Had another big dinner with the customer last night after work. Still struggling today as a result.
It was just the project teams at this one, so only about 20 people in total. Things proceeded just like the other work dinners I've been to - lots of food, lots of toasts, lots of beer. We ended up leaving fairly early, at around 9pm. We left the restaurant and wandered over the road to a big building with KTV on the front. I thought we were going for a bar for more drinks, and when we got inside I found that I was correct. We were in a bar, and there were more drinks - but it was a karaoke bar.
Now personally, I can't stand karaoke. I can't sing, and I know it. But it seems to be a way of life in China so I had to go along with it. We booked a big room for the 15 of us that were left, and had a couple of slabs of beer delivered as well as some food. There was a massive screen on the wall, a couple of microphones and a PC in the corner where people were able to choose the song they wanted to sing to.
The first hour went by with everyone else choosing their favourite traditional Chinese songs, and there were definitely some standout performers. I tried to stay out of the way and simply demolish as much beer as I could (as you do), but eventually I was coerced into picking a song to sing. The guys scrolled through a couple of songs before I found one that I recognized - Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way. With a shudder I took up a microphone and proceeded to sing along...with everyone else clapping along, to my utter horror. After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually just over 3 minutes, the song was over and I was able to rest.
But not for long. Only another half an hour went by before I was asked to get up and sing another song. I simply picked the very next one that was after my first one - Backstreet Boys - All I Have To Give. Before too long it was out of the way, and thankfully was my last performance for the night. However, I had continued to knock back the beers like they were going out of fashion, and before too long, my stomach gave me a knowing look...or maybe that should be a knowing lurch...and I was off to the toilet to inspect the inside of the porcelain fairly closely. Luckily, everyone else had had enough by this time, so we all went home and I was in bed by 12:30.
I believe I need to re-think my entire drinking strategy when I go out to these work dinners. I'm used to having some big sessions, but typically I get to drink at my own pace over a longer time period. When you're consistently downing beers because someone else has toasted you, you don't have much control over what you're taking in. I think my body is a bit shocked by the sheer volume of alcohol I'm consuming over the course of these dinners (and karaoke sessions thereafter).
Getting up to go to work this morning sucked big time, let me tell you. Thank god I'm going back to Australia in a few days. My body needs a rest from this punishment.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
No more beer for that man
Saturday was the MOX (company I'm working for over here) annual general meeting. Normally, an AGM would be something to show up to and sleep at. However, this one was a bit different. They started the day with a massive presentation (300 staff from around China came to Shanghai to be a part of it) and gave out awards to best employees etc. Then we went to a restaurant where we booked out almost an entire floor and had a very large lunch, which was thankfully alcohol free (given my efforts two days earlier). We had a short break afterwards, and then it was time for the talent show to begin.
Yes, I said talent show. Turns out that the big event for these employees for the entire year is for them to get up on stage and make fools of themselves in front of the rest of their company. There were singers, comedy acts, dancers, even a magician - who made me part of her act even though I didn't understand what was going on. It was actually quite a bit of fun, and went for about 3 hours. I got to act as a singing judge, and enjoyed proceedings immensely.
After the talent show was over, we had another short break, and got into dinner. This was much like the previous dinner on the Thursday that had messed me up, except this time instead of 50 employees, there were 300. And everyone wanted to come up and toast our table, as I was sitting with the high level managers/CEO type people (being an honoured guest and all). This time everyone else was drinking beer, so things were a lot more even, but I still ended up consuming an amazing amount. I didn't really eat much at all throughout the night, as I was too full from all the alcohol I was drinking. After about 3 hours of steadily draining my glass, my body decided I needed a rest and it directed me to the toilet, where I emptied the contents of my stomach. Repeatedly.
I was greeted with a resounding cheer when I made my way back out to the restaurant area (obviously one of the other guys had heard me in there and filled everyone in), and I weakly waved my hand in acknowledgment. I then sat back down at the main table, lifted my glass...and started drinking again, to the sound of more cheers.
We continued on until about 10:30, at which time the restaurant kicked everyone out. By this time there was only a single hard-core table left of about 10 people...and of course, I was one of them :) We got outside and flagged down some taxis, where I promptly informed everyone that I was going out to a bar to keep drinking since it was not even 11pm yet. I got into a taxi and gave the driver directions, but another co-worker sneakily got in with me and told the driver (in much better Chinese than mine) to take me back to my apartment.
This was probably a good move, because we got to about 100m away from my building, and I threw up...out the window of the moving taxi. Embarrassing! The driver quickly stopped and got me out so that I could finish in a stationary position, and I walked the rest of the way to my building (after giving him a big tip). Got home with my phone still in my pocket - awesome.
Yes, I said talent show. Turns out that the big event for these employees for the entire year is for them to get up on stage and make fools of themselves in front of the rest of their company. There were singers, comedy acts, dancers, even a magician - who made me part of her act even though I didn't understand what was going on. It was actually quite a bit of fun, and went for about 3 hours. I got to act as a singing judge, and enjoyed proceedings immensely.
After the talent show was over, we had another short break, and got into dinner. This was much like the previous dinner on the Thursday that had messed me up, except this time instead of 50 employees, there were 300. And everyone wanted to come up and toast our table, as I was sitting with the high level managers/CEO type people (being an honoured guest and all). This time everyone else was drinking beer, so things were a lot more even, but I still ended up consuming an amazing amount. I didn't really eat much at all throughout the night, as I was too full from all the alcohol I was drinking. After about 3 hours of steadily draining my glass, my body decided I needed a rest and it directed me to the toilet, where I emptied the contents of my stomach. Repeatedly.
I was greeted with a resounding cheer when I made my way back out to the restaurant area (obviously one of the other guys had heard me in there and filled everyone in), and I weakly waved my hand in acknowledgment. I then sat back down at the main table, lifted my glass...and started drinking again, to the sound of more cheers.
We continued on until about 10:30, at which time the restaurant kicked everyone out. By this time there was only a single hard-core table left of about 10 people...and of course, I was one of them :) We got outside and flagged down some taxis, where I promptly informed everyone that I was going out to a bar to keep drinking since it was not even 11pm yet. I got into a taxi and gave the driver directions, but another co-worker sneakily got in with me and told the driver (in much better Chinese than mine) to take me back to my apartment.
This was probably a good move, because we got to about 100m away from my building, and I threw up...out the window of the moving taxi. Embarrassing! The driver quickly stopped and got me out so that I could finish in a stationary position, and I walked the rest of the way to my building (after giving him a big tip). Got home with my phone still in my pocket - awesome.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Lost in Shanghai
Thursday night I got lost in Shanghai. With no phone or laptop.
It all started innocently enough - after work, a group of about 50 employees got together for an annual dinner at a restaurant right near the river (main part of town). We started off with a toast, and everyone else drank wine - I can't drink wine, so had a glass of beer. After that, all of the other employees that I'd just met came up to me and toasted me. Each time, they drank about a mouthful of wine - I drank an entire glass of beer. Before I knew it, I'd consumed 8 500ml bottles of beer in around 2.5 hours, and was fairly smashed. By about 10pm we'd had enough, so I got into a taxi with a couple of the other employees and we drove back to the office.
Once we got back to the office, I got out to answer the call of nature. I wandered back over to where I had left the taxi - and it was gone. No fellow employees, no taxi, no nothing. I reached into my pocket to call one of the guys I'd been out with, and suddenly realised that my phone wasn't there. And neither was my laptop. They were both still in the back seat of the taxi where I had left them.
I did a quick stock-take, and found that I still had my wallet, which was a bonus. However, I had no contact details for anyone in China with me - they were all in my phone. Luckily, I did have a piece of paper with my address written on it. I started to giggle uncontrollably at this point - sure I had no real idea where I was or how to get home, but I found it amazingly funny for some reason.
I wandered around for about half an hour before I finally found a Sheraton hotel, where I went inside and asked the concierge to get me a taxi to take me home. At least, I think I did. My request probably sounded like it was phrased in Klingon, the way I was traveling at that stage. At any rate, the taxi driver got me home fairly quickly (it was only a few km) and I wandered inside and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up and managed to find my way back to the office. I ran into one of the guys from the night before, who seemed rather relieved to see me. It turned out that the other guys I was with had gotten out of the taxi before I had, and I was supposed to be going home with the driver when I stepped out. They rang my phone to try to find me, and the driver answered it and gave them my phone and laptop. They then looked around the office area for about an hour before calling the police and going to my apartment complex to see if I'd gotten home ok. They got the security guys to pull up some footage of my building, and saw me drunkenly stumble in a bit before midnight. After that they looked at footage from the elevator camera but couldn't see me enter it...which means that I must have been so drunk that I couldn't work the elevator so walked up 12 flights of stairs instead. Loser!
Friday was a fairly unproductive day as a result of my Thursday night activities. Note to self - in the future, don't leave phone or laptop behind anywhere. Ever.
It all started innocently enough - after work, a group of about 50 employees got together for an annual dinner at a restaurant right near the river (main part of town). We started off with a toast, and everyone else drank wine - I can't drink wine, so had a glass of beer. After that, all of the other employees that I'd just met came up to me and toasted me. Each time, they drank about a mouthful of wine - I drank an entire glass of beer. Before I knew it, I'd consumed 8 500ml bottles of beer in around 2.5 hours, and was fairly smashed. By about 10pm we'd had enough, so I got into a taxi with a couple of the other employees and we drove back to the office.
Once we got back to the office, I got out to answer the call of nature. I wandered back over to where I had left the taxi - and it was gone. No fellow employees, no taxi, no nothing. I reached into my pocket to call one of the guys I'd been out with, and suddenly realised that my phone wasn't there. And neither was my laptop. They were both still in the back seat of the taxi where I had left them.
I did a quick stock-take, and found that I still had my wallet, which was a bonus. However, I had no contact details for anyone in China with me - they were all in my phone. Luckily, I did have a piece of paper with my address written on it. I started to giggle uncontrollably at this point - sure I had no real idea where I was or how to get home, but I found it amazingly funny for some reason.
I wandered around for about half an hour before I finally found a Sheraton hotel, where I went inside and asked the concierge to get me a taxi to take me home. At least, I think I did. My request probably sounded like it was phrased in Klingon, the way I was traveling at that stage. At any rate, the taxi driver got me home fairly quickly (it was only a few km) and I wandered inside and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up and managed to find my way back to the office. I ran into one of the guys from the night before, who seemed rather relieved to see me. It turned out that the other guys I was with had gotten out of the taxi before I had, and I was supposed to be going home with the driver when I stepped out. They rang my phone to try to find me, and the driver answered it and gave them my phone and laptop. They then looked around the office area for about an hour before calling the police and going to my apartment complex to see if I'd gotten home ok. They got the security guys to pull up some footage of my building, and saw me drunkenly stumble in a bit before midnight. After that they looked at footage from the elevator camera but couldn't see me enter it...which means that I must have been so drunk that I couldn't work the elevator so walked up 12 flights of stairs instead. Loser!
Friday was a fairly unproductive day as a result of my Thursday night activities. Note to self - in the future, don't leave phone or laptop behind anywhere. Ever.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
One apartment, coming right up
Got my apartment yesterday, and am quite impressed! Two big bedrooms which each have desks and aircon/heating, and a good sized lounge and dining area (complete with amazingly-girly-flower-patterned tablecloth/curtains) . There's an 80cm TV in the living room and a 50cm one in the master bedroom, although with only two English language channels, I won't be using them all that much...well, not until I buy myself a DVD player anyway.
I have a couple of balconies; one contains a table and chairs for when the weather gets warmer, and the other contains my washing machine, believe it or not. The kitchen is a reasonable size too - no oven, but a stove and microwave will do very nicely. The bathroom is bigger than the one I have back home in Australia (although so is every other bathroom in the entire universe). The only problem with the whole place? The mattress in the main bedroom. It feels like I'm sleeping on a slab of concrete. I'll give it a go for a while but may need to buy a new one if I'm going to get a decent night of rest.
The apartment itself is in Shanghai Greentown, which is a massive complex of buildings. It's in a really good area only about 3km from the office, so I've been walking home from work each day but may buy a bike sometime soon and brave the craziness that is Shanghai's roads.
To see where I live in the grand scheme of things, click here.
I have a couple of balconies; one contains a table and chairs for when the weather gets warmer, and the other contains my washing machine, believe it or not. The kitchen is a reasonable size too - no oven, but a stove and microwave will do very nicely. The bathroom is bigger than the one I have back home in Australia (although so is every other bathroom in the entire universe). The only problem with the whole place? The mattress in the main bedroom. It feels like I'm sleeping on a slab of concrete. I'll give it a go for a while but may need to buy a new one if I'm going to get a decent night of rest.
The apartment itself is in Shanghai Greentown, which is a massive complex of buildings. It's in a really good area only about 3km from the office, so I've been walking home from work each day but may buy a bike sometime soon and brave the craziness that is Shanghai's roads.
To see where I live in the grand scheme of things, click here.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
This should be interesting
I've decided to start a blog about my experiences in China.
You are looking at said blog right now.
That is all.
You are looking at said blog right now.
That is all.
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