*Sneaky remote blog post from Shanghai... Let's see if this works.*
First things first, what is with those Cards??? Holy freaking hell! I am little nervous about the games in SF now, but I will tell you that me being in China seems to be a huge good luck charm, if last year was any indication. You're welcome. I'M DOING THIS FOR THE TEAM.
Second things, here I am in stinky Shanghai, sick with an effing cold again. Today commenced the coughing-stuff-up phase, which I recognize as the nail in my viral coffin. So the end of this junk is nigh. But the Swedish girls here at the office must think I'm a total lame-o. I have done just about nothing since I arrived last Monday. I even cancelled (after buying a 30 dollah-ish ticket) on some brunch party yesterday. L-A-M-E. But today I am feeling better. I am going out to dinner! And I may have a glass-of-chardonnay-alone-in-my-room-style pre-party soon. Better to sit here and drink by myself than sit down at the honkey-filled bar and deflect/ignore the lecherous gazes of businessmen. Seriously. These men are looking for trouble and good to go. I shudder every time I see one with a short-skirted, high-booted, ill-spoken Asian women, tarted up and taught to please. I always look for his wedding ring because then I want to draw a defiant visual line from his ring to his eyes to shame him. Or at least to let him know that I know. But usually hands are in pockets and, well, I'm not gonna teach any lessons, it's true. But BOO on YOU, Mister Businessman!
What else? There is a woman called "Vapour" at the local (well, the closest of the four that are within a block of my hotel) Starbucks. And today I spotted a girl calling herself "Easy" at a retailer that shall go unnamed. There is photographic proof of the latter on my Instagram. The Sneaky Nametag Cam strikes again!
I have gone absolutely apeshit for the Uniqlo premium lightweight down coats and jackets. Seriously. I have been in the store three times now, and three of my family members will be receiving one of the models for xmas. (Disclaimer: one of the family members is me. But still.) I want to throw them out Oprah-style when I am home for Christmas, "You get a down jacket! YOU get a down jacket! YOOOU get a down jacket!!"
I saw a Bichon Frise with a blow out and a long-sleeved/panted "denim" overall suit lift its leg on the side of a marble mall yesterday. It was a Hee-Haw/AKC/Dog Whisperer convergence... oh man, I wish you could have SEEN it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Embarrassing Animal Outfits Cam out in time (OK, this is the same as the Sneaky Nametag Cam and they're both just an iPhone), but I assure you this ranks in the top 3 of all the crazy animal shit I've seen in Asia. A moment pulled right from my dreams.
I have been up and down Nanjing Road West (back and forth to Uniqlo...) and keep passing the same legless beggars. But there are no crutches nearby. So I wonder who is dropping them there? Is there a beggar van that drives the beggar carpool in the mornings and evenings? I imagine you could really load it up, what with legroom being unnecessary. I assume the legless beggar van gets 'em all made up (i.e., properly dirtied) and coaches them in proper moaning techniques, too. I saw one today, a legless lady beggar, in what looked to be a wheelbarrow with some sort of plastic-mic'ed karaoke hook-up. She was warbling some classic Chinese jams for cash. Now this is a beggar with initiative! I almost gave her some money myself! But her song kind of sucked.
So ta-ta for now! I am looking forward to continuing to feel better and to getting home at the end of next week. See you laters!
