American Football in Shanghai

In Shanghai, the taxi drivers will always tell you that traffic in the tunnel is too conjested, and that you should save money/time by taking the Metro. They will suggest to drop you off at a Metro station ... but of course the official receipt has already printed, so you'd have to pay the 11 RMB minimum. See, the issue is the tunnel's not as bad as they say -- they're just trying to make away with the 11 RMB for a really short trip, too lazy to cross the tunnel. So obviously, you should just stay in the taxi and insist on the trip across. Still, that was tons better than my Beijing taxi experience.

But this was something I hadn't encountered before.

We hop on the Metro (already victims of the above scam) into People's Square. So there we are:

8 people.
In one of the city centers.
During weekday rush hour.
And then it starts to rain.

Getting a cab was clearly not going to be easy. We stand patiently at the taxi stand at first, but realize there are no taxis: it's full of illegally parked cars. To get one, you have to step out into the street and almost literally stand in front of it.

One cab slows to a stop to let a lady out, and quick as lightning, another lady hops into the front seat, staking her claim. Except ... the first woman hasn't even gotten out of the cab yet -- she's still paying the fare!

Wow. Rough crowd.

Even worse than the day's experience when E and I were trying to hail a taxi, and got "beat out" by old ladies and even schoolgirls. I vied no more of that, even more determined to get aggressive in obtaining a ride for us.

I spotted the next slowing cab, saw the girl inside paying her fare, and made my approach. Out of the corner of my eye, a middle-aged woman came trotting up from my right. I stepped in front of her to clearly signal my intent on this cab. She gave me a pretty clear signal on her intent too: she elbowed me to the side and charged through like a football player to the rear car door to get in! What the--??

When she realized she couldn't get in the rear door -- the previous cab passenger hadn't gotten out yet either -- she walked slightly past to wait. That was her mistake this time. I followed her, and then continued to push at her personal space until she backed way past the back door.

Blocking her, I let the lady out of the cab, and quickly motioned for our crew of 4.

"I got a cab!
Hurry, hurry, get in!
I'm holding her back!
Get in, get in, get in!"

See? I can adapt quickly. If I were to live in Shanghai for even a year, I fear I would quickly turn into one of them and lose all my sense of etiquette.

The Future of China

I've been in Shanghai for about 24 hours now, and it's a real mix of opposites. I won't say it's an equilibrium, because I find it's sort of a crazy melange of contradictory properties in all kinds of weird ways.

It's old/traditional and it's new/modern. It's beautifully spacious (Pudong) and it's sardine-crowded (everywhere old). The people are rich (like Mercedes and Shangri-La Hotels), and poor (hanging clothes out to dry in the middle of the alley). It's expensive (high-end restaurants) and it's cheap (those same restaurants with take-out option for the same food).

But one thing doesn't have an opposite: the people are rude. Even in the high-end restaurants and places where you'd expect service, they are. I mean, they give you service alright, but not really with a smile, and not really with the courtesy that we've come to take for granted in Europe, North America, Japan, and even Taiwan.

Shanghai has a long way to go in learning how to grow up, and how to control that growth. But that's just my first impression so far.

Do Not Eat

You know that silica gel stuff that's always in our packs of stuff? Packs of stuff like some dried snacks. You know what I'm talking about? The little (typically) white pouch with (typically) faded blue printing on it.

SILICA GEL
DESSICANT
DO NOT EAT

They look like pop rocks, little white pebbles/crystals gleaming in the light. HowStuffWorks says that "Silica gel is nearly harmless, which is why you find it in food products". Huh, nearly harmless.

So, "do not eat" even though it's nearly harmless. With the curiousity of a young child, how nearly harmless is it? What happens if you eat it? Do you shrivel up like those vampires who have exposed themselves to the sun (by accident)? Or just get really really thirsty? Or feel like puking?

As I prep for my Shanghai trip, you try it. Let me know.

The Great Taste of Lemon-Lime

I'm scooping lime-coated avocado flesh into the blender and whipping it into a guacamole-to-be. I give it a whiff, and it doesn't have that rich, creamy aroma that I love so much -- instead, it's kind of ... sour.

I make a slight face that my guac isn't turning out nicely, and my guests will be here in under an hour. My sister sees me out of the corner of her eye as she continues to dice the jalapenos.

"Something's very not right about this," I comment.
"Did you put in enough lime?"
"I think I put too much, actually."

We followed Alton Brown's suggestion of coating the avocado in a bowl of fresh lime juice and then fishing it out, but this result really doesn't seem right.

"Really? How much is there?"
"A whole lemon's worth."

She stops dicing, and gives me this look: would I like to review the past 10 seconds and conjure up a different statement? I stand there, basking in the bright glow of realizing what just came out of my mouth. She knows she doesn't need to, but she adds the verbal nail to my coffin of stupidity anyway:

"A lemon's worth ... of lime?"

D'oh. I almost felt like I was asking for change.

Just Anecdotes

Over the past months, I've come to notice that you, o loyal readers of my blog, seem to visit only to read the short (under 3 paragraphs) funny stories in my life. Moreover, you seem to prefer the kinds that are at my expense.

True?

I'm not sure if it's maybe the longer or more serious entries still have you interested, but not leaving feedback ... or if you just see how long it is, and get frightened by it. ("If I had a nickel for every time ...")

So let me know what's up, and what your blog reading patterns are like. I won't promise to cater to it, but at least it will be considered.

Weapon of Choice

Fewer mosquito rants this year than last, but it doesn't mean they've just upped and disappeared. I'm still getting the occasional bite while sitting in my underwear at home, and am starting to come to grips with the fact that it's just a part of Taiwanese life. Heck, I might even be healing a little quicker than last year!

For now, I have my little electric tennis racket of death, ready at the kill for them now at home. So let's turn our attention to after the bite.

What remedies do you have for mosquito bites?

I think most of us have heard of soothing calomine lotion to get rid of that itch. My friend even told me about using antiperspirant on it to stop the itch! Of course, it doesn't always work: that's when we try to thwart the definition of scratching that itch by creative means!

What else did you used to do to make mosquito bites more bearable??

You know what I'm talking about; you're probably guilty of it, too. Scratching with one finger on either side of the bite? Yeah, because then you're not actually scratching the bite, just around it. (Like that's better.) Or even resorting to the fingernail-cross, where you dig a nail right across the bite's Ground Zero and then lay another one in the other direction, making a little plus sign of scratching rest.

First and Second of July

What a weekend.

Had a bunch of friends over to celebrate Canada Day / (early) Fourth of July / housewarming. On the menu were as North American as I could cook up in a tiny kitchen and on a budget: nachos, chicken wings, sliders, poutine, apple pie, beers & drinks. Even tried my hand at whipping up pineapple soju (which was moderately successful).

Speaking of whips, I'm rather disappointed that the little plastic hand flew off ours in the midst of a rather entertaining drinking game, but I guess that's what you get for $79NT. At least it didn't snap in half like the $19NT one I bought (within seconds of stepping out of the store)!

Sunday.

Woke up late and spent some time with the siblings and chatted about everything and about nothing until the evening. It was really nice; what with everyone having different schedules, even getting three people together is a rare treat.

Dinner consisted of trying to finish the rest of the 5lb of ground beef in a pasta sauce. Tons of burger patties and other slider ingredients are still patiently waiting in my fridge: the plan is to make them extinct after the gym tonight, which of course will warrant many more trips to the gym!

All in all, a good weekend, plus the sudden realization that I'm off to Shanghai next week. But somehow, the glow from the weekend past still gets overshadowed by the intense depression that is a Monday of work.

-----
Ooh, I just found this blog about tiny hamburgers! And perhaps a new place to visit when I'm in SF again!