bridal procession consisting of men carrying a lavishly decorated sedan chair across 3 consecutive bridges. Doing so would ensure good luck to the married couple. In the evening after we arrived back in Shanghai, my aunt and I decided to hit up the famed Peace Hotel on Nanjing Rd. for some cocktails and a little jazz. What a nice way to end the day. =)

[Day 4]
For our last day in Shanghai, we stayed in the city and tried to take in some more famous sights. We explored Shanghai's trendy shopping and cafe district. It was like stepping into the middle an European city. Then there was Duolun Rd. which was home to many of China's famous scholars.


Watermelon vendors in Shanghai 

It was here that I had the nastiest cup of bubble tea ever. I almost wanted to puke. =P We didn't have much more time afterwards before our flight so we only managed to take some pictures outside the Shanghai museum and opera house.


Attack of the pigeons!!! 


Man..that's a long entry. Hope you enjoyed it!

Tomorrow morning I'll be flying off to Shanghai for a 4 day trip. I'm so excited! =) The sad thing is I'll be arriving there the day after Phong leaves. =( What a terrible coincidence. Looks like our plans for meeting up halfway around the world just totally blew up in our faces. Despite that, I'm sure my aunt and I will still have a great time in Shanghai. Neither of us have been there before and we've already lined up all these different sights to see. Chinese pagodas, tea gardens, canal cities, custom made silk gowns and "Bruce Lee balls" here we come! =P

HK vs. Canada

"So...HK or Canada, which do you like bettter?" Since I've been here, I've been asked this question sooooo many times! I'm really enjoying my time here in HK a lot but I'd still have to say...CANADA ALL THE WAY BABY!! =P

Part of the reason for that would be obviously the weather. I definitely can not stand it being 30+ degrees everyday with the insanely high levels of humidity. Coupled with the disgusting air quality, the feeling it brings to your skin is revolting. A disgusting mixture of dirt being locked into your pores by a thick coat of oil. And this feeling is constant!

If you though downtown Toronto during rush hour is hectic, you've seen nothing! Hong Kong at practically any hour of the day would make Toronto look dead in comparison. Everywhere you go, you're bumping shoulders with strangers and the on the subway, the way people cram themselves into the trains and stampede across the platform to switch lines...I'm pretty sure people have been trampled to death like that before. Today, I almost anihilated some guy's toe with my 2 inch heel because this other guy cut his way right in front of me as I was get off the tram.

So shopping and the freedom to do as I please aside, I much prefer the relaxing life of Toronto. =)

I'm going to the American Consulate!!! hahaha...I know I should get a grip because really it isn't that special. But it feels like I'm going to meet the President or something. =P It's pretty neat to think that I'll be standing on American soil while being hundreds of kilometers away from home. So why am I going to the American Consulate? To conduct an interview for work which is pretty much all I've been doing in the past couple of days. We go up to people's offices to conduct frigging long interviews with them. fun... Actually the getting dressed up part of it is! It kind of makes you feel like a real business person.

Tonight I'll finally get to see my cousin after waiting so long for her to finish her last exam! We have plans to get cheap eats and do some dirt cheap shopping tonight at Mong Kok, arguably the busiest part of HK. It'll be great. I love my cousin! =P

Ya...so not much has happened since my last entry. On Tuesday I met up with my "long lost" aunt. I haven't seen her in ages. We went to a really fancy Japanese restaurant for dinner and ordered all these weird but very delicious dishes. There was a Ramen salad where you pour sesame sauce on top (mmm...so good!), homemade tofu, shrimp tempura (my favourite!), grilled chicken cartiledge (YUM!) and grilled salmon with some yummy raddish topping. That was the best meal I've had in HK yet! My aunt's really cool too. In fact I'm beginning to realize just how cool all my aunts on the Lai side of the family are! A couple of weeks ago, my gu ma (dad's big sister) took me to the pub district of HK for late night drinks. o.O Needless to say, that was quite a shock. More fun with the aunts ahead. Next week I'm being invited out for seafood in Sai Kung with my little aunt and a few weeks down the road my big aunt and I will be hitting up Shanghai. How exciting! =)