You probably didn't know this about me

Last night, I suffered a massive nosebleed. Though not nearly as epic as the Hotel Bleed of '97, this one started gushing like a fountain as soon as I got out of the shower, sufficiently disgusting my roommate. I blame the pollution as opposed to my somewhat chronic history of head orifice bleeding.

Pollution may also be to blame for my current affliction: a cold. I hesitantly/secretly/embarrassingly pride myself on being able to pinpoint the near exact moment I allowed the offending virus into my body. In this case, it was one of the following four times:

1. Last week, roommate Michelle was sick for two days. Number of surfaces we both touch in the apartment is high being that we share a bathroom.
2. Two days ago, I held onto a pole on the metro in many different positions (for me), then touched my nose.
3. Also two days ago, on a different metro ride, it was very crowded and one man coughed directly into my breathing area. I didn't hold my breath because I figured the germs had already hit my lips.
4. Co-worker Maggie told me yesterday that many foreigners get sick from the pollution in Shanghai.

Speaking of Maggie, we went out to dinner last night to a restaurant near the Jing 'an Temple metro stop (our stop for work). It was nice and I love making local friends as opposed to Western friends! She is taking the TOEFL this weekend and wants to go to grad school in Canada then remain there permanently. She's very friendly to me and that makes me happy and surprised.

Plus, one mystery solved: Sidewalks of Pain are guiding lanes for blind people! I haven't noticed a lot of blind people but maybe that's just because they're not carrying canes. I've also stopped thinking everyone I see is single just because they're not wearing wedding rings.

Today, I'm interviewing an American-Chinese chef for the "Culinary Comforts" section of the magazine. This weekend, I get to review a book that one of Josh Kilmer-Purcell's friends wrote... such a circular group of memoirists!

Funny aside: here, "comrade" is now slang for gay.