Semester 1

Chapter XIII: Roofs & Security (November 25 – December 1, 2016)

Okay, so what happened since the last entry. I kinda passed on partying last weekend so I’ll have to go little harder this weekend. I feel I do need drink my mind away for a second. Fortunately, in this city, there’s always much to choose from so there no way this could go left…

The other day, I met this girl who introduced me to two of her friends and since those guys are into spotting tall building and then sneaking up on their roofs, the plan for the evening was settled. They picked a nice tall building close to the Bund, we got into the basement parking area, located an elevator and went all the way up to like 30^th floor. Then we found our way through a maze of small hallways and narrow staircases until we successfully ended up on the top. Unfortunately, the view was blocked by some fucking construction that had been going on over there. The feeling was still nice though. We noticed couple of security cameras on the way and we decided to ignore them. That turned out to be the wrong call as in couple of minutes we were surrounded by security guards asking us what the fuck are we doing there. We played dumb and eventually got only kicked out. Fun experience…

When it comes to vegan shit, I found out there’s a veggie joint just across the street from the place I live. It’s called Pure & Whole and after having a burger over there, I’m thinking about turning it into my office once the final exams kick in. They got some cool vegan cakes and desserts too. We also had a pizza party at the university – I initially wanted to pass on that but since my supervisor wanted to meet me there, I dragged my ass all over to fucking Minhang. I actually asked for vegan pizza (and I explained that all they have to do is leave meat and cheese out of the equation) and I was promised one. After I arrived, they specifically called me out to proudly present my fucking pizza which was covered in fucking cheese so I publicly expressed my fucking gratitude, told them fucking thanks but no fucking thanks and got some motherfucking crisps. I wasn’t offended though, I honestly didn’t expect them to get it right. What is kinda funny though, that due to the number of Muslim students, when it comes to such events, upon the registration, you can always pick either regular or halal meals. When you’re anything else than a carnivore or a Muslim, you’re fucked. My interference was useful at least for one of my vegetarian classmates who, on normal circumstances, wouldn’t get shit neither… Anyways, it’s all good… The longer you’re vegan, the more used you get to shit like this… There’s like 50/50 chance you won’t get a meal even if you ask in advance and specifically describe what vegan means… We live in a world where meal is not a meal unless someone fucking suffers and/or dies… Actually, we live in a world where shit isn’t shit unless someone suffers/or dies.. What a time to be alive, right?

Temperature got better again. Now we’re around 12-15 degrees so there are days I don’t actually need to turn on my AC again. On the other hand, pollution is getting worse. There’s an app I downloaded for that particular purpose, and for the past couple of days, the verdict has been pretty clear: “unhealthy”. I also got a flat tire on my bicycle for the first time here. Changing that shit was 60 RMB which is probably a foreigner price but who cares...

So yeah, everything is good. December kicked in (happy b-day, sis!) and I'm realizing that the first semester of my studies is slowly coming to its end…

Highlights:

• A Tribe Called Quest’ new album. Hands down.
• Deodorant. I’m running out of the last one of those I brought along, so I tried to get one. Everywhere. Supermarkets, malls, convenient stores, drug stores… Then I googled this shit… Apparently, getting a fucking deodorant for men in Shanghai (or in China in general) is a real challenge. There is like one chain offering those (fortunately, they do have a shop close by) but it’s not an item you can easily get on every corner. Which is weird.
• For the first time ever, I really had to get and keep attention of 3-4 year olds. Man, that was fun… I can see myself having kids in like 50 years the earliest..