Semester 1

Chapter VIII: Anti-social in the Shelter (October 18 - October 25, 2016)

Another week, your boy taeb checking in. I really appreciate the fact weather still maintains its summer vibe, so meanwhile back home people already freeze, I’m still wearing short sleeves, working out outside and comfortably riding my bike anywhere the fuck I want. I hate winters so kudos to Shanghai for keeping this right.

I took me a while but I finally managed to visit The Shelter – one of the most prolific underground clubs around. When you’re into real clubbing and real music, this one of the best spots to go to. On Saturday, they had Lotic on the line up. I actually saw this guy about a year ago in the Czech Republic so I had an idea what I was signing up to. Me and my friends drank some beers in front of a convenient store nearby and then hit the spot. Before you enter, you have to take couple of stairs down the basement and then walk a little tunnel. Shelter is more spacious than Dada and it really resembles a war shelter. All dark with some pillars dividing the dance floor; plus the area for sitting gives you a decent amount of privacy, if needed. No fucking tables for rich kids, no segregation, no bullshit. The party was fucking dope, Lotic killed it and it’s safe to say this was one of my best clubbing experience in Shanghai so far.

I’m also putting together concept of my first paper for the university. Gonna make it on usage of anti-refugee rhetoric during political campaigns in the Czech Republic. Since this travesty is going on in unprecedented scale and since we have zero refugee related issues, it seems like quite a solid topic to elaborate on and bitch about on academic grounds. It has been approved by my supervisor and I would like to start with it later on this week.

Apart from my weekend ventures, I keep it anti-social for the most part. Sometimes I get out to see an exhibition or to ride to an unexplored side of town but generally, I just read a lot, binge watch TV shows (what up Westworld, what up Horace and Pete, what up Peaky Blinders) and listen to incredible amounts of music. I’m also trying to get an internship – I was in the Madein Gallery for an interview and I got some other options on the table so hopefully, I’ll be able to land something soon.

Halloween is coming so the internet and even some spots in the city are decorated for the occasion. The upcoming weekend, lots of “Halloween” parties are taking place all over Shanghai and I intend to attend some. I kinda wonder whether they’re gonna try to sell the Christmas the same way. I guess they will. Chinese probably wouldn’t give a fuck about shit like this but in a city like Shanghai, there are just too many people from all over the world not to commercialize it.

Highlights: 

• It took me couple of centuries but I’ve decided to join Instagram. Not sure how much I’ll actually use it but if you want to, feel free to follow me. I can DM you some dick pics… I wonder whether there’s a chance, I’ll get to Snapchat too. Feel fucking old for that…
• Like 3 days of non-stop rain from Thursday till Saturday. In Shanghai, when it rains, it fucking pours. It’s not like, “I’ll go outside and get a little wet" kinda rain, it’s full blown “I’m staying the fuck in” kinda situation. On Friday I managed not to leave my flat at all which probably hasn’t happened since I was like 6.
• Fucking Chinese language. Learning that, I still feel retarded. That shit just won’t go into my head. This is gonna be a real struggle.