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wadever...

Went to gym todae =)

Hsemates all gg clubbing tmr! hmmmm....i nv go clubbing b4 lehh...but i dun wan stay at home alone oso....hmmmm....nvm, go there see the nearby 外滩 scenary...

hopes raised, hopes dashed...一场欢喜一场空...

my team leader was abt to assign me to print tax invoices (开发票) at the client place by myself....but but...2 of the team members said 我很不放心...arghhhhh...there goes my chance of learning more abt tax invoices...

tink i've been too careless @ work tt's y...arghhhh...2 mistakes i've made so far...out of 3 tasks i've been assigned too...not stamping the chop correctly (like not aligned properly, some words blurred)...and not tying the bundle of 凭证 tightly enuf...

gahhhh...gotta be more careful!! and more detailed!!

feels like another screwed up internship...arghh...maybe there's still time to change...5 weeks down...17 more weeks to go...

wake up wake up!!

stop feeling sleepy at work!!

Getting super bored @ work....with nth to do...trying hard to keep awake during work...arghh...

Went to the Wills gym after work todae! Gd exercise! Yay!~

Started off with a 15 mins jog on the threadmill @ speed 9km/hr.

Did 2 sets of 500m egro...average 2.20...

And a bit of weights...using 10kg...did 2 sets of cling & jerk, biceps...and 1 set of upright row...

Then we went for indoor cycling class for 45mins!! Total shaggness!! Even though its onli the beginner class...gosh...Needa stand up and cycle for quite long, then keep adding resistance...and actually cycle until my arms veri suan lehhh, coz the handle quite far frm the seat and suppose to body bend forward like racing bicycle liddat...but veri gd for building fitness & stamina...haas...we gg the beginner class again on thur! By dec, we'll be in the advanced class! haas...

Went home without bathing! The pple there juz walk ard naked in the toilet!! can even use the hairdryer while they are still totally naked!! gOshh...

Gahh...flooded this morn...

Actually not veri heavy rain leh...juz normal rain...spore gt much much heavier rain...but the drainage here quite bad...

We almost late for work!! But considered quite good already...gt pple esp those taking bus, gt stuck in the jam, and onli abt 12pm then reach office...most pple ganna stuck, then they just take half day leave...luckily we cabbed to mrt, then take train...

And it was quite cold todae...actually yest oso...tink summer is gg away le!

Olympics over le...nth interesting to watch on TV liao....sianzzzzzz....

Tink my memory is failing me....Oh no oh no!!...Trying to recall my expenditure and the places we went to today with a lil difficulty....ooops, been slacking too much le....

Went to 淮海路 todae. Its a place famous for rather high-class shopping...a lil like Orchard road....

Nearby was 孙中山故居. But by time we reached, it was too late!! Arghh...it closed at 4pm, so early...

Next, we went to 上海火车站 to check out tour agencies for our trip to 黄山 during the 中秋节hol (i.e. 13th, 14th, 15th Sept)...Cheapest so far is still abt 500 RMB (including transport, hotels, admission ticket)...But might haf to pon sat's lesson, coz min need 3 days to tour!...Hmmmm....but quite a few hse grps gg 黄山tooo! Ltr so many pple pon! Hmmm...shall see how when date gets closer...

It's the beijing olympics closing todae! China's lead on the gold medals tally is amazing! These few weeks of watching atheles competing in the olympics...their determination, confidence and fighting spirit is truly inspiring! 佩服! And just now, they were showing on TV the physical/political difficulties that diff atheletes went thru for this olympics...Respect for these pple...

Work is starting tmr again!! Need some motivation!

Went to 衡山路站 @ nite.

Supposedly gt lotsa pubs in nice olden buildings along 衡山路....hmm, saw quite a few pubs, but din see the olden architecture buildings...

Todae's a rather boring day!! And i'm veri awake now coz of a long afternoon nap...haas...

The Nike 10km Human Race @ Shanghai onli costs 50RMB for students!! Arghh....i din register in time! Argghhh....Nvm, the race route is onli around 世纪公园which is super near our place...Maybe can go crash gate!

Might be joining shanghai marathon on 30th Nov...with fellow intern frm nus, hsemate, and hopefully xiaohong frm shenzhen!! haas....pending confirmation! veri long nv train le! not sure if can survive a marathon!

TGIF!!

Went to 外滩 (the bund) after work. But din bring camera! wasted!...

It's quite pretty!...the 黄浦江 river, the lighted buildings on pudong (i.e. the opposite side of the river)..and the boats are rather huge and travel quite fast too...

Finally found 冰糖葫芦 along the 外滩! But it was plum, not 山楂! Not as nice...disappointment...looking out for another 冰糖葫芦!

And the 外滩 (the bund) is a highly inaccessible place!! Walked quite a distance from 南京东路站! And wanted to cab across the river to pudong side (to see a diff angle of the view) also cannot! Arghh...So ended up walking back quite a distance to 南京东路站 again!

Went to check out the gym near our workplace...Seems quite nice...

Using our staff pass, can go to the gym for free!

Gt yoga classes (but nah, no interest in yoga)....gt indoor cycling lessons! Wheee, i miss cycling with tiga doggie! If onli china can rent bicycle, then can cycle to explore around, but like dun haf anyone renting, arghh...

Anws, the gym gt lotsa threadmills....and i spotted one egro machine!!...and gt a lot of weights too...

Ok, i realli need to get myself down to the gym!!!

Frisbee!! Yay!~ In the almost darkness again, but this time much easier to see than the badminton shuttlecot...

And i sux at volleyball! Arghh...haas...our beach volleyball super bouncy!! And it landed in the pond...ooopss....luckily managed to retrieve it!

The car owners near our hse veri poor thing....cars ganna hit by our frisbee & beach volleyball! Haas...but ok, no visible damage so far! Haas...

I need to keep fit!! Super unfit now...

hate taking the wkday morning train! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh.........

Burnt a hole in the pocket todae! Spent 266 RMB in one day on shopping! Oops...I'm supposed to be saving! Haas...

Bought 5 shirts (3 collar shirt + 2 t-shirts). And got a crocs!! Been wanting to have a Crocs =) Crocs are veri popular here. Even got pple wear crocs to work!

Then we went 南京东路步行街 for a veri veri full dinner! Everyone ended up feeling too meaty after dinner! 2 笼 of 小笼包 to share among the 5 of us, which is 24 小笼包 in total!! And a huge bowl of noodle / wanton for each of us!

And one day, i'm wanna get the roller @ 南京东路步行街!! After 1st pay day...

Next, we headed down to the shanghai stadium to catch the Olympics Soccer Mens Quarter Finals! Argentina vs. Holland...

Saw some Holland fans @ the MRT station. They dressed in orange, and were quite high! Making quite a lot of noise and cheering, until the security guards oso a lil scared, dunnoe wad to do abt them...

And @ the shanghai stadium!! Very nicely designed stadium! Pretty wave-like shaped roof! And the football field seems larger than those in spore. Veri big stadium, a lot of space between the track and spectator stands. And becoz gt so many pple taking photos with flash, the spectator stands oso veri nice, keep shining here and there, a lil like stars shining!



No waterbottle allowed in the stadium! Hsemate nearly had to throw away his waterbottle. Tink they scared u will throw the waterbottles @ the football field. Only can buy drinks frm inside and pour into cups to bring into the stadium.

Our seats were quite good. Can see both sides scoring. Even though a lil far, cannot see faces. But doesn't realli matter to me, a soccer spectator noob, dun even noe who is who...haas...

Players warming up.....

Referees warming up too....

Players entering field...

Singing the national anthem of both Argentina & Holland...

And finally the match starts @ 9pm!!

Very exciting game! Within a first few minutes, Argentina already keep attempting goals. But keep missing. But veri soon after, Argentina finally scored their first goal!

Seems like Argentina is stronger at attacking and striking, but Holland is much better at defending. During the 1st half, quite clear that Argentina is a stronger team, but during 2nd half, Holland seems stronger.

Not long after, Holland scored their first goal too! And the match ended with a draw 1-1. Extra time of 30 mins (1st half - 15mins, 2nd half - 15 mins)

Argentina finally scored a 2nd goal during 2nd half additional time. The last few minutes were even more exciting. Holland keep having corner kicks, some almost near goals! Hoping for a draw again, then we can watch penalty kicks. Make our 200RMB ticket even more worth it. But nahh, match ended with Argentina winning 2-1!

Gg home frm the stadium was another headache...Haas...

Raining super heavily todae!! Grrrrr....

And the pedestrain path was flooded at some parts! Ended up waddling in puddles frm our office to the mrt station....some puddles were quite deep, and gt water go into my office shoes!! Grrrr.... In the end, we juz heck, juz haf fun walking in the puddles of water! Haas..

Hsemates were in a worser situation...they like gg thru obstacle course frm 龙阳路站 to home...heard tt they climbed up some railings??! coz all flooded! haas....luckily i reached 龙阳路站 later....by the time, almost no more rain and not realli flooded le!

Soooooo stuck at home tonite! on a fri nite somemore! Arghhh....highly sianzzzzzz....no nice olympic games on TV tonite oso! ARghhh....even more sianzzz.....

Ended up researching on places to tour....might be gg 上海马戏城 (circus!) this sun, cheapest ticket is 80RMB....wan to go 无锡nxt sat, but dunnoe if hsemates wan anot...might be gg 锦江乐园(shanghai amusement park) sometime soon too, 70RMB for 6 rides including entrance fee...Soooo many fun places! Hmmmm....650RMB left until 30th Aug...shall see how...already trying my veri best to conserve, but this wk frm mon-fri already spent 100RMB, oops...

Gg to watch Olympics Soccer Quarter Finals (Men) tmr nite @ 9pm @ Shanghai Stadium!! Argentina vs. Holland....It better not rain tmr!!

And Singapore confirm getting an olympics silver medal for womens table tennis team event!! After a long wait since 1960. Woohooo! Congrats!!

Went running again todae with hsemates! Same route as previous trip, but probably a lil shorter...

After running, we played badminton!! in the almost darkness!! Haas....Realli test our eyesights! Can hardly see the shuttlecork lar!...Only like see it a few seconds, i.e. a few cm, before it reaches you!! Haas...Most of the time, cannot even see where you hit the shuttlecork too! Haas...

Hsemate's logic : Play more badminton in the dark, nxt time our badminton skills will be super zai, reaction time will be damn fast!! Haas....more night badminton to come! Haas....

Wan play frisbee!! But scared will break some neighbour's window or frisbee drop into the pond in our condominium! So din buy frisbee! =( Arghhh....

Arghh...China basketball lost to Spain!! So wasted!! They were leading quite strongly, until the last part of the 4th quarter, then draw at the end...and just the extended last 5 mins, Spain caught up so fast and so much!! Arghh, but veri exciting game!

And there is 10m divng olympic event!! Wahhh....so super high!! scary!! And they dive so near to the diving board!! Esp their head so near the diving board when they do their somersault. I fear for their lives man!!

And guess wad i did @ work todae...Drilled holes in stacks of papers (realli using the drilling machine!! And not punchhole!! But a small drilling machine lar...haas...quite fun!) And i did some sewing!! Using a big long needle and thread through the holes (that i drilled) quite a few times to secure the stacks of paper tgt...haas....

Oh and last nite was the veri veri first time ever in my life that i cooked porridge!! But it gt a lil burnt, too dry and sticky! Haas...Hsemates dun wanna try my porridge! Hymph! But i tink its rather ok, not bad for a first attempt! So it become my lunch and dinner todae! And i like preserved olive!! Yummy yum! Oh and it's extremely normal to bring lunchbox to office for lunch! It's more not normal to dun bring lunchbox! Haas...

Budgeting and reserving for more touring & fun during the wkends! Overspent during the first 2 weeks! So now onli gt 730 RMB left to last 2.5 wks until 1st pay day on 28 Aug! Argh, and we going touring nxt wkend! Control! Max 25 RMB expenditure per wkday!

Hsemates & I went for a nice run todae!! =) Yay!~

This time, we ran to explore a new route! Ran to Expo, rather huge place, we wanted to run around it, but too dark! a lil scary so we din...haas...

Continued running until we reached 世纪公园, which is near the next mrt stop frm our place. Din noe 世纪公园 is actually so near our hse! Saw some nice building with jagged top that is lighted and keeps changing colour. But dunnoe wad building is that and it looks quite far away. Hmmm...maybe our next running destination! Haas...no idea how far tt nice building is at!

Hsemates all gt into a running mood!! After we come back frm the run still wan run 2nd round!! Haas...They ended up playing badminton...While me and another hsemate ran to the nearby Metro Supermarket to stock up our depleted drink supplies!

Nice run! Gd Exercise! =)

More runs to come! Still gt many places we haven run to explore yet!

And our motivation is to train hard in preparation of climbing 黄山 during 中秋节 (when we have 1 day hol + 2 wkends!)...haas...

Highly lazy to update abt yest's suzhou trip now...It was fun though, saw quite a bit of things, but still haf lotsa stuff no time to see...coz it was a day trip...40mins train ride frm shanghai and i muz say china's train is really quite gd! Smooth ride, ample space, clean cabins and fast! Impressed =)

Slacked the day @ home...esp coz it was raining!!...was mostly watching the Olympics live telecast! Liked the women's synchronised diving events and gymnastic events. =)

Everyone was having afternoon nap todae! Haas...Whole hse in sleeping mode after lunch...prob shagged from yest's suzhou trip, rushing here and there...

Watching the live telecast of China vs. USA basketball Olympics prelimary round now...Gg to end soon...Very exciting game...Esp the first two quarters, when china still not bad, keep shooting the 3 pt! Coz they like cannot even enter the inner circle. But veri gd match, nv ganna trash veri badly...match score: 70 101...Gd match! =) Nice show...haas...

US president Bush suppose to be in the cheerleading team for USA Basketball @ Beijing Olympics...but nv see him on TV cheerleading lehh...hsemates all waiting for tt moment...haas...

Gt work tmr! No Spore National Day public holiday here =(

Heard that Singapore's Tao Li got into the Olympics Finals for swimming...4th fastest qualifying time somemore...woohooo!...but race in the morning tmr....can't watch...argh...Jiayous! All the best!! Hopefully spore can get a medal!!

Todae is China Valentine's Day! (called 七夕, i.e. "The Night of Sevens", which falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month on the Chinese calendar)

No wonder i see pple with flowers todae. And pple putting makeup after work to go for their dates.

There's some legend behind this festival. 牛郎与织女的故事 (i.e. the Cowherd star & the Weaver Maid star)

Hmmm...noe nuts abt this legend....but according to wikipedia...the story is as follows...haas...

Short summary first : According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the milky way (river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

Now the longer story:

A young cowherd named Niulang (牛郎, i.e. the star Altair) saw seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister “the weaver girl” (织女, i.e. the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang has seen her naked, she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband. They lived happily and had two children.

But the Goddess of Heaven finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. She orders 织女 back to Heaven. Down on Earth, Niulang is very upset learning that his wife is gone. Suddenly, his cow begins to talk telling him that if he kills him and puts on his hide, he will be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. With tears flowing, he killed the cow, put on the skin and carrying his two children with him and off he went to Heaven to find 织女.

The Goddess found out 牛郎 had come and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way, which separates Altair and Vega).

织女 must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while 牛郎 watches her from afar and takes care of their two children (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae, i.e. their Chinese names Hè Gu 1 and Hè Gu 3).

But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (鵲橋 Que Qiao, "the bridge of magpies") over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.

It is said that if it rains on the night of "Qi Xi" 七夕, they are the tears of 牛郎 and 织女 crying at the misery of their life.

First run since arriving at shanghai!!! A lil late start, but still it's a start! Yay!~

Tonite's weather is gd, not too hot and no haze :)

A lil cui though...haas...too long din run...bit by bit, will build my stamina and speed back...

Hsemate is fast!! After the 2nd round ard our condo, i already cui-ed. Walked a bit, then ran again at my pace instead.

Think we ran abt 5 rounds in abt 25 min....hmmm....quite cui...tink 1 round is ard 500m onli...but we were not running that slowly lehh...hmmm...nvm, more runs to come!!

and next time, we're gonna run around to explore nearby places, maybe to 世纪公园 (the 2nd nearest mrt stop)!!

Arghh, tmr's another day @ work and i'm freaking bored!!! hymph! 20.4wks more of pa to go!! Hang in there! And pls pls can gimme smth to do at work!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHH....

And i gt scolded yest for asking for a com!! how to do book-keeping & financial statements without a com! Argh, but the scolding is true, i dun even fully understand the cashier job tt i am currently assigned to, then how can i even tink of moving on....booohooo...nvm, just put a smile across, and it'll be fine, it'll get better yea...no worries...hang on! :)

And i hate the morning rush hour trains! Being squashed and pushed is one thing that can be tolerated. But lacking air is another thing! Argh...oh wells, i'll get used to it soon. Run more to survive with less oxygen in morning trains!!

Todae's super hazy!!

Went to 七浦路, one of the places famous for cheap and good bargains. Its a short walk frm 曲阜(Qufu) 路站, but it rained while we were still walking there! Arghhh......And it rained again when we were walking back frm 七浦路 to the mrt! Arghhh....

Super lots of small roadside shops, and big shopping centers @ 七浦路....its like an endless stretch of roads filled with shops...And its super crowded too! Some locals dun realli like 七浦路 coz its too crowded..

I bought 3 shirts in total! 1 Long sleeve + 1 short sleeve for 60RMB in total. And another shirt for 60RMB. Ooops...ok, no more shopping until after 1st pay day!...

And this is the yummilicious 杂果刨冰 that cost onli 6 RMB!!

6 tickets to the Beijing 2008 Olympics Soccer Quarter-Finals (Mens) nxt nxt sat!!! @ the Shanghai Stadium

Excited hsemates @ the ticket booth.

Semi-finals seats all sold out! And Bronze medal match is too expensive!! 400RMB for the 3rd best seats. So decided on the quarter-finals! 200 RMB fo the 2nd best seats. Gg broke real soon...but a once-in-a-lifetime Olympics life experience!! For this, I will scrimp & save the nxt few weeks! 1500RMB left to last 1 mth...oops...waiting eagerly for pay day! And we haf a pay rise!! from 1100 to 1600...still litte, but better than nth!

Glimpse of the Shanghai Stadium frm afar....Very tight security at the Stadium...

Security Check already setup....Body scans, bag scans etc....

Even at the shanghai stadium mrt also need bag scan!

Interesting! Medicine Vending Machine @ Shanghai Stadium MRT.

Next, went to Shanghai Railway Station to check out train tickets to Suzhou. Super big Railway Station!!

Tickets counter @ Shanghai Railway Station

2 railway stations in shanghai

Highly complicated map of China's railway!

ClockTower @ the Shanghai Railway Station

Taking photo with the big public toilet @ Shanghai Railway Station

Super funny! Imitating this logo/mascot of the 2010 World Expo @ China. Even the passer-by helping us take photo laugh at us. Haas...

Our dinner @ 真功夫.

Not bad, quite nice food and soup.

Dinner came with Free toy figurine of 周瑜 and sticker to write and paste on display board.

Our message with the smiley face!

Next, went to 徐家汇站. Quite a happening place! Lotsa shopping centers.

Went to the digital plaza @ 徐家汇 to buy our 50M long LAN cable!! which we found out later that it is way way longer than wad we need! Arghh..

Also went to Metro 美罗nearby. And they haf a foodcourt @ the basement!! Lotsa nice and cheap food! But we just had dinner...argh, nxt time...

And there's an arcade @ Metro!! But not cheap! haas..

Saw some weird percussion style arcade game...