7:10 Okay no more snoozing. Check my email and send out a few quick replies. Procrastinate getting ready.
7:25 After drinking a glass of water, putting on my contacts, and brushing my teeth, I open Rodney Yee’s 50 Min Accelerated Yoga on my laptop and skip 1/3 of the first part. I can’t do the whole thing because then I’ll be late to work. Note to self: set alarm to 6:30 tomorrow. My new German flatmate comes out of his room just as I’m doing downward dog. I say “Good morning” upside down. He kind of grunts and scampers into the bathroom, a shy pudgy guy. I have little patience to try to be this 20 year old boy's friend right now, Shanghai is just too transitory.
8:00 Put my yoga mat away (40 RMB on Taobao! But it is quite slippery, definitely not bringing it back with me to the States) and pop into the shower. I had gotten used to having the bathroom all to myself this week, so I’m a little annoyed to see his “Hugo Boss” shower gel on the counter. I guess it’s the male version of Bath and Body Works. If anyone ever gives me something from BaBW for any occasion I will throw it back at their face – it is the ultimate thoughtless gift, unless you’re trying to tell me that I really do smell? :(
8:45 Get dressed, slap on some makeup, and run out of the door. I’ve been late a lot recently (past 9:30am), and although I still get to the office before my boss it's still terrible to have to worry about this sort of stuff. Morning commutes are stressful enough as they are! Traffic in Shanghai is a nightmare in the mornings, and it doesn’t help when buses break down and kick you off (like what happened to me yesterday). Today I mix it up and take the Metro on the 3/4 line, which is faster but I have to walk 15 minutes in the already-sweltering heat.
9:15 Pop out Yan An West Road station and walk towards work. I let my mind wander during this part, which is quite refreshing. Stop by an “All Days” (好德) and buy my daily morning fresh juice and yogurt. I usually choose between the grapefruit and the carrot/fruit juice. Grapefruit when I’m feeling tired and gross. But today is a Vitamin A carrot day! ^_^
9:30 At the office, the first thing I do is grab a glass of water. I am a water fiend ever since I trained for the Great Wall Marathon, probably because it upped my metabolism and now I sweat (or “sparkle”) like a pig.
9:31 My boss arrives. I got there a minute before she did, FTW!!!
9:35 Immediately pulled into a meeting and conference call with the boss + relevant people from the New York office. We’re expanding to China and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various company formation structures (WFOE vs Branch offices). Interesting stuff for me to learn, especially if I were to consider operating my own business in China one day.
10:45 Yikes, there’s a job candidate here that I’m supposed to interview who has been waiting for 15 minutes in the conference room. I excuse myself from the meeting and chat with the girl. I’m leaving Shanghai mid-August for SAIS DC and my boss has been looking for my replacement. We have a very nice conversation and I think that she would definitely meet my boss’ needs. It's important not to hire someone under or over-qualified. Am I overqualified for this summer job? It depends on how you look at it -- I've never had experience working from an operational or managerial POV, so no. My main criterion for a summer job is to learn something new and useful. There will be other considerations once we get into the full-time territory.
11:30 Catch up on emails. Issues with Quality Control and Production abound… I find people to get agitated easily here, which makes them rush around (like headless chickens?). Sometimes they literally sprint around with their arms in the air. Oftentimes I feel they turn problems with simple solutions into a multi-step process, but I think a lot of it has to do more with management vs. individual ability. Some people don't need to be managed much, but I realize now that the vast majority do. Everyone has their own talents and unique personality, so a business’ success lies recognizing this and using it to their advantage via good management. I store these experiences into my mental archive.
12:45 In lieu of lunch, decide to go for a 50-minute massage (68RMB) at the place next door. My shoulders are killing me. I’ve probably had less than 10 massages in my entire life so far, I don’t particularly enjoy random people touching my body, especially unskilled ones (ha ha ha). But when I first got to Shanghai my back was killing me after all that heavy moving so I needed someone to un-Quasimodo me. The masseuse told me that some parts of my backbone were getting twisted or some BS, so I freaked out and bought their massage package. Haha I always do this, like the time my hair stylist told me my hair seemed like it was thinning so I bought a set of hair treatments that I never used. But this place is right next to the office, so I should be able to exhaust the package before going back to the States.
2:00 I’m back and feel pretty good. My back and shoulders are still really tight, I should really take care of myself better. The lady tried her best to ease out the knots but they’re still there. I sit at my desk nursing a double shot coffee, still groggy after the mid-day relaxation. Still have over 800 RMB left on my membership, which means I need to go there 2-3x a week for the next month. I usually go afterwork anyway, but lately there's been a lot on my plate so I haven't had time. There’s a clear forehead crease where I stuck my head into the massage bed’s face hole. I try my best not to interact with anyone for awhile because I look like a 90-year old.
2:15 Break open a packet of Pejoy, which is like a reverse Pocky. It’s a crispy hollow tube cookie with filling inside. The chocolate one is divine, but I bought the “red wine” version this time and I must say that it underperformed. Speaking of underperform – Goldman. I'm long GS and BAC at this level, here’s to hoping the banking sector will get hyped up again in the next year or two! I need some money to pay off my student loans. :p
2:30 Things are slow now that my boss has left the office to attend a few meetings. Normally I get to tag along but today I’m a bit grateful that I don’t have to this time (we had a very long meeting the day before). I have narcoleptic tendencies, especially in the afternoons. Instead I spend time Googling a luxury brand consultant for a retail project we may work on.
2:45 Go to the bathroom and notice my post-massage forehead crease is still there. Bleh!
4:15 I’m starting to regret skipping lunch for a massage. Growl growl.
5:15 Determined I’m done data-mining this Mr. Debell de Montby fancy consultant dude and work on a write-up on the PROFighting event that I went to last weekend. My business partner and I are in the habit of writing these comprehensive reports, which are a bit of a pain to type up but are actually really useful in organizing our thoughts in a constructive manner. What business are we in, you ask? Wouldn’t you like to know! (But yes it does have to do with MMA… maybe I’m an aspiring ring girl! Rawr.)
6:00 Help a friend analyze a 10-K on listing out illiquid investments. I can’t escape my past. Leave the office and promise her I'll take a look at it at home. [Ah, it can wait until tomorrow!]
6:45 Arrive at Zhongtan Station and pick up a watermelon for 13.5 RMB on the way home. The trick is to slap the melon and choose one with a lower resonance. The ones with higher tones often times aren't as sweet. Don't know how this works but it does.
7:30 My student arrives and we begin our 2 hour tutorial on International Economics. I only get paid 75 RMB/hr, which is way below market, but I have her come to my apartment so I rationalize with myself that this is time I would have wasted on Facebook or The Daily Beast anyway. Plus she’s a sweet girl and I get an Econ refresher.
9:30 We finish going over Chapter 3 of her textbook, which covered isoquants, cost constraints, H-O Theorem, and Edgesworth Box. Her eyes light up when I explain to her the relationship between the contract curve and PPF, which is very satisfying. Her textbook is a diluted version of the Trade Theory class I took 2 semesters ago, but I can’t believe that she has to learn this stuff in college when she’s only had a Principles course thus far. All I can say is she’s a smart girl for hiring a tutor this summer.
10:00 Check my work mail through Gmail. I get asked by the COO why I hadn’t started drafting up new hires’ contract. Someone dropped the ball here and it's not me -- I tell them that they should be asking HR that question and I will follow up with them tomorrow.
10:30 Flatmates are watching The Big Bang Theory on pirated DVD… sad thing is that I get ALL their humor to the tee. Ok not sad, I am so cool. Hahaha, I do miss WoW… we go through at least 3-4 episodes in one pop.
11:30 Tired. Get ready for bed, check my email one final time and browse Cityweekend for stuff to do this weekend. MC Hotdog will be performing in town tomorrow, tempted to go but have to go to a friend’s birthday dinner party. Can’t believe it’s Friday already!!! Where did the week go?!
11:40 Change the image size on my photos and update my blog. :)
12:15 Good night moon!
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