Am a little sick, so no energy to form coherent sentences. Here is a short recap, to be edited later:

Wednesday 5/26/04

Today I bought eleven more pairs of underwear (grand total comes to 22), and 18 DVDs.

Ate Korean food

Was lucky and flagged a Mercedes taxi, one of seven in Shanghai, and rode with the windows down, taking in the warm night air and watching the city pass by, as Careless Whispers and Hotel California played in the background.

Walking around today, I saw a condom vending machine on the street. I was surprised; I didn’t think attitudes toward sex were so open here!

Beard papa’s cream puffs have taken their place equally beside Lawry’s prime rib for my all time favorite foods. This is, I know, a momentous event. I feel kind of guilty, like I’m cheating on Lawry’s by loving the cream puffs so much. My life in Shanghai literally revolves around the cream puffs: whenever anyone gives me directions, I get disoriented unless they tell me the location relative to the cream puff stand.

Thursday

Got my hair done today. Not too wild of a style and they didn’t color it, but I like it very much. Kind of reminds me of a really log mullet, like Joe Dirt meets Flashdance. Very fob.

Met friend, Jane, at Vidal Sassoon.

Went to Pegasus, a nightclub packed with expats. I didn’t notice too much drinking—how do these people stay up so late without drinking??

Friday

Took at 45-minute train ride to Suzhou
Called the “Venice of the East” with canals and waterways. Visited the Garden of the Master of the Nets, and the Blue Wave garden. Amazing how peaceful the gardens sound when just outside the walls there is a bustling city.

Ordered in Malaysian food and watched the Office on DVD with Liana and Jen. Then both of them went out clubbing and I fell immediately asleep.