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my day was anchored by 2 events: pansusu getting angry at his coworkers for not checking manhour numbers prior to negotations and then salt & pepper ribs hot pot after work.

the office flare up came during a time when the koreans were trying to push for the transmittal of several big money claims. they wanted everything signed off on by today, so they could be agreed upon by the owners this weekend. however when pansusu saw such lopsided numbers for the chinese half of the consortium, he wanted his cost control team to check over the figures. i was snared right in the middle since i was the chinese team member who adjusted those manhour numbers in the first place. by the end of the day only 2 of the claims went out while the largest of the three was still being worked on and some bad blood between the chinese and korean sides of the consortium. all i know is tomorrow is saturday and i don't intend to do a lot of work.

after work the 4 members of the contract team (new guy, mahui, lixiaoli, xianglian) along with lihui came with me to the salt and pepper ribs hot pot restaurant. the place is always packed for dinner and i had to make a reservation yesterday afternoon to make sure we'd be able to eat today. the restaurant decor isn't anything special, and it's actually a little dirty with greasy floors, an a little noisy with local patrons, but apparently the food is very good. i for one thought it was only okay, a big pot of broth stuffed with ribs, lotus roots, and potatoes. my favorite restaurant in all of new changshou is still the chicken parts gan guo across from the gym. mahui, true to her word, pushed for xianglian and i to get together at every opportunity she could get.

afterwards everyone went their separate ways while i followed xianglian to the plaza where she wanted to do some dancing. she saw someone she recognized: turns out it was her "boyfriend," this young man she normally sits with on the morning bus when she isn't on the rare occasion sitting with me. apparently he likes to do some night dancing as well. it was a little awkward and i felt a little jealous, but he was their with either his girlfriend or his wife. xianglian gave him her purse and coat and ran off to dance. this guy and i ended up standing and watching from the back. xianglian is quite the dancer and is totally uninhibited out in the plaza. i wasn't jealous anymore, but it was still a little awkward. i discovered he's from the dongbei area as well, jilin. after 2 songs, all of us went to the mall to use the bathroom before i walked xianglian home.

i picked up a custard pastry (RMB$3.5) on my way home. the lady workers their all know me and giggle when i come in. they also know what i like, "a custard, right?" one of them asked me.