Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
On Beijing subway again
It becomes a weekly escape plan. I was going to stay in Tianjin this weekend. But an excuse come up (the Interior Designer is not issuing final drawings due to payment issue). Marlon agreed that I should run away for the weekend in case client calls and wants me to get sketches out to help pushing the construction forward. Hell no. And sorry Tianjin, it's not you are not beautiful. Beijing is just so much more exciting. And it's Halloween weekend. The clubs must be hopping.
Heading to Din Tai Fung for soup dumplings. Shopping for winter clothes this afternoon. (It is getting quite cold here.) And maybe staying at the Opposite House (I haven't even booked a room yet. I know it's a splurge, but I NEED to.)
Marlon and I are actually in better spirit. The first reason is that we realized our visa is expiring in 5 weeks instead of 6. The second reason is that we have been trying to remind ourselves how our situation is better than tons of people in the world. Marlon met some Filipino musicians. They are shipped to China to perform at bars and clubs. They are paid minimally, 5 or 6 people are cramped in 1 apartment, and some of them are here on 2 year contract!!! Passport confiscated by the owner, not speaking the language, and sing the same set of songs 6 times a week. I keep reminding myself that I can't sing "It's Raining Man" and "Last Dance" night after night.
Gosh, the subway is so crowded here.
Heading to Din Tai Fung for soup dumplings. Shopping for winter clothes this afternoon. (It is getting quite cold here.) And maybe staying at the Opposite House (I haven't even booked a room yet. I know it's a splurge, but I NEED to.)
Marlon and I are actually in better spirit. The first reason is that we realized our visa is expiring in 5 weeks instead of 6. The second reason is that we have been trying to remind ourselves how our situation is better than tons of people in the world. Marlon met some Filipino musicians. They are shipped to China to perform at bars and clubs. They are paid minimally, 5 or 6 people are cramped in 1 apartment, and some of them are here on 2 year contract!!! Passport confiscated by the owner, not speaking the language, and sing the same set of songs 6 times a week. I keep reminding myself that I can't sing "It's Raining Man" and "Last Dance" night after night.
Gosh, the subway is so crowded here.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
This is a good laugh
I went to the gym after I finished work tonight. I was just about to shower and have dinner when I got a call from the client. She said that Chairman is coming over, and we must have Chairman approve a couple of the items we discussed today. It was already 8.30pm. I skipped dinner and went down (the site office if right next door to where I stayed.) It's no big deal.
The Chairman finally arrived at 9 by the river boat as he was entertaining guests earlier in the evening. I sat next to him as we discussed the items. All of a sudden, he lifted himself slightly off the bench and let out a medium range fart. It was not loud. But audible by all 4 of us in the meeting. And in 2 seconds, a light smell came my way. I kept a straight face, so did the others in the room.
Is this what I signed up for?
But it was pretty damn funny. I laughed the whole night. At least I got all the approvals I wanted tonight. I'll put up with a fart or two if that's what it takes.
The Chairman finally arrived at 9 by the river boat as he was entertaining guests earlier in the evening. I sat next to him as we discussed the items. All of a sudden, he lifted himself slightly off the bench and let out a medium range fart. It was not loud. But audible by all 4 of us in the meeting. And in 2 seconds, a light smell came my way. I kept a straight face, so did the others in the room.
Is this what I signed up for?
But it was pretty damn funny. I laughed the whole night. At least I got all the approvals I wanted tonight. I'll put up with a fart or two if that's what it takes.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The celebrations of our half way mark has gone wild within minutes...
Half way
To celebrate, Marlon took me to this German pub that has his fellow Filipino's musicians playing.
Cheers!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Monday, October 26, 2009
Some pics when the Interior Designers visited last week.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tough!
Bad week. It will be too much details if I start sharing here. So, I'm going to skip it all together. But just to let you have an idea of how bad it was - I had no appertize to eat even when the lovely looking Peking Duck sitting right in front of me at Da Dong Peking Duck. That's also why we didn't even take picture, because we weren't in the mood.
I did buy a pair of cute handmade shoes to cheer me up on Saturday. I almost got a bag too, but decided against it.
7 more weeks! How are we going to do this?!? I'm glad that Marlon is here with me. Otherwise, I would have been eaten alive if it wasn't for him to talk things through and support each other. What an experience this time. For sure, never agree to such a thing again unless it is completely on my terms. Even so, I'm not sure.
I did buy a pair of cute handmade shoes to cheer me up on Saturday. I almost got a bag too, but decided against it.
7 more weeks! How are we going to do this?!? I'm glad that Marlon is here with me. Otherwise, I would have been eaten alive if it wasn't for him to talk things through and support each other. What an experience this time. For sure, never agree to such a thing again unless it is completely on my terms. Even so, I'm not sure.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Craziness
Yesterday when Kai (my boss) visited us in Tianjin, it was all nice and quiet. Beautiful weather. Everyone was out of the office doing things. The office was quiet and smoke free. But the moment he left in the afternoon, everyone came back and filled the room with smoke and loud chinese conversation. My luck!
A couple of crises later, I dashed out of the site at 7pm and went shopping. It is getting quite cold, and my summer/fall wardrobe is not adequate anymore. I didn't find much though. More to be done this weekend.
This morning, there was heavy duty demolition going on right above my head. We were sent back to work from our room immediately. As Shelley, our office manager here, said: 'Your insurance is a lot more expensive'.
After five minutes back in my room, I got called back to a meeting to deal with some mechanical issues. No, meetings don't get scheduled ahead of time. It pops up whenever they see fit. And the outcoming of the meeting is that 'I' will coordinate the design with the engineers and the designers, of course. Why shouldn't the local architect get their act together and put the f--king drawing set together and coordinate!
And I'm also dealing with exterior signage without knowing anything just because I suggested making the Chinese font bigger. Now, I'm coordinating the design and structure, which is SOOOOO out of our scope of work. WTF?!?
Never in my mind that I would work in construction site and telling people what to do. Only if they have seen me as the little fat kid crying because I was too close to the sidewalk gutter, no one would allow me into a construction site, let alone a China construction site where nails on demolished scrapes always face up, not down.
A couple of crises later, I dashed out of the site at 7pm and went shopping. It is getting quite cold, and my summer/fall wardrobe is not adequate anymore. I didn't find much though. More to be done this weekend.
This morning, there was heavy duty demolition going on right above my head. We were sent back to work from our room immediately. As Shelley, our office manager here, said: 'Your insurance is a lot more expensive'.
After five minutes back in my room, I got called back to a meeting to deal with some mechanical issues. No, meetings don't get scheduled ahead of time. It pops up whenever they see fit. And the outcoming of the meeting is that 'I' will coordinate the design with the engineers and the designers, of course. Why shouldn't the local architect get their act together and put the f--king drawing set together and coordinate!
And I'm also dealing with exterior signage without knowing anything just because I suggested making the Chinese font bigger. Now, I'm coordinating the design and structure, which is SOOOOO out of our scope of work. WTF?!?
Never in my mind that I would work in construction site and telling people what to do. Only if they have seen me as the little fat kid crying because I was too close to the sidewalk gutter, no one would allow me into a construction site, let alone a China construction site where nails on demolished scrapes always face up, not down.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Weekend in Beijing.
I went to Beijing again for an evening by myself. Sorry Marlon. I had a great dinner with wine and dessert on Saturday night. But the highlight of the trip is the fabulous Cartier Treasure exhibition at the Forbidden City. I will post some pictures when the internet connection is back up. (Yes, it's not working.) The collection was exquisite. There are some really big stones. I'm sure all my female friends will be very impressed.
There was also a little photography show of the now-and-then Hong Kong. That was a little fun show too.
There was also a little photography show of the now-and-then Hong Kong. That was a little fun show too.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Korean BBQ dinner
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Not going to talk about work...
We went to a cute little Thai place for dinner. But we didn't order anything spicy. Tianjin restaurants serve a lot of spicy food. We need a break from it.
What attracted us to the place is that it looks kinda cute. It has some framed maps as decoration (...how original, right?!? Didn't I see the same theme somewhere before?) Well, we were seated right under a Manhattan map by chance! It is an old trolley map in fact. Path train at WTC was called Hudson station. How cute!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
No news is good news
One little piece of positive news is that we will be moving out of the stinky, secondhand smoking filled, fire hazard, jackhammering-in-the-background, basement office this Saturday. They are setting up trailers in front of the building. Non smokers will be in one trailer while the smokers will be in the other. Hopefully, Marlon and I will feel more positive after the move.
The work situation is so complicated that I can't bored you with this blog. But it has definitely put overwhelming to a new level for both of us. The backwards and chaotic condition is beyond our control. There is only the team leader,Madame Gao, who has a clear idea of what needs to be done. The rest of the people have no clue at all. They just run around in circle.
Just came home from Tai Chi. Time to be on my second shift of the day and finish some work here before tomorrow.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tough week
Not much blogging last few days. Since coming back from Beijing, we were swamped with work. We worked through Saturday and Sunday. I think Marlon has had about enough of the work and working condition. The secondhand smoking is surely getting to us. I can feel my lung blackening as the clock tick. Next time, only people who smoke should be sent to China to work.
The pressure is also piling on. The entire team is, frankly, incapable to do anything. The architects and designers, all engineers, the construction team... everyone! It is very frustrating.
I went into the site office this morning (Sunday), and found that jack hammering is happening again. After 2 hours of the jack hammering above my head, I have to excuse myself. We should stand firm about not working on Sunday. God created Sunday for resting. We need to rest.
On a happier note, I have done Tai Chi 3 times. I think I am starting to get it. But I doubt if I can remember all the moves when I leave Tianjin eventually. It is not that easy, really. But I felt good. The yoga classes, on the other hand, are a bit strange. All these tiny Chinese girls and me in the class. Even I feel strange.
The internet control is still going on. In fact, the fire wall blocking has increased since last week's National holidays. I can't get onto facebook, twitters, and this blog! I have no idea how the blog looks. Also, if you have left comments, I won't be able to see them. This is frustrating, too!
I started spending money on downloading TV shows. This is going to break my bank. But I NEED IT!!! I need some normalcy.
I should stop rambling and get back to reviewing the guestroom shop drawings. It is sooooooooooo much fun to correct people's dimensioning method.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
This really is not an easy gig.
We worked all day on Saturday... and Sunday!!! This gig is really a bit of a hell hole. Apart from the work is tough, the working condition is terrible, communication is hard (especially for Marlon), we can't see when it can done!?!
Friday, October 9, 2009
2 days from a month
Since we came back from our little trip, nothing much has happened. It's just work, secondhand smoking, figuring out how to do the work and eat rice.
I broke down and started downloading TV shows from itune. This is going to be costly. Can I submit that for reimbursement?
It will 1 month tomorrow. It looks like 2nd month's been approved. There are a LOT of work. Can we get the work done in time for Christmas?
I broke down and started downloading TV shows from itune. This is going to be costly. Can I submit that for reimbursement?
It will 1 month tomorrow. It looks like 2nd month's been approved. There are a LOT of work. Can we get the work done in time for Christmas?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Getting old
My knees are giving up on me already! After 4 days of walking in Beijing, my knees are hurting. Damn the aging process.
Back to work today. It was a morning of jack hammering right behind me. I hope the ceiling won't collapse on me. I didn't take out an insurance before I left. I wish I bought that Boss Noise Cancelling headphones. It would be useful.
By the end of this gig, I can't walk or hear. Adding lung issues from 2nd hand smoking, I can certainly claim disability.
Back to work today. It was a morning of jack hammering right behind me. I hope the ceiling won't collapse on me. I didn't take out an insurance before I left. I wish I bought that Boss Noise Cancelling headphones. It would be useful.
By the end of this gig, I can't walk or hear. Adding lung issues from 2nd hand smoking, I can certainly claim disability.
The Great Wall, again.
Except of tour guides, who gets to the Great Wall once a year? ME!
I am now thinking that I should meet my parents next January in Beijing when they visit my uncle. I can then visit the Great Wall again, but in winter. Apparently, there are ski slopes. I bet you the snow covered Great Wall is worth a trip.
Anyway, we went there today. PERFECT weather. Sunny, light breeze, leaves are changing. TONS of people from the national week long holiday.
Lunch was a special treat of coal heated hot pot by my cousin and nephew, who drove us to the Great Wall today.
We are back in Tianjin, and there will be no dinner tonight. We are still stuffed from lunch and we spent too much over the weekend.
And a picture of Marlon and I together, for the first time!
Story of shopping in Beijing
I didn't do much shopping this time. I did found a pair of shoes, very reasonably priced, and I pulled myself away. It is soooooooooooo unlike me.
Here is the story I didn't tell the other day. While touring the Forbidden City, we went into a souvenir shop. This is a government regulated souvenir shop INSIDE the palace. Marlon felt in love with a souvenir plate. It's on the pricier side. But we thought this is in the government's #1 tourist attractions, the prices should be the same at all outlets. Marlon bought the plate, happily; then we continued our tour. About 1/2 minute later, we pass another souvenir shop at about 100M from the first one. We saw the same plate, checked the price, and it is $200 RMB cheaper. It's roughly $30US. I am not usually the kind to negotiate and go fight for a small rip off. But this time, I just think that the government should have a much tighter control over outlets inside the country's #1 tourist location! I marched back to the first store and demanded a refund. They didn't put up a fight. They are probably afraid that I would make a scene. So, we returned the plate, and bought the very same plate from the 2nd store at the lower price.
Yes, sometimes bargaining in places like China or India is part of the fun. Yet, it is just wrong when you can have a standard price INSIDE one of the most important tourist site in the world.
Some shots of our trip to Beijing
We had more Peking Duck that night!!! One of my cousins took us out to dinner. So, we get to have Marlon try the slight differences in preparation and presentation of Peking Duck.
I am very happy that Marlon had a great trip. Now, we are back in our room in Tianjin and missing our good time. I'm also thinking that we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Forbidden City
Marlon also got some souvenirs. And that story is going to be a blog on its own. We had a little adventure with the souvenir shopping.
After the Forbidden City, we went up to the peak of JingShan Park. It is where you can see the vista of the City's famous axis.
Tiananmen Square
Beijing!!! Peking Duck!!!
全聚德王府井烤鸭店. I'm glad that Marlon enjoyed it very much.
The city is a really crowded with people from this week long holiday. Subway stations are closed around Tiananmen Square. We took 3 lines to get here.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Friday... Water Park
Marlon said the funniest thing today
The office was so stinky from the bathrooms again. Marlon said, with a very straight face, that he understands why people smoke. It is to counter the foul smell. And in fact, he had a dream last night that he was craving for a cigarette.
Worked half day today. We are going to the park for some sight seeing. Apparently it is decorated with lanterns to celebrate the Mid Autumn festivals.
Beijing tomorrow.
Worked half day today. We are going to the park for some sight seeing. Apparently it is decorated with lanterns to celebrate the Mid Autumn festivals.
Beijing tomorrow.
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