how to celebrate the Chinese year of the rat, Shanghai style.

It’s 18:17 and the eve of Chinese New Year. I am in my apartment in Changle Road and I heard firecrackers blasting from a distant yet not like that loud as in Manila or in any part of the Philippines. This is China and they invented the fireworks here a long time ago and I found it ironic to hear some dead moment and long silence in between boom and bang. Perhaps it’s too early for them to show the lights flying on the night sky. So I will wait. My neighbor in this medium rise dwelling seems to be quite perhaps they were just stuck inside to avoid the freezing outdoor climate. But passing our small corridor note that they have this raw chicken and pork meat left hanging for several days now and I assumed they are going to feast tomorrow. They have a big refrigerator outside to froze the meat imagine that.
Looking from northeast window, most of the building lights were turned off. Perhaps the owners went to province just like most of the Chinese do to reunite with their families at the start of Spring Festival.
In some unfortunate events meanwhile please note that my sink plumbing sucks. For some strange reason, water backflowed from the pipes and flooded my sink and it never stop. Without hesitation I removed the traps from main drain pipe and plug it with rag utilizing rubber gloves to tighten the grip. I really prayed that will hold for long because the amount of pressure coming was strong and I am to give up cleaning the mess. For the record the water is too damn cold. Yes, I’ll call the owner tomorrow to fix this plumbing malady.
Later, I will be going to my friend and officemate house 15 minutes walk from my place. They will have some New Year eve party there and some Pinoy friends would also come there. I am excited to munch for arrozcaldo and my lazy self affirmatively bringing nothing but my hungry mouth. Hope the bakery along Huaihai is still open.
As I end this prose, lights and sound filled the night sky of Shanghai in the eve of the year of the rat or mouse or whatever.
A toast for a better year to China and unselflessly to myself!!!
Xin nian kuai le!

let it snow.

today is tuesday and though the falling snow is absent falling on the grey sky the temperature is sub zero. the morning walk to office was not my usual pacing because the city's sidewalks were blanketed overnight by ice debris.

the 10 o clock news said that snowfall last night was the heaviest falls ever in 17 years.

that was the first time i saw and feel that wonder I happened to view them in film and tv or was able to grasp it's esthetics as described by paperback authors.

the experience was amazing but as the snow lingers longer on your way i found out that I'd got annoyed by it.

Today my mittens were not enough to avoid numbing hands. I wonder what more in places like Siberia.

In times like this I'd confess that I miss Pinas more than anywhere else. (Sigh)

Dreaming of sun, shine, and sand!

Explain Yourself!

My leave absence here is because of a lot of things. Mainly, because the office is filtering blogger and therefore unaccessible. I tried logging outside say to my friends house though blogger was accessible and post entry the Chinese government won't allow me to view my blog page. I read online several weeks ago that there was an issue between Beijing and Google with it's blogger. You know a lot of Chinese citizens took advantage of blogging to tell something critical with the government policy and even social issues.

This one I am writing in the Philippines. I still want to continue writing here. Looking back, my effort spent on this blog is tremendous already even if I could not see my post whilst I am in Mainland.

Hope that bow would not be broken by some laziness and stupidity! Let this be my 2008 resolution.

Happy New Year to one and all!

expat me

ni hao!
I am living and working in this big and scintillatingChinese city named called Shanghai. I have been here for fourteen days now and really there's a really a lot to learn and I am getting to like it here. I roamed some of city's esplanades and parks, did see many of its infamous and remarkable landmarks and architecture and tasted and scented shanghainese dishes.
It must be the humid weather that I can describe it like as Makati's CBD actually but with rows of maple trees along thouroughfares (lu) and multitudes of high storey edifices for office and residential utilization. Seemingly, the colorful lightings make Shanghai alive and breath.
Construction cranes taht hover on the site, with red flag on top, are a familiar site of the cityscape. Indeed, a proof that that this city is fastly growing and continually reviving its form.