15 reasons to feel like the luckiest girl in Shanghai

1. muddy buddies
2. Milk Duds
3. Orbitz Sweet Mint gum (2)
4. gummy bears
5. peach O's
6. antibacterial hand lotion (Midnight Pomegranate & Sensual Amber)
7. dental floss
8. Earl Grey tea
9. corn Chex
10. Whole Foods chocolate cherry crunch trail mix
11. Ouchless hair elastics
12. kettle cooked chips
13. sexy underwear
14. sickeningly sweet card
15. most thoughtful boyfriend imaginable

yin & yang

It has been 2 months and 2 days since my arrival in Shanghai. During that time I have toured the city many times over, visiting sites seen over a decade ago, eating street foods that should by all rights not be sitting as well with me as they have been, and bargaining so hard I've got shopkeepers still running to catch me so they can make that last sale. I've traveled to Chengdu, Zhouzhuang, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah - sometimes alone, other times not. I've met some of the coolest people imaginable. I've been to some of the "dopest" bars and clubs in town. I've experienced the most romantic and relaxing week of my life.


I've learned that, when it comes to academics, the locals have all the brains and conceptual knowledge and the foreign students have all the communication skills and ability to draw conclusions. It seems there is always a shortcut to getting the work done, and scheduling a group meeting that might conflict with any mealtime is considered a grave offense. I know now that there really is only so much you can fit into a 3-week-long course, and it isn't much. Despite this fact, finals worth 60-70% of the total grade are no laughing matter. I am continually frustrated by the fact that my school is the only one among all the exchange programs represented here that insists on transferring not only credits, but grades.

Today I saw a taxi driver peeing on the outer wall of the school. I was passed by a man on a bike wearing house slippers. I saw a baby wearing "poopy-pants" - pants with a strategically-placed, very revealing slit to facilitate what we in b-school term "ease of doing business." As I pedaled home into the sunset I breathed in deep lungfuls of air that smelled like burning dirt.

This morning I began feeling increasingly frustrated about a long-distance relationship that in some very slight ways reminds me of the last one I was in. Again, with the pushing, and I don't know how to stop. I am So In Love With This Man, which is why I experience waves of incredible sadness when I find myself directing my irritation his way*. It was inevitable, with the staggering number of Skype minutes that have been logged, that the bar would be set too high and parties would ultimately be disappointed. So expectations will be recalibrated and life will go on - still, it's disappointing - or, depending on your point of view, reassuring? - to find that no relationship is exempt from the occasional bumpiness.

I have 2 more months in this country. While I'm absolutely looking forward to experiencing whatever they may bring, at the end of the day it will be nice to come home.

* In that sense, this relationship is very much UNlike any other relationship I've been in!!

run for cover - Wipha attacks!

Dear Kind Students at CEIBS Who Just Braved Gale Force Winds To Attend Asinine Team Meeting On Campus,

It’s informed by the Government that a strong typhoon will attack Shanghai from this evening to tomorrow. Please take care of yourself. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Best Regards,
CEIBS Administration

Um.... ya think? http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-09/18/content_6115588.htm

Hello from Shanghai!

...er...

Okay, I lied. I admit it! Your hello is from far less exotic New York City. H chose to study in a strange, faraway land that doesn't allow its citizens to access Blogspot, and now for the next several months she's bestowed me upon you instead. So here I am: so gracious!, guest blogger extraordinaire, at your bloggity service.

Clearly I cannot even hope to match H's unparalleled wit and charm, but with all the time I am spending NOT being a member of facebook, I will entertain in my best imitation of H-style, whilst she eats dumplings and has WAY too much vacation for her own good.

Happy reading, y'all!

and now for something completely different...

Before I commence the next adventure, Getting My MBA: Shanghai Edition, I thought it might be most appropriate to blog one last time. In case, you know, I lose touch for the next four months.

This has been perhaps the shortest summer I have ever known. With a full-time internship, visits w/ STM on weekends and a Moroccan adventure, I have had barely enough time for myself. Strangely, this has not been a burden, but rather a welcome change of pace. Perhaps it's the new MBA mentality, but it seems that the busier I am, the more content I become. Something about living life to its fullest?

The internship ended with a whimper. My team didn't place in the company-wide case competition, a veritable upset if ever there was one. The projects I had been working on remain as works in progress (WIP), and it is unknown if one of them will ever get off the ground. Fresh back in the States, I somehow found myself giving a very brief and jet-lagged presentation to VPs from across the company on "What I Did This Summer." Despite whatever I might have perceived as foibles of the experience, however, I received this past Friday an offer to continue full time following my graduation. The only problem? No Houston office.

Which brings me to STM. We're still great and completely head over heels... So much so that we are now entering a new phase in our relationship... in which he becomes the newest fan of Anything But Country. Welcome!

Morocco was incredible - perhaps the most unique and eye opening country to which I have traveled thus far. I have plenty of pictures for those interested, but for now I leave you with one of my favorite photos from the entire experience.

food fest

I ate my way through July 4th. And the next 4 days. Because I feel too disgusted with myself to put into words the horror that I have inflicted upon my body, I leave you with a brief photo essay of my extended weekend.

funk

This weather is really starting to get me down. Work has been work - interesting and increasingly busy. I haven't spent as much time with the other interns as I should, because after a day of sitting inside and knowing that home is a mere 5 minute commute, all I want to do is not talk about work. Or schmooze. But I'm not going home just to sit on my ass, mind you. In my spare time, in between moments of undisciplined procrastinating on trashy news websites or Facebook, I have been slowly working on a paper that should have been done May 9. Yes, I am quite aware it is June 27. I have been spending the vast majority of weekend time with STM. I adore having him back, but I find myself becoming quite crabby as of late. Again - must be the weather. Most of it is due to the fact that so many people demand his time, and he is often too nice to say no. Recently I have started to wonder if this will continue to be the case, even as/after we merge lives. Aside from all that, I have a trip to Morocco to prepare for, a case competition presentation to build, a semester abroad to start thinking about... I will be missing out on 2 amazing weddings this summer due to various conflicts. I eat like crap, and then I feel like crap, and then the thought of eating more crap makes me feel queasy so I skip meals, and then when I eat again it's more crap. I can't work out because I am too cheap to buy a gym membership when I know it will go unused, and it's too damned rainy to run outside. Where is that scorching Texas sun when you need it?

easy street... kind of

Yesterday I returned from the most highly anticipated, incredibly amazing reunion of my life.

When I finally saw STM's smiling face as he walked towards me from the terminal, I knew that things hadn't changed. And they just got better from there.

This past weekend was filled with many firsts. First time to meet the parents. To meet the bro. To meet the whole damned extended family, actually. To have dim sum in Houston. To see my boyfriend become a doctor.

Every day I am more deeply enamored. With him, there is a connection that I have never felt before. If it didn't feel so natural, the fact that he can read my thoughts after 7 months of long distance would be downright creepy.

Life together is unimaginably easy. We just need to get through next year's hurdles before we can truly enjoy it.

the final push

I've become the girlfriend I never wanted to be, and I hate myself for it. I go through irrational mood swings, I need constant affirmation and I say things I don't mean in order to bait him into saying what I want to hear.

I'm pushing. I know I'm pushing, and yet the more I see it, the more of a problem it becomes.

drunk drunk srunk

This weekend, which should have been spent studying for my Entrepreneurial Law final, was instead spent marinating my liver.

On Thursday night I celebrated the last Doggett class of my career. Of course, in the spring I will likely have the option to take another joyous class with him, but... Never Again, No Way, No How. So back to Thursday. Seeing as last weekend's Thursday involved me and an altercation with my friend Patrón, I decided to stick to beer. This decision was also in anticipation of Friday's annual Beer Olympics. So really, I was doing myself a favor by pregaming.

My state the next morning was worse than the one in which Patrón left me the week prior. (Irrelevant!) I quickly put my game face on and headed to Beer Olympics.

Me +
case chug w/ 9 teammates +
tricycle race +
dizzy bat +
egg race +
flip cup tournament +
straw chug +
waterfall +
[insert drinking games that I was too sloshed to remember playing here] +
3 boot-and-rallies
=
a good time had by all + NO HANGOVER!!


From there, I did not go home to take a cold shower. Nay, I headed straight to the last Wine Club event of the year, an evening to top all evenings, complete with epicurean delights and all the wine I could handle. Have I mentioned how great b-school is?

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

OW

Holy Mother of God, I am never exercising again.

I recently took up running, with encouragement from T. And to make it known just how serious I was, I turned in my 6 year old running shoes and bought fancy new ones. I mean, PEOPLE - I had a running specialist look at my stride, just to make sure I was making a worthwhile investment!

Since then, I have been running 3-4 times a week. I still hate it, but overall I do actually feel better for tormenting myself. Which is why, when I suspected I was getting shin splints from too much running, I got really annoyed. But I decided to hold off on the running thing for a while.

Fast forward to today. 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.

No matter, I said. A, henceforth to be known as X, had finally mailed me the last of my belongings, including a pair of rollerblades. Instead of letting my aching shins get the best of me, I decided to partake of some good old fashioned low-impact exercise - and perhaps even get a semblance of a tan.

Now, I would normally refrain from putting any degree of nudity on this site, but the debacle that ensued is too good to keep to myself:



Seriously, the exercise gods must have something against me.

only in Austin

Received in my school inbox today:

If you or someone you know touched a bat near the south end of Bellmont (off of San Jacinto St., across from the Alumni Center) on Monday, April 23, 2007, Environmental Health & Safety needs to talk to you. Please call Environmental Health & Safety, 471-5776 / 471-3511 or call the City of Austin Health and Human Services Department, 512-972-5590, and report that you touched a bat. Thank You.

take me out to the Tavern

Few things make me miss Boston more than when watching a Red Sox game, let alone one as fantastic as tonight's game - arguably a sweep to rival the Reverse Sweep of 2004. OK, maybe not quite.

I received an elated call from the bro who asked if I was watching as I heard Varitek claim the 4th straight homer in the background. Terrible fan that I am, I not only did not remember the Sox were playing the Yankees, but I don't even have cable. Or a subscription to MLB.com. Having met no Sox fan neighbors or nearby pals who would be remotely interested or available, I did what any self-respecting member of the Red Sox Nation would do.

I went to a sports bar by myself.

Well, not by myself exactly. I had my text messaging friends:

"what's with the pitchers' necklaces?"
"it's pimpstyle"
"matsuzaka sucks."

So, fine, it was somewhat sad. But totally worth it when I got props from the other Sox fans for showing up solo, and even more worth it when Papelbon smoked Jeter and Damon.

Suckers.

little things

these past 6 months have been incredible
i wish i could have spent them all with you

He may not be here to hold my hand through the night, but he does a pretty OK job at letting me know he's still around.

update, abridged

Job update: day after blogging about job concerns, among others... Success! Again! Still have job, now waiting for paperwork & word on negotiated time off.

Also feeling markedly better RE: STM situation. Getting better at distracting self.

wtf

Well... the nerves have decided to stick around for a while. The good news: my lack of appetite comes just in time for bikini season (which, in TX, apparently starts in March, so technically I'm behind schedule).

I haven't heard from my place of [now potential?] summer employment since before spring break. This is unnerving for several reasons: since I last spoke to them, they did a drug test and checked my references. I'm less concerned about the test and more concerned about the references. One of them I hadn't spoken to in about 5 years, another could have gone either way. Regardless - what is the hold up? The flexibility of my summer is quickly becoming much less so, and I would like to know whether a.) I will have enough time for a quick "hop" to Malaysia pre-job, b.) I will be able to pick up STM from the airport upon his much awaited arrival and c.) if I will be able to attend STM's graduation. The latter 2 fall on weekdays and are of fairly high priority, so knowing what my employment requirements are on those days is of utmost importance. Of course, knowing whether or not I STILL HAVE A JOB is even more important...

Additionally, this week includes the the day on which I am to be verbally massacred in my Class From Hell. I volunteered to present a case, about which I know essentially nothing, to a classroom full of Subject Matter Experts. All in the name of procuring an above average participation grade, which counts for a full 50% of the final grade.

I don't know if I will be able to complete my independent study. Part of this is due to factors outside of my control, but another part of me wonders if I would be in this predicament if I had decided to just stick with 5 classes, or if I hadn't gone to Turkey and Greece. The answer to this is invariably, NO, you moron, you brought this misery upon yourself and now you have less than a month to pull your shit together. That said, I would go to Turkey and Greece all over again, given the chance. Screw you, independent study.

Despite what appears to be a deluge of distractions, it's all I can do to focus on the rational, somewhat controllable parts of my life. I miss him constantly. By the 2 week mark I thought that things would have settled at least somewhat, but instead I find myself evaluating my days based on whether or not I was able to talk to him. This cannot be the healthiest way to go about my day, but I think I've somehow forgotten how to be sane.

for a change

First off, I highly recommend a visit to Istanbul and Budapest. Athens, perhaps if you have some spare time and cash, but the rude people and busy streets hardly make the trip worth it. Istanbul is a fascinating balance of Muslim culture, friendly faces, exotic shopping - um, hello, Grand Bazaar anyone? - and secular business practices. It's also a land of smoking hotttt jeans and unidentifiable yet delectable meat.

Second, I accepted a job offer for the summer. Sadly, I will remain within the stifling confines of TX - the DFW area, no less - but I'm pretty sure it's going to make for a kick ass experience. And I'm not talking about the fact that I will be living with my parents for several months.

Finally... most importantly, or at least that's what I tend to think given the percent of my day dedicated to thinking about it... I have an amazing, amazing man in my life. He does things on a regular basis that leave me in awe and make me lose my breath. He is everything, everything, I've ever wanted in a partner. Prior to spring break I had the luxury of having him around 24/7 for more or less a month, and it was just... perfect. From the very beginning we both acknowledged that we didn't quite know where things were headed but we agreed to do what felt right.

Honestly, nothing has ever felt this right. Which is, i suppose, why it's so frightening. The whole uncharted territory thing.

There is so much I feel I still don't know about him, and the thought of not being able to sit down for an extended period of time and really commit myself to knowing him inside and out is less than ideal. This time around, I don't have the benefit of all my friends knowing all his dirty secrets and being able to tell me how he really feels about me, about life. How else am I supposed to know if he even thinks of me while traveling for 8 weeks? How will he handle the fact that I will be in Shanghai for the fall semester? Does he get jealous? Lonely? Would he even tell me? The absolute last thing I'm looking for is another failed long-distance relationship.

Yet he has done nothing to deserve such a third degree, which is why I don't bring it up when he calls just to say hi from Paris. Experience has already shown that not only is he very self-aware, but he will answer anything I ask him, and honestly. Besides, I already know he loves me, I know he thinks of me, I know he cherishes our time together as much as I do and I know he looks forward to our future.

So why am I so damned stressed?

flowers & chocolate, oh my

Ahh, the much anticipated update. Life has been hectic, mainly due to a newly-revised set of priorities these days:

1. find internship
2. spend time with STM
3. don't get called on in hellishly difficult but intensely fascinating and worthwhile international management course
4. stop being sick all the time

This month has been great because I got to see AV, on her way across the country to establish new roots! One evening in Austin is never enough time to adequately represent this fine city, but we did our best, making the obligatory stop at a hallowed Real World Austin spot. If only I hadn't been recovering from what was either a bacterial stomach bug, a virus or food poisoning. What good is dating a doctor when he can't even properly diagnose you, let alone prescribe you drugs??

Speaking of - Valentine's Day was, contrary to popular belief, pretty amazing. I was the lucky recipient of day-before-V-Day roses (nearly a week later, they still look decent!), a surprise 7 AM breakfast of eggs Benedict, a packed lunch ready to go in a fancy new lunchbox (chosen for maximum cheesiness), and a delicious and romantic 5 course meal that included everything from Möet to shrimp amuse-bouches to duck paté to seared scallops and strawberry-champagne sorbet.

Since then, I have been working my ass off to write two 5-page case analyses for aforementioned hard-as-balls class, write one 3-page case analysis for missing Strategic Management due to hauling my unsettled stomach to Health Services, write up an impression of my interview with a very nice applicant to Tufts and interview like nobody's business.

Finally - progress. Write-up of interview with very nice applicant, one 5-page and one 3 page case analysis? Done. Internship offer? Got that too. Not to say that I'm going to cancel all pending interviews, because I mean, really - who would turn down a final round interview in Charlotte when all expenses are being covered?

Being in b-school is niiiiice.

very much needed snow day: update II

Classes tomorrow cancelled until 11 am. I have to say, missing a full week of 8 am Strategic Management has made this week infinitely more bearable. I don't have to go to a single one of those classes to know that it will be entirely useless to me and the rest of Cohort 2.

very much needed snow day: update

In case anyone's counting, tomorrow will be day 2 of the Great Texas Freakout of 2007. Not that it matters to me, but at least I know I won't be missing out on anything on campus.

I am loving life right about now.

very much needed snow day

Today I am reveling in the glory that is my first Inclement Weather day since returning to school. Which is made even more glorious because this semester I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

In celebration, I braved the icy streets to rendezvous with T for a night of Greys Anatomy, Ben & Jerry's, face masks and girl talk. We slept until 10:20 this morning and awoke to an ice-glazed wonderland. Craving an elaborate breakfast, we confirmed that Kerbey Lane was, indeed one of the few Austin-tatious establishments still open, and raced over for a breakfast of Earl Grey, cowboy queso, pumpkin pancakes and french toast. Before heading over, we had to break into my car:

happy new year, indeed

Despite my firm resolve to never do long distance again, to enjoy singledom for an extended period of time, I am off the market again. However, it IS in accordance with my resolution to be spontaneous, and I'm going into it with experienced caution rather than naive optimism.

I have found something too good to pass up. And right now, I prefer a failed attempt at something amazing over a missed opportunity.