I am in Shanghai now on a business trip. A decent hotel room with two beds, shower (no bathtub, what a shame), and broadband costs around 1,200 RMB at face value. That amounts to around $150 per night. But with a help of ‘connection’, I got a special discount rate which reduced the price down to 499RMB. Double standard which once separated locals and foreigners still seems to exist, now in the form of insider vs. outsider.

The TV is playing more than 50 channels ranging from CNN to Chinese soap opera, Hollywood movie, sports.. just like any other country’s cable channels. I found a Korean soap opera dubbed in Japanese. It reminds me of last year’s trip to Africa. We watched a Brazilian soap opera dubbed in English, in Namibia. Girls were awesomely pretty, and their acting skills were less than nothing, which was of course acceptable. Call this globalization.

The broadband connection works and Typepad is not blocked so I am typing this instead of…. reading and writing my emails. Everything works, including my Messenger, except the email. Should I consider this lucky?

The news program says the new law in China, which practically declares they are entitled to invade Taiwan whenever they want, will free the people in Taiwan and improve the relationship between two regions. Sometimes I envy those people’s insensitiveness, when I am facing a tough situation at the customer’s site. "OK, our product is not flawless, but come on, didn’t you decide on your own to buy from us?" BGM: Daydream Believer

The email is still trying to connect.