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past few days of sleeping i've had the worst neck pains in the middle of the night when i change positions. i finally figured out the reason: my pillow is stacked abnormally high (because i'm usually surfing the web right before i sleep), so i sleep with my neck at an awkward 45 degrees angle. i'm surprised i haven't woken up with some stiffness, but now that i know the reason, my pillows will be stacked at a reasonable height from now on.

i wore my snap button blue shirt this morning, the one i puked all over friday evening and thought i'd ruined. i was sure there were permanent stains, but they seem to be gone, or faded enough that i didn't notice. this means i may not have to go to chongqing after all this saturday, because my primary reason was to buy a new blue shirt. i haven't done any chongqing sightseeing in a while, since all my recent visits were related to procuring more clothes. maybe i can do a little of that this saturday, along with some shopping. i plan on going early.

at the bus stop i said good morning to ms.pan and shirley. shirley's roommate also greeted me.

after weeks of calculated planning, i finally managed to have a long pleasant conversation with zengfei. it seemed she was determined to wait for the medium bus, as i was as well. when it arrived we climbed onboard. although we didn't sit together - i sat at one of the single seats - she scooched over so we were sitting next to each other, separated only by the aisle. our ride time was extended because somebody called asking for the medium bus to turn back around to pick them up because they were late. i didn't mind. behind us, in boxes, were some pomelos for some reason. i asked her about her job: what exactly is the function of the warehouse department? she explained it to me but i probably understood less than half. something about keeping track of materials. i told her it seemed like a tough job because they constantly have to be out on the construction site but she said as an assistant she works the desk mostly, and being outside the air is better than inside the stuffy office. i asked how long she's been working here, she said since august of last year, so more than a year now. i noticed she was wearing perfume and in talking with her, i couldn't help but admire her nice bone structure. i asked where she was from, she said wanzhou, and was surprised when i said i knew the place because a few other office people were from there (lihui, wangyan). i asked her how she got into the warehouse business, and she said her college major was english, nothing construction-related. she'd heard i was from america and asked how long i've worked there. i told her i don't just work there, i grew up there and live there too. "with your wife?" she asked. "no, i'm single," reflexively raising my hand to show her i wasn't wearing a ring. i asked her what she does on the weekends. besides the typical answer of sleep-clean-laundry, she also enjoys going to karaoke clubs with friends. she told me she was going on her 10-day vacation today, which would explain her backpack. she said she was going to shanghai before going home to wanzhou. this was her first time visiting shanghai. before we got off the bus, i told her if i didn't see her again, to have a pleasant trip.

i didn't even get a chance to listen to the 24 beatles album i uploaded onto my mp3 player. but someone this seemed a little more worthwhile.

once more yuwei was missing from the office, even though wangyan told me she'd be here. her absence was starting to get critical, and middle management finally had to get involved, asking wangyan to call yuwei and find out where she was. about an hour later i was surprised to see yuwei at her desk. she was in one of her moods, and didn't even register my existence, which was fine with me, because if i was her boss i would've fired her. otherwise the rest of the day was uneventful. i did a little bit of work, chatted with sunmeng some more (she said her ex-bf called last night to apologize, they might get back together, who knows), and snacked from all the edible goodies i had hidden in my desk drawers.

because i went to bed at 1:00 last night, i wanted to try taking a nap after lunch. but i'm just not used to office napping, and ended up staying wide awake during the one hour break. afterwards, around 1:00 in the afternoon, i was once again devoid of energy. i quickly fixed myself a cup of coffee but it had little use. only after some more text chatting with sunmeng did i feel revitalized.

i wanted to go running today, but by late afternoon the sky darkened and a fine misty cold drizzle started to fall. the race track would be closed of course. however, that chengdu guy talked to me today about buying a used gym membership from somebody in the office, 4 months of gym use for around RMB$200-300. i'm definitely interested. i hate being held hostage from my running due to persistent terrible weather. i still prefer running outside, but i can do other things at the gym like work on my nonexistent guns. i'll talk to him tomorrow.

after the office dinner i came straight home. i'd also thought about going to old changshou to look for new bedsheets, but not if it's raining. i really had nothing else to do and already prepared for bed by 7:40. maybe i'll watch a movie before going to sleep around 9:00.

at 9:00 i got a call from yuwei. i seriously thought about not answering, because 1) i was already in bed, and 2) she's kind of crazy. but fearing the repercussions, i picked up the phone. she asked me if i wanted to go to karaoke with her and wangyan. like, now. "how long?" i asked. "2-3 hours," she said. any other time i would, but tonight was my special night of treating myself to some early sleep. seems like the occasion was yuwei's birthday a few days ago. i was torn. maybe if someone else invited me (fy or zf for instance) i wouldn't hesitate, but i just couldn't tonight. she said no worries, i wished her a happy birthday and hung up. oh china!