What kind of friend are you?

So last weekend, I went shopping. Not only had I a list in my head of what I wanted to buy, I also had an idea of what I wanted to buy for a friend. And so I found it: a pair of cuff links, rectangle with black stones. It looked o-so-chic and I couldn't wait to give it to him. Along came Sunday night, as I prepared to go his place for a drink, I tried to jog my memory in order to remember where I had put those links. To my horror, my recollection informed me that the last I had seen them was when I stuffed them into a black plastic bag, and that black plastic bag sadly had been dumped into the bin that very morning. Thoughts ran through my head, and a battle began. Side 1: no don't pick them up, you threw it away in the morning, by now people would have dumped so much rubbish on them that you would have to tip the whole bin over and you might not even find them. Come on, it's only 15RMB. Side 2: but it's really pretty and who is to say that you will find them again and you like them so much. It抯 not too bad, you remember that they were in a black plastic bag you can find it! 2 minutes later side 2 won and i trotted off to the bin in the staircase. It was too disgusting, pizza boxes, half eaten melons, strawberries gone bad, baby nappies you name it you got it. But i was determined. I even braved embarrassment when another lady came out of her apartment to through garbage into that particular bin. 10 minutes later, voila. I held them in my hand and they looked to me to be the most beautiful cuff links in the world. And so the next time you ask me what kind of a friend are you? My answer is going to be: one who would go through rubbish for you.

PS: thanks Sid for the lovely photos that you so conveniently took...yes i am the rubbish queen

DNA Map

I am a sucker for quizzes. and so when i saw that my dear schmiggle had taken a DNA test, i thought it was high time i took one too.

My Personal Dna Report

Nolstagia - "Nothing like you and I"

Everytime this song plays, loads of memories flow back. It goes something like this:

We've spent time together, walking, spend some time just talking about the who we were
you held my hand so very tightly, and told me what we could be, dreaming of
there's nothing like you and I, nothing like you and I
there's nothing like you and I

we've spent some time together drinking, spent some time just thinking about days of joy
as our hearts started beating faster, i recall your laughter from long ago
there's nothing like you and I, nothing like you and I
there's nothing like you and i

We spent some time together, crying, spent some time just trying to let each other go
i held your hand so very tightly, and told you what i would be dreaming of
there's nothing like you and i, nothing like you and i
there's nothin glike you and i

so why do i even try, there's nothing like you and i

New things tried

weeks have passed since my last update and mundane things have come and went. a trip during the may holidays saw me nearly stuck in shanghai without a hope of getting back to beijing for work on time without at least spending 1200 and realising i had lost my bankcard 2 days after it got gobbled by the machine and many troubles with the visa, things have finally started settling down. sunday was a good day as any to go to the lake and do some peddaling with the boat. it turned out to be an electric boat, enough to fit 4 people and surprise surprise i was the captain. as it turns out, steering a boat is just the same as steering a car...totally hopeless. now, i realise that normally it is the captain giving orders and mates who take them, but in this case, the captain who was often meant to turn right and instead turns left took herbest shot but finally gave up her reign after getting stuck for 10 mins under a bridge and turning around in circles. however she vows to return to the lake this weekend and conquer the metal monster at whatever cost.

another thing that i am going to learn this weekend is how to ride a bike. strange as it may seem, this little koala has no idea at all on the mysteries connected with the workings of this strange creature. but my rommate, bless his soul, has decided that i will be well acquainted with the "bike" before i leave beijing... and tonight (even if it was just in the apartment and we didn't venture more than 30 cms other than going back and forth) after much troubles at first, i have jumped onto the black leather seat and finally felt home in "the land of the travelling bicycles".