stepping out my door i was surprised by how cold it was. still, i rolled up my sleeves, i don't like them all the way down. outside the building i released my automatic umbrella in one graceful motion and proceded to walk to the bus stop in the rain.
i waited outside the bus until the moment it was about to go. that's when i saw wangyan running down the other side of the street (in probably platform heels no less), whimpering in her distinctive bubbly voice for her bus driver not to leave without her. since she's a hire of the korean half of the consortium, she rides the korean shuttle, which is a longer walk for her than if she just took our bus.
it's the start of school so there was an influx of little chinese kids wandering the streets. i saw a little boy who must've been 6 or 7 cross a busy road by himself. our bus passed by dangerously close to him, he seemed unfazed, standing on the divider. where are the crossing guards? where are the parents?
i had an empty seat next to me on the bus. i'm usually so worried that ms.yu might be forced to sit next to me because there aren't any other free seats available, i completely forgot about the other ongoing awkward drama: the chubby girl came on the bus and pushed a few other passengers just to grab the seat next to mine. she seemed so happy, like she won a prize or something. once again we sat together in silence. when i got off the bus, she seemed to be waiting for me and asked how come i didn't have any meat buns. i told her i ate a hard-boiled egg in the apartment.
i had a mild headache once i arrived in the office, probably because i didn't drink enough fluids this morning. i should get some soy milk or something. or some hot beverage, like instant milk tea.
i pretty much had nothing to do today. instead of being miserable about it, i figured i'd enjoy the free time, since probably at some future date i'll be so busy i'll wish i had this free time. once i embraced the nothingness, time seemed to pass so much faster. i did do something, which was to secretly write yesterday's blog entry. from a distance it looks like i'm working because it looks like i'm writing some complicated letter but it's actually just a blog posting.
i used the crappy earbuds i got from old changshou yesterday. i can tell they're crappy without even listening to them because they're not properly shielded and the earbuds snap together due to the magnets inside.
after lunch i couldn't stand being in the office anymore, so i grabbed my umbrella and stood in the courtyard for about 10 minutes in the rain, trying to get a GPS fix on my tablet PC so i could figure out my exact location.
later in the afternoon i talked with mr.ma, head of admin. i told him in no uncertain terms that i wanted to stay in my current apartment. i learned from my mistake, didn't say anything that he could misconstrue as i really wanted an upgrade but just too polite to accept one. so it looks like i'm staying put! i did request some taller stools for the island in my kitchen. i also asked mr.ma when i'd get paid. money goes out on the 15th. RMB$2000 of my salary will be deducted for taxes, while mr.wu gets a RMB$500 cut per month as well. i'm not sure why i need to pay china taxes if i'm a foreign national, but taxes must be paid, whether it's china or back home in the US, you can't escape it. mr.ma also told me he back dated my start date to the beginning of the month (august 1st) instead of the the actual date (august 10th) since i had to stay in shanghai for 2 extra weeks.
i gave fengya a copy of my music collection, all 400 songs. i told her to tell me which songs she likes, and which she doesn't, but if she hates all of them, she has to lie to me and still tell me they're good because i take my music very personally.
after work i promised myself i'd go running, rain or shine. ms. pan was the last person to get on the bus so she sat in the folding front seat. i noticed she put on her seatbelt, which is a good thing considering she's probably more forwardly located than the driver. i was also worried because the windows were foggy up and i couldn't be sure if the driver could see anything.
i made a quick stop at the large supermarket to get a few things: a dozen case of bottled water (RMB$8.20), a cutting board (RMB$12.90), some more teas (black and jasmine), and a bread roll. i also found a small incense section and bought a can of sandalwood incense (RMB$7.90).
back at home, i changed into my running clothes including my contact lenses. i actually took a shower before i left, not sure why since i would get dirty again. i didn't bring anything except my mp3 player and my house key. i was actually kind of excited to be running again after a few years hiatus. my adaid-brand running shoes felt pretty good for an RMB$70 knock-off. when i got to the stadium though, the track field was closed. they should be opened until 9:00 (it was around 7:30), probably closed due to the rain. i did a lap around the outside of the stadium (dark with some car traffic) before deciding to just go home and come back another day.
while doing a load of laundry, i took another shower. i tried one of the coil incense. it had a pleasant smell, and came with its own metal bendable incense stand in the shape of a crane. with my old incense, it only lasts for about 20 minutes. this coil incense though, around 3-4 hours.
