Part 1.

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These photos of Anna in Shanghai were taken in March 2009, nearly a year ago, but I didn’t get around to editing them until now. (Sorry Anna!) First time I met Anna I thought she looked just like a cat, and it’s not everyday I meet someone who looks like a cat so I asked to take a few photos of her. The shoot got plenty of attention from onlookers. Thanks Jenny and Joe for helping!

Part 2.

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Went to Hooters in Lujiazui last night. Every few minutes the waitresses would all do a little dance in unison. (See above video.) They do this at the Hongqiao restaurant also. I don’t think they do this in the US (at least not at the two I’ve been to in the Bay Area), but they should. Men want to be served food by dancing cheerleaders. Would be even better if they sat down and fed you.

Interesting tidbit: I went with a friend and we both look Chinese (you know, slant eyes and all), but we were greeted and served in English. In fact I think all of their waitresses speak English proficiently. Plenty of American franchises in Shanghai but I think Hooters is the only one that tries to remain American. Or maybe Hooters doesn’t get many Chinese customers.

Curious how much a Hooters Girl makes in China? According to their employment page, 3500 to 5000 RMB per month for a full-timer. Roughly the same as what a new grad would make in an office, but probably with more opportunities to meet whities.

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Happy Chinese New Year! Gung hay fat choy! And to all my Jewish friends, feliz navidad! Rode out on my bike last night for Chinese New Year’s Eve fireworks. At midnight I was on a ferry crossing the Huangpu River. Nice view on the boat. Got to see fireworks all around. Recorded some of it in the above video. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, happy Valentine’s Day too, if you’re into that crap.

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Samurai Spirit 7 by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau

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Rent: 1000 RMB/mo ($146/mo)
Utilities: ~300 RMB/mo (~$44/mo)
Ayi: 100 RMB/mo ($15/mo)
These are after splitting three ways. Normally I don’t like living with others but this really saves a lot of money. And both girls have good hygiene so I don’t mind. When I see piss on the rim of the toilet, I know it’s my own. I also like how the rooms smell nice. Not sure how we spend so much on utilities though.

Dinner: ~1100 RMB/mo (~$161/mo)
That’s an average of about 37 RMB per night for dinner, usually for two. No surprise, Chinese food in China is cheap. And in downtown Shanghai there are websites (in Chinese) where you can order from a huge list of local restaurants. No need for Sherpa’s, unless you’re a white guy without a Chinese girlfriend.

Lunch and snacks: ~500 RMB/mo (~$73/mo)
I’m a loner and usually have a simple lunch by myself. This ranges from 8 RMB for eight dumpling-like things to 30 RMB for a Subway’s sandwich of the day, foot-long. Once in a while I’ll have a sandwich from Pier 39, which is literally next door to where I work (for now), but nowadays I consider spending 45 RMB on a meal for one extravagant.

Commute: ~260 RMB/mo ($38/mo)
That’s for taking the metro everyday, and occasionally taking taxi. I’d actually get to work faster if I ride my bike or even walk the whole way but that’s too much leg exercise. I need to work on my belly, not my legs.

Well that’s about it for what I consider my “living expense.” Adding clothes and mobile phone service, and excluding miscellaneous spending like web hosting bills and flight tickets, the total’s about 3000 RMB or $439 each month. This works for me, and I imagine it would work for anyone who’s not married, isn’t a snob about food and shelter, and practices the Chinese art of Zhái. A great thing about Shanghai is you can be frugal and live a very comfortable life at the same time.

A couple links you might find useful:

• Shanghai cost of living — My post from October 2008, back when I lived in the boondocks, thought 100 RMB open bar was a good deal, and pretended to be social. Nowadays I have better things to do than see my friends.
• Living Cost in Shanghai (2007) — Wangjianshuo’s post, which says for the amount I’m paying for rent my place “must be a pretty old one, with smell, and dirt.” I’m sure he meant “must have character, aroma, and soil of the people.”

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Ewa by Aneta Kowalczyk

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Yesterday's The Past I by Kim Joanne

See previously featured photos here.

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Margaret White by Sinsong

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Due to your automated security measures, I had to change passwords multiple times, a send money attempt failed, and two of my subscriptions got canceled — both of which had special rates at the time I subscribed. Your location confirmation by phone did not work, and overall it took weeks to get this resolved.

You can imagine my frustration. Just tell me how to prevent these account limitations in the future. Note that I live overseas (in Shanghai) which I’m guessing was why the security measure got kicked in. Now that you know, please let me know what can be done to avoid this in the future.

I would like a real person to respond. DO NOT SEND ME AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE. I’d call you guys but your “call us” link brings up a “500 Internal Server Error” page.

I know I’m gonna get an automated response. PayPal has never answered my emails.

Update:
I was right. They didn’t even read my email:

Dear Daniel Kwan,

Thank you for inquiring as to how to restore access to your account.

PayPal is constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening
the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account and need
more information to help us provide you with secure service. Until we
can collect this information, your access to sensitive account features
will be limited.

To return your account to regular standing, please complete the
checklist items indicated when you login to your account and click on
the link provided on the “Account Overview” page.

The link will appear as: “Your account access is limited: Click here for
Details.”

Once you complete all of the checklist items, our Account Review team
will review your case and send you an email with the outcome of the
review. Cases are reviewed in the order they are received.

We regret any inconvenience, and we would like to restore your access as
soon as possible.

Please do not respond to this email, as responses to this message will
not be answered.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Team

Fucking PayPal… Anyone know how to get in touch with an actual customer service rep? Do they even have any?

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