Surprise

2008. 11. 15

While Oh was on a call with a best friend of his, the friend blurted out that he is gettting married next February. And that just caught Oh off guard. At the same time, Oh was honored to be the first friend that received word.

After an hour, Oh was on another call with another best friend of his. They talked about the marriage of their best friend. But they were not quite sure about their friend's rather seemingly sudden decision.

The truth is it has been only 4 months since the friend and his fiancee met. And to Oh four months is such a short time for two people to get to know each other and conclude to tie the knot. On top of that, Oh's friend is so busy that the couple has met only weekends. Therefore, Oh thinks that while he needs to celebrate, he still casts some doubts on the decision.

Sure, love at first sight is and has been always possible. And the friend, whenever he started to date girls, publicized that he would like to meet something willing to take the whole thing to the next level (marriage, of course). Still, 4 months seems to be a bit short.

Nevertheless, the couple will be on a house hunting this weekend and there is going to be the first official encounter between in-laws. And after 3 months, they are going to get hitched. Oh wishes their best of luck, nipping all the negative thought in the bud.

Meeting in person

2008. 11. 14

While Oh was up in Ilsan, participating Gyeonggi International Tourism Exhibition, he paid a visit to someone that he has know only thru phone calls. Her name was Lee and she works at a PR department of KINTEX.

About a week ago, Oh received a memorandum that Oh needs to supplement some data or information as to convention industry in Gyeonggido. Since KINTEX is probably the one and only convention venue in Gyeonggido, Oh called KINTEX to get ahold of someone who might have the data, facts or photos of KINTEX. Since then, they have been talking to each other on the phone from time to time and exchanged thoughts regarding how to organize the data. And now they finally met. In person, of course.

After checking where the PR department was located, Oh headed up stairs to the place without any notification. As soon as he walked into the office, he spotted a lady talking on the phone. But he was not sure if that was her. And it was.

Introducing himself and laying out the reason for his rather sudden visitation, Oh talked to the lady very calmy. It was a business matter, so no flirtation or whatnot. They exchanged the name cards and talked a bit more. Then, Oh left the office and told her that he will get back to on the thing that they have been working on together.

Although it was brief, that meeting was pleasant. Oh bothered meeting her in person even though he did not have to. This will help Oh request any info he might need later and get some help from her.

Phone calls, internet chatting and snail mail are all great method through which you can communicate with people. But looking in the eye of someone and talking to him or her is more genuine and a better to convey messages. Human touch. That's what counts.

Compete against the trainer

2008. 11. 13

Although it was raining, Oh decided to hit the gym since he skipped yesterday. He really did not want to, but the trainer called Oh out of the blue and told him to bring his ass to the gym. So Oh gave in, thinking about working out is better than doing just nothing but making up for sleep depravation.And as promised the other day, the trainer and Oh had a showdown. At least, they thought they would. Since both of them were not feeling good, they just helped each other out in working on chest and tripcep.

Oh dared the trainer to bench 180 kgs while Oh was going for 100 kgs, which he has never pulled off. Thanks to the trainers assistant, Oh lift 100kgs. But it was so painful. The trainer did not go all the way to 180kg. He was satisfied with 160kg without aid from Oh. Still great.

Since it was a rainy Saturday, there were only few people at the gym. So Oh took advantage of it by hogging the trainer! Today's exercise was quite intensive, Oh has to say. There were no breaks, but constant lifting and sipping water. Also, the trainer and Oh were alternating, it was very conducive to raise the level of motivation by helping out and competing against each other. Although Oh was way out of the trainer's league, he was still trying to stay in the game.

After a succinct, but intense 60 minutues, they called it quits. No workout tomorrow. It would be weird no to work out. But since Oh was tired from a very long and stressful weekend, he decided to take it easy this weekend. No parties or whatnot

Meeting in person

2008. 11. 11

While Oh was up in Ilsan, participating Gyeonggi International Tourism Exhibition, he paid a visit to someone that he has know only thru phone calls. Her name was Lee and she works at a PR department of KINTEX.

About a week ago, Oh received a memorandum that Oh needs to supplement some data or information as to convention industry in Gyeonggido. Since KINTEX is probably the one and only convention venue in Gyeonggido, Oh called KINTEX to get ahold of someone who might have the data, facts or photos of KINTEX. Since then, they have been talking to each other on the phone from time to time and exchanged thoughts regarding how to organize the data
And now they finally met. In person, of course.

After checking where the PR department was located, Oh headed up stairs to the place without any notification. As soon as he walked into the office, he spotted a lady talking on the phone. But he was not sure if that was her. And it was.

Introducing himself and laying out the reason for his rather sudden visitation, Oh talked to the lady very calmy. It was a business matter, so no flirtation or whatnot. They exchanged the name cards and talked a bit more. Then, Oh left the office and told her that he will get back to on the thing that they have been working on together.

Although it was brief, that meeting was pleasant. Oh bothered meeting her in person even though he did not have to. This will help Oh request any info he might need later and get some help from her.

Phone calls, internet chatting and snail mail are all great method through which you can communicate with people. But looking in the eye of someone and talking to him or her is more genuine and a better to convey messages. Human touch. That's what counts.

Seoul

2008. 11. 10

Oh had to go up to Seoul super early today. For that, he actually had to stay at his parents house last night to directly go to Seoul in lieu of wasting 2 hours on the highway should he leave from Suwon. After taking care of his business, it was about 9:20 Am and he was in Myoungdong, one of the fanciest places in Korea.

Whenver he goes up to Seoul, one of his colleagues says that it must be so nice to go on a trip to Seoul because you will get to see cute and hot girls out there. But Oh does not care about how hot or cute Seoul girls are. It is just that the more he comes up to Seoul, the more disappointed he is with Seoul. While it is not crystal clear why, but it is certain that he does not enjoy just as much as he does Suwon or any other cities.

Anyways, on his way back down to Suwon, there was no one but him on the bus. Accordingly, Oh felf like he rented a limo at only 1,700 won and was cruising down to Suwon with a personal chauffeur. The shun was beating down on him and it was an earily morning, so the scenery was beautiful. He wanted to take ciesta because hwas a bit tried from only 5 hour sleep last night. But he couldn't since Oh is not good at crashing on buses or subways.
Then it was Suwon again. The city once he called a shithole, but now relishes so much.

Wrong Way

2008. 11. 9
Oh had to go home. His parents house, he meant. After workout, Oh hopped on a bus that was supposed to go to the Suwon Station directly. However, two minutes after he got on the bus, he realized that it was a wrong bus. Feeling just flat out tired, Oh did not bother hopping out and changing the bus.

Luckily, the bus was still heading to a local subway station, so Oh did not have to get off. So he just decided to sit back and enjoy the ride.

It was a bit weird but surely inspirational ride to some degree. First, because he did end up a train station after only 10 minutues. Secondly, he camed to a certain realization. The realization that sometimes what you are doing is far away from accomplishing your goals so that you start to panic and develop a certain degree of anxiety for not knowing what is going to happen. Subsequently, you come to have doubts whether what you are doing is the best thing to do although it seems very wrong. But just like Oh wound up a subway station, one eventually achieves what he wanted in the very beginning. The only difference is the path itself and the amount of time he or she needed to see the bigger picture.

Also, even though he are in a wrong place you still learn something.

American Tv Dramas

2008. 11. 8

One of the things that Oh does on weekends is to watch a bunch of American tv shows. And the spectrum of Oh's taste is from Desperate Housewives to The Pickup Artist. Then one might wonder why Oh's hooked onto those shows.

The first reason is the fact that Oh's an avid English learner and such american TVs shows are a great avenue through which he acquires the language. In addtion, since the language also encompasses the mindset, ethos of its speakers, what is permeated under the american tv shows is also appealing to Oh. That said, not only picking up the language, but also the way americans act and speak is quite obvious in those shows. And it does not have to be explained where Oh's inclination toward American comes from.

But sometimes it is not urged to believe the face value of what those shows display on the screen. Take women for example. Oh has talked to a number of American ladies to date. And they were sort of worried that American girls are deemed and shown so easy to play with. It is probably because the way in which american tv shows objectify and illustrate the general characteristics of American girls. So, American ladies sometimes are very self conscious about the gap between who they are and the way in which they have been described by media.

But then again, it would be entirely wrong to merel think that what tv manifests is a downright lie. Well, some facts are obviously distorted and blown out of proportion, but still they are based on something reliable, something genuine and something real. So, the lesson that Oh would like to inculcate is that believe selectively in what you want to believe in.

Going out with the trainer

2008. 11. 7

Yes. Oh took his trainer out to a local bar. It was rather a on the spur of moment thing. Since Oh did not have plans for the weekend, he decided to chill out his trainer. The trainer who is from down south and has no clue what Seoul or Suwon can offer. According to him, he's been living in Suwon for a year with his sister, brother in law and nephew. But since he is not from around, he has not had many opportunites to try different places and experience a lot of things different from Gwangju. Thus, he did not anything about clubbing, Hondae, Gangnam, Myeongdong, all the flamboyant and fancy spots in Seoul. Since the trainer is about 6 years younger than Oh, he always deemed the trainer as his lil brother to take care of, which Oh does not have.

So later tonight, Oh and the trainer met around 11:00 PM and hit this bar. It was not packed, but there are some foreigners and locals. And the duo start to drink a beer. And that was too much for both of them.

They shot some dart where Oh beat the jesus out of his company and sipped the rest of the drink. Oh was not sure if the trainer was having fun. It was very crucial because the reason Oh took the kid out is to get the trainer's mind off his work. The trainer has not been very happy with his work environment. He hates his colleagues, his boss and even the gym per se. The only thing that keeps him from quitting is the members, as Oh, who learn a lot from and communicate with him. So, basically, Oh gave him much advice as to how to deal with the stress at work and how to work his way up the latter in the long haul. But the music was damn to loud so later that night Oh's voice grew even hoarse.
The night was fun. The duo made fun of this crazy girl dancing on the floor all night, luring some black and white dude. Her dance was probably the worse ever Oh has seen. Even the trainer was impressed with her (in a very bad way) The entire bar was looking at her. Well, at least seemingly he was having a blast.

Later, the duo left the bar and hovered the street a bit. Then, they went into the local dumpling restaurant. Gobbling up 8 dumpling respectively, he called it a night. After getting a cab for the trainer, Oh was heading home foot. Then he saw this poor foreign kid (in 20s) look astray.

Oh: "Are you lost?"
The guy : “No, I was just looking for a bar."
Oh : "Any particular place? Or just a random bar?"
The guy : "Just random"
Oh : "Hmm. you know what I can recommend you this particular place nearby"
The guy : "Yeah?"
Oh : "Yeah, it is over down the block It is like a hybrid of a bar and a club."
The guy : "Oh, I have been there"
Oh :　“I see. Well, I left the place about 45 mins ago and it was crazy, man. There was this girl dancing like crazy. shooting her limbs out and what not and some foreign guys were all over her to get in her pants. It was quite a scene. There should be about 40 foreign guys and 1 single girl their by now. Must be fun."
The guy : "Oh..ok. I might as well check that out. Thanks a bunch!"
Oh : "Sure thing. Good Night"

And they parted while Oh was just standing there about 2 minutes to make sure that the kid found the right place. Also, he decided to take the trainer out to Seoul and showed him the dark(?) or the exotic aspect of Seoul.

Job Fair : Part II, The disabled man

2008. 11. 6

Oh saw him again. The disabled guy. The guy who reminds Oh of his passed uncle.
The disabled guy Oh ran into every single morning on his way to work. Since Oh is very punctual, so is the guy. They always ran into each other at the exact point which is almost in between Oh's house and his workplace. And as Oh said before he feels indebt without any particular reason. Or with a reason that he can not illustrate in words.

And just like yesterday, there was a job fair in the lobby. But today it was for the local disabled. And Oh did not expect the guy to show up at the fair and fill out applications. It somewhat flaggergasted Oh. Oh always thought that the guy might be a stay-at-home dad after suffering from stroke or any kinds chronic disease, which might be why the guy has trouble with walking and so depends on a metal cane. But at least Oh surmised that the guy is a man, despite his physical condition, of a very strong will to go out, get a job and be a part of society in lieu of lurking like a hermit and crying over his physical limits.

Anyways, for Oh, the job fair designed for the disabled seems to be a bit phony. Since he knows how handicap-unfriendly Korean society is, he was worried if those showed up at the fair later just grew disappointed with no call-backs from the companies that they sent applications to. And Oh sincerely hopes that it does not occur to the guy so that they won't bump into each other in the mornings anymore, but somewher else, maybe late in the evening on their ways back home from long and hard work.

Job Fair : Part I

2008. 11. 5

It goes out without saying that getting a decent gig is just plan arduous in South Korea nowadays. The economy has been plummeting as that of the rest of the world is while the imcumbent has no intention to give the axe to the tresure secretary, Mr. Kang who bascially induced so called IMF Crisis" back in 1997.

Anyways, after lunch, Oh saw a job fair going on in the lobby of the building. Obviously, there are many a job seeker there filling out applications and talking to their future employers. Whenever Oh hears that securing a nice job is getting harder and harder, Oh feels fortunate. Well, what he has been doing is not exactly the cup of his tea, but it is not like he needs to squirm on his chair at every single moment out of disgust or hatred toward his job or his co-workers. Sometimes
he does not like his job and his colleagues. And some other time he does like the both. But the simple fact that now he is working sometimes looks like a bliss to him.

In particular, the company Oh works for is a very unique organization. Well, it'd be too much to talk about everything about this work here. But simply speaking, it is not too much nor too less. Well.. a bit much for him..for now because things are not too familiar with him and honestly, his colleague still give him a hard time so that Oh can learn things quickly and thoroughly. While existing the job fair, he wished the luck for those college kids filling out the applications.

Overwork

2008. 11. 4.

By the time Oh got off work is around 9:30PM. Well, because of the auditing, Oh and some colleagues of his had to stay late. And it was not pleasant at all. Well, he agrees with the idea that sometimes people need to work long than they are supposed to. Just like today, he was fine with working a couple more hours. But he was not happy with the fact that his colleagues coerced him to take dinner with them and , in order to do that, to go to a local restaurant. Oh was like, "Why can't we just go to the mess hall and eat there?" Well, Oh is a newbie, he does not get to speak like that.

Anyways, it took an hour to finish the dinner and come back to the office. And it turned out that Oh needed only 30 mins to get his work done. The work he was given from the colleagues. Well, then Oh, after all, wasted an hour on just eating. He though he could have gone home way earlier than 9:30 PM and thus hit the gym (which he did)

Yes, Oh is time sensitive and impatient sometimes. Still, he does not understand why Koreans sometimes think that overwork is a must, not a choice.

Let's say you are told to finish this paper work by the end of tomorrow. So you do it. But then sometime tomorrow, it turns out that you did not have to get that paperwork done that quickly. And this is a universal truth. Being late for the deadline is not the end of the world. Additionally, deadline are usually pushed until later on the same day or to the next day.

Anyways, trying to shake off this infuriation, he decided to go to the gym directly in lieu of stopping by his crib to get changed. The trainer was about to take off, which bummed Oh, but there were still a lot of people at 10:00 PM. After 90 mins he came home, took a shower, grabbed something to eat, watched the latest epidose of Desperate Housewives. And then he fell asleep, wondering if Obmama is going to be the next president of the U.S.A.

One more day

2008. 11. 3.

Given the fact that Korea is almost several hours ahead of the U.S., Oh was not too excited about the presidential election. But the undeniable fact is that it all comes down to this monumental moment when the very first African American president takes office in the country where merely 50 years ago the racial discrimination was rampant and eventually came to the end on the surface.

When talking to his friends, Oh sometimes jokes that Obama is a relative of his in that both share the same syllable in their names. O(H)bama and OH. Get it? :) Also, they are both passionate about basketball and have lots of international experience, which makes them culturally less biased and more undestanding of entities

Although it is quie papable that this election is going to be a landslide one, no one can assure if Obama is going to win. That is partly because the older generation for McCain does not usually count at polling while the younger ones are all over the media and the polling data. The polling has been manifesting clear projections of the winning of Obama, but you never know what is going to happen.

work, work, work

2008. 11. 2

As the title indicates, Oh is just working. Swamped.

Where'd the weekend go?

2008. 11. 1

Because of the little fender-bender last night, Oh had to get up super early morning to meet the auto shop guys. They came to pick up the car as early as 8:30AM. Waking up 8:30 am on a Saturday morning. Great..

After handing the car and the keys over to the greasey-overalls clad mechanics, Oh tried to go back to sleep, which he could not pull off. Instead, Oh decided to watch the newest episodes of the American tv shows.

Later, he got a call from his folks that they are dropping by in 2 hours. And they did. After heated arguments, fights and buried the hatchet, they left.

Then Oh hit the gym. The trainer was there. It was like he hasn’t seen the trainer for ages. Since the gym is closed tomorrow, Oh asked the trainer to drill him and he did. Oh and trainer worked on Oh’’s legs and the shoulders. Oh even skipped his favorite Korean tv show to work out. Felt good.

Then it was already 9pm. Oh had to post all the juicy stories about his trip to China and his crazy life this week. And it was already 11:30pm after merely uploading a couple of blog threads that he already composed back in China.

Time to hit the sack.

Oh had a plan

2008. 10. 31.

At the end of the night, he was frustrated and helpless. He had a plan, masterplan that was supposed to revive and rejuvenate him.

Just like the other days, Oh was insanely busy at work. No time to even brush his teeth after lunch. Go figure..

Anyways, since he was supposed to be on a business trip to Seoul in the afternoon, he wanted to get his work done as late as 4PM and headed north. Well, he did get things done and took off and that’s where the whole thing started to go wrong.

4:30 PM. Oh started to rev up the engine of one of his company cars. After he got in a car accident 7 years ago, this is the VERY FIRST TIME for him to drive. And if you know how crazy the traffic is in Seoul, you would just stall Oh at any cost.

5:30PM. On the highway Oh is crusing. He is actually doing better than he thought he would. Although he is fidgeting and nervous he is so focused on driving, checking out the mirrors and the right exit and whatnot.

6:00 PM
Oh cancelled on one informal gathering with one of the participants at the convention last week. The traffic is insane. Thank god, he had a headstart and so won’t be late for the business meeting.

6:30 PM
He’s lost in Seoul and entered some street valley. Reaching the dead-end, he is trying to maneuver his way out to the main road. Alas, while doing so, he clipped the car to a telephone pole and thus scratched and left some dent on the car. He is dead, now.

6:40 PM
Having panic attack, (metaphorically), Oh met up his friend. He took his friend to nearby local auto shops that told Oh that it would cost at least 300 dollars to fix the damn car.

7:30 PM
Eating dinner, Oh called the guy from the rental place and notified him about the scratch. The guy tried to calm Oh down. Not working

8:30 PM
About one hundred Malaysian visitors from DDB arrived at the meeting place. Oh took some photos of them, paid their dinner with the corporate card and left the place.

10:00 PM
Oh and his buddy were shopping. Oh could not really concentrate. Keeps apologizing to his friend for ruining the night.

11:00 PM
Oh got a call from this person whom he thought was at his beck and call. Obviously, the individual was not. Oh had a plan to hit some clubs at Hongdae to dance the night and all the stress he has receive this week away. It is freaking Holloween!!!!!!! Seems like it is not going to happen.

11:20 PM
The commercial designated drive Oh called arrived and revved up the engine. Back to Suwon.

12:40 AM
He can’t hit the sack because of the car. 300 dollars is a lot of money. More importantly, he is going to get his ass chewed off by his bosses once they found out about the car.

1:30 AM
Oh had a plan, he looks back.

Revisiting Shanghai - Video Clips and Explanation

2008. 10. 30


What follows is all the video clips and the explanation about them taken during Oh's visitation to China last week. Enjoy!


(Did not expect to see the Samsung logo out of nowhere in China)



The view from Oh's room in the Seagull Hotel. Pretty decent. It was drizzling so even better!



The Seagull Hotel. The bellboys were so friendly. A four star hotel it was.


Oh was on a road trip with one of the participants. The other guy was afraid of sitting in front, so Oh had to. :( BTW, just like the states, there is a protective glass in a cab. Oh thought that this proves how safe it is to live in South Korea.


Take a gooood look at it. Pedestrians, cars and bicycles are mingled like crazy. The traffic in South Korea is not that disruptive.


Granted it, it was Saturday. Too many people simply.



Some garden. Also, where'd these people come from?



Chinese McDonald. It was NOT cheap at all.


Chinese subway station. It was like during the rush hour at Shindorim station in Seoul.


A subway station. It was a saturday afternoon and raining. Still many people.



Another subways peek. Actually the trains were nice. They were just like NYT transit. Small and narrow. The best subway Oh has ever ridden is the one in D.C.!!

Email from half way around the planet

2008. 10. 29

Still busy at work, Oh received a letter from the girl that he was interested in back at the convention last week. Although Oh gave her his business card, she claimed she did not get one. So, she said that she asked one of the Korean participants that she met in Shanghai about my email address and thus got ahold of me. Well, since she went through all the trouble, Oh started to feel good about it.

She lamented the fact that she was caught up with her work and with her colleague and thus could not even get back to me on my proposition. But she promised that she is going to have a cup of coffee when they meet again. Well, what are the odds? She lives half way around the world.

Anyways, in response, Oh wrote her back and also lamented on the fact that the get-together did not occur and asked the girl if she is going be at another convention coming up next year to which she said yes. Oh is going to participate in that convention as well.

Which does not really mean anything. What was Oh thinking? Right? Oh was obviously brave, but not smart. He did not even know the person at all.

But then again Oh defends himself, saying “Well, no pain, no gain. Only the brave gets the beauty.” And this is damn true. Girls would not come to you if you just think that they are interested in you. You need to get confident, get ready to get embarrassed, get up on your feet, accost her and strike a conversation. This time, Oh did not succeed. But he learned the lesson and is moving on.

New Part timer?

2008. 10. 28

Fatigued from the restless night and the lack of sleep, Oh came to work.

Today’s biggest mission to accomplish is to vet and to hire a new part-timer. Since the temp is going to quit this Friday, Oh has been in charge of recruiting and scrutinizing applicants and thus he has winnowed it down the four people. After the team captain picked out one particular person, Oh called her to let her know the interview date yesterday.

So she showed.

Looked older then her photo in her resume. Yes, in Korea, you HAVE TO put your “glamour shot” in a resume. And it goes without saying that the better looking you are, the higher chances you are going to get a gig.

Oh found it very odd when he told some acquaintances (guys only) at work that his team is hiring a new temp, they all said that “Hire a pretty one” Sure, better looking would not harm anyone, but it would necessarily guarantee one’s job performance. In their own defense, they said “It is just a temp, what is the big deal? It is not that she is going to be a full time here. So why not choose a dumb blonde girl?”

At any rate, the girl that showed today did not get the gig and notifying her that she is not going to get the job was Oh’s responsibility. No wonder why many companies or schools, while composing rejection letters, start them by saying “I regret to …”

In stead of calling the girl on the phone, Oh just texted her and delivered the unpleasant news. Oh thought it was could come off as less personal and less insulting.

Again, back to square one. Now Oh needs to vet more applicants to choose better candidates.

Back to Normal

2008. 10. 27

Ah..the past 5 days was like a dream for Oh. But he now needed to realize that he is not in it anymore, but in an inevitable reality.

First, he was super tired from the trip. Nevertheless, he could not take a day off because…well.. because he simply can’t. If you knew only a bit about Korean work ethics, it would be not too hard to understand why he has come to work.

Secondly, he literally had a pile of work. First because, since he took on a trip, he workload has been snowballing. Secondly, since one of the colleagues is on a business trip to Toronto and the states, Oh and the other team members had to pick up his slack. And the slack is immense. The first thing, as soon as Oh came to work, that he noticed was a manila folder sitting on the desk. There were several pieces of paper that said what Oh needed to take care of the workload that the aforementioned colleague left for the rest of the team.

Lastly, Oh needed to organize all the war-relics that he acquired from Shanghai. He meant, the brocures, tons of name cards, pictures, and whatnot. He needed to sort them out, save them somewhere and even dole them out to the participants of the convention. No wonder why Oh’s colleagues has been saying that going on a business trip is not as sweet as it sounds. Now Oh realizes why.

As a result, Oh had to work as late as 11PM. 11PM. Well, he could not care less about the slack or the work of his to finish up. But it was a team thing. Well, since Oh’s company is fully funded by the government, the gov periodically conducts audit. Yes, just like accountants, they scrutinize how every single dime of tax has been consumed. If there is any kind of a flaw or suspicious expense, the ceo is going to take the hit from the local congressmen. If the ceo gets the hit, the rest of the company is also getting to hit. So, the entire company needs to file the report that manifest that how it has wasted (or efficiently used) the tax.

It turned out that Oh’s team, which is a foreign overseas marketing team, has a big load of budget, they needed to file ton of expense reports. This is why Oh and the rest of the team stayed up late. Thus, no gym for Oh. But, Oh had no idea what is ahead of him the next four

days.

Goodbye Shanghai : Day 5

2008. 10. 26

Before hopping on the bus to the airport, he took some photos of the street that the Seagull Hotel is standing in order to bring home memories.

Oh was sad. Plainly speaking, he was. Well, at least, on the bus ride to the airport he was. He had fun and learned a lot about the industry. And his hatred toward the public servants has definitely heightened.

As he though, the culture, the food, everything was different and it was challenging.

Then he thought of someone who has spent quite a long time in his country. That person is half away from the world where the language and the culture is completely different from Oh’s. Believe it or not, one of the reasons Oh had a crush on that person was the fact that individual has stomached such culture shock, cultural dissimilarities and has assimilated to the land of morning calm. It is not impossible to pull off, but never easy to accomplish. For sure.

At any rate,

So, now Oh has finally come to the realization that China is going to be the next super power in the world society. Although Oh has a very strong faith in the U.S. and its potential, What he has seen past five day in China was simply amazing. The sky high skyline, the population, the ubiquitous sings of development and growth was indicative of how fast China is evolving.

On the other hand, as many has pointed out, China has lots of pitfall equivalent to its potential. The bipolarization of the cities, pollution are such examples. Oh once thought, China is really hard to expect. Because you turn around a corner, you see a brothel. Then at the next corner, you see all the big brand name foreign cars. After the third corner, you see people’s underwear hanging on the street wish-wash. You have no idea what is going to show at each corner.

Back in Korea, the weather was pretty cold. But Oh’s heart was not. His heart was full of good memories. And it was so good to be back home. Home, sweet home.

Welcome to Shanghai : Day 4

2008. 10. 25

Today is supposed to a slow day. No clients. No hot shots. No business calls or whatnot.

First, some of the participants went on a trip, completely abandoning the booth. It is very irresponsible of them . Which means the parttimers and the young guys get to keep the booth and to get rid of all the brochures and souvenirs left. And that’s what Oh did in the entire morning. Before taking lunch, Oh and another participant decided to go on a road trip. And it was awesome.

Leaving the convention venue, Oh checked up on the girl that he is interested in. Still no response from her. Whatever, Oh thought.

Hopping on a cab and explaining the directions to the cabby who does not speak English, Oh put up the map on the glass that separated the driver’s seat’s and assistant’s. Finally, the driver understood and started to floor it.

The traffic in Shanghai is extremely insane. The hodgepodge of bikers, cars and pedestrians is just ridiculous. What is more amusing is the fact that Oh, since his arrival, has not witnessed a single car accident. Many of Oh’s foreign friends said that the traffic in Seoul is horrible. Well, surely they have never been to Shanghai.

They arrived Pearl Village, a street full of jewelry shops and souvenir shops. Since it is a Saturday, it seems natural that they are tons of people. I mean it is china, but this is way too much. Just take a look.

Then Oh and his friend moved to this particular private garden that a son built for his mother. Luckily, they met a group of Korean tourists. Tagging them alone, Oh was lucky to eavesdrop the explanation on the garden.

In order to cope with the bubbling stomach, Oh and his friend walked into a MacDonald. They never imaged to heat a Big Mac in China. Well, it was decent.

After gulping down fries and a hamburger, the duo jumped into a cab to head over to People’s Square. Just like before, Oh put up the map and pointed the destination on it. After a little bit of gesticulating, the driver sensed where to take the two lost expats.

Arriving, the duo, in lieu of going to the park, decided to go to the underground shopping mall, which was a lot like that in Seoul. The girls were cute, well dressed. Hip per se. Oh purchased two lip glosses for the lady colleagues of his as a souvenir. Oh and his friend realized that the trip turned out way better than they thought it would.

Oh felt a bit like a stranger. Granted, Chinese and Koreans look quite alike. But it was the language that separates one from another. However, since two language share a lot in common, Oh was able to interperet some of the charactehrs that led him to certain directions or that helped understand the previous conversations with random Chinese people. And thanks to the fact that Oh learned Chinese back in highschool in college, Oh threw some random, broken language in Chinese faces. Of course, whenever it happened , those Chinese had a confounding look.

Back to the road trip, the duo made up their minds to try Shanghai metro. Again, when purchasing the tickets, Oh put up the map on the glass at the box office and said “I need two tickets for this station.” It worked. Again, a lot of people. I mean simply a LOOOOT.

The subway was not too bad actually although Oh thought it was a bit small compared to the back home. The width of each train was as small as the NTY transit, which is very tiny. Well, Americans are big. But their subway is way too narrow and small.

Getting of the subway, they headed back up to the overground. After walking about 20 mins in dress shoes, they made it to the convention venue. But the show was over, and there was no one. Oh started to panic for two reasons. A) He thought before the show was over that he could talk to the girl that he gave the little note to B) He left his jacket and the umbrella that he had checked out at the hotel with a 100 renmenbi for a deposit. What is worse is that in the pocket of the jacket there is his passport. 100 renmenbi is almost 20,000 won. But without the passport, he can’t go back home.

After making several phone calls, he found out that the jacket is safely kept by one of the participants. But the umbrella is still missing. Dang it. It seems like the last day is running the entire leg of trip. Also, Done waiting for the girl’s reply, Oh asked the front desk where the girl that he is interested in is staying. And guess what. The front desk said that she is NOT staying the this hotel. And it could be because A) She is really not staying B) Oh got her name wrong., which could be why she has not responded yet.

After coming back to the hotel, Oh was relieved to know that the jacket’s been secured. But still he was curious what the deal was with the girl. So, Oh decided to be sitting in the lobby, awaiting her. Oh thought “I don’t believe this. This is the very last night in Shanghai and he is waiting for the girl that he barely knows.”

Two and a half hours. That will be it. Then he is going to hit the most flamboyant and the fanciest spot in Shanghai to explore the crazy night life in Shanghai. The only thing that is sucky is the fact that it’s been drizzling.

Welcome to Shanghai : Day 3

2008. 10. 24

Today has been really slow. Compared to the fever, anxiety, excitement, those of the second day seemed to disappear. Expectedly, except for some young participants, the most of the members are somewhere, doing something fruitless. However, Oh succeeded in meeting the girl that he met on the elevator yesterday and even got her business card. It was not clear that if she detected that Oh was interested in her. But definitely, Oh sent a signal to her. Later today, Oh plans on asking her out or at least testing the water.

At any rate, Oh worked out today at the min-gym in the hotel. Although it has been only two days since he became unable to exercise, it seems like Oh felt like he gained some weigh already. In particular, some of the food that Oh has had, of course, was real greasy and cheesy. Since Oh forgot bringing his running shoes, he was content with doing some muscle failure in lieu of abiding by this routine. Well, at least it is better than nothing.

Workout is so miraculous in a bad way. You work out so hard and stop it for a couple of days, then all the muscle that you build up painstakingly is gone. Just like snapping fingers. And it takes twice time and energy to rebuild the muscle up. This might be the beauty and the whole point of work out. No pain, no gain. What you reap is what you sow. But all the hard work that you invested does not necessarily guarantee the result. Sometimes the result is frustratingly intangible. And this is why probably 60 percent of those signing up for the gym quits within three months.

Anyway, Oh saw the girl he was interested in wandering around the venue and passing out brochures. So he was biding his time to talk to her and strike up a conversation, which Oh pulled off. Ice is broken.

After spending hours on keeping the booth and asking some questions that random visitors hurled at him, Oh was bored to death. So, he enticed one of the participants to step outside and get some fresh air.

After coming back from little picture-taking sojourn, Oh was wondering what the girl that he was interested in was up to. So he went on a recon and found out that she was not at the booth. Coming back to his booth, Oh picked up a notepad and a pen in order to leave her a message that he would like to take about “cruise industry in general” over a cup of coffee (which Oh thought was a vastly lame pickup line) So, sitting on a bench next the her booth, Oh started to jot down the message, hoping she does not come back in the meantime. Folding the message, Oh decided to come back later and deliver it in person.

After 10 minutes, Oh headed back to the booth, being completely anxious and even fidgeting. Finally.

Oh : “Hey!”
She : “Hi!” (With a beautiful smile)
Oh: “I am here to pick up the newsletter that you talked about,”
She : “Hmm.. which one is it?”
Oh : (Pointing the paper on the desk between them) “I think that one is what I am looking for”
She : “Oh, yeah. Well, hold on. (Go to the back to the booth) There is one more I would like to give you”
Oh : “Ok?” (Receiving a brochure that She is handing over)
She : “This is the schedule for the upcoming conventions in Europe”
Oh : “Ah. You guys ton of conventions lined up. Well. Listen I have something for you in return.”
She : (With another big beautiful smile) “What is it?”
Oh : “(Sliding the note from his right sleeve) Well. I wanted to say it, but put the words down instead”
She : “Oh--- Can I open this now?”
Oh : “No..it would be embarssing..and..I need to go now because my team is leaving now.”
She : “Oh. Okay- are you coming in tomorrow?”
Oh : “Yes. I am. You know. I gotta go. See you around?”
She : “Yes. See you!”

Welcome to Shanghai : Day 2

2008. 10. 23

Finally, the convention began. Since this is his first business trip to overseas, Oh did not have many ideas what to do. As his colleagues advised before his flight, Oh just wanted to taste what cruise industry is like, to establish some old-boy network and explore Shanghai.

The convention was all right. Well, it was a bit lame. It could be that since Oh is narrow-sighted, he feels that way. However, it was not just him, but some other participants concurred as well. Therefore, Oh just wanted to take it not too seriously, but to get his job done at least, such as promoting Gyeonggido, and dole out all the brochures that he had mailed over here.

Oh sometimes tagged along some other participants and visited Chinese tour agencies or major cruise companies while he asked some cruise gurus about the industry in general. It was certainly helpful in that Oh received a number of insights and advice in depth from those experts. Nevertheless, schlepping around in the convention venue and being stuck at the booth was tiring and boring. Oh found himself flirtatious with one girl, but she circumvented Oh’s moves. Respectfully, Oh made no further move. Interestingly, there was a girl working at the booth across Oh’s. Oh and she had few eye contact, which basically does not mean anything. But she came over to Oh’s booth and struck up a conversation with her. While thinking that the girl is just interested in our booth, He thought that maybe she is interested in me. (Oh’s as much as narcissist as others) Meaning to be aloof and play it cool, Oh kept his eye on her. But no moves made today, maybe tomorrow.

After today’s official schedule was over, some of the participants went to watch a Chinese Acrobatic Show, which was a bit boring. Surely, some Chinese are so bendy to become acrobats . But while watching the show, Oh was reminded of the alleged age cheat and felt sort of sorry for the performers.

After the show, the mop decided to have a drink at a bar next to the hotel. The nocturnal view from the bar that looked over the skyline of Shanghai was something! After only one glass of beer, Oh called it a night.

Btw, Oh was so glad to hit the gym. The gym with three treadmills, two dumbbells and one rusty multi-purpose equipment. Still, he pumped some muscle before the performance. Tomorrow morning, although he can show up at the venue as late as 9:30 in the morning, set the alarm at 7:00 to go the gym and sweat.

One last thing. While Oh was walking on the street, this random Chinese guy said something to Oh’s face, which Oh’s shrugged off. After 5 minutes, Oh came back to the hotel and saw that guy hover at the main entrance. As soon as they have eye contact, that Chinese guy said something in Chinese to Oh who said “I don’t speak Chinese” In return, the guy flashed some Chinese girls’ photos and a piece of paper that read “We have many hot Chinese girls…” Yup… he was a pimp..no.. a panderer. Oh, while swatting off the man, came back into the hotel and got on the elevator, hoping to see the lady that Oh met in the elevator this morning and at the convention asked very stupid questions to.

Welcome to Shanghai: Day 1

Oh got up early, ate and left for the limousine to the airport. First trip to China. He’s been told a lot of horrible stories about China. For example, an old Korean couple on a tour in China was abducted, put to sleep and robbed of their organs. Anyways, he was anxious, nervous and excited at the same time. Going overseas and going to the airport always makes people feel eerie Oh thinks.

At any rate, at the airport, Oh met a bunch of people from all over the country wing ing down to Shanghai with him. They are from different organizations and are participating 2008 Shanghai Seatrade All Asia Cruise Convention. Since Oh’s job description covers cruise industry, Oh’s team captain decides to send him over to China.

After going through the exact same gate where Oh sent off the girl that he had a crush on about 3 years ago, and his ex girl friend about 2 years ago, he wandered about a school of duty free shops without buying anything.

Hopping on the plane, Oh is flying to China. Red. Mao Ze Dong, Red Book. Population. Fast Growth. Pollution. Flamboyance. History. Great Wall. There are too many adjectives to illustrate the country of en masse.

Touching down the airport, he found the air very smoggy and dirty. Indeed, there is a lot of construction going on at the moment. According to the tour guide, since PRC a communist country, the land is organized and managed by the government. So, no one owns even a piece of land. Still death penalty (hanging or public execution) is still carried out here in China. Eerie



After spending almost an hour on the bus, Oh and the mop reached the hotel that they are going to spend next 5 days and 4 night. Oh’s got a single room. Nice. No disposable razor, by the way. Great.

Then they went to the convention venue and checked out the booth that they are going to be stuck at for the next 3 days.

Afterwards, some of the participants decided to go to a welcoming dinner in the middle of Shanghai. Cooped up in the shuttle bus from the hotel, only 5 out of 20 participants headed to the dinner, which was pretty awesome. Chinese cuisine such as Peking duck, lobster, Chinese Kimchi!!, and some greasy local food that Oh could not even swallow. But what was more amazing was the rapid civilization and the bipolarization of the city’s outer aspect. On the outside, Shanghai beats the crap out of Walstreet or even Manhattan. However, if you took a good look at it, it is worse than Harlem (not securitywise). Oh thought he was in the middle of projections in Queens or Brooklyn. Shanghai is grotesque. It is a two faced city. On one hand, you see the facny and flamboyant skyline. On the other hand, you see slum areas where people hang their clothes out in the street, spit and pickpocket. And the smog and the overcast weather adds up to it.

Coming back to his room, he received a text message from a good friend of his. She lives in Beijing now. Although she did not want him to call her, Oh called up. Oh and she met back in Korea about 3 years ago. They fancied each other, but nothing happened. Strangely enough, they remained good friends since then. Anyways, a single phone call, although it will cost Oh’s company substantially, would not get him fired. So, they chatted up and hung up.

Oh took a shower and got ready to go to bed. Tomorrow the convention starts and Oh needs to get his job done. Participating in a couple of conference and go on sales calls. In the evening, he plans on exploring some hot spots in Shanghai. Night life of Shanghai awaits him. Now he regrets not taking Chinese so seriously back in college and high school.

Packing

2008. 10. 21

Packing for tomorrow. Yes. As soon as Oh came back from workout, he began to pack. No, he is not moving. He is going on a business trip to Shanghai next 5 days, starting tomorrow. First time in China. Gotta be interesting. To the country of Redbook.