Seconded
I'm in Shanghai for my first secondment to a client office. We were supporting the client from our end for a few days straight where I ended up working from 8am -- 4am on my birthday, and continued at 9am the next day until it was an hour before my own birthday party.
When I got the call Tuesday evening with news that I was to leave for Shanghai on the first flight out the next day, my heart sank. Not only was I going to be in a highly stressful situation at work, I was also going to miss:
The Malaysian lunch I was supposed to be co-hosting at The Hutong
My friend's Canadian Thanksgiving which I was supposed to help cook at
Evan's aunts and cousin's visit in Beijing
On a brighter note, my two little pleasures on this business trip are a buffet breakfast every morning (though I always had to gulp everything down in less than 10 mins in order to leave at 7.30am), and a clean and tidy room when I return (though I'm running out of clean clothes to wear).
Fortunately, the stretch from the client's office to the hotel is a very pleasant walk as restaurants, malls, bakeries, cafes, Expo volunteer booths line the streets. Fortunately for me too, Pete and Monica are close by. After a long day on Friday, I was delighted to see such friendly and familiar faces after a few days of overwhelming workload and the need for constant alertness in such a corporate environment.
Evan arrived Saturday morning for a short visit and the feasting began. We started with Shanghainese food -- Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and dry noodles that came with a bowl of soup as a "chaser". In the evening, we met up with Pete, Monica and Nick and some of his friends and proceeded to dig our hands in steaming bowls of hairy crab, which are currently in season. This crab restaurant is a definite must-visit every time we are in Shanghai and luckily for us, it's always either crab season or crayfish season. Let me just put it this way -- I can't go to Shanghai without seeing Pete and Monica. I also can't go to Shanghai without eating at this restaurant. It's as simple as that.
Evan left this morning as his aunts and cousin arrive in Beijing today. The old GP would have stayed in the hotel room all day to sulk and only emerge at the point of extreme starvation only to eat at the hotel lobby. The new GP, however, got all her work-work done, got her non-work done (such as posting our holiday photos on Facebook), went out and had a nice lunch, read her book, shopped around and got a massage. Shanghai, and specifically, Nanjing West Rd 南京西路, is an ideal place for those things to happen easily.
The masseuse said to me "Gosh, your shoulder is really really bad. Have you been working too hard and under a lot of stress?"
"You betcha!"
I love Shanghai, it's a beautiful place. It feels more like a real city in terms of urban planning, and it has more bakeries that actually sell quality baked goods -- not those overpriced 味多美 crap. I like the city enough that I forgive it for not having Peking Duck.
But really, let's all keep our fingers crossed that I'll make it home in the next couple of days. I'm itching to go home and do laundry, and also to see Anna, Susan and Becky before they leave.
When I got the call Tuesday evening with news that I was to leave for Shanghai on the first flight out the next day, my heart sank. Not only was I going to be in a highly stressful situation at work, I was also going to miss:
The Malaysian lunch I was supposed to be co-hosting at The Hutong
My friend's Canadian Thanksgiving which I was supposed to help cook at
Evan's aunts and cousin's visit in Beijing
On a brighter note, my two little pleasures on this business trip are a buffet breakfast every morning (though I always had to gulp everything down in less than 10 mins in order to leave at 7.30am), and a clean and tidy room when I return (though I'm running out of clean clothes to wear).
Fortunately, the stretch from the client's office to the hotel is a very pleasant walk as restaurants, malls, bakeries, cafes, Expo volunteer booths line the streets. Fortunately for me too, Pete and Monica are close by. After a long day on Friday, I was delighted to see such friendly and familiar faces after a few days of overwhelming workload and the need for constant alertness in such a corporate environment.
Evan arrived Saturday morning for a short visit and the feasting began. We started with Shanghainese food -- Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and dry noodles that came with a bowl of soup as a "chaser". In the evening, we met up with Pete, Monica and Nick and some of his friends and proceeded to dig our hands in steaming bowls of hairy crab, which are currently in season. This crab restaurant is a definite must-visit every time we are in Shanghai and luckily for us, it's always either crab season or crayfish season. Let me just put it this way -- I can't go to Shanghai without seeing Pete and Monica. I also can't go to Shanghai without eating at this restaurant. It's as simple as that.
Evan left this morning as his aunts and cousin arrive in Beijing today. The old GP would have stayed in the hotel room all day to sulk and only emerge at the point of extreme starvation only to eat at the hotel lobby. The new GP, however, got all her work-work done, got her non-work done (such as posting our holiday photos on Facebook), went out and had a nice lunch, read her book, shopped around and got a massage. Shanghai, and specifically, Nanjing West Rd 南京西路, is an ideal place for those things to happen easily.
The masseuse said to me "Gosh, your shoulder is really really bad. Have you been working too hard and under a lot of stress?"
"You betcha!"
I love Shanghai, it's a beautiful place. It feels more like a real city in terms of urban planning, and it has more bakeries that actually sell quality baked goods -- not those overpriced 味多美 crap. I like the city enough that I forgive it for not having Peking Duck.
But really, let's all keep our fingers crossed that I'll make it home in the next couple of days. I'm itching to go home and do laundry, and also to see Anna, Susan and Becky before they leave.