ugh, 2:53am - just finished calling a crapload of US schools for a whiney mother. a girl signed up with us last week and her application deadlines are DECEMBER 1. WTF!?!?!

doing educational counseling in china has shown me a lot about the different socio-economic statuses in shanghai. these families are lucky that i don't speak chinese fluently, or i'd seriously translate all the cursing that i say in english.

language barriers - i love and hate it.
love it because it keeps me from hearing the slander coming from chinese parents' mouths and stops me from telling them to go fcuk themselves.
hate it because its what causes the slander in the first place. if only there was some kind of universal language... oh right, i just learned, there is one - esperanto. who'dda thunk?

again, if you have any pictures (see previous post)... PREASE SEND!!! - even if they're not of schooly things.. i need pictures from all y'all buddies to keep me sane at my stress-filled job.

language @%!$ #2: trying to buy a puff pastry. even pointing at the darned pastry didn't work. oh, china...

all i really want to do is take chinese language courses for a full year. mom? dad? )

i really miss each and every one of you reading this right now... comment if you miss me back and beware, i can see your footprints so i'll know who doesn't miss me too *sob*

hello to all you educated college students/graduates,

like the title says, i need your help! i'm publishing an article about "studying in the U.S." in a
magazine/newspaper in china, and the editor wants pictures of college
students by college landmarks/U.S. landmarks. if you have any pictures
that might fit this description, please send them to
cathryn.masuda@gmail.com . i'll let you know if i can use it (i.e. no
drunk people, no nudity, etc. ) and will definitely give you a copy
of the publication when it comes out. unfortunately, i don't really
have appropriate PG13 "study in the US!" type photos of my own

please, send anything - near tommy trojan, near your school mascot, at
graduation, near a school landmark, by the golden gate bridge, at the
statue of liberty, etc. i have a pic at the statue of liberty, but it's
just me - i need pics with 3+ people in 'em ... group pics would be v.awesome.

i would be v. grateful for your assistance!

last night was one of the truly saddest moments i've had in a while.

i spent the day with my mom and aunty and adriel - shopping, eating, relaxing, talking, chatting - just having a really great time. adeylish had to leave around 7:20pm to catch a flight to guangzhou for a project, and i spent the next several hours with my fam.

then i took a cab home.

saying goodbyes to my mom was so hard, i could feel my voice quivering as we exchanged words and hugs. as the cab drove away, i couldn't help but let the tears run down my face. i just said goodbye to two of my most-loved ones in a city where i can't have any meaningful conversations with anyone but my roomie.

it's a good thing Boots was waiting for me at home. and that AD's plane landed just when i stepped into my apt, so at least i had my candy again i called my mom to tell her i got back safely, then spoke to AD again, well, more like sobbed to him. that phone call definitely helped me sleep last night.

this morning i made the decision to not go into work until after my mom left for the airport. told my boss, cabbed to their hotel, then spent the next 3.5 hours eating, chatting, and shopping i can seriously say i enjoyed every second of this morning. saying goodbye the second time definitely wasn't as hard as the night before, that's for sure.

sighhhh. i really miss my family. it was so great to spend a little less than two days with my mom and aunty, but i wish i had a week or two to enjoy their company. seeing them for that short period of time was such a teaser... i wonder when i'll ever see my family again. i'd like to return home at least once a year, but i don't know if that's possible or feasible. better yet, i'd like them to come to shanghai more often, but i know for sure i'll never see my dad here.

so as i wet all of AD's important documents with my tears while typing this entry and while Boots is meowing for attention, i can't help but wish that i could at least find comfort in my adeylish. at least he'll only be away for two weeks and not for the initial three weeks.

promise to put up some photos of Shanghai and Berlin after i get over his uber-lonely, tear-and-snot-filled, homesick slump. wish me luck~

hallo! i'm in Berlin for the next 5 days - 2 of which i'll be attending the ICEF workshop and representing my company, and 2 of which i'll be working from an intenet cafe and trying to get some sightseeing in (along with visiting beer gardens!) -- if anyone knows of any good spots to visit/see/eat at in Berlin, pls leave me a comment!  i'm staying near the zoologischer gartens (sp?), if that means anything to anyone.

okay, going to bed - early day of workshop tomorrow! just spent almost an entire day on planes and in Heathrow... time to sleep - gute nacht!

... so i thought, what better time for a quick update?  this past week has been great - an entire week off from work to celebrate the national holiday / autumn festival /  general malaise.  i had a lot to catch up on - cleaning the house, taking care of errands, doing heaps of laundry in our tiny washer, etc., but it's a lot nicer doing those chores than going to work. as much as i love work, i must admit that i love doing house chores. maybe it's all the Desperate Housewives i've been watching. bought seasons 1 & 2 so i could catch up on the episodes i missed over the past year. and oh, dvd gluttony is lovely.

in other news: my mom is coming to visit in just a few weeks! she and my aunty are going on a tour around china, and their last stop is in shanghai. sweeeet. i can't wait to see my mum! speaking of which, i received a package this morning from her that contained lipton instant green tea, my beloved greatlash mascara, and a maybelline eye stick that i can't find in china. anywho, she addressed it wrongly, but it still got to our apartment - heh. honestly, i thought i'd never receive it since she wrote the address incorrectly but WAA, it got here! )

okay, time for pics. i apologize for the lousy content - i haven't been carrying my camera around with me lately. adeylish and i have tried a million new restaurants, but i haven't been able to document them. ah, we'll probably be back to them again soon so i'll be sure to post more restaurant pics for those who are interested. in the meantime, hope you enjoy these!

 
L'arbre de Provence - 4F, Metro City, just outside the Line 1 Xujiahui stop
ooh, this is my new favorite vegetarian restaurant. it may even be my new favorite restaurant! L'arbre de Provence serves an extensive lunch (RMB 40) and dinner (RMB 75) buffet that will probably turn you into a vegetarian if you aren't already one. they're famous for their 'beef steak', which surprisingly does not taste like all other soy-made-fake-meat products out there. tender and chewy without all the blood and moral guilt! they even have a really good vegan lap cheung (lup cheong?) that made me reminisce about eating in hawaii. the food ranges from western to indian to northern chinese to cantonese and more. dinner includes unlimited fresh juices, soymilk, and coffee, while lunch does not. bonus: they change their buffet everyday! we've dined there for dinner 3 times and once for lunch - that's really how amazing it is. they also have an extensive menu, if you don't feel like stuffing your face like i love doing. if you're going for the dinner buffet, try to get there well before 8:30pm, when they shut it down.  verdict: A+++!



here are two of our other "new faves":
Vedas Cuisine & Lounge - 550 Jianguo Xi Lu by Wulumuqi Lu
Vedas has an amazing sunday brunch that will blow your mind if you enjoy indian cuisine. we hadn't eaten indian since HK, so we were really excited to find a great indian restaurant in shanghai. their sunday brunch makes you feel like royalty - 100 RMB for all you can eat, and the servers come to your table and serve you without asking. we got there right when they opened at 11am (brunch ends at 3pm), so our service was excellent before the place got uber-crowded. even though they seemed understaffed at the time, they still did a good job of filling our plates and stomachs with delicious curries, tandoori meats, and kebabs. the menu changes slightly every sunday, but we haven't had the chance to go back since. you also get butter naan, masala tea, and gulab jamun with your brunch - a perfect way to spend your sunday mid-day. oh, i forgot an important factor - the decor is one of the nicest i've seen in a while. i don't know how to describe it except indian-posh. anyway, eat brunch there. NOW.
---
Moon River Diner - 5F, Brilliance Mall, 88 Xianxia Xi Lu at Hami Lu
Moon River actually has 3 diners throughout shanghai, but this one's our favorite 'coz it's new, it's spacey, and it's closer than the others. the diners are spread out around the outskirts of shanghai, making it a bit of trek to get to, but it's really worth the travel time. we ate at their Gubei shop also, but the Brilliance mall takes the cake. when you get there, the servers bring you a plate of perfectly seasoned fresh popcorn, and you order from a menu that resembles a newspaper. the menu's quite extensive too - a good amount of breakfast dishes, tons of sandwiches and burgers, and they even have four vegetarian entrees! score my favorite food item there is the malt - their strawberry malt reminds of when i used to make strawberry Quik milk drinks when i was 7. do try their roasted vegetable muffulata (i think that's what its called, i've ordered it twice but got too caught up in the food) - roasted veggies with melted cheese on focaccia bread + fries = SO much better than City Diner's roasted eggplant burger. their apple pie and carrot cake aren't bad either, and if you love bleu cheese like adriel, then order the blue burger - you won't be disappointed. another A+ )
plus, the owner is from hawaii so i have to support my hometown entrepreneurs. AND they're opening up a new shop just two blocks north of us - i predict i'll have gained 20 more lbs from eating their every night. good thing i bought myself an elliptical trainer, a new stepper, exercise mat, and dumbbells. i'll definitely need them to ward off the weight!


my company's mother company gave us mooncake coupons, so i took a half day off and went to get them with adeylish - my first real mooncake experience! i have to admit that i do love their pasty, highly caloric goodness - but only when they're not the traditional salty egg yolk/lotus paste barf. so far i've gotten so many free mooncake coupons, it feels like christmas in my apartment. starbucks has some great pumpkin cheese flavored ones, and the coconut mooncakes are also deelish. OOH!  Ganso bakery came out with ice cream mooncakes - and they really are out of this world! <--pun intended. if you're in shanghai reading this, don't get the star-shaped ones - get the square ones 'coz they're covered in waffle cookie! mmm.
---
the same day we went to get the mooncakes above, i saw this mother and her child - it's hard to believe that even in a developed city like shanghai, people still push their kids around in things like this and dress their kids in split-seamed pants still.  in beijing, i saw this stuff everywhere. i also had to pee in squatters while in beijing's nice buildings. but in shanghai, i haven't had to squat once. so i didn't expect to see this in the city. but ah well, it's china - i can't expect too much.

i caught adeylish cheating on me with another woman. he even got her tattooed on his left deltoid. so i left him for another handsome, strapping chinese guy - isn't he cute?

be careful - people with handbags crossing the street  ---  tim! i finally put up this pic! i wish i had a burger named after me.

and now, Boots!  curled up in AD's lap  ---  curled up on the couch while i watch family guy

mid kiss  ---  mid yawn

tonight's dinner: Broccoli, Peppers, and Tofu Saute
based loosely off of the glenny's broccoli saute recipe.
i had to bend it a bit to fit what we had in the kitchen, so here goes:

Ingredients:    

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
4 small squares pressed tofu, thinly sliced strips
2 cups roasted red and yellow bell peppers (capsicum)
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add broccoli and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add tofu strips and cook for another 2-3 minutes. When broccoli is crisp, add the roasted peppers, marjoram, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix together and stir until heated through. Serve and enjoy!

i roasted my peppers over the gas element and they were deelish! my first time roasting peppers - i think i'm going to start experimenting more with roasted peppers, maybe a sandwich or a dip! eeeee exciting! since most apts in china don't come equipped with ovens, i'm thinking about saving up and buying a mini oven mid-november, just in time for thanksgiving. hope i can save enough - i really want to try this vegan pumpkin pie recipe i found. wow, it's 1:19am now... okay, time to go.  hope you enjoyed that totally random update - even though i'm uber-busy with work and then eating out at night for dinner and can't xanga much anymore, i do sneak in the occasional subscription read during work -- shhh  happy end-of-national-holiday, everyone.

must make this fast as i have tons of work to do, but working in china rules

a box was delivered to our office a few days ago and its been sitting in the middle of our office untouched.  since nobody knew what it was, my coworker opened it, and it turned out to be a box filled with fake leather purses!  hahaha

there's a poorly written invoice on it, so if we can't find the box's rightful owners, i think each girl in the office will be sporting a new bag next week ) heeheehee

thanks for the comments )  totally made my day.
and my evening.
why?
because my shanghai luck continues to follow every step i take, literally.
---
it was a mad rush to get into the subway car this evening.  for some reason, there were a ton of people getting out of the subway car - usually not that many people get out, as most people there are leaving that area from work.  anyway, it took so long for everyone to get out of the car that only a few seconds remained to get into the car.  as i stepped into the car, the lady in front of me was pushed back, forcing my foot out of the car and INTO THE GAP BETWEEN THE SUBWAY CAR AND PLATFORM.  in less than a second, i found myself half sticking out of the ground, my entire right leg up to my groin completely out of sight, with only my fat office-ass keeping me from falling into the tunnel.

thankfully, the woman who had been pushed grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the underground abyss, even though the doors had closed on her.  haha, i said "abyss."  anywho... just had to add that to my CRAPPEE list; that is, my list of "Cat's Random Adverse Poor-timed Pathetic Everyday Experiences."

*the following pictures are an artist's rendition of tonight's incidences*

.....

i swear, i must have been a mass murderer in my past life to have this kind of crap happen to me so often.  adriel always tries to console me with, "this kind of stuff happens to everyone" - but honestly, find me someone who has caused the loss of a loved one, lost three bikes (one of which i had for one week, the most recent one that had THREE locks on it, wtf), had her laptop and other stuff stolen while five people were asleep in the apt on her birthday (sorry, you too gary), had her parked car involved in a hit-and-run on the one day she parked it on the street, has her food order messed up 50% of the time, saw her luggage "drive" away, falls in the 3-4" wide space between the subway and the platform, and other various random messed-up crap that happens randomly. 

if you do find someone who fits that description, give them my contact info 'coz they're probably my soulmate.  we'll call each other, meet for dinner, both get our orders messed up by horrible kitchen staff, bitch about it to each other, then find joy because someone finally understand us, walk out of the restaurant hand in hand, then both get hit by a runaway cement truck or struck by lightning.  honestly, given my luck, i bet there's more of a chance that the cement truck hits me than the lightning
---
in other news, adeylish and i ate at Moon River Diner tonight - hooooly bejeezus.  most awesome diner ever.  instead of pre-meal bread, they give you light salted/buttered popcorn, they had three vegetarian entrees (!!! chili, tofu burger, grilled veggie sandwich on foccacia with seasoned fries <-- DEELISH), and a perfectly moist-but-not-too-oily carrot cake.  mmm...  AD ordered their fried chicken, which was more baked (almost like Homestyle Chicken for all you Kamehameha grads - oooh, drool) than fried, yet still delicious.  heaping portions + a great dessert + funky atmosphere with a bebel gilberto remix cd playing in the background = A+++!

a more-than-satisfying meal after playing around in Decathalon (sporting goods store) and a long evening of trying to hail cabs and falling into subway tunnels = time to PTFO!  <-- 4 eProps if you can figure that out.  and 2 to mellowmichelliowifey for catching my sarcasm, hurr hurr.  going to nurse my bruised leg and stretched belly now -- ciao~

here goes another Good-Bad-Good sandwich--

Good: i've finally started taking public transportation to work -- both the bus and subway.  partially because it's been raining almost non-stop for the past few days, and i didn't want to ride back home in the rain.

Bad: since i left my bike at work that one night and caught the subway the next day, my bike got stolen!!!  make that Bike #3 which cat has lost in the past four years.  SCORE -- ugh.  makes me sick... i must have done some pretty horrible isht in my past life to deserve always getting stuff stolen/lost. 

Good: the reason why i didn't realize my bike was gone earlier is because i've been extremely busy at work, staying overtime and working at home.  why is this a good thing?  because it hopefully means more moneyyyyyy!  always a good thing.  i'm being praised at work because i already have a few students signed up with me, and the aussie boy has zip.  zilch, i says, zer0!

so... hopefully if i work my ass off hard enough and am successful with these students, i will eventually have enough money to buy another bicycle.  it's a pity, really... it was a really nice white cruiser... sigh.  but by that point, it will already be fall/winter and riding a bike will become a drag in the freezing weather.  GO LIFE!  YOU ROCK!!!  *2 eProps if you noticed the extreme sarcasm there*

am at work and will close this before my boss sees.  ciaooo~  thanks for commenting if you did in the last post.  for the rest of yous who tiptoe around my xanga without commenting - I CAN SEE YOUR FOOTPRINTS!!!

for your viewing pleasure... a photo blog by AD and Cat (but mostly just Cat.)  if you make it all the way through, you can see the latest addition to our household

concentrating on the DS Lite while the lady below reads the newspaper  ---  watching china fly by
(photos by adriel)
---

umm...  ---  20 million hamburger buns to feed the population of Shanghai
---

C and i hitching a ride in 'old shanghai'  ---  sooo excited we live 5 mins from Honeymoon Dessert
---

this is what i thought of Cha Tea  ---  we left Cha Tea to eat the best Papa John's pizza ever, hahaha
---

Zhuang Jia Yuan has amazing Dongbei food  ---  including my new fave dish, Basi Digua
which is deep fried sweet potato chopped up and covered in spun sugar.  you dip the pieces in cold water to harden the spun sugar, making the most delicious treat ever.  if you want reasonably priced dongbei food in shanghai, visit Zhuang Jia Yuan at: #208 Tianping Lu, Xujiahui
---

all this + another soymilk = $2 USD... oh, i love food in china  ---  one of the many inexpensive, canteen style eateries
---

don't tell AD that i found a new boyfriend   ---  our first homecooked meal on our first free night!
---

RMB 98 for all-you-can-eat gourmet dim sum at Ye Shanghai = SO WORTH IT!  18 dishes between the two of us, mmm  ---  a peach and cherry pavlova from an ozzie at the Garden Books Farmers Market
---

on the train to Nanjing  ---  my student's family treated me to an amazing vegetarian feast - yowza!
---

Cafe Du Monde, another MUST TRY restaurant in Shanghai.  not affiliated with the Cafe Du Mondes of New Orleans, this small restaurant serves delicious beignets and coffees like i would imagine they do in New Orleans.  i think beignets are my new favorite fried pastries, even better than malasadas and you tiao.  this cafe's salads and sandwiches were delicious too - do try their spinach salad with pecans and raisins and the louisiana sausage po'boy.  YUM.  Building 6, 555 Gubei Lu.
---

roasting chestnuts in the 30 degree weather  ---  and the idiots who purchase and devour the chestnuts
---

even my massive strength can't stop the bull  ---  grinning from ear to ear because of...
---

our new kitty, Boots!  ---  she's got stunning green eyes that match our apartment's walls
we just picked her up earlier today from the SCAA adoption day at O Malleys.  it took her about an hour to come out from under the bed, but she's since been exploring every room, balcony, cabinet, and window sill in our apartment.  she's warming up to us a lot quicker than we thought she would )
---

while Bootsie chows down on her tuna and prawn dish, adey and i shovel two 10" pizzas into our starving bodies
---
and that's a wrap!  please leave a comment even if you never do  -  i love hearing from all of you, i do, i do!

the good news:  i spent the past two days in 南京 (Nanjing) consulting a high school senior who is interested in US colleges.  my supervisor and i stayed at a decent hotel on the 东南大学 campus, got treated to lunch with one of her colleagues who goes to Hawaii every january (he's been to HI 20 times!), went to dinner with the girl's family -- took me to a famous vegetarian restaurant! -- and got to spend a lot of time chatting w/my supervisor.

the bad news:  i left my luggage in the taxi.  adriel and i were so engrossed in conversation during the taxi ride from the train station to dinner that we completely forgot about my luggage.  sigh.  i lost a lot of things that were dear to me - my lovely white flats from new zealand, a new, pricey top i just bought, a neck pillow i just bought on my last trip to NYC, my favorite blanket, hair dryer, burberry umbrella, etc. etc.   oh well... live and learn.

the good news:  the reason why we forgot about my luggage was -- I'M SIGNING MY WORK CONTRACT!  why is this exciting?  i had asked for a month's trial of work to be cautious and test out how working there was... you know, so i didn't get locked in for a year if i hated it.  but i love my job, and my supervisor discussed the work contract with me on the train ride back from nanjing today.  basically she offered me a salary DOUBLE what i'm getting paid now.  yaaaaaaaaay.  i won't get any commission fees, but i think it's safer to have a "cushier" paycheck than to make my money off of commission. 

so... although i lost some of my dearest things in the trunk of some shanghai indian red taxi, at least i'll have the cash to buy new things.  the value and meaning i have for all the lost items can never be replaced, but i learned my lesson and am somewhat comforted by the fact that in another month, hopefully i'll be able to replace some of those things.  *sigh*

time to drown my sorrows in biscuits, cookies, and The Lake House. will comment later when i'm not bummed about losing my luggage.