Hangover Hagglings

What's better than meeting 6 asian girls from Holland?

Meeting 10 from Vancouver, Canada!

They are on a 1 month program here from UBC to learn Chinese.  Too bad I met them 2 weeks into their program, and too bad they didn't realize that 1 month is not enough to immerse themselves into Chinese culture.  They're still grossed out by the spitting, the budding, the screaming, the yelling, the pushing, the shoving, the squatting, the dirt, the smell etc. of Shanghai.  It takes about 2 months just to learn to adapt to it.  But they speak Cantonese (actually they're all fobbers and yes, I'm beginning to think fobbers are HOT) and will still be here when you get here Marv.  So finally we'll take some pictures of everything that I write about as evidence that I'm not bullshitting you guys when I write on this thing, SH is changing, and it's changing fast.

So this is to those who know MARV as the planning for his 10 day adventure in SH begins.

Tuesday June 4
Pick Marv up at airport at around 3:30 and hope he doesn't get detained by the Chinese authorities for bringing illegal things into China.  Keep your Playboys and smut magazines at home, pornograpy is illegal in China.  So is People Magazine and many other entertainment/political/business magazines.  Don't worry, they won't detain you though, they'll just take all of it away from you.  Anyhow, we have to go to KABB, this bar type restaurant and attend a Stanford alumni mixer.  I've got to meet more of those cats for money into my conference.  Marv, you'll have a good time meeting them and listening to their stories too and you'll be amazed at how many foreigners there are in SH.  Our evening may end here, depending on how cool the people are, they'll mostly be early to late 30 year old people.

Wednesday June 5
Depending on weather, we'll likely first go to my school and meet some of my friends.  Everyone knows you're coming and that you don't know any Chinese so you'll probably be made fun of in Chinese by all of us.  "Ta shi wo de peng you Marvin.  Ta shi gay de."  That night, we're going to this lounge called Il Monello, a posh little lounge that serves 15RMB ($3 CDN) drinks and free finger foods all night.  After Il Monello, we'll hit a local dive called Real Love where it's ladies night (ladies free) and Marv can get his first taste of real love in SH.

Thursday June 6
I'll likely take you some sight seeing on the 6th.  The Bund, Peace Hotel, Nanjing Road, People's Square and Yu Yuan Gardens are all in the same vicinity so you'll see most of the touristy things in SH on this day.  We'll have a couple of cheap SH meals so that we can save our money for alcohol at Pegasus later that night where it is ladies night and mostly foreign crowd hang out to listen and dance to some great commercial hip hop.

Anyhow, I think I'll leave it at this for now since we don't want to ruin any surprises.  I'll write more while you're on the plane.  But upon speaking to you, yes, I think we'll be hitting all the different ladies nights in the different clubs in SH.  Leanne tells me you're getting quite desperate lately.  We'll get you some fake clothes and DVD's and I have some shit I want you to bring home for me.  We'll be karaokeing, clubbing, shopping, patio long island ice tea drinking, sightseeing, and "bird" watching.  Everything we normally do in Toronto?  Looking forward to your arrival, bud.

Mixed Bag

Bad stuff:

- Diana Krall's mother passed away on Sunday multiple myeloma, a rare form of bone marrow cancer
- my boss hasn't come to SH yet, and I am broke
- I am not attending classes anymore and will likely not be able to take my exams and receive a certificate
- I am going out more than ever drinking every night, partying every night
- because of my partying and lack of sleep, I have developed 2 new zits on my face by my jaw area
- still looking for money for conference, P&G backed out
- still not sure where I will be in 3 months time
- not getting shagged

Good:

- Diana Krall's tour is still on, just delayed
- Boss is scheduled into SH sometime in the near future (why does he have to be so vague?)
- Today is payday for me
- I've got a potential part time teaching English job that may offer wages of about 3-400RMB or $60-80 an hour (2-300 kids at a time)
- Brother got accepted as PWC intern
- Marv, a fellow xangan, will be in SH shortly, followed by Gigi (non-xangan)
- I am going out more than ever drinking every night, partying every night
- There's a new girl with a crush on me!

I think I'd be a messed up boyfriend.  I'm too extreme with everything.  When I'm up, I'm really up, I can lift the world on my shoulders.  I'm one of those people that can bring energy into a room, at times I feel as if I can make the whole world sing in perfect harmony.  Then there are other times when I just lock myself in my own room not wanting to see, deal or talk to anyone.  I go off on my own and stay in my own dream world get all lazy and shit.  I guess it's reflective of the life that I've lived, kind of all over the place and ups and downs like a rollercoaster.  Well, I guess I can't complain about being too down, and hey, life is more exciting this way right?

Always the optimist.

Taking it up the ass

Well, I don't know what's going on, but there is a very slight possibility that I'm getting fucked here.

CONS:
My boss, Adrian, seems quite unorganized.  If that is the case, then maybe I'm okay, but if not, then I'm fucked.  Why?  Because if he's not unorganized, then there's a slight possibility that he's fraud.  So far, he's strung a bunch of people along already and no one has seen any money.

I visited the office we were going to rent yesterday (I have to hire my own secretary, or should I say I GET to hire MY OWN secretary).  I got us a fax number and a phone number to take calls for the tickets.  Anyways I find out that no contract has been signed yet, so hold your horses Simon. 

Upon talking to other people I'm supposedly going to work with, everything so far has been done word of mouth and no contract has been signed for anything at all.  Everyone must think I'm such a wanker for working with this guy!

I'm supposed to be flying to HK but, upon consultation, I'm going to wait till he gives me money before I buy my ticket.  Otherwise, I'll seriously be fucked.  He's supposed to give me a $2000 USD cash advance there, but there's always the possibility that he won't...

PROS
BUT, there are also many things that make me think it's not fraud.  I've seen ads that he's put out already for the other countries.  I had dinner with the Canadian Diplomat in SH (Stewart Beck).  And the latest cool thing that I found was this:

- humidifier runner prior to her arrival
- bed linen & towels washed WITHOUT fabric conditioner / softner
- NO feathers in bedding or furnishing
- Non-scented soap, shampoo etc
- Please enquire cost of an upright piano for her room if 2 nights or more
- on no account must Diana Krall's name appear on any paperwork distributed within the hotel (except this one!)

I guess performers are really picky people, eh?

Right Place, Right Time

So guess what?  It looks like I'll be getting tickets for the Diana Krall concert.

AND

It looks like I might have a short term potential long term job on my hands.

I hung out with Adrian today, the CEO of this concert promotion company and he says he believes in fate and all that bullshit.  Said one of his main goals was to meet someone to be his main guy in Shanghai to help make this concert happen and POOF, poor student Simon strolls right along!

SO

Not only does it look like I'll be helping him with all the shit here in SH, I think if I don't majorly fuck up, I'm going to have a job as being the main China contact for all this guys concerts.  He's done stuff for people like Toni Braxton, TLC, Vanessa Williams, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey!  He's flying me out to Singapore or HK next week to meet the rest of his team and get debriefed on this whole thing.  Free trip!  Gaddamn!

On an unrelated note, I'm going to the F4 launch party tomorrow!

Gaddamn!  What the hell is going on?  Isn't this the fucking BOMB?

Diana Krall

Do you know who Diana Krall is?  She is one of the world's most famous modern jazz artists.

She's also Canadian!

AND she's coming to SH!  Not knowing much about her prior to her concert, Lawrence convinced me to head out to a concert with him last summer at the Molson Ampitheatre to see her.  It was one of the coolest concerts I've been too.  She was awesome!  I downloaded all her songs off the net shortly afterwards.

If you are a Canadian and in China, it is worthwhile to sign up for the Canadians in China website (www.canadiansinchina.com) where you'll be kept abreast of all the latest information that Canadians care about including job openings, networking events and news about Canada.  They let me know about the conference, and upon learning more about it, I found out that it's going to cost $100 US... a sum I surely cannot afford.  So I emailed the person in charge back and am offering to help them with whatever they need in exchange for a ticket... I hope it works.  The promo company emailed me back today, so I'm going down to meet them.  Maybe I'll get a pic with Diana Krall!

http://www.m2us.com/

Breasts

Hmmm... I'm just wondering, and maybe you female xanga-ites can help me clarify this:  Do girls notice when guys look at their breasts?  Not stare, just kind of a brief glance?  Like your eyes don't set on them, just kind of briefly brush over them?

As a guy, getting caught is quite embarrassing.  And as a guy, its often a reflexive habit that you cannot control.  Some guys can control it but they only do so by staring longer (as opposed to avoiding looking).  Completely avoiding a glance, no matter how slight, is impossible.  No matter intentionally or unintentionally it's kind of like bringing a magnet and a metal object together.  Larger magnets often are much stronger and require more strength to pull away, but even smaller magnets have that affect.

So, I'm wondering if girls notice, however slight a glance.  I like to think of myself as a chivalrous person, opening doors for people, letting young children, the elderly and ladies go ahead of me etc.  That includes respecting females and trying not to objectify them in any way.  Yet no matter how hard I try, my eyes often can't help innocently landing on them, however brief.  In many cases it's not a sexual stare or anything.  Damn magnets.

Actually, I think as I continue on with this post, I'm starting to dig a deeper and deeper grave for myself.  I have female friends that read this, and I'm sure I've glanced at their breasts once or twice in our course of knowing each other.  BUT, the fact that I don't remember shows that it isn't intentional.  It's an innocent glance I SWEAR!  At least I don't try to brush any of my body parts on them and pretend it's unitentional like ronch.

And do girls do the same with a guy's penis?  Is there that magnet affect there?  I guess it may be harder not to notice since the distance between a guy's balls and his eyes are greater than the distance between a girl's breasts and her eyes.  Maybe both girls and guys do it at the same time and so it kinda cancels each other out because we both don't notice.  Any insight on this one?  I want to know because if it is highly noticeable I must try harder to stop.

Actually, a female's ass also has the same affect.

It¡¯s 4:30 in the morning and I have a big test tomorrow.  So why am I on Xanga do you ask?  Because I¡¯m friggin drunk and can do whatever I want.

 

I was trying to figure out what to write, but my head hurts too much so for lack of creative content, I¡¯ve decided to plagiarize¡­ well, not exactly, I¡¯ll quote the author.  I¡¯m sorry if you aren¡¯t into HK gossip, but leaving this bar called The Underground, I found a story.

 

¡°Look at any of today¡¯s Chinese entertainment newspapers and the front covers will be plastered with all manner love stories gone wrong.  Face it, sex scandals and love triangles make money no matter where you are.

 

Occupying most entertainment rags in recent weeks have been photo montages of the Queen of Song, Ms. Faye Wong (Wang Fei) and her once-partner, twenty-something singer and actor Nicholas Tse.  Why, they all cry, did this lovely, lovely affair go wrong?

 

Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I¡¯ll begin¡­

 

Wong was born in Beijing in 1969, and moved to HK after graduating from high school, and then went to study music in the U.S. Her singing career began when she returned to Hong Kong, and rapidly become known as the Queen of Song for both her excellent voice and her unique, unpretentious personality.

 

Her love life first hit the headlines when her marriage of two and a half years to Black Panther (Hei Bao) singer Dou Wei ended in divorce in 1999.  Heartbreak only increased her appeal, and her solo album, released shortly after the divorce, rocketed her up the charts.  Then, Wong went public about her new boyfriend ¨C Nicolas Tse, a relative unknown, 11 years her junior.

 

Hong Konger Tse was born with silver chopsticks in his mouth, and rapidly gained the reputation as a bad boy of the SAR.  Rumors of drugs, drunk driving, and mouthing off on stage circulated ¨C but nothing gave him the same degree of fame as being romantically linked with Wong.

 

His 1997 released My Attitude was initially met with lukewarm appreciation, and the actor-singer began to get offers, albeit for bit-parts in movies and commercials.  But once Wong was on the scene, his days as a B-list actor ended, and the contracts came rolling in.

 

The public were not so convinced of the pair¡¯s suitability, however, and many thought the 11 year age difference too large, especially when weighted towards the woman.  But against the odds, and in the face of speculation, the relationship managed to last three years.

 

So what went wrong?  Tse himself announced that his relationship with Wong was over in April, although rumors had already existed for some time.  Wong herself spurned reporters and refused to leave her home.  There was talk around the SAR that Wong was seriously depressed, and had attempted suicide.

 

Although many speculated that Tse had found a new lover in the form of Cecilia, Tse himself refused to confirm any relationship, and repeatedly told reporters that his break with Wong did not involve anyone else.  So why, then, did they police arrest Tse in Cecilia¡¯s home, where the pair were sleeping together, on the night of April 12?

 

The arrest was concerning a car accident in March, when Tse allegedly fled the scene in order to avoid responsibility for the crash.  Tse is also accused of attempting to bribe a poloice officer in an attempt to avoid arrest; it is rumored that he went to such lengths to avoid crash investigators because hew as trying to cover up drink or drugs as well.  If even part of the above turns out to be true, he will face a hefty sentence for conspiring to pervert the course of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

 

The singer was arrested and detained by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption for the next 36 hours, which he later called ¡°the most memorable time of my life.¡±  Even his new girlfriend Cecilia was implicated, and was required to attend at the police station.

 

Finally, Tse was bailed for HK $100,000, and investigations are ongoing.

 

Loyal fans put the blame on Cecilia, saying that she brought Tse bad luck; others say that Tse is a cheagt who deserves everything he gets.  The only thing that people seem to be agreed on is that poor old Wong, betrayed and lonely, is deserving of people¡¯s compassion.

 

Only time will tell how events will pan out¡­¡±

 

Nina Xiang of City Weekend

 

 

Okay so I didn¡¯t say it was a good story.  But what is interesting is that this Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption is like HK¡¯s version of the FBI.  They are independent from the police, left behind by the British government.  I am told by an independent source that the real guy that they want to get is the owner of Tse¡¯s entertainment company.  The problem is, they have no real evidence against this mafia mobster fellow, and the only way they can get him now is through others.

 

Damn, that was fobby of me wasn't it?  FACK.

NBA

I found out some cool news a couple days ago... I think I have a good chance to meet Vince Carter or the Toronto Raptors and a couple other NBA players.

NBA and Nike were going to do a world tour last year that was supposed to kick off in Asia, beginning with the city I'm in now, Shanghai.  Unfortunately, due to the incidents of last year's terrorist attacks, that whole idea was quashed and it didn't materialize.

Fast forward to this year, plans are again underway to bring NBA and Nike's collaboration to Shanghai.  Although I don't know this year's line of players, my inside informant tells me that Vince Carter is one of the guys coming.  So how will I meet him?

I've finally done some financial analysis of my conference and as of now, it looks entirely feasible (financially).  We have confirmed financial support from Ernst & Young and more commercial support from companies like Microsoft, Legend Computers and am in talks with a couple venture capital companies, the Bank of China and Hewlett-Packard.  I'm currently also assembling a panel of entrepreneurs to speak at our conference, and tomorrow I meet with a group called the Young Entrepreneurs Organization that have newly established a branch in SH.  Along with this group, I've met several people who are starting up their own thing here in Shanghai, and I plan to approach them, including this guy I know who runs his own events company.

This events company is responsible for doing promo events and running marketing campaigns in Shanghai for various brands of goodies.  They are a small operation, but compete fiercely with their bigger competition here in Shanghai.  They've been doing pretty well for themselves, securing contracts from a few companies here and there, including the local Nike contract.  Anyways, the guy that runs a company is about my age, 25ish and is a cool guy.  He used to do hip hop events here in SH and has since moved on to start his own company.  As an entrepreneur in China, he has a lot of experience in starting his own thing and being an entrepreneur.  I'm sure he's got some stories to tell about doing this type of thing in China.  As a role-model for others, my conference is a great marketing opportunity for him and his company.  He's very nice to people he knows and if he gets on board, I think I'll be able to squeeze my way into some hard core NBA action in Shanghai (and get a pic with Vince).

Dana's working on some private hip hop boat party next month, hopefully it will coincide with your visit MARV, if so we'll get some crazy VIP treatment here.  I'm quite busy this month, but when you get here, things should be more freed up and we can see about getting drunk about 95% of the time that you are here, and trying to see a little bit of SH the rest of that time.  And Mars, when are you making your next trip out to China?