Representin'

Part of the "Costume Contest Rules" at work was that we have to show up to work wearing the costume because they take a photo of you the second you arrive. When you don't have a car, but rather have to take a taxi or ride your bike (like I did), you're bound to get some looks. I figured what better to dress up as in China than Michael Phelps.


(It was raining on my ride to work, which didn't really matter.. except my "medals" are cardboard)

My Pygmy Tiger

In Shanghai the new craze is Pygmy Tigers. Apparently they somehow figured out a way to breed tigers with housecats. Mine is actually smaller than a house cat, and he only cost 600 RMB ($90). He just runs around my apartment all day, but seems to always strike the same pose when the camera comes out.


He encourages me to drink tea and other healthy foods.


He is very concerned with my hygiene and is constantly reminding me that a "healthy body is a healthy mind."

Qibao: The old city of Shanghai

The poles sticking out from the buildings on the right are where people hang their clothes to dry.


Pet Crickets. They were palm size and REALLY loud.


This old fisherman had a small crowd around him, and I saw him catch a fish in the first 15 seconds that I was watching. I think he is a well-known fisherman in the area because he had quite and audience who was studying his every move.


This is my new buddy Ian. He and I were bombarded by Chinese students who all asked us to write our names in English in their workbooks. I wrote my name about 50 times. They were all really wonderful, and spoke English very well.



This blue character is the national logo for the 2010 World Expo that will be hosted in Shanghai. The city is gearing up for this event, including massive construction on 3 new subway lines. This character appears all over the city to get people pumped up.




We saw all sorts of interesting food, including these baby chickens on a stick.

Riding around Shanghai

This is in the French Concession, a few blocks away from my office. To the right is a bunch of good restaurants.. including a Papa John's. ;)


This T.G.I. Friday's went out of business.


Yeah, the pollution can be pretty bad here. And there a "dust" on everthing that gets kicked up by big trucks and flung into your eyes.


The tallest building in Shanghai. I actually think it's a very beautiful building.


The Pudong skyline.. behind a lot of cranes that probably made it.


The Pearl Tower, shot from a random street in "the Bund."


A beautiful man in front of a beautiful canal.

A visit to the Shanghai Art Museum

For a government run operation, the museum is not too bad. This was the outside of the building.. being attacked my enormous, steel ants.






These figures were huge!! The green dino-person thing was easily the size of a real dinosaur. There were several of these figures, of all different sizes, all marching in one direction. Overall they were rather eerie due to their size and the over-adulation on their faces.

The darndest things on bikes 1

This was like a rolling pet store. Bunnies, mice and birds. And they all would sway back and forth as the lady pedaled the bike. Last week I saw something similar.. but they were all pigeons.. for food. I see many a strange thing being strapped to a bike.. so this will be a recurring theme.

Lost in Translation 2

Let's so easy indeed.

I'm just a piece of meat

In order to get my 1-year visa from the government here, I had to go to a "health check" facility just on the outskirts of Shanghai. I had to bring my passport, my visa, and a ton of other paperwork. They sat me down and made me fill out a bunch of forms. They took me into a room where they took my photo. They then handed me a form, with my photo attached and pointed me to a room where I was to change into a robe, and put fabric bags over my shoes. Then for the next 45 minutes that would shuffle me from room to room where different doctors would inspect me in different ways. First I went into a room with some people sitting holding cotton swabs on there arms... this was where they took my blood. Then I was taken to a trailer where they had me basically hug an x-ray machine.. then the physician ran out of the room.. and then the thing I was hugging started to vibrate as it was blasting my body with X-rays. Then they took me to a sonigram room, where a physician probed my body for anything foreign. Then in another room I had clamps put on my ankles and wrists, and suction cups on my chest.. and they apparently read my heartbeat. Then I went to an eye specialist. Next a general physician who just felt around for anything irregular. The whole thing made me feel like a robot on a production line or something. But no alarms went off, so I think I'm healthy :)

An ongoing photo adventure of food

well, it's chicken.

e-ARTS Festival

W+K Shanghai was a co-sponsor of this event. These big cube bunnies stood around a really cool square. Overhead.... the big light gridded orb, was actually a freeway overpass. One of the bunnies changed colors in response to sound.. which ultimately effected the color patterns of the orb overhead.



This bunny would send interesting bunny graphics to your phone via bluetooth. You would walk past it, and suddenly there is a bunny on your phone.


Apparently we are going to get these bunny's and put them on the roof of our building.

My new whip.

$70 U.S. bought me this bike and a lock. The streets here are packed with people on bikes. Riding on the streets is like being in a school of fish.. everyone dodging and weaving buses and taxis in one large mass. Riding a bike here is a beautiful thing. It's also faster and easier in many instances than taking the subway or taxis. I love it.


The shelf on the back is where I put groceries and ladies.

Kicks and Flicks

Shanghai has some really cool shops. I bought these shoes at a shop called "Source" which has tons of cool vintage shoes, shirts, hats, glasses, etc.


I bought these DVD's (both work brilliantly for $8 total) from a shop called "Even Better than Movie World." Yes, across the street is another DVD shop called "Movie World." No, they're not friends.

It's ALIVE!!!

I went to "Computer City," a giant electronics mall, and was able to get a new X Box power adapter that is made for Chinese voltage. The X Box now lives to play another day.

My new celly cell

My China phone # is 13701915526. To reach me from the states dial 0086 + my number. Remember... East Coast, I'm 12 hours ahead of you... West Coast, I'm 9 hours ahead of you. Yes it's a big phone. Yes, it's clunky and ugly. No, I didn't pay for it.

Lost in Translation 1

"Romantic Man" has become my new favorite clothier.


"Office Lady," a wonderful clothing shop for ladies who work in offices. Do you still need MORE incentive to come visit me??

California's in my water?

In a moment of curiosity I read the label on the from of my room's water tank... and was amused.

Apparently my water is a good source of "California Vitality." California will follow me where ever I go.