Went to China and then came back.
I normally dread the trip and this time was no different. These trips (I go to China twice a year) are extremely stressful as I have so much to get done while I’m traveling. There are always travel issues – flight cancelations, tickets issued on the wrong day (thanks, China office!), drivers who get lost, train confusion, the list goes on. And there’s always the issue of having to be “on” all the time…turning down toasts (read: shots of disgusting baijiu ) is a no-no as is turning down evenings on the town with your hosts. Don’t get me wrong, massages are nice. But massages by hookers tend to get kind of sad and weird after a while.
But this trip turned out better than others. I think it was because the end of the trip was fun. A work colleague who I really like personally came to Shanghai on my last stop to HELP ME prep and present to my biggest customer and we had such a great time! We worked hard but took frequent breaks.
We were staying close to The Bund and all of the lights and sights, so we’d walk to the riverfront and around the old city. And on the last night we went to the Pudong side (the new side – a part of Shanghai I’d never seen before!) and walked through the shiny, sparkly shopping area and along the elevated walkways [side note: have you seen the movie Her? The futuristic downtown L.A. scenes and walkways were filmed here], and then, because it was a clear night, we went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Building and looked down on the crazy lights from the 100th floor. I have a super-phobia of elevators, and I got queasy walking on the glass floor, but it was still WAY worth it!
Then we went back to The Bund and had a lovely Italian (!!!) dinner at Mercato. This was welcome after nearly two weeks of exclusively Chinese food. And a fun bar afterwards. We danced until I was super tired. Didn’t stay out late – were back to the hotel right before midnight – but I was exhausted.
Next morning was our last morning in China! We were both leaving that afternoon so that left us the morning to do whatever we wanted. I’d gotten a couple of bottles of celebratory Champagne the day before and we didn’t have a chance to drink it earlier, so we drank mimosas in my room at 8AM! Then walked around the perimeter of Yu Garden. Really, we just went to the shops to buy souvenirs for our friends/family. Then back to the hotel to pack and drink more champagne before our flights home!
It really made the trip to have her there in the end. The beginning of the trip was as crazy and strange as it always is. I did go to Qingdao, where my brother lives, for just one day to work with a factory. And guess what? My brother and his wife were too busy to see me. Oh well. His loss. The factory owner took me to this very strange rooftop “club” where there was some fine, screaming karaoke going on. Ouch.
The rest of the trip was in South East China where it is sweltering hot and sweat continually dripped from my head to my toes.
All the while I longed for lost love. Or new love. Or just love where none exists.
It’s nice to be missed. I Instagrammed along the way and posted many photos. I heard from my friends on FB (where I could get it, it’s so random in China and Facebook is blocked in many locations), and I sent emails. I wanted to keep in touch with The Bulldog, but he’s not very communicative in that way and maybe he thought that it was pushy of me because we are not an established couple of any sort –we’re only friends. So I backed way, way off.
I heard from SP all along the way via text and Viber, and while it was nice because I long for keeping in touch with “home” when I’m that far away, but it was still weird. I don’t know why he did that for me other than he was trying to be there for me when I needed it. He has all but disappeared now that I’m home. It’s somewhat a relief, but it’s also a fucked up situation. HE was the one who came crawling back wanting to talk about things. I agreed because…well, I don’t even know why except for the fact that I wasn’t done grieving and maybe I just needed the ego stroke. So I opened the door just a crack.
And now, he’s disappearing again.
I suppose it’s all for the best.
Anyway, I’m back! I missed you! I’m happy to be home. I’m ready to set some fresh, new goals. Summer is here, and I’m still a little jet-lagged but I’m generally happy.
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