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Wow...



Saw this on mrbrown.com de...

V Day

Happy Valentine's Day All...

Oh ya, me back in Singapore le..

Oily Oily...

Today, one of my colleague was nice enough to bring me around cos I need to buy some English to Chinese and Chinese to English Dictionary for Chemical related terms. Cos the terms they use here are really difficult to understand. We met for lunch and I decided to eat at Bellagio Cafe, they serve really nice deserts which I missed alot. First tried their deserts in Shanghai early last year and ever since I cannot wait to try it again. And since I will be going back to Singapore soon, so I decided to go there for lunch and then deserts! :) My sis's love their red and green bean smoothie (Ice Kachang like tat de) and it's really nice. But I prefer their peanut smoothie, the ice is really crushed to tiny bits and it is super rich with the peanut flavour



It's huge but it is really nice.. Too bad I cannot dabao back so bei can eat.. :(

After lunch, went to buy book and shop for bei's present.. You know, buying things for friends is so much easier then buying things for loved ones.. Maybe cos I've got very limited resources now ba.. Hai.. Tomorrow will have to go hunt for it again and also buy mom's stuffs... :(

Well, had a late dinner when I got back to hotel cos lunch was too filling. Hur hur.. Anyway, went to a small restaurant near my hotel but they don't serve food for one person. Everything was in big portion and the only thing I can eat is noodles or rice. So I decided to eat their Dan Dan mian but can't try out others. Then again, was shocked on how their Dan Dan mian was...



Looks nice right... But the red soup you see is oil.. Yes OIL....



Bo Bian.. Got to eat..

Hai... Living here will really make you fat.. Cos no matter what you eat it's either farking oily or salty... Don't know why they cook one thing need so much oil for what..

Okay then, got to go. Take care all, see you in Singapore...

Friday le...

Day 16 Friday Sunny Clear Temperature 12 Deg

I just got back to my office from lunch and amazingly, lunch was only 30mins.. Beijing people seem to prefer swallowing their food rather then chewing and enjoying it. Maybe because the food provided wasn’t good enough, but I don’t see a need for them to leave office for lunch at 12.00pm and be back in the office at 12.15-12.20pm. It was totally ridiculous, I tried once to follow their speed and even thou I didn’t finish all my food, I was still a lot slower and my colleague was already waiting for me.. On the average, in about 5-8 mins everything on the tray will be consumed.. Scary to imagine huh.. I still prefer to enjoy my lunch and take my time to eat.

I asked another colleague the other day about why most people here consume their food so fast, and he started telling me a long story. To summaries and cut things short, the essence of the story he explained to me was WAR. Well, according to him, when China was fighting the North Korea war or something like that, all soldiers were given exactly 5 mins to finish their meal and carry on fighting. But I totally believe that it has nothing to do with my question.. Hai.. Cos war was farking many years ago and these people were not involved in it..

During my short stay here in Beijing, I’ve thought of another way to describe some/most people’s attitude towards work; it’s just like driving a manual car. During working hours, everyone seems to be taking their time to do their things and taking things a lot easier compared to people in Singapore. Like a car traveling slowly in first gear all the way, has a high risk of “Si Qia-ing”, and before that happens, will “Chua Qia” till “Si Qia”. But miraculously, during lunch and going home time, everyone seems to change from gear 1 to gear 5 smoothly and without hesitation.. It seems to be a working culture here for the local companies. When I was working for Ascott (Shanghai), it was totally different. Everyone was very on the ball.. Hmm.. Maybe that's why they are so productive compared to the local companies.

Alright then, have a nice day..

Regards
James

来红

第十五天 星期四 阴 温度 2度

好闷的一天，现在只不过是两点中还不到我就已经开始先写了。通常我会等到快下班时才把今天发生的事写下.今天上午时是忙了一些，不过中午前都忙完了.现在却不知道要干什么.刚拿了一些文件出来掩护自己，至少让我桌上看起来没那么空.其实现在也有点太早了，根本不知道该写些什么.脑袋一片空白的发着呆...

对了，侄从来到北京不久后，我的大姨妈每天都会来探望我。而且一天还来很多次，真是忙得我不知如何是好。我什么都事都做过了尝试过了，但是姨妈就是不放弃，每天最少来个三四次，让我很困绕.更糟的是，有几次还是两个一起来.嘿...好在姨妈还算是满规矩的,是慢慢的来，好让我有足够的反应时间.呵呵...不知道怎么写下去了...让我解释一下，我所说的姨妈就是跟女孩子的那位姨妈大致上是一样的。只是我的是从鼻子来的.呵呵...因为北京的天气特别的干燥，所以对我们这些南方来的人会比较难适应.在这里皮肤会非常的干燥，嘴唇也会很干.如果没好好的保养，一下的时间嘴唇就会慢慢的裂.很难受的.鼻子也一样，如果不常喝水，很容易流鼻血.血在鼻孔里干了就会阻碍到呼吸，所以我每天都在挖鼻血，干掉的血.呵呵.. :)



应该换了..

好了，我也没有什么好写的了。

祝安康

注：昨天没下雪，没下雨，什么屁都没下。只是天气冷些...

Snow leh??

Day14 Wednesday Cloudy/Hazy Possibility of Light Snow Temperature 0 Deg

Finally after a few days of warm winter, it's back to the cold weather again. Unfortunately, this cold weather won't be staying for long I'm afraid. Spring is approaching soon so temperature will start to increase gradually from now on. Something to look forward to today is that the weather forecast yesterday mentioned that there are possibilities that Beijing will have light snow today. Some cities around/near Beijing will be snowing/raining today and if Beijing is lucky enough, it may snow a little as well. : ) Hopefully this late snow will last till tomorrow or even more so I can at least have a short cheap trill of experiencing a little “white” winter.. Hur hur...

It was yet another boring day at work today, was trying to make myself understand some China's Contract Law which I come across in the documents cupboard yesterday but as expected, I failed miserably.. Every statement and details of the Contract Law is in Chinese, I tried to read them many times and slowly but still catch no ball at all.. Sigh..

Had a surprised during lunch time thou when my MD asked all of us out for lunch to “Welcome” me to the company. : ) My MD ordered many variety of food for us to eat and also some local food were ordered specially for me to try. Peking Duck was of course one of the must try local food, but I believe the restaurant’s specialty wasn't Peking Duck. The Peking Duck was sliced un-proportionally and it wasn't very nicely roasted.. So the mission on hunting for the best Peking Duck and Steamboat Mutton in Beijing is still on.. : )

Tonight, a Japanese supplier who is currently in Beijing for a meeting invited my MD for dinner and he asked me along.. So I guess I will be having good food again tonight.. Hur hur... Actually come to think of it again, it means that I will have an even harder time sliming down to my ideal weight. Sigh.. Left Right Difficulties..

After lunch today, I went to collect my Medical report from the Hospital. A medical report is needed for all foreginers who are applying for a my work permit here in Beijing.. Well, everything seems fine for me and I am deemed healthy to work in China. : )

Hmm.. Finally "dong" till off work le.. Well... Wasn't really a fruitful day but hey.. I've got plenty of time.. Hur hur hur...

Take care all..

Regards..
James The Great..

PS. Update, till now.. No sign of the farking snow.. CB..

Hot...

Day 13 Monday Hazy/Clear Temperature 10 deg

It is a warm winter indeed, its winter now but the weather shows otherwise. According to the locals, this is the first time for a thousand years ever that some lake somewhere in Beijing didn't freeze. Hmm... Global warming is really changing some things around...

Anyway, nothing exciting happened today and as usual, I almost fell asleep reading all the contracts, emails and faxes... Sigh... The morning half was rather interesting as I went for my medical check up needed to apply for my work permit/visa. The usual stuffs were done, blood pressure, blood sample, weight, height, chest x-ray and some cardio thingy... It ended faster then I anticipated... Started at 930 and it ended at 1015, reached office at 1030... Then I realized... Not everyday got so many foreigners come Beijing work de... Hur hur... My colleague was nice enough to drive me there this morning and drive me back to office after it. She is kind of the 大姐 in the company as she has been in the company for more then 5 years. After that, everything was back to the usual do nothing day but read and trying not to fall asleep.

Well, was pondering a little today while day dreaming. I'm thinking of suggesting to my MD something which might help me in my learning curve in the company. It's a method which one my friend did previously when he started working in a new company. The method helped speed up his learning processes in the company. He managed to learn most of the things he should know in 3 months instead of the usual 6 months to 9 months. I thought that it was a good idea but I understand too that not everything will work the same on different people in different situation. So I'm still thinking of whether I should mention it to him before I go back. Lets see how thing goes these few days before I return to Singapore.

After work I had dinner at a so so restaurant near my office. Wanted to order more variety but the portion they serve in the restaurant comes only in one size.. Which is huge... I order a bowl of noodles.. It cost 8 RMB.. The size is enough to feed 2...




See, so big.. Didn't finish all..




Was eating happily at first but I stopped suddenly after noticing something... I know people in Beijing prefer their food to be more salty and oily compared to us... But see the amount of oil in the small bowl of food? Scary...

Also, I've stop internet access in my hotel room, so you will probably hear less from me. Will try to update when I can.

Take care.

Yet another boring sunday..

Day 11 Sunday Cloudy and Hazy Temperature 5 deg

Like the title said, it is certainly another boring Sunday for me. Didn't feel like going anywhere today. Think I am still trying to get over the disappointment from the sudden return of uncertainty.

Watched a whole afternoon of a new China production 神雕侠侣. It was partially filmed in China's 九宰沟... It is a must visit place if you ever got a chance to come China. Very very beautiful scenery, a place photographer must visit. Anyway, something different about the tv programmes here is that on weekends, they will show not one episode of the show but 5 episodes in a row... That how I spent my whole afternoon, watch tee wee.. I didn't even eat breakfast and lunch, all I had was potato chips i bought last night.

So at 6 plus, I was starving.. Decided to try a 涮羊肉 restaurant which is beside my hotel. Hmm.. Well, it wasn't fantastic but good enough to satisfy me.. Hur hur.. Below are some pictures I took today..




This was actually taken yesterday at 鼓楼门, some where near 南锣鼓巷 where I had lunch with Mae at a small but cosy cafe called 小新的店. Didn't take any photos there but it a nice place to relax. Anyway check out the sky.. Clear without clouds and in a very nice shade of blue... :)




Now this is taken this afternoon. It is called smoke... Well that's what the weather forcast said.. Neither hazy nor foggy but smoke...




Now this is the 涮羊肉 charcoal hotpot.. It's for 1 person de that's why it's so small. The fire was too 旺 that's why the cup is on top to control it.




Now this is the raw mutton meat. :) It's really tender but you need to dip it with the brown sauce on the left to add some taste to it. Cos it's not marinated. Nice.. Can't really taste any 羊骚味.




Cooked mutton meat in brown sauce. Not bad..




That's about it le, this is how I chill my beer here.. :) Leave it outside the hotel for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour and it will be very chilled. :) Something to 麻木 myself from the recent disappointment and loneliness..

That's about it for today... Don't know whether I will be online or blogging after today cos me not sure whether I'm going to continue using the broadbad in the hotel.. Ok then.. Take care...

Regards..
Me..

Is this all worth it?

Day 10 Saturday Clear Skies Temperature 8 deg

Things hasn't been going well for me recently.. Future was clear when I graduate from Uni and everything seems bright and promising. But now, everythings drops back to darkness and uncertainty came right back to me..

Was rather disappointed when it was finally announced to me.. Yes, I have no experience in this field and I am here to learn things... I have alot of things to learn and master, but this takes time.. Comparing me with the locals yes, I am alot better.. But I cannot buy things at the local rate, the moment they hear my chinese they know me foreigner... Hai.. And all I can do is to complain here... It has been set... Unhappiness has been made know but he decides to take no action... Fark... Dunnoe when I will have enough money to get married..

Will stop here.. Dun wanna think further.. Only make me feel frustrated, disappointed and sad..

KNNBCCB

甘霖老母赶陵羊　甘霖老母草枝白... Enough said about my feeling now... Fark...

Boring...

31st Jan 2007

Day 7 Sunny with Strong Wind Temperature ranging between -5 deg to 1 deg.

Yet another boring day as usual but fortunately, time passes slightly faster today. Maybe it’s because I’ve got some new information to read up on. It’s some pass price bargaining history of the company’s director with a Japanese manufacturer on a certain industrial dryer. It’s a series of faxes here and there through a middle person from Taiwan who is desperately trying to make the price and terms right. So now, I guess it would be my turn as a fresh new purchaser for the company with totally no experience in purchasing to do all the bargaining... Hopefully it will be in English, if not I will have a hard time trying to bargain. It’s really stressfully if you come to think of it… I must not let my family down... I am a useful person!!! XD

It’s really cold again today with totally no hope of snowing... Clear blue sky with low humidity... I have to cover up totally just to go for lunch and it’s only a 1 to 2 mins walk away. By the time I reach shelter, my whole face and hands will be freezing... Fortunately I went to top up my mobile yesterday and not today... If not going out in this kind of weather would be a killer... Some times I wonder how people in the North can go out with this kind of temperature and walk around.

I feel that I am slowly adapting to this kind of lonely lifestyle... It totally sucks but it really makes you look forward to meeting your family members and loved ones. Even receiving a call from them brightens you up no matter how expensive the call maybe. So every night I will be looking forward to bed time when my BB will call me to update me of her well being and me telling her of my boring life here. : )

Hope that I will be able to make friends here soon. If not, I won’t have the opportunity to go out and search for the good food to eat and good place to hang out... Haven’t tried so many things here but doing them alone would be so boring and meaningless… Peking Duck and the famous Beijing Shuai Yang Rou is still waiting for me to go find them... : (

Ok... Time to go back to work... Take care...

Hello All... Miss Me?

30th Jan 2007

Sunny and Clear Skys

This is the 6th day for me in Beijing but it's only my 4th day at work. Work is going well for me I guess, as currently I have been handed only the purchasing part for the company. I will be asked to do Sales too when I get familiar with things around here. As for now, all I am doing is to read up on some of the company’s previous projects and contracts. I am expected to learn thing from reading them… Haven’t figure out how that would work... And to make matter worst, majority of the information are in Chinese... *sweat

Anyway, time is crawling over here for me when I am reading the information. Many times I almost fell asleep reading them and if not for the Chinese tea, I would have been long gone. Hai... Hope that things will be better when I start my real work...

I am now staying in a hotel which is within walking distance from my office and it is located around a residential area north-west of the main city. For you information, my office is actually an apartment converted to an office. So there isn't much for me to do and eat around my hotel. The nearest shopping mall is about 15 mins walk away and the nearest train station is about 30-45 mins walk away. With this kind of weather, I bet you won't feel like going out as well.

Temperature dropped to – 4 deg yesterday and it was super duper windy. The strong wind blew up loose sand on the floor and made it difficult to breathe properly without breathing in sand. Fortunately, things are back to normal today and finally I could see clouds in the sky. I am still hoping that it will snow a little before I fly back to Singapore for Chinese New Year but the locals said that it’s too late of the winter period for it to snow. Sigh...

Ok then, I better head back to work if not they may think that I am skiving... Which I am... Until then, take care...