Sunday, June 20, 2010

Feeling very confused

I'm perplexed. I haven't been this confused in quite some time, and I have to say that this is not a good state to be in. 

So, here's the situation. I just got a new job offer (yay!) a few days ago and according to my phone conversation with the HR representative, the on board date we agreed on is July 1st. But, about two hours ago, I opened the offer letter they mailed me and the on board date on it is June 21st (Monday). 

I'm not surprised to see this mix-up because we went back and forth discussing the date during the phone call, but the dilemma I have now is that today is a Sunday and the 21st is tomorrow, meaning that I have no one to iron out this confusion with before one of the potential dates arrive.

I'm just puzzled...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Traveling in China

Awhile back, I had the opportunity to go to Beijing. During my stay there I witnessed many sides of Beijing, including beautiful Beijing, scary Beijing, and hilarious Beijing:

I don't really know the name of this flower, but I found this in the middle of a small garden that is located near the National Palace in Beijing. It's not easy to find such a beautiful masterpiece of nature in the middle of a bustling metropolis, so seeing this was definitely a treat!

These are living scorpions skewered and awaiting to be barbecued... I like a good BBQ, but this is just plain scary. The only thing I could do when I saw this is cringe, take a photo, and run away. There is no way I would even fathom munching on one of these little guys. I'll have nightmares!

In English, you can't really tell why the photo is funny, so here is the Chinese part: "Please lock the door when using the bathroom." And, trust me, the sign is absolutely necessary in China. I was shocked quite a few times when people wouldn't lock their stalls in the public bathrooms even when there were locks (some bathrooms don't even bother putting in locks because people don't lock them anyways, but tourists are people and we are used to locking our stalls, so...) and the way Chinese people check to see if a stall is in use is to open the door and see for themselves (I guess they're used to seeing other people or be seen doing their business). After that horrifying bathroom experience, I limited myself to using the bathroom only when at my hotel.