Turning 65 isn't all that bad!

This past week I turned 65 and was lucky enough to have two celebrations of that milestone event. First Toronto which I've already blogged about and this past weekend I got the honour to share a surprise party with my dear friend Don Cohen who is still a baby at 60. The big surprise for me was Matthew flew in From Halifax and Sasha and Eck flew in from Toronto with my brother Marty and his wife Marilyn training it from Toronto (something they will never do again) - complete and unexpected surprise for me and one that I was not counting on at all. We dined at the Maison de Gouveneur though to be honest we were all alittle hungry at the end of the night - not your basic jewish caterer!!! My dearest and most heartfelt thanks go out to Marla Gold, Terry Yanofsky, my special wife Theresa and Sasha who worked very hard to make this all happen. I very much appreciated it. It was a wonderful night. And a special thank you to Marty & Marilyn for enduring the bus ride back to Toronto - a truly adventurous weekend.

The Move has started

It may all sound great and glorious but when it comes down to moving from one home with alot of memories and a great view of Montreal and the Lachine Canal to a new home in an unknown land, it gets very difficult. The time has come and the packers have arrived. We are organizing an air shipment to Shanghai, a sea shipment to Shanghai, a land shipment to our condo in Toronto and a further land Shipment to a storage facility in Toronto. The chances of my favorite shirt winding up in storage instead of Shanghai is frightening. The packers are fast and if I dawdle my sweaters will wind up in Toronto instead of Shanghai. In three days we leave Montreal, lock, stock and barrel. Au revoir la belle province!!!

Am now legal

No more keeping my head bowed and looking away as I pass the twelve year old kid taking movies ticket at Cineplex.

I am now Kosher - a genuine senior citizen and on the dole from Canada's Old Age Pension.

Celebrated my sixty-fifth with family at Origin voted number one by Toronto Life Magazine and it deserves every accolade it gets. A wonderful time was had by all and to top it off I walked away with great gifts from everyone in the family. The only thing that could have made this night better was to Matthew who I really miss, as well as have my sister Elaine and brother in law Gary there but school, schedules and holidays just would not cooperate to make this happen.

And finally I would be remiss if I did not thank the special women in my life for making this happen - my mom for giving birth to me and raising me to become the fine upstanding young man I am - To my daughter Sasha, the person who makes me the proudest dad and who I miss dearly when we are away and finally Theresa, the rock and love of my life and who puts up with all my craziness on a daily basis.

Real Estate Brokers Beware

Though we are in North America I couldn't resist sharing this great story that just might foretell what's in store for the hot real estate market in Toronto. This from the Shanghai Daily News today.

Desperate gangs of real estate brokers are fighting rivals on the streets over customers, as tough housing policies hit the market.

Changning District prosecutors said yesterday that they handled two cases where five brokers from real estate companies were detained for "gang fights" in downtown areas. In one case, 19-year-old broker Xu Qing lost his customer to another real estate company next door to his agency.

Angry that all his efforts had been in vain, Xu went to the rival company's office demanding an explanation but was punched by a broker. In a fury, Xu gathered 30 people to "seek vengeance" against his rivals and launched an attack on the brokers who "stole" his customer. The rival brokers armed themselves with chairs, brooms and anything else at hand to keep their attackers at bay until police arrived.

A week later, two different real estate companies fought it out in downtown Zhongshan Park area, in another customer dispute.One broker arrived at the fracas too late as police were already there. But as he left he was ambushed by four rivals and beaten up.

A senior broker surnamed Ye working in the Zhongshan Park area said brokers are now more likely to get into punch-ups with rivals because business has become tougher as fewer people are considering purchasing apartments these days.

Heading home or wherever that is....

Yesterday we went to the Pearl Market - saw a beautiful string of black pearls listed at 36,000 RMB or $5625 (US). When Theresa walked away saying that was too much the price came down to 7800 RMB or $1218 CDN. We still walked but you get the idea - nothing is as it seems.

This morning we walked five minutes from our apartment to a grocery store in the IFC mall where we found beef from Australia, Milk from the UK, Pork from Canada, and wine from all over the world. Going to be pressed to feel like we are living anywhere other than the Western hemisphere.

We are heading back to Toronto in a few hours and then on to Montreal to pack up the condo and say good bye to Montreal.

Now it's on to Shanghai - a whole new experience that we'll share with you on this wonderful ride we call our lives.

Though I'm not back in Shanghai till May, Theresa returns Apr 3. Hopefully she'll pick up the postings till I return.

P.S. Did i mention we ordered in a bottle of wine with take out dinner and it was here in 15 minutes - cost of the diner $15.00 cost of the winr $15.00 - and no tipping.

What's the world coming too

It's Friday and my dreams of scoring some Nike or Converse sneakers today have been rudely quashed. More than 2,000 pairs of counterfeit athletic shoes were confiscated at a garment market yesterday on Qipu Road. The shoes I wanted sold for about $4.00 per pair. I mean how nasty is that. Now I have to go looking for another fake market.

Tomorrow though is no more fakes. We do some serious shopping exploration with Francine Martin, a professional shopper and head of East of the Sun which will be fun and hopefully informative and time saving for when our friends and relatives come to visit and want to do some real shopping in Asia.

That's it for this Friday morning - tonight it's dinner with our new neighbours Chris & Susan at Mi Thai, a great restaurant in the French Concession and we head back to Canada for our final packing and moving on Sunday. We say au revoir to Montreal on March 30. We will miss the city and our condo but hopefully the bonds we've made with friends will stay strong and solid during the next few years.

Where do I start - went to a Poetry Reading at M on the Bund last night followed by dinner at Nougatine at Jean George. Thought I would be bored but it was great. Woke up to another sunny and warm day in Shanghai. Went to the electronics mall where everything from iPads to $100 Dell computers (fakes I assume) were available. Lunch was at Element fresh. So far this has been a pretty North American day except for the perfectly packaged and displayed $100.00 Dell Computers. Home made stir fry veggies, noddles and chicken (hopefully anti-biotic free) for dinner and a quiet night watching the boats pass by on the Huangpu River.

My Goodness - Walmart Selling Expired Duck Meat

Whats one to think - Walmart has apologized for selling expired duck meat in a store in Chongqing Municipality. The Yangjiaping store in Jiulongpo District was caught by a local market regulator selling smoked tea ducks using duck meat that had passed the expiry dates.

The Chongqing Administration for Industry and Commerce said the local Wal-Mart sold expired ducks after frying them. In a statement to the municipal consumer's association, Wal-Mart said it will pay anyone who bought the ducks 10 times the amount they paid between February 5 and 28.

And to think I was planning to make Theresa a meal of smoked tea ducks with pig's knuckles bought at the local Walmart . Guess I'll have to rethink. :)

Home Sweet Home

We moved into our permanent Shanghai digs today - will still be a long time before our container arrives from Montreal but given we are living in a hotel/apartment complex, life is not too difficult. Between the room service breakfast menu and the house keeping service six days a week, we will be just fine.

Having our first home cooked meal in Shanghai tonight - salmon filets, mashed potatoes, stir fried veggies, australian wine and brownies for dessert.

Having some issues understanding the remote controls for the TV and the DVD player - all Chinese to me :). Somehow I've muted the sound and just can't figure out how to get it back - ahh, the challenges of living in Asia.

Virgin Eggs

This blog will contain news, views and fun stuff that crosses our path as we begin our adventure in Shanghai. Today we want to share with you an article from the Shanghai Daily News.

Custom of 'virgin eggs' not to everyone's taste

AS spring sets in, a strange smell permeates the air in Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province, as locals begin to eat the seasonal "virgin egg."

"Virgin eggs" are actually eggs boiled in the urine of virgin boys. Most outsiders are appalled at the idea, but the eggs are selling well on every street corner of Dongyang. Costing 1.5 yuan (US$0.22) each, vendors often sell out, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

Although bizarre to some, the custom is part of the city's intangible cultural - Dongyang people say the eggs have the taste of spring.

In recent weeks, schoolboys in Dongyang City were instructed to urinate into plastic barrels placed outside their classrooms, which are then collected by nearby residents. Local teachers accepted the practice and even reminded the boys not to use the barrels if they are sick.

"It's so delicious that I can eat 10 eggs a day," said a woman, surnamed Liu, who moved to Dongyang several years ago and developed a taste for "virgin eggs."

"I had never eaten them before I came here, but now I am addicted," she said

However, not all Dongyang people are interested in them. One local resident, surnamed Li, said he had never tasted "virgin eggs." "I can't stand the smell. It's awful."

In the eyes of many Dongyang people, "virgin eggs" are the perfect tonic for spring. Egg vendors will tell you that they help prevent springtime drowsiness and heatstroke in the summer.

Doctors' opinions on eating the eggs vary a great deal.

Wu Yunhua at Dongyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine told the newspaper that urine contains a kind of crystal that can "diminish the internal heat of the human body" and stop bleeding.

But Huang Jian, the chief urology physician of Jinhua Central Hospital, contested that there is nothing good for people's health to be found in the urine. "After all, it is waste from the body," he said.