Back to Work

(posted by Alan)

So it's been about 4.5 months since I've actually been employed. A very interesting and exciting time for sure. But today, I formally accepted a job here in The 'Hai. One of the main reasons we moved to Shanghai BEFORE finding work is that possibilities are endless in this city. You will find yourself in situations and with opportunities that you never might have dreamed of. My tentative plan was to come here and teach English, as teaching positions in Shanghai are plentiful and quite lucrative. But how often does life actually go as we plan it?



Anyway, I'm now the International Brand Manager for a Chinese digital media company called Wangfan Interactive. I will be in charge of developing overseas clients, dealing with all international presentations and working with the employees in teaching them english, running Team Building activities and counseling them. They're all young, fresh out of college and its a really, really cool, creative and casual atmosphere. The office is alot of fun and looks like a clubhouse. With the way the globalization is going these days and China's unique position, this should be invaluble experience, not to mention the quickest way I can think of to pick up my Chinese speaking skills. Should be quite the adventure.

Some random pictures from the past month:
Rachel, DZ and deep fried bananas; Me, Adrian and shades. (yes, shaved my head again. sorry mom); Doritos. 29.9RMB is about $4.15 USD. I love em, but not that much.


So, Facebook has been blocked out here. Nothing is untouchable I guess. A friend mentioned today that when living in America, we often take for granted all of the rights that we really have. Moving here, or to one of the MANY countries in the world that are run similarly, we're giving alot of them up. Its a sobering thought. I probably shouldnt talk about the reason why Facebook and Twitter and many other sites are currently blocked here, but you can look it up on any of your unblocked web browsers at home. Violence and discrimination know no boundaries. Its quite the extreme situation, so the block should only last until the situation is under control, but for the sake of the people involved and not for our facebook privileges, lets pr8y that it settles down soon.

Here we go CEMQ, let's sweep the summer tournament.

More random pictures:
With my cousin Nick and his gf Annie at XuJiaHui(aka The Xu); DZ and her favorite bubble tea from 85degrees.

DZ @ Taco Loco (awesome burritos and banana smoothies); Flavor of the Month at Baskin Robbins with my name on it; DZ and Happy Lemon


Response to comments:
Corey - Twitter seems cool. But I was on it only for a day before it got shut down over here. I'm thinking it'll be up in a week or so.
Mimi - Those Hawaiian outfits can be yours for an absurd 180RMB. Who in the world would actually BUY that?
Gary - I was in a bathhouse that is only suitable for mature men who are secure in their masculinity.

Independence

* posted by Alan
(click on the link at the bottom to see a full picture gallery with full size photos)

Happy 4th of July my fellow Americans. American freedom is much appreciated after living over here....I'll leave it at that before I get into trouble. Obviously China does not celebrate the 4th, but there are more than enough Americans in Shanghai for some celebrating. We had BBQ, we had American music at an American bar and we even had a 4th of July pancake breakfast (new tradition?)



Last night we went to a bathhouse. Im not really sure I'd call it a Chinese bathhouse, because nothing really makes it Chinese other than the fact that it was in China and all the employees were Chinese. All you can eat Dim Sum, open 24 hours with no time limit, very clean and they provide you with hideous tropical-themed pajamas to lounge around in. That would explain the picture below. I had female request to not put up their picture, but if you come visit, I'll show you. =)


Multiple hot tub/jacuzzis, sauna, steam room and cold tub. We also went for combination number B. Body scrub, back massage and milk treatment. The girls added in a cucumber mask.(guys and girls are separate except for the eating and lounging areas). All for about $29 USD. Reminded me a bit of Spa Castle in Queens. I can't speak for the girls, but men, as long as you're secure enough to handle same-sex nudity and other men touching you (and occassionally your man-parts) in a very professional manner, then it's an awesome time. My whole body is smooth as a baby's butt right now. I'm not sure if this is actually enticing anyone to come visit, so I'll stop here.

So I've caved and joined Twitter. Let's see what this tweeting stuff is all about. My twittername is agong029..um, find me i guess? Oh, and my facebook account has been disabled for the past week. It has nothing to do with China, but I got hacked and security issues and blah blah. Facebook hasn't gotten back to me to help me fix it despite my repeated attempts to reach them, so I must openly trash their customer service on my blog. Facebook, if you're reading this, help me fix it and I will take it back. (EDIT: I'm back on facebook. Took 6 days, but I take it back. Facebook customer service is not trash. Just a little slow.)

Being halfway around the world does nothing to ease the angst of being a Mets fan. sigh.

Next post: Job update....maybe?

Click here for pictures: PICTURES OF JULY 4th IN SHANGHAI

Response to comments:
Gloria - umm...no response needed i guess.
Megan - Don't you know us by now? Fun wasn't the question, the question was 'how much?'
Sung - That trip is usually geared towards Chinese. We were the first foreign group they had. And yeah, $75 USD is a bit expensive for China, even for a weekend trip. But there are ALOT of rich people in Shanghai. You'd be amazed at the lifestyle some people live here. Tremendous abundance and tremendous need, both right here in the city. Now how do we bring the two together....