background practice sightseeing

last night visiting the Singapore Esplanade, the CBD in the background. i'm posting from my friend's computer.

lately, when i travel, practice is on my mind. i carry a mat in the suitcase. but seeing architecture takes over, so i practice meditation when i wake up, then go see places. as i waited for a bus, i saw this advertisement of a local teacher. my practice back in Shanghai at home is more settled.

we visited Little India, where we ate at a vegetarian restaurant. these where the sweets on display. i need to learn to settle my mind when planning trips. when i planned this one, my mind was racing with thoughts about my pending move to a new apartment. when i thought i booked a return flight at 12:55 pm on Saturday, arriving in Shanghai at 5:55pm, i really booked a 12:55am departure Saturday. in other words, i leave half a day earlier. it won't affect my sightseeing too much, but it was a surprise that was too costly to correct.

to Singapore exemptions

on the way to Singpore. V. appeared at my apartment at 6:00 to accompany me to the airport. it was a hot date with transportation involved. traveling conjured up discussions of how long am I staying here in  China, 7 years more, forever? is forever possible? the problem of being a permanent resident here are several. the status is rarely granted, unlike in Hong Kong, and one would be subject to double taxation, both in the US and here. there are tax exemptions for earned income but not for passive income from retirement financial instruments.

celebration incense spectacle

yesterday was the Chinese New Year celebration, which i spent at V's, whose sister cooked a meal for us. the older brother came to visit as well. both V's parents had passed away and it is the Chinese tradition to honor the memory of the parents by lighting some incense, playing a recording of chants and making an offering in front of their pictures. V asked me if we have similar traditions in our culture. i mentioned that there is the Dia de los Muertos, which is just like the Chinese tomb sweeping day, when relatives clean the tombs of their ancestors. we don't have the same tradition of honoring our deceased relatives. when we get together we relate stories of their lives. when i visit my family i go to my father's tomb and honor him. last night it was snowing and cold, but my heart felt warm. we drank Chinese merlot wine. when i tried it i winced and V explained it's supposed to be a little bitter. we watched the live entertainment spectacle on TV broadcast from Beijing. it brings me comfort that V and her family practice Buddhism, which I practice as well.

internet starts deco

internet will be installed in the apartment today. during Chinese New Year holiday, which starts this weekend, i will be visiting Violetta three days, then going to Singapore for four. my apartment is in one the six buildings designed in the Bund in the 1930s by George "Tug" Wilson of Palmer and Turner, who also designed the Peace Hotel. there is some information about art deco buildings in Shanghai from that era here. the building is the twin of the Metropole Hotel, developed by magnate Victor Sassoon.

tent architects essential

my friends Tangliang and XuYe, who traveled to Tibet by bicycle, came Sunday and helped me build my yoga practice tent. Three of us architects quickly did an aesthetic and stable structure. the practice area felt warm on monday morning. today it was toasty, when i added an electric blanket on the floor. this time i may skip placing a roof over the tent, which i did in the previous place. i decided to use the orange-red side of the blanket inside, blue on the outside. blue matches the peach color of the walls. red is energizing. since my practice suffered lately, red will add rajaic energy. on monday i did warm up poses, the five essential poses and closing asanas. today i continued with the standing poses during an hour and a quarter.

internet will be installed this week. i'm blogging after hours from the office. the connection i ordered, offered through the phone line, will be faster than the typical one offered through the cable.

yesterday new cinderfella

i moved apartments. Violetta helped me pack three hours Saturday morning. i was ready for the movers. how much crap i accumulated! it's the word that feels appropriate. i could live without this stuff but life would not be as convenient. it took a mid-sized truck to move it, and there was little furniture. at the new apartment, the kind landlords where placing the new bedroom furniture. with new Chinese red curtains, the place wowed. i'm unpacked, with boxes and suitcases everywhere. when i'm settled, there will be a yoga tent inside my bedroom, so it will look different. i should take before and after pictures. in the evening i went to dance with V.  i was cold and disoriented when getting dressed to go dancing. i put my underwear back to front, which i did not notice until i woke up this morning. heh. this morning i returned to the old apartment as cinderfella to mop the floor, lest my flatmates curse me out for leaving it dirty.

crowds queueing for iPhone 4S

the crowd queueing up this morning at 9:00am at the new Apple store on Nanjing East road in Shanghai, in order to purchase an iPhone 4S. see the Shanghaiist report on how enterprising people hired hundreds of others to stand in line and buy the allowed two units.