Sinead's visit

My friend from Uni, Sinead came to visit this weekend, which was nice. Its funny though, Sinead and I used to be real party animals and I find these days I am not at all in the mood. Mostly because of my fear of hangovers. These days I find myself saying 'no thank you I've had enough' after two glasses of wine. Not the Anna of the past!! Still three glasses these days and I'm trashed and hung over in the morning.

I also feel I lack the motivation. A friend Connie has suggested meeting up this weekend, but she starts the night at 10pm and drinks til 1 and I just cant do that anymore and also I have come to truly dislike the bar scene. I find I avoid Connie because I'm scared of going out with her. I get so bored in bars that I'm likely to push that 2 drink limit and once I;'ve gone over 3 it can be difficult to apply the breaks. Right now I almost feel like I want to hibernate until May when the warm weather kicks in.

Proud to be an American

I am now a fully fledged U.S. Citizen. 4 hour of anxious waiting ; A tense 4 min interview... (are you a Habitual drunkard?.. No). The swearing in ceremony was a little bit sentimental (we Americans tend to be a tinsy bit centimental) which made me want to laugh hysterically or start sobbing. Luckily I maintained dignity - even through the video of the song 'Proud to be an American', and Bush's speech:


This is a very good thing because me breaking down in a mixture of hysterical laughing and crying is no good thing (ask my dad about a Sunday mass, many years ago, in a local church in Brooklyn: an 80 year old couple renewing their wedding vows to the tones of Frank Sinatra singing 'True Love' from High Society). Seriously I am kind of proud to be an American - although equally proud to be British (OK so a tinsy bit more proud to be a Brit - RULE BRITANNIA, Britannia rules the waves... - I had my fingers crossed during the part where I had to renounce the Queen) . There aren't many places in the world where people are so privileged. Shit America has hair frosting, laser hair removal, great sushi, good gyms, clean water, safe food, hospitals.... AND well its really become my home over the last 9 years and it feels good to know it always will be.

It was funny I asked a girl on the street for directions to the PATH in Newark and hearing m English accent she said, 'where are you from'. I said actually I'm American, but only for about 15 minutes. She said why did you do that. Well, said I, its funny but its really because I want to move to Mexico...

And if you want to get a feel for what the interivew was like:

A little nervous....

Just about to get in the shower and make my self beautiful for my IMMIGRATION INTERVIEW!!! Its 6.30 am right now and I have to be at the Interview and Oath Ceremony site 30 mins before my 8.40am interview. I'm told this should be a breeze - but with so much hanging in the balance I cant help feeling butterflies in my stomach. There is a chance I will be sworn in today also (but this is a very slim chance). I'll likely be sent away to wait for my swearing in date notification. At that point I'll swear allegiance to the flag and exchange my Green Card for a certificate of citizenship, which I can then use to apply for a US passport. There should be only a maximum of 5 days where I'm unable to travel, so my Mexico trip in April should be safe.
OK signing out - fingers crossed!

Meditation Laurie

Went to a really good guided meditation class led by my yoga teacher Laurie last night. Candles, rose petals, sage smudging and peacock feathers. Very relaxing. She's going to be running these every two weeks so I'm quite excited. She read this poem which I really liked:

metamorphosis

-danna faulds

Called beyond the confines of this chrysalis by a force I cannot see or name, I am compelled by pain and something bigger than myself to leave the protection of all that I have known. there is struggle, doubt, a awkward setting forth. finally I break free of the cocoon and find myself surrounded by air and light.

I dare to act, still not knowing what I am; instinct, or maybe faith bids me move forward, make the leap, explore this mystery of change and flight.

I find myself with wings that dwarf my former world. Unfurled, they dry quickly in the sun. I, who expect to spend my days crawling, now teach myself to soar. Such a rush of wind and freedom- that first flight teaches me more than I had learned in a lifetime of crawling.

Namaste.

Ticker tape parade

Yesterday morning there was a ticker-tape parade this morning to celebrate the Giants’ surprise victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl
Despite the clouds, the warm weather made it feel like Spring. My walk into work, down Broadway was made entertaining by the thousands of fans who'd lined up to see the Giants in their victory march to City Hall. I think I read that up to 1 million people were expected. So there they were with their little blue faces. Every time a car or garbage truck drove by hooting its horn a huge roar erupted. Brought a little tear to my eye!
By 11 the streets were full. We had a birds eye view from the window of our boardroom which looks right up Broadway, over Bowling Green.

Other things about Shanghai

I have picked up a few useful tit bits:

Business Cards: Apparently it is very bad manners to just hand a business card to someone in any old fashion. The card should be presented with two hands (one in each corner of the card); the card should be face up and the writing facing in the direction that makes it easy for the recipient to read it.

Body Contact: The Chinese are very easy going about body contact. It seems cool to get up very close and personal. Even in the street it is quite acceptable for someone to brush past you rather than give you a wide berth. When we bought a subway ticket for me it was fine for Yelin to lean over the person using the machine in front of us and assist her with her transaction (this would not go down so well in NYC!).

Ordering in Restaurants: It seems to be the custom that the host orders the food (foul luck for me).

Bartering: If the store is not government controlled, bartering is expected. When I went shopping with Pam, the lady I met from Boston, she often managed to get her price reduced by as much as 90%!! Most I managed was 50% I'm too soft.

Eye contact: Again this seems OK. I made the mistake of sitting at a window in Starbucks (I know I'm ashamed but I needed a Chai Latte). A group of men sat on a ledge outside of the window and began to openly discuss me - staring at me unashamedly and gesturing towards me as they spoke. Even the homeless in NY who've opted out of most of societies rules would find this type of behavior distasteful:) I found it kind of amusing and you could tell they were well intentioned.
Morning Exercise: On the way to work I would pass large groups of people taking their morning exercise:

People in our Shanghai office: Were very nice, Yelin, me and Annie:
This picture was taken on the last night when we went out for dinner in the revolving restaurant on top of my hotel. The views were pretty amazing:I also visited a Chinese Buddhist temple:

Groundhog Day - Yesterday

Yesterday was Groundhog Day and Pennsylvania Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Saw his Shadow and Predicted 6 More Weeks of Winter. BUGGAR!! Although at least the end is in sight. I was hunkering down for the long hall. 6 weeks is doable. 50 degrees today which makes me wonder if Phil might be off the mark....