Um... Deer in my yard in Eugene??

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Originally uploaded by Wasting Moments.

Okay, so this is strange. I'm at an Internet cafe in Shanghai. Last night, from my hotel (really expensive internet access), I could post through blogger, but couldn't access my blog. A bit of googling leads me to believe blogspot domain blocked in China.

Now I can't access blogger either (at least from where I am). I've tried a variety of anonymizers, but they're either blocked or don't support cookies. But flickr works. Alas, I can't get to a cd drive here. What a pain.

So, I'm having a fantastic time so far. Last night was a national holiday, so the streets were just insane. Everything was either inflatable or blinking. Seriously. Folks were buying and selling inflatable wings, hats, boxing gloves and a variety of inflatable bats and hammers. Random groups of teenagers and children would accost one another in the street with their toys. It was really neat. I actually was bonked by a couple of inflatable hammers at random.

It's unbelievable how well organized a city of 16 million people can be. It would be pure chaos if it weren't for all the police, military and other random public service folks exerting control over the throngs of people. Shrill whistles stop the flux of pedestrians when the lights change, and the crossing guards take their responsibilities quite seriously if someone tries to ignore their pleas (which it seems they always do).

My somewhat posh hotel upgraded me to a suite for the same price. More space than I need. I didn't realize this until today, but the elevator is key coded for my floor, where the suites are. I had been using a poorly lit stairway to get from the floor above mine to my own floor, but now I figured it out.

I got up super early today, and was on the streets again by seven-thirty. There's a bloody Starbucks down the road from me. My morning coffee cost twice as much as my breakfast (xiao long bao, a sort of dumpling / dough blob, quite tasty). Then I walked a couple miles down to the Bund, an area along the river separating Shanghai proper from the Pudung New Area. Scoped out the Bund tourist tunnel, a psychedelic train ride under the river, but decided to hold off on that. Wandered back up to my hotel, near the Peoples' Square. Walked around that area for a bit and found my way to the Shanghai Museum where I spent most of the afternoon. Amazing place. My camera battery ran out on the second of four floors, since I don't think I've charged it in a month. Must remember to charge it more frequently, like nightly. Got some really cool pictures of ancient bronze work, stone carvings and some ceramics. Was out of luck in the galleries of painting, calligraphy, seals, furniture & more. I may have to stop back and try to grab those last few pictures. It's pretty near the Shanghai Art Museum, which I hope to pay a visit to when I'm back down here. Admission was only 20Y, or about US$2.50.

Had a really good, really cheap dinner of stir-fried pork, shrimp and celery (among other ingredients), soup, salad (which I didn't eat), tea, slices of melon, an odd egg that was somewhat unrecognizable, but definitely hard-boiled, and an interesting fruity, custard-like dessert. All for under 50Y!! The place was somewhat near the French Concession area, near the Shanghai Library where the conference is. I was hoping to get online at the library, but it was closed (I still can't quite figure out why). But then I found this place, which is really a haven for gamers. Getting to this end of town involved the metro, which was a fascinating experience. Unbelievably crowded. Again, people with whistles trying to keep you from getting on the train while the doors are closing. When I was finally far enough up the queue/mob to get on one, the inertia of the crowd launched me onto the train when the doors opened, where I was packed into no space and got off 2 stops too late due to difficulty exiting. Had to backtrack on the northbound train. The number of people here is almost overwhelming. It's just too wonderful.

I've got to get up early tomorrow, and cab it to the airport for a 10am flight to Beijing. Hopefully the blogging will be easier from there. Shanghai is a beautiful city, and if I can find a way to get the photo stuff to work better, you'll see that for yourselves. Hope all's well on both coasts.