Weekend Recap

A few highlights from the weekend:

1) I founded the WK Shanghai Jogging Club and organized the first run (approx. 5k) this weekend at Century Park. Our group is novice but committed and gave an excellent effort. We ran around the park for about half an hour, decided we were hungry and went for a late lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant.

Running for exercise apparently is uncommon in Shanghai. In a public park about the size of Central Park on a nice autumn Saturday, we saw no other runners. Zero.

2) Purchased pirated DVD's. There's a store right across the street from my apartment. An Inconvenient Truth and No Country for Old Men set me back 20RMB or about $3. Quality was perfect... I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference if I'd gotten them from Best Buy at home.

3) Went to the South Bund Soft Spinning Material Market on Sunday. Shopping at a fabric market sounds like a stop that Mom might make on her way to the pottery stores in Sanford, but I I got my arm twisted into going with a few friends. The market is housed inside a mall in a busy part of town. Outside, vendors sold all kinds of goods including fighting crickets and medicinal worms (see pictures above). Inside the three-story market, there were dozens of shops, some specializing in coats and jackets, others in suits, others in dresses, others in shirts and so on.

To my surprise, I ended up purchasing two tailored shirts. I picked out the pattern and style (open Windsor collar, French cuffs), had my measurements taken and the shirts will be ready next week. Paid about $16 today and will pay another $16 at pickup. I'm told I could've done better. The market also had belts, scarves, hats, cufflinks, and gloves. I see some Christmas presents in a few people's futures. (Mom, which cousin did I draw?)