Chogging, i.e., China Blogging

From now on until I come back to the U.S.A., this will be my official web log of my experience in China. Since I'm already behind. I will summarize up to this point, hopefully committing regular Beijing revelations. Here it is, from day one of my life in "Middle Kingdom." I will try to add pictures (click on them for large view) if I have the camera with me (video will be next). Everyday is different and an adventure!

May 28, 2007 Monday

Bus comedy - After leaving the office today I waited for my bus (#110) for over 10 minutes, since I missed the previous one by about 10 seconds. Meanwhile, I saw three #109 buses strolling in a pack together, one full, the other two mostly empty. It didn't matter anyway, because I wasn't in a rush and hearing the on-board bus announcer (supposed to shout out safety and bus stop info) speak into the mike sounding completely stoned and/or asleep was worth the wait. One of these days I'll take a picture of the pigpen that buses are here.

May 27, 2007 Sunday
Went to Carrefour, the massive French supermarket for the first time with LA friend Joyce and her student, singer "Jared." "Super" is an understatement. Should call them "insane" markets in China. Over 500 people at only the checkouts today, not counting the thousands still shopping.

Went to Joyce Chao & Mona Huang's apartment for dinner by Joyce, dancing by everyone, and a singing performance by Jared Wang, along w/ Melissa Li, Amy Bi, Justin Mo, Phoenix Wang.

Beijing Revelation: Dogs that cost hundreds if not thousands in Beverly Hills are everyday pets for the general public here. Chihuahua, Pekingese, Maltese, ShiTzu - everywhere. No poo on the street. And they walk themselves. Dogs in BJing put dogs in BHills to shame.

May 26, 2007 Saturday
Had best Beijing Roast Duck with distant paternal relatives from ChongQing David Peng and wife Ma Lei, my second-half-cousin Lee Da Shuen's cousin, by way of his mom and her dad.

Strolled through what is possibly Beijing's most luxurious shopping experience if you have a truckload of money @ Dong Fang Xin Tian Di Shopping Mall. Took me two hours just to walk it. A food court larger than most malls in the U.S.

Rode the subway for the first time (not including last year's vacation here). Very fast, fun and convenient.

Then had more ridiculously great food for dinner w/ a distant maternal half-cousin from GanSu, Mr. Liang Tao.

May 25, 2007 Friday
Had lunch of Szechuan food - spicy! Mild spicy to SC is piping hot to most.
Hung out w/ Joyce & Mona, dancing and dinner.

May 24, 2007 Thursday
Shopped for a webcam in one of Beijing's many bazaars, indoor swap meets. Madness! Bargained a 200rmb cam down to 50rmb. Massive, multiple levels.

Beijing Revelation: If you like to shop, you could spend quite a few weeks just shopping around Beijing's different malls, spending a few US dollars or a several hundred thousand dollars in just one shop. It's a shopper's paradise in this city.

May 23, 2007 Wednesday
First day in a Chinese supermarket... Almost had a heart attack, it was bigger than anything I'd seen before. Bigger, not taller, but wider with way more stuff on multiple levels. And people told me this was a small one.

May 22, 2007 Tuesday
First big day of rain in Beijing. Non-stop. The backpack I bought the previous day made my white dress shirt black when the cheap dye was wet from rain.

Bought some of what a store clerk said was clothes detergent (I can't read yet), except it wasn't (was bleach from the smell), so I ended up using dish detergent. (Didn't get the stain out, so ended up using the bleach and proper clothes detergent the next day.)

May 21, 2007 Monday
Went to my first swap meet/indoor bazaar. Unsuccessfully bargained down a backpack from 180rmb to 110rmb. (This was before I figured out how to do it w/ the web cam a few days afterward.)

May 20, 2007 Sunday
Went to office in the afternoon to meet w/ bosses about VW work.

Beijing revelation: It's HOT here. And it's not even June yet. Hottest months are supposed to be July and August.

May 19, 2007 Saturday
Washed clothes for the first time. Then hung them dry (no dryers here in China).

Dinner and drinks w/ co-workers first at Banana Leaf southeast Asian in Sanlitun/GongTi area, then Bar Blue in N. SanLiTun bar area. Then to Suzie Wong in Chao Yang Park West, which was filled with Europeans. I was intrigued by how many foreigners, Caucasians spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese better than I.

May 18, 2007 Friday
Worked at FAW-VW all day. Met w/ my L.A. friend Gloria Fan's friend Beaver Kang in GongTi Nan Men's high-end, spicy Three GuiZhou Guys restaurant above the Coco Banana club, along w/ Beaver's friends, Nathan Chow, Monte, Bill, Bill's friend Carol, Christian Lee, Lily Chai, and Peter Lee. Then had dessert @ Bellagio down the alley. Finally China Doll & Bar Blue at N. Sanlitun, where we also met w/ Beaver's friend Chen Da Ming, film director. A night life to put L.A./Hollywood restaurants/clubs/bars easily to shame.

May 17, 2007 Thursday
Presented a proposal on PowerPoint to BMW today. Then had a meeting w/ Intel. Experienced in all cases the dynamics of GuanXi, i.e., powerful relations with people of power.

Beijing Revelation: Must look all 8 ways when traveling anyway, anywhere, anytime. In front, behind, left, right, also diagonally in all of those 4 directions. Just imagine the movie Chicken Run or the video game Frogger, but all of it in 3-D or 4-D (because you're moving in 3-D space), but it's real life and you don't get to play again or rewind.

View from the rooftop of my office building. Notice the crane in the background. They're everywhere in Beijing. Constructing new towers and stadiums every month 24/7.

May 16, 2007 Wednesday
Prepped and rehearsed BMW presentation in front of several staff. Had McDonald's for first time.

May 15, 2007 Tuesday
Very tired from not sleeping the previous night. Just when I got over jet lag.

Beijing revelation: Buses - never mind that all the seats are full, and there are already people crowding the center aisles with no air-conditioning. You can always fit 20 more people on the bus. Elevators - just as fun to squeeze into if you like to imagine what it's like to be in a pack of 25 sausages.

May 14, 2007 Monday
First day on the job @ DMG. This office space is astounding. Very creative and chic. Imagine: Star Trek (with all the horizontally sliding doors), W Hotel (plush seating, ambient lighting), secret dungeons of James Bond. Fish everywhere. Fountains. Rooftop basketball court.

Lunch w/ co-workers in German embassy district. Pulled all-nighter prepping PowerPoint presentations for Audi & BMW. Ate at a knock off of McDonald's called Kung Fu, which is right next to McDonald's, except they serve Chinese chicken bowls instead of burgers and have a Bruce Lee look-a-like mascot instead of clown Ronald McDonald. Same motif, same mode of operation. The advent of Chinese imitations at its best.

May 13, 2007 Sunday
Met up w/ Joyce & student/techpreneur Justin Mo for lunch. Jet lag sets in, can't keep my eyes open while my body feels fine. Barely stay awake for finale event of DMG's Nike Street Basketball final competition in T'ai Miao section of Forbidden City.

Beijing revelation: Buildings - massive, tall, numerous, and still being built 24 hours every day. Amazing sight. Everything on the surface is big and plentiful. That doesn't include all the poor people roaming the streets every day.

May 12, 2007 Saturday
Met up w/ Joyce for lunch (only US$2!). Then went over to Forbidden City to observe and meet many of DMG's staff at Forbidden City dress rehearsal of Nike Event. I could tell immediately that they're like a family, many of them.

I should mention, when I got off the bus at the FCity, a bike ran into my left leg as I turned a few inches left, left a huge dust mark on my pants, not to mention soreness, and he get riding as if nothing happened. I was angry for a moment, then had to laugh at the experience. Thus the revelation of looking all directions.

May 11, 2007 Friday
1st day in Beijing, China. Arrived at 430am at the airport, where DMG driver Li Hui picked me up and dropped me at the apartment where I'll stay for a few months before finding one on my own. Took a nap for a few hours, rendezvoused with the world's most hospitable person Joyce Chao at her office of Wall Street English at the China World Trade Center, then grabbed dinner w/ her student Daniel Yu (best Kung Pao chicken and Gan Bian Dou Jiao compared to U.S. fare) and walked all the way to massive Wang Fu Jing Outdoor Mall.

Beijing revelation: Food - Chinese food is amazing, plentiful and affordable here. A dream.

May 10, 2007 Thursday
Take off @ 130am from LAX to Beijing.

May 9, 2007 Wednesday
Mad rush to pack and get ready to go to airport. Mad it in plenty of time, but not without a good amount of pre-trip stress.

Beginning of the new stage in my life....