Easter Weekend

There is no such thing as Easter weekend in China.  But in SH, it was apparent that something was going on this weekend because the nights out seemed a little more crowded than usual.  Very many people from HK and surrounding areas came to SH this weekend.  Man, I'm such a bad Catholic.  I had meat and got hammered on Good Friday and got hammered on Saturday too.  But, FYI, there was a special reason why I went out this weekend.  I told myself I wasn't going to party in a while, but I had some visitors in SH and seeing old friends will always keep me goin' hardcore.

Selina and two friends of hers (Elkie and Herbert) came up from HK to spend a weekend in SH.  They arrived Thursday night and I adhered to my schedule of Pegasus, Park 97, Cashbox and sightseeing.  I also decided to have a little housewarming party before Showtyme's party on Saturday.  To top that off, Margaret flew down from Beijing with her boyfriend to party in SH as well on Saturday.

Seeing Selina was great.  I was baffled when I realized how long we had known each other (since grade 9)!  Well, she's as good looking as she was when I first met her back in the day.  It's great to know that some things don't change.  Her friends were really cool too, I think in general they had a pretty good time this weekend, even though they didn't get much sleep.  But then again, who goes away on a trip just to sleep?  I find holidays are sometimes more tiring than workdays, but then again, they're so much more fun.

I had a near sexual encounter last night though.  One of the international students at Fudan has taken a liking to me.  I think I was attracted to her when I first met her a couple weeks ago.  She used to be a lawyer in HK (a professional woman!), grew up in England (Bri'ish bloody accent!) and is older than me by 2 years.  I kept thinking about how it worked with Kirb and Jane so why not me?  Well, it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off.  I don't think I'm attracted to her anymore.  She's a cool chick, but I think that's as far as the attraction goes.

Anyways, she was pretty hammered last night and before I knew it, her friend was telling me how much she liked me and how she thought something was going on with me and Selina.  Flattering as it was, I realized that at that point, having to make a decision of whether to dive or climb down the diving platform made me opt for the latter.  When the club closed she was outside with the rest of our friends getting into a cab.  She got back out of the cab when she saw me and grabbed me in her drunken stupour.  She wanted to know where I was going and I told her home to sleep.  She asked me with who and I said by myself.  She then asked me to kiss her.  Well, I'm not one for PDA's and she was pretty drunk.  And I don't think she's what I want.  But then again, I don't really know what I want.  I told her friends to take her home because she was drunk and told her that I didn't want to do anything with her because she was hammered.  I haven't talked to her since, it's gonna be all fucked up when I see her now.  I guess I can't just play it off like nothing happened, huh?

DVD Easter Eggs

DVD's in China are damn cheap.  In GZ, they go as cheap as 6RMB a pop.  That's just a bit over $1 CDN.  In SH, I've found them for about 8RMB so I spent over 200 RMB in my most recent DVD buying spree getting classics like The Godfather series, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Scarface, as well as more recent good ones like The Gladiator and The Matrix.

The quality is the same as you would get in any other DVD (unless it's a bootleg of a recent release) and the DVD is labelled as it would when buying the original and comes with the packaging minus the box.  Anyhow, I came across this site while reading an article about hidden elements in DVD's, I'm going to look for them myself when I get a chance to actually sit down and watch a movie.

Life here is busy as a mofo.  Booked solid for the next 2 weeks.  We've got some face time with some cool companies for the conference like E&Y, Shell China and Legend Computers.  I'm speaking to the Consul and Trade Commissioner of the Canadian Consulate in SH on Monday as well as representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce.

That being said, Selina and some of her friends are coming to SH from HK on the 28th for Easter holiday.  Another friend of mine is also coming from HK that same day.  Yvonne's even thinking of coming up.  So what do I have planned for them???

Well, Thursday is usually Pegasus (Club - younger crowd, hip-hop), then Friday we'll hit Park97 (Club - older crowd, dance) and then Cashbox (Karaoke), Saturday we'll probably go sightseeing in the day and then Dana aka Showtyme is holding a jam at some new club that's opening up.  I'm helping him sell tickets so I'm going to get everyone to go there.  I guess I'm kind of a hub here sometimes too.

On a side note, my friends were watching Chinese basketball here the other day and the Shanghai Sharks were playing the Beijing Ducks.  HAHA... BEIJING DUCKS!

Happy belated birthdays to Yvonne and Charissa!

Yvonne's New Ride

So I'm in HK now.  Haven't able to see Yvonne, my cousin, yet but I did have dinner with her parents (my uncle and aunt) and some other family members.  She's my favourite cousin, I think (Alex and Johnnie, you guys are a close second!).  We got along the few times we saw each other when really young.  So not being able to see her as much as I'd like is kinda sad.  Tell her how she's being a bad cousin Ming!  Anyhow, Uncle and Auntie says they're getting her a new car.

It's either a Z3 or an M3... coupe (I could only find a pic of the Z3), this year's model in silver.  She gets it mid-April.  Gaddamn!

The HK ID thing is a go ahead.  It should open a lot of opportunities job wise too.  Ming, make sure you come back before your 3 years expires, I think it is hard to apply for it otherwise.  Anyhow, you'll need to budget about 2 months to get the whole thing processed (you can leave and come back).  Write me if you want more information, but as long as you can prove at least one of your parents are born in HK, and you have all their required documents, you're set.  Since I have to get my fingerprints and photo taken for this HK ID thing, I'm not leaving for SH until Monday.

And it turns out that my other uncle's horse is racing again tomorrow so he wants me to go watch.  I don't think it's favoured to win, but I'll bet on it anyway.  Go horsie go!  I don't know if you've ever been to the horse races, I used to think going was a silly thing to do and such a waste of time.  The feeling changes once you have a relationship established with the horse though.  No, Marv, not the kind of relationship you are used to having with horses.  But once you've bet on one, or know someone who owns one, all you can think about is yelling out the number of the horse you've bet on while at the edge of your seats.

Happy Birthday Jay

Hong Kong

Yay, I'm HK again.

The guy I sat with on the flight from SH to GuangZhou stank so bad I had the worst flight ever.  Hopefully that won't happen again.  Why don't they ever put hot girls beside me on the plane?  WHY???  At least my train ride from GZ to HK was okay.

Anyhow, Marv, when you get here, we are going to take a side trip to GuangZhou.  I spent the night there with my cousin last night and it's definitely a city you wanna check out.  We had a full body massage for under $15 CDN, really good Korean Barbecue and then lots of alcohol.  So get a multiple entry visa at the Chinese visa office.  Also, FYI, it's annoying but the Chinese visa office is only open between 9:00 am - 11:30am.

Got to go...

Sleeping with the Enemy

So from my previous postings, many have been able to figure out that I'm deciding to decline the Microsoft offer.  Although the main reasons are personal a somewhat related topic I'm going to write about is in regards to MS.  I don't hate it, but sometimes, I think what is happening is just wrong.

Microsoft is a monopoly.

No matter how you look at it, what they are doing is just not right.  They have forced the whole world into a situation that has our hands tied.  We would all get fukked if they decided to make rash decisions. 

If they started charging for Hotmail, I'd be forced to pay.

They have brainwashed me into thinking the Windows operating system is the most efficient one to use, teased on my emotions by making me fall in love with my Zhang Ziyi wallpaper, given me the illusion that I can customize my folders and provided me with false hope by flawlessly connecting onto the net and leading me to dirty porn sites.  Those bastards.  I log on everyday to check my MSN Hotmail, bug my MSN Messenger Buddies, check what I have to do for the day using my MS Outlook and listen to my Chinese MP3's from my Windows Media Player.

Microsoft has successfully convinced the work world that MS Office is the standard work tool wasting a line on my already too cramped resume.

Don't know how to use MS Word?  Good luck finding a job buddy!  What?  Don't understand how to use mail merge?  Never recorded a macro before?  I thought you said you knew how to use MS Word!  Shame on you!  And if you use other programs?  Well, have fun receiving a document, import features are not 100% accurate!

And can someone please kill Clippy the Microsoft Office Assistant?  Okay so they left him out of XP.

Can you believe this was found on the MS site?

Microsoft has crushed Netscape, and I'm sure through not playing fairly.  It doesn't take a genious to figure out why Netscape connects to the net much slower than MS does on a Windows operating system.  It has forced companies to create programs adaptable to their programming.  They provide product support because their product is flawed, forcing you to download updates, patches, fixes and waste valuable online time, not to mention time spent on other things if you are actually someone in IT who has to deal with someone on the other end of the phone who barely understands what an OS is.  Driver updates, uneraseable DLL files and an unstable registry that fucks up your computer if you fuck with it.  It's a company built on its marketing success, not on the reliability of it's product.  Damn blue screen...

They have forced computer salesmen and women to understand how MS works.  To pre-install the OS on computers because the average person has been brainwashed into using and accepting MS as the status-quo.  They don't know how gimongously FAT Microsoft is eating over 200 MB of hard drive space with drivers and more drivers, dummy files, updates, patches.  Printer installation problem?  No problem, just go into Control Panel, click on Printers...

User-friendly?  Not to people who don't understand how to use you!  Reset mother-fucker reset!

You have the balls to test MS???  Well, if you are anywhere close, they will throw a couple million and some stock options your way and you will collapse.  WWF's Million Dollar Man was right when he said "Everyone has their price."

Other operating systems?
How many of you readers know how to use Linux?  Unix?
Know what OS/2 is?
I sure don't.

It has coerced magazines and newspapers to put Bill's ugly face and disproportionate body on covers around the world.

Get some new glasses man!  Get a haircut!  Eat some Wheaties!  (Thank God he's not on the box of those!)

They have assimilated computer culture forcing you to assimilate.  Resistance is futile.  Why are you buying that non-MS compatible product?

Sun slams Microsoft with suit over Java - March 11, 2002
States enlist Palm, Gateway against MS - March 4, 2002
AOL's Netscape sues Microsoft - January 22, 2002

U.S. v. Microsoft - A Month-By-Month Wired News Collection
A Why I Hate Microsoft Page
A Reason to Hate Them for the Visually Impaired

Blurgh...

I'm so drunk right now... it is 2:30 am.

What began as an innocent evening quickly turned into a night of drunken debauchery.  I didn't even want to go out!

But I was quite obligated because it was Linnet's birthday.  We went to this restaurant called Papadom Curry Restaurant.  It is a kinda south-east asian restaurant, and the food was so good!  Anyways, for about 100RMB, we had all you can eat and drink.  I guess you could see where that led to.  Linnet had a big party, about 30 people were there.

Afterwards, the group split up, and I went to Budda Bar with Ivan and some other friends where I met...

6 chicks from Holland!  5 were Asian, and one was Caucasian, and might I add a Gaddamn!  (That was for you Jay!)  Anyhow, thanks to Ivan hanging around, I was able to meet them and not feel stupid about being there without all the friends I went in with.  I didn't even know there were asians in Holland, but apparently there are quite a few!

You know, there is a Chinese saying that wherever there is a spark of fire, there is a Chinese person.  I'm told that the Chinese are the most spread out group of people in the world, in all corners of the earth, wherever there is a Chinese restaurant, there is a Chinese family.  Nutty...

Happy Birthday Linnet!  Happy Birthday Harmonie!

New Developments

Tonight, I will finally get to take a breather from the hectic life I've been living since I came back from HK.  I will finally be able to study, get a full 8 hours of rest, watch TV, listen to my music, clean my room and just sit back and do nothing.

It won't last though.  Three major events now lie in the background.

1.  Hong Kong Trip #2
I've been working on getting documentation for right of abode in HK for the last month and a bit now.  Obtaining it will allow me freer access to China, and provide me with access to HK's job market.  Although the economy is doing shyte right now, many are looking to send people up to SH, something I don't mind.  HK Immigration sent me a letter yesterday.  I have to be in HK on March 16th for an interview.

2.  North America Trip 2002
Yes, I think I'll be heading back to North America sooner than previously thought.  Unfortunately, I will only make it as far as the West Coast.  ASES Stanford is running their conference between April 7 - 14, 2002 so, pending funds from Dad, I should be flying to California and spending a week with delegates in Stanford and countries around the world involved in ASES.

3.  ASES Shanghai
I've decided I'm going to need more help.  I'm going to ask Ivan and my cousin, Elena, to help me with the conference.  The visit from the Koreans helped me identify the ones in my committee who are more dedicated to ASES (since they came out and partied with us as much as they could).  I now know I will need more trustworthy people in my circle in order to pull this conference off successfully.  Margaret has been helping out in Beijing with the Canadian Business Council, I'm meeting their sister branch this week in SH.  These next couple months are going to be friggin busy.

I'll also be spending time with Selina and a friend of hers from HK who plan to check SH out during the Easter weekend.

My dad is coming to SH again in April.  We are going to go to NingBo, a city outside of SH where my grandfather is from and where our family traces back our roots.  That's going to be a nutty experience.

May is reserved for (hopefully) Mom and my brother.  Since Mat is done exams, my mom wants to bring him to SH.  She gets all these weird ideas.

June, is Marv's turn to visit SH.  Hopefully he'll drag some people out with him so that I'm not left alone when he's with the hookers here.

Lots goin on eh?  No sleep for me for the next couple months.

ASES Korea

On Thursday, 6 members from my conference's sister branch in Korea came to Shanghai.  Since then, I've been spending the last couple days entertaining them in SH, taking them to all the bars and clubs that define SH's nightlife.  I'm so exhausted, I've been partying non-stop since I got back from HK (not that I mind, but my body is screaming for rest).

First Gigi, Cheryl and Jay.  Then my cousin when she got here.  Then the Korean ASES kids, and Stan, I even got to hang out with Gary and his Australian girlfriend last night.  I also found out that Carine and her sisters are in SH, my uncle is here for work this week and my dad will be arriving in the beginning of April.  Hopefully mom and bro in May, and then Marv in June.  Ming you gonna make it too?

Well, the Korean's were very nice.  It has given me more incentive and a morale boost towards working for this conference.  And it also helps that our website, although not fully finished, is finally up.  Thank you Kirb for helping with the design, although I think they changed some of it.  Our website is a little fobby right now, but give me a week or so to whip it into shape!

In regards to MS, I am leaning towards the no side right now.  Still have to talk it over to mom and dad, but the ultimate decision is mine.  It would feel good to reject MS.

Decisions...

Guess what?!?  I got a job offer with Microsoft

But, I'm not sure if I want it.  You ever been in a situation where you really really like someone?  Or at least you think you do, and then when things kinda happen too fast, or you know you've got them, you suddenly don't like them anymore?  You think you can get someone better and want to still play the field?  And then you don't want to commit so you don't go out with them because, man if I quit, I would be such an asshole boyfriend.

Anyhow, I think I was excited by the fact it was Microsoft.  One of my goals here is to eventually work for a Fortune 500 company here in SH, but after my level of Chinese is at a level where I'm comfortable with.  There are still a lot of things that I cannot say right now.

The quick response of MS leads me to believe that more firms will be desperately seeking later as well, so maybe I will have more chances in the future... why rush?  But then again, this could be a really good opportunity for me.  The job itself isn't exactly exciting.  MS is shifting their global support centre to SH.  That means anyone that has a problem with anything MS related, sends MS an email, someone here in SH will respond.

As an intern in the communications department some of the duties include proofreading emails (boring), ensuring the Chinese here are giving an acceptable standard of customer service (boring) and helping train the Chinese engineers here improve their English skills and understanding of different cultures around the world (boring).  Outside of that, since this department is new in MS, I am allowed free reign in starting projects on my own (more exciting).  Opportunities for moving within the company are very good (for the right people) and the connection opportunities that I can make are phenomenal.  On top of these pluses, having international work experience would be another really good thing on my resume.  Additionally, Microsoft's name on my resume will also be impressive.  The income I do make will help fund my recent cash problem (especially with all these visitors to SH!).  I will have a lot of freedom to do what I like which is another bonus.  And there will be a free T1+ Internet connection available for me.  They will pay for my transportation to and from work, and give me a 15RMB stipend for lunch everyday (just 1RMB short of a McDonald's combo). 

But a number of negative factors leer in the background.  The pay is standard intern salary, which isn't that much (well more than enough for SH standards but definitely not enough for TO standards).  I'd be working Mon-Fri 9-6 (I don't think I want to make that committment at this moment).  I will have very little time for my ASES project (fack... that's another story).  When family and friends come (Selina is a recent addition to future visitors to SH), I won't have time for them (although Marv, I did ask whether I could take time off during June and they were okay with it).  And my Chinese, I am not at a good enough point in my studies yet.

So I have a lot of thinking to do, I will have to discuss with my parents and see if they agree with me on the pros and cons and what they think is a good move for me.

What do you think I should do?