March 2005 Archives

I started work with my employer on Monday this week. Since that time, its been a whirl of paperwork, induction programs, acronyms, powerpoint presentations, teleconferences, emails, micro-managed meetings, and luckily welcome long lunch breaks down in the cafeteria. It has been hard work in the last couple of days just trying to get up to speed with my group's projects, as well as learning about my employer's systems.

On top of this, Lin and I have been looking for an apartment, finding new contacts in a new city, forging new friendships (not just with the bellhops and waiters in the Richard's Coffee & Bar Lounge each night) and just really trying to take in the hugeness that is Shanghai.

While this entry is somewhat tiny compared to some others, I have managed to compile enough information to finish off a few entries I wrote late last week. Unfortunately for my avid lurkers and commenters, the full versions of these posts will have to wait until this weekend. My workplace is quite a way from our hotel (The Pujiang Hotel). It is approximately a 25 minute commute using the Shanghai Metro System from the centre of Shanghai (Puxi) out in the new area of Pudong. At each end, I have about a 10 minute walk/bus ride to reach either the hotel or the CTC (my workplace's name). So I'm out the door before 8am, and usually back after 8pm each night. Mind you, I am skiving off work early lately to join in the hunt for our apartment.

I must give an ABSOLUTELY HUUUUUUUUGE SHOUT OUT to Yan. She's been super-helpful and so kind in donating her time and formidable negotiating talents to help us arrange apartment inspection times and showing us around this big city. We've only been able to show appreciation in the form of dinner so far, but I must stress that the time and effort you have put in for both Linda and myself means the world to us at the moment. You ROCK! Absolutely Can-tastic effort Yan.

Linda has been busy lining up work. She's scored a short-term contract with an English teaching school, and is also chasing up a few other leads that has more to do with her journalist qualifications. There's heaps I have left out, but hey, there's only so many hours in a day. I better rock off to bed, its late, and I have to face HR tomorrow. Better have my wits about me.

Seeya
timmyb

Shanghai has bee 'declared' the most liveable city in the P.R.C. On one hand I'm glad to see that my new home for the next 3 years is considered somewhat a gem in the whole scheme of things, but somehow I still remain a little bit uneasy with this declaration. Maybe they've employed the same spin PR as Citizen Jim did during the Brisvegas glory years. I don't think the shortage at the Shang'ers Sperm Bank factored in this calculation assay though...

Shanghai: China's most liveable city 29/3/2005 17:04 From the English.Eastday.com:

Banking on its rapid economic growth, Shanghai was dubbed the most livable city in China. It was followed by Dalian and Beijing, according to a survey jointly conducted by the Business Weekly and Horizon Research at the end of last year, today's China Youth Post reported. A total of 3,212 urban residents aged 18 to 60 from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenyang, Xi'an, Ji'nan, Dalian and Xia'men were surveyed. According to the survey, nearly 48 percent of respondents considered convenient transportation a prerequisite for a liveable city; 46 percent thought cleanness, tidiness and a lack of pollution were necessary conditions, and nearly 44 percent considered good air quality a requirement. The proportions were higher than those who chose such factors as economic development, public security and social security. The survey indicated that the higher the educational level of the interviewees, the more attention they paid to environmental quality. Shanghai was selected the most livable city nationwide, mainly due to its strong economic strength. Dalian, with its beautiful environment, was second. Beijing, the capital city of China, ranked third with its various advantages. A coordinated development in environment, economy, politics and culture can foster a city with high values as a place to live, said a survey analyst.

I read a similar article in the Shanghai Daily earlier today. Cos' it wasn't free online, I had to resort to a Microshaft newslist, but I think you get the gist.

From MSNBC website: - Shanghai lifestyle takes toll on sperm: Updated: 12:55 a.m. ET March 28, 2005

Many would-be donors in bustling city turned away

SHANGHAI - The bright lights and fast living of China’s richest city have taken a heavy toll on the local sperm count, a newspaper said on Monday. Shanghai’s sperm bank had managed to collect just 6,000 samples in two years and many of those were of “poor quality,” the Shanghai Daily said. “More than 2,000 people came here for physical checks and only 400 were found to be qualified” to donate sperm, the newspaper quoted the sperm bank director, Li Zheng, as saying. Unhealthy lifestyles, emotional stress and environmental pollution were to blame for deteriorating quality, it added. Shanghai, trying to reverse more than a decade of slowing population growth, abolished rewards last September for married couples who decide not to have children. Almost a 10th of married couples in Shanghai were believed to be infertile, and about 10 percent of those turned to a sperm bank for help, it added. China imposes strict family planning rules that typically allow couples to have just one child. But those have eased over the years as it faces an estimated $300 billion shortfall in its pension system while its populace rapidly ages.

From the Shanghai Government Website

CityNews: City's sinking to be monitored A monitoring center to help control land subsidence in the Yangtze Delta region will go into full operation in Shanghai by 2007, the city's Housing and Land Administrative Bureau said yesterday. The geological problem is causing hundreds of billions of yuan in economic damages, and the new center will help regional officials plot tactics to control the sinking of the land. The network, headquartered at No. 930 Linshi Road, will comprise hundreds of monitoring stations in Shanghai and 13 major cities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, including Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. "The network is a collective effort to monitor land subsidence in the Yangtze Delta region, the country's most developed economic region," Liu Shouqi, a senior engineer in the bureau's geological supervision department, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. He said 32 monitoring stations have already been set up around the city. Each station consists of two steel tubes, one reaching base rock some 60 to 300 meters below ground and the other sunk into the surrounding soft earth. Subsidence is calculated by observing changes in distance between the two tubes. Shanghai has been sinking by an average 10 millimeters each year, mainly as a result of the overuse of underground water and the rapid construction of skyscrapers, geologists said. The situation is much better than in the 1960s, when the city sank by more than 100 millimeters a year - a rate that would have put it below sea level by 1999 if measures such as limiting building height and pumping water back underground hadn't been employed. A recent study overseen by the national Ministry of Land and Resources showed subsidence in the Yangtze Delta region has caused some 300 billion yuan (US$36 billion) in economic losses. "Land subsidence has caused extensive 'geological disasters' in the region," Guo Kunyi, the Nanjing-based chief engineer of the survey, told Wenhui Daily. Though he didn't specify the projects involved, he did say subsidence has caused damage to roads, bridges, ports, underground pipes, wells and flood management system in the delta region.

The application process for a P.R.C. Z class Visa (or r?®nzh?? visa) is somewhat complicated - particularly if most of the process will occur once you arrive in the P.R.C.

This was correct at the time of writing, however, entry visas into any country change at a drop of a hat - so make sure to follow up what you see here with your own research. I take no responsibility for any advice I offer here, you take this knowledge and either digest it or spit it out accordingly.

Here's a couple of pointers I've found useful in going about the process of obtaining a Z class visa for working in the P.R.C.

The best advice I got is to get an agent to do it for you (like the company handling mine). It saves you time, hassle, and a headache. But realistically, unless you work for a decent company that's prepared to pay for expensive agents like this, its up to you your own volition.

One of the major concerns that my [gf] and I had about relocating to Shanghai was her ability to find work. Our main worry was getting around the work visa situation, where you can only truly and legally stay in the P.R.C. if you have a Z class visa (r?®nzh?? visa). No other visa will do, well, that 's the official line anyhow.

After our initial orientation tour of the city, Lin emailed a manager from an English teaching school that specifically markets in the area of teaching English to children after school. She had seen an advertisement for a teaching position before she left Australia, however being in a different country and perhaps being inundated by similar introductory emails, she didn't get that particular position. However, about 4 minutes after she sent off her email with her new mobile number, Meyer from Kid
Castle called offering 6 weeks worth of temp work. Coincidentally, both of the Lowai English teachers at the school decided to go on holidays at the same time of year, and well they needed a replacement.

So with an appointment with Meyer obtained and the office address and maps in hand, Lin & I traipsed off to the Jing An district on the inner-west side of Puxi (the old town). I proceeded to get us 'waylaid' along the way (Linda prefers lost, but hey, at least I can navigate by the position of the sun!). No matter, we found the place after some helpful directions from the locals, the local traffic controllers, and by noticing less and less 'what the hell are you doing here?' stares as we entered areas where Lowais were meant to be.

I'm in Lilliput! Thank the stars that I haven't gone clothes shopping yet. Could be disappointing.

Just a quick word out to my peeps...

I hope you all have a great Easter and that you're safe & happy over the long weekend period. Safe travels too.

Most of my friends have known for quite a while, well at least the last couple of years, the fondness and love I had for my Nokia 5110. One of my first extravagant purchases back in 1999, I was sad to leave my orange beast behind when I moved to Shanghai last week. I really didn't mind bashing it against hard surfaces just to make the LCD screen work, nor was I unhappy regarding the short battery life. When you knew nothing else, it was easy not to get disappointed regarding you mobile phone.

However, I am now full of beans over my new mobile phone - the Sony Ericsson T628. Oh how sweet it is. After spending up and up and up on digitial and electronic goods before I left Oz, one component was missing in my quest to become one of the global digerati. With this new phone I realise how far I was behind the pack.

Preoccupied by my new toy, Linda has found it difficult to draw my attention to anything else we encounter during the day. I am VERY happy with the ease of sync'ing data between my Powerbook & the phone via Bluetooth. Its awesome. Plus there's heaps of other cool stuff I'm not really going to prattle on about.

Linda brought her T68i with her to Shanghai. Soon after we arrived, she managed to get a pre-paid SIM card fairly easily, and were astonished to see how cheap the phone calls & SMS text messages were compared to Australian rates. Given that I purchased my phone outright for approximately half to a third of the cost you'd expect to pay in Oz, we were rightly thinking that Optus, Telstra, Vodafone (and the others) are making quite a killing off the Australian consumer.

Mind you, China has over 350 million mobile phone users. Talk must be cheap here.

The first step in obtaining your working visa (Z class visa or renzhi visa) is obtaining a Health Certificate from the Chinese Government Immigration Department. Luckily, the application process for my Z class visa is managed by a specialised migration management company that my company outsources to for their overseas employees. This cuts through the administrivia I have to deal with, and of course, makes things so much easier as you have an experienced professional dealing with the government red tape.

Yesterday, Lin & I met up with Ella from the migration service. On first impressions, she struck me as being quite young about in her mid-twenties. We found out that Ella had graduated from Economic Law at Fudan University here in Shanghai, where she also learnt good conversational English. After exchanging pleasantries, small talk and receiving business cards (my first one!), we were bundled off into a taxi and made our way to the Shanghai International Travel Health Care Centre out in the Changning District near the Shanghai Zoo (about 20km away). It was a slow trip on the elevated ring road to get there - it took us about 30 minutes in the taxi (which only costs us AUD$9 - try and beat that in Brisneyland!). One thing that struck both of us on the way out was the complete and utter spread of high-rise buildings throughout the city. Not even in New York have I seen this much development over such a wide area. I guess when you have 20 million or so people crammed into the size of South-East Queensland the only way to house them is up and up and up.

Once we arrived at the Health Inspection Building, Ella took care of all the paperwork, costs while Lin & I just sat there in wonder at the uniforms of the nurses. Think Japanese Anim?© Nurse Uniforms - I'm not kidding. And in pink! With number 83 in hand, we waited for about 20 minutes before I was taken in to be processed. Ella informed us that the key to getting through quickly is getting there as soon as the doors open at 10am. We were a little bit late, but it didn't seem to be a lot of people to process, so I think that we were in luck!

It was the most thorough physical I've ever had - but I must admit I haven't had many of those. The process was carefully managed and very regimented. Don't cross the nurses! The laughable uniforms belie the cranky nurse attitude that is almost universal in my experience. After having my details entered into the system, the patients are asked to remove their clothes and to get into an examination robe (or so I thought). Luckily for me it wasn't a western-style bum-exposing version. After coming out in a somewhat Hugh-Hefner style ensembl?© (sans cigar & pneumatic beauties), I was berated for getting naked. Apparently something was lost in translation (yet again, and not for the last time), and I was only required to replace my shirt with the robe. I later found out that clear directions were on the back of the changing room doors, which I am certain my cubical didn't have that sign, so I'm going to plead ignorance. All applicants also had bootie protectors put over our shoes to stop those nasty germs!

The first stage was blood chemistry where two sample vials of blood were taken for analysis. Following this, I went to an ultrasound operator where they examined my abdomen and chest cavity for evidence of liver and lung damage (probably for hepatitis and tuberculosis). Then it was onto the eye exam where I was tested for colour blindness and vision (which I was told that I had good eyesight - yeah!). I was then shuffled into the next examination room where a chest x-ray was taken, again I presume looking for evidence of lung and pulmonary damage caused by diseases such as tuberculosis. There was then a long wait until I saw the next specialist, where a electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed. Finally it was off to the doctor where the results at hand were analysed and I was then poked and prodded and had my bits listened to. Luckily, there were no fingers in untoward areas, nor requests to turn to the left and cough twice, or for various excretory specimens.

So in a period of half an hour or so, all the tests had been performed and I was on my way. Most of the other foreigners in the inspection area were Japanese or Koreans, with a smattering of Lowais (Roundeye's) making up the numbers.

Afterwards, Ella, Lin & I caught a taxi to the French Concession shopping precinct area on Huahai Zonglu. We stopped off at a favourite foreigner haunt, Starbucks, for a coffee and finally some food. We then went off on a shopping expedition around the place, but I'll leave those details for another entry.

It was not confronting at all, and fairly pleasant experience.

Location Details:

Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center
1701 Hami Lu, Shanghai
+86 21-6268 6793

The process will probably be revised or changed at any opportunity, so you are best to consult the Shanghai Government Webpage for the latest updates. This page has a lot of information regarding the visa application process.

It has been a big day. Lin & I are just sitting back now and writing our emails and blog entries while listening to Recurring Dream by Crowded House. We needed a little bit of Antipodean brilliance to top off our first day in Shanghai.

Whoa - there were a lot of people. A real lot of people. In saying that, we both feel that the crowd was not intimidating at all. We felt almost 'at home', well, at least as at home as walking around your local supermarket in a chicken suit. We got a few looks, I reckon most of them went Lin's way, but hey, I'm not complaining. She's hot. However, we did both feel quite comfortable exploring the main CBD area of Shanghai and we're already planning a few more strolls in the next few days.

We left Pudong Airport customs at 7pm and after exploring the bus options, we chose to take a tout taxi to the centre of Shanghai. This involved our first taste of negotiations, to which we (believe) got a reasonable deal considering the trouble our drivers went through trying to find our hotel, the Pujiang Hotel. Several attempts at sign-language later, we managed to call the hotel and get specific directions. Being 50km away from our accommodation, we got to see a great deal of the Pudong area as we sped without seatbelts at 120km/h in and out of the traffic. I'm pleased to say I won't be driving here in Shanghai, and well, I don't think any driving in Australia could prepare you for the local way here in Shanghai. In saying that, I didn't feel any sense of danger even when we were encountered by cars reversing up off-ramps and trucks changing lanes at a whim.

After spending a lazy morning in our hotel getting things sorted (mainly an cable internet connection in the room - yeah!), we decided to hit the CBD and check out our surrounds. We ended up going for a decent half day's stroll which included a long and blustery walk along The Bund area, followed by a duck into the interesting and building-encroached 'laneway' Sichuan Nanlu from which we then joined up with the main street, Nanjing Donglu. Nanjing Donglu is described by the Lonely Planet Guide as Shanghai's (and perhaps China's) answer to London's Oxford Street or New York's 5th Avenue as a shopping venture. It was throbbing with retail and food stores. We spent a good part of the day wandering in and out of stores (skilfully avoiding the touts when possible), finding wonder in the smallest details, and never quite figuring out how to make a manageable path through the endless sea of people.

After picking up a SIM card for Lin's mobile phone, and assorted nibblies and drinks along the way, we eventually made our way down to Renmin (People's) Park. We thought the ¥2 entrance fee was a little steep particularly after we spent a good ¥20 each on a tiny glass of softdrink in Shanghai's No. 1 Department Store. This is in contrast to the 2 cans of cola and 4 large bottles of water bought in our hotel convenience shop for ¥18 total. So instead of taking in the surrounds of the potentially lovely park area, we found another suitable spot to sit down, eat, and to be approached by China's 1980's styled youth hairdressers (a sight to behold - they looked like a cross between The Cockroaches and an extra from E Street). From there we wandered back to our hotel through a little borough that appeared to contain any kind of electrical, electronic and scientific gadget (including microscopes!) on Earth. Electrical engineers & science nerds rejoice, a retail laneway for us!

One hangover from the day which will become tedious at a later stage will be the seemingly endless approaches from touts selling Rolex watches, shoes, jackets, the kitchen sink, etc. Choina is definitely a consumer society, well, at least they see any foreigner as a ravenous consumer. Mind you, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some certain items.

Better get back to it.
timmyb

We have another 4 hours before we land in Shanghai. There's enough time to watch a couple of more movies and perhaps also a start on a few more entries. Yeah, it might be considered geeky whipping out your Powerbook on the plane and looking all important (well at least to the old Chinese guy peering at my on my left), but hey, the in-flight movies are pretty awful. Mind you, I've already struck up one conversation in-transit with a fellow PowerBook owner, so this activity is definitely an ice-breaker. I'm sure we have both been lured by the same Apple spell.

Nonetheless, an Apple-prattle isn't the aim of this entry. It's mainly to say thanks and to let people know that we're really appreciative of the support and encouragement given to Lin & myself following our decision to relocate to Shanghai. We are currently a long way above the planet, somewhere north of Indonesia, about 2500 miles away from our starting point in fair Brisvegas. Our flight has been uneventful so far with just a few anxious moments encountered during our dash from Sydney's Domestic to International terminal. Picking up our TRS refunds and duty-free booze on the way, we finally made it to our gate. In typical airport style, the flight was 'temporarily delayed', which fortunately allowed us the time to get our poo in one sock and take a huge breath. This also allowed me to confirm our hotel booking, which was a whole other event in itself. I think breaking through the language barrier is going to be a little more difficult and a lot more fun that what I had first thought. ;)

Its finally time. My [gf] and I are off to Shanghai for the next 3 years. It seemed so far away when I made the decision to leave Brisneyland for Choina, but the realisation of the actual move has truly only hit me this week.

Its been a hectic time. With farewells, endless running around, last minute packing (what I should be doing right now in fact), and pondering about my imminent future, time has flown. I spent most of today organising myself and my packages. I knew this previously, but cramming your only worldly possessions into 3 tea chest boxes is kind of deflating. I am leaving a great deal of goods/junk out at KD with my olds, stuff I haven't really had to the chance to sort through and I doubt will be able to address by the end of this evening. My [gf] and her sister no. 4 came around today to drop off her airfreight for Shanghai, during which it was stated (understated that is) that I hadn't done much packing. Yeah, I've been slack, but I've also been busy doing other things that won't be commented on here. Don't doubt their importance, but yeah, I've been taking my eye off the ball so to speak.

Its going to be a late night and an even earlier morning tomorrow. Rising before 5am has always been something I've tried to avoid, but tomorrow it will be a necessity. Our flight from Brisvegas leaves at 7:10am, and given our remote status out at KD (just before the Black Stump), we'll all need the extra time to organise our morning and arrive at the BNE Airport.

There will be a crowd there to send us off. My [gf] and sisters No. 1, 2 & 4 will be there to say goodbye, as will my parents, Boo & DannyJ. I was able to say goodnight to BBH tonight; he joined our farewell drinks afternoon at Hotel Indooroopilly with my [gf]'s and her sisters and my Pa & Ma. I've enjoyed a few quiet ales this afternoon, and I think it might make packing all that more enjoyable this evening... ;) I also enjoyed a fantastic 'final' meal at the Pig & Whistle Pub at Indooroopilly. A 280g Prime Eye Fillet Steak. YUM!

Now it is down to a final packing spree, cleaning up my office area, and getting a good amount of ZZZ's that will enable me to attack tomorrow.

I'm excited. I'm going to Choina, and I'm going with a fantastic girlfriend, and I've been promised an awesome opportunity for the future.

I'm a lucky guy...!

With the help of my family & my [gf]'s sister no. 3, we threw together a farewell BBQ at New Farm Park. I've posted a few pictures from the day in my photo gallery, which you can access by clicking right here.

The last few days have been hectic. So much has come to fruition with respect to our impending move. There's just a few more things to sort out. Inoculations, packing, sorting and organising the process of relocating. In essence there's not that much more to do. But it still seems like there's a few hurdles to pass, and with the closing of our deadline, each task presents its own challenges.

My uni stuff is pretty much sorted; well, besides the whole submitting my thesis thing. Ugh, I don't want to talk about it, let alone write about it. Luckily, I have the tools to finish it off at my disposal, so that's going to be a boon to make sure I sort out this whole UQ PhD mess I've muddled my way through.

I can't wait to start a new chapter of my life. It is sad to say farewell to my friends though. I'll miss them, hopefully they'll start reading some of what I write a little more often and keep in touch that way.

Better fly...

Oh my, why didn't I do this earlier...

I am completely under the Apple spell right now. After a few years persisting with my iBook running 10.2.8, I have finally upgraded to the latest 15" Powerbook. All I can say is WOW! It rocks - completely and absolutely. It is a great toy, and it is crunching through all the processes my G3 iBook struggled with for so long. I should have done this much earlier.

It wasn't an easy task getting this system. Apart from the rigmarole of dealing with my now ex-investment company, it took absolutely ages to get this system from Infinite F#ckups. Despite assurances that the system would be ready by the 10th of March, to my *disbelief*, it wasn't there...! Shock! Horror! A relatively calm phone call whilst impersonating an on edge postal service representative later (and dealing with another agent), my problem was solved. Due to the pain and suffering involved, I managed to wing a couple of free bonuses, such as an STM Glove, a wheel mouse and a $50 voucher to spend in the store (with which I contributed further to and purchased Apple's iWork software). One word of advice, don't rely on any delivery deadline they state. Get angry.

Apple Australia is having a special promotion right now to coincide with the start of the University year; buy an Apple laptop & a 20Gb iPod, and get $200 back by rebate. So obligingly, I'm now the owner of an 4th generation iPod. Shifting my entire music collection to MP3 has been an onerous task, but well worth it. My [gf] wasn't too happy with my choice to format it for use with Apple systems, but hey, it was my $$$. I don't think I'll raise the amount of $$$ I owe her right now, but babe, you can use the iPod anytime (I'm not using it...) ;P .

We'll work it out my sweet!

Gee, I'm feeling so rooted. There's still so much to do, particularly with respect to packing and sending of our goods. Not to mention my PhD work; my productivity has dried up in the last week as I've become pre-occupied with organising the move and then procrastinating at every other opportunity. Well, that may have been harsh on myself, but definitely most of the options I've had haven't been urgent priorities (such as a thesis chapter or two).

Good news is that the tickets, visas, finances, and hotel accommodation are all sorted. Most of my paperwork is in order, and most things are under control.

I'm still waiting for my laptop - the 'oh so rushed off their feet' people at Infinite F#ckups managed to waylay my Powerbook in the last week. I'm assured that one will be there for me before the 10th of March, but somehow I'm uneasy about this date. Many, many of their clients at UQ have been screwed around by their timetables, and well, it did take them about 1 week to send me a bill so I could pay for the damn thing. Sound pretty busy don't they? Well, imagine my surprise to see 5 lackeys doing absolutely f#ck all behind the counter upon my arrival at their store. So much for stocktake eh?

One good thing is that my frustration has been noted and I'm receiving a few different perks on top of my order. Complain enough, and well, you'll eventually get the service you should have received in the first place.

My [gf] wrote to me yesterday. With her ease of writing, she perfectly described a sense that I have been experiencing over the past weeks.

I don't think she'll be too upset by me posting this snippet, so stay tuned for any repercussions... This is what she had to say...

I'm still feeling a bit detached from the whole moving-to-China thing. It hasn't really sunk in yet. I kind of realised that when I was reading your blog today. Every so often I'll get these little micro-flashes of realisation, but they never last long enough for me to hang onto them. The other day I was walking along near some shops and was thinking how easy and familiar it all was, and I got this yawning sensation as I realised it will be a long time until I'll get that feeling regularly again.

We've talked about the realisation of our move, and I'm sure we have both underestimated the enormity of our decision to move to Shanghai. I've been experiencing the same flashes of realisation as my [gf]. Whether its time spent at the local shops picking up a few things, engaging in some small-talk with the guy at the video store, or setting an order at your favourite eatery, my sub-conscious has been screaming to such an extent that a little voice can be heard saying 'It won't be this easy in China... you better savour every last minute of this ease and familiarity'.

I'm certainly going to miss my afternoon drink & chat sessions with my Da & DannyJ, morning chats with my Ma, and any type of niggle I have with my sister. I'm sure my [gf] is going to miss the stinky Brunswick St. Mall people who ask her for ciggies/dollars/her number while she has lunch. And I'm going to miss lunch with J & BBH. Small things, but sometimes they mean the world.

Getting home early isn't something I've done too much of lately, but one perk of doing so (besides drinking beers with my Da) is watching prime time TV. And one choice last night was Channel 9's travel show, Getaway. Known for its hosts wearing skimpy outfits and being former models or certified horn-bags, they traipse around the planet making travel look oh so easy and oh so affordable (until you see the trip summaries at the end of the show).

Anyhow, they had a quick segment on Shanghai last night. One problem with my shift to Shanghai is that I have no idea what the city actually looks like. The Getaway program really did address my want for seeing the city. It looked fab. Mind you, I'm sure they only showed the better parts of the city, but that's what you expect from a travel show.

Here is where you can find the website transcript of their story. Go and check it out.

Today was the 19th last day I will be in Brisbane. Whoa - it really hit me today. Its very daunting, moving countries, changing jobs, moving in with your [gf], putting yourself in a new & very foreign environment, leaving before finishing your PhD, and leaving your family.

I don't do things by half do I? ;)

This realisation has suddenly made me feel a lot heavier, a lot older, and very anxious. Pressures that have originated from ourselves and our peers are starting to take a toll on my easy going nature (this would explain my opinion in a prior posting...).

My [gf] & I have done quite well to get ready for our move to Shanghai. Essentially, all the financial and logistic considerations have been addressed, and we've been left with looking after all the trimmings and perks of leaving your country.

We still need to organise the boxing of our possessions that we wish to ship to the P.R.C. I don't think I'll be taking too many items, mainly clothes, a few books, and for me personally an absolute stack of scientific papers.

But with new gadgets in hand, and a sense of adventure, I think we're going to have a great time in Shanghai.

Everyone's saying we're going to have the best time, and a few people have said they're jealous of our opportunity.

Others have said they don't want us to go, or, would prefer us to move somewhere else to a society that we'd be more at home in.