Saving with Scalpers?
Merriam-Webster: scalp - to buy and sell so as to make small quick profits ; especially : to resell at greatly increased prices
It's the
assumptions that are the bane of travelers and expats; continually getting in the way of enjoying the best that life has to offer. In this case, it was in enjoying shows at a local price.
I read the paper just about every day, and make sure to scan the section dealing with upcoming events. Shanghai is a city of roughly 20 million people, so there should be interesting events happening all of the time. I just don’t seem to always find them. Part of my problem is that I am stuck in the mode of needing to plan ahead. If you don’t plan ahead in the US or Europe, you’re not likely to get tickets, will have to pay a fortune for tickets or will have a choice of only the worst seating -
assumption. Just because that’s the case in most of the world, doesn’t make it the case in Shanghai.
Events are frequently not scheduled until the close to the time of the event. For our latest event, a stunt show by the Filmska team, the announcement came in Friday’s paper for the event on Saturday at 2 PM. I’ll have to say that most events are announced a bit earlier than that, but less than a week is not uncommon.
Not having tickets, did we need to leave early? Our driver assured us that “no”, leaving so we would be there 15 minutes before the show was more than adequate.
He dropped us at a gate. No ticket office in sight. The guards turned us away – we had no tickets. The scalpers descended. Buying tickets written in a foreign language from people who can’t speak your language, well, that’s just not something we’re comfortable with. Flagging down the driver, he comes back to help us. More scalpers descend. Tickets presented, tickets rejected. Scalpers rush off, come back with more tickets. We’re going to get scalped -
assumption.
The outcome? We bought 4 tickets with a face value of 588 ¥ ($75) that had us seated centerfield, one row behind the VIP seats – there were few better seats in the stadium. At what greatly increased price did we pay? After all, we were scalped, right?! We bought the tickets for 150 ¥ ($20). Let me clarify, we bought the FOUR tickets for $20 – we paid less than 7% of the original ticket price.
Jaws dropped as we found our seats, as we watched the show (not worth $75, but more than $5), and again later as we calculated what I would have paid at the box office versus what our driver paid for the tickets.
As I head off to spend untold US dollars on Eric Clapton tickets, I can only wonder what would happen if we just waited and bought tickets outside the gate the night of the event. Well, that will be a future experiment – I really do want to see Eric Clapton in a small venue in Shanghai!
...assumptions can be problems in expatriation and repatriation. Visit
Expatriate Solutions for resources on getting the most of being an expat or repatriating.
Labels: assumptions, expatriation, Shanghai
Water Jugs and Perspective
Living in Shanghai, our drinking water comes in 18.9L jugs, delivered by bike. These plastic jugs are returned for refill. While they are delivered wrapped in plastic with new seals, you might imagine that they get quite scratched. Much to my amazement, this week we had a very clear, almost new jug. I’d never seen one before. It had a nice even blue tone. You could see clearly through both sides of the jug. See http://readsolutionsgroup.com/2006/12/water-jugs-and-perspective.html for the rest of the article.Labels: perspective, Shanghai
Christmas Shopping in Shanghai
In the US, Christmas decorations appear in the malls as the Halloween stores close their doors. By late November with Thanksgiving, the shopping season is in full swing.
In Shanghai, the decoration store turned its inventory over as Halloween ended. But wasn’t until early December that the malls and stores decorated for Christmas, putting up trees, lights and piping (loud and tinny) Christmas music through the speaker systems. For a country with little overt religion, Shanghai, at least, has readily picked up Christmas as one of its holidays; an opportunity for a get-together, good food and exchanging gifts.
For the expat shopping in Shanghai, there are wonderful presents to buy for people back home – silks, trinkets, artwork, and jewelry. The challenge is rather to find presents that might have been under the tree back home. Clothes – well yes you can get anything made, but it you want that latest skateboard/surf fashions, they might be hard to come by. Books – we are fortunate that there are now a number of foreign language/English bookstores, but for those who long to spend hours in a Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstore, perusing books over coffee and sampling the latest CDs, the choices are limited. Moreover, when the request is for a fun gadget – in this case, a clock for the shower – there is no Brookstone or Sharper Image at the local mall that might just have it (and some inflated price).
That said, with winter still not declared (see blog below), continuous rain, and decorations abounding, this expat found a shower clock, t-shirts satirizing communist propaganda, some interesting novels/biographies on China, wrapping paper and ribbons. There will be presents under the tree. The presents won’t be covered with Santas, sleighs and holly. But then it is a Chinese helper who delivers the presents from Santa here, isn’t it?Labels: Christmas, Shanghai
Before the Year Ends
The rush into the holiday season as a western expatriate in Shanghai, doesn’t feel quite the same. Christmas is but a commercial holiday here, though nonetheless a time to put up some decorations and lights. Second, it is merely the beginning of an extended holiday season with multiple (and seemingly unending) New Year celebrations – first by the calendar, and then with the Lunar New Year. Finally, while Shanghai provides untold shopping opportunities – if you like silk, cashmere, Chinese antiques, “fake” clothes, purses, etc – it is certainly more difficult to come up with the books, games, toys and clothes that would normally be found under our tree.
Nonetheless, it seems wise to reflect on 2006, long before the magazines are filled with articles on New Year’s Resolutions and the habits of this year will likely follow us into the next.
To take charge of your expatriate life in 2007, consider using some of the following steps to evaluate 2006 and set goals based on your values for 2007.
END THE YEAR WITH GRATITUDE: Look back over the past year and identify what you are grateful for.
- What people came into your life?
- Who brought you joy?
- What learning experiences did you have as an expatriate?
- What challenges did you overcome and what new skills have you acquired?
- What choices did you make that were right for you?
CLEAN UP: Identify any events or experiences that hold a negative charge. Use one of the following techniques to begin the shift to neutral or positive.
- If it’s a loss, have you allowed yourself to grieve? Moving away from home and having friends move on to their destination are times of loss. Have you identified and acknowledged those things that are now missing from your life?
- If it was a challenging experience, can you identify what you have learned from it? What would you do differently if you could do it again? If a similar situation presents itself, how will you handle it?
- Can you look back and identify steps (big or small) that you have taken to move forward from the event? If you can, congratulate yourself on seeing ways to move on.
- What have you learned about yourself, the source of your emotions, what triggers you possess, effective and ineffective responses? How can you put this to use in 2007?
CREATE A BASELINE: Use the Wheel of Life to evaluate how 2006 has been and create a baseline for measuring personal change. Using the diagram, rate each area of your life on the scale of 0 to 10 (0 being completely dissatisfied, 10 being completely and fully satisfied). In your evaluation of satisfaction, consider all elements of this area:
- Is it working for you?
- Are you fulfilled in this area?
- Do you need more or less of this?
Plot your ratings on the chart (feel free to ignore any areas that are not relevant to your life) and connect the dots.
Assume that the connected dots represent the wheel of the vehicle of your life. How smooth has your ride been?
GOAL SETTING: Identify the one or two items you would like to look back in a year and say that you have accomplished. Remember that the bigger the goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. Examples might be: starting a business, improving your relationship with your partner, increasing your savings level, losing 10 lbs, running a marathon, changing jobs.
MAKE IT CONCRETE: A goal without specificity, a vague direction, will lead you to precisely what you have defined – nothing specific, vague movement.
- When you have reached your goal, what will your wheel of life look like?
- Write down the specifics of the goal – who, what, how much, when, where.
- Identify and write down the benefits that you will gain by achieving the goal. Go beyond the first (easy) answer to something very tangible. For example, by increasing my savings to $10,000, I will be able to take my child out for ice cream once a week, reduce my overtime by 5 hours per week, spend more time with my partner, and sleep until 9 on Sundays.
- Create a dream map of what will surround you when you have achieved your goal – what type of vacations will you take, what will you live in, what “toys” will surround you, what will your office look like, what kind of people will surround you?
MOVE INTO ACTION: Brainstorm a list of all of the steps – big and small – that you could take to reach your goal.
- Pick your first 3 steps, make them specific and give them a timeline.
- Identify the 1 or 2 steps that you can begin to take before 2006 even ends
- Create a structure that will support you in achieving your goal – put it in your holiday notes to everyone you know, enlist your best friend in holding you accountable, create a calendar or checklist to post in front of you.
- Post your dream map where it will be most effective in supporting your change.
Commit to taking a step (even a very small one) toward your goal every day for the next 21 days. By the end of day 21, you will have begun to develop a new habit.
How would it feel to start 2007 already on your way to your expat goals?
Coaching provides a strong support structures to achieving your goals. Your coach will assist you in recognizing your strengths, clarifying your goals, identifying opportunities to move forward, changing habits of thought and action that are holding you back, and holding you accountable to your commitments. With experience in corporate and human resources, having been on assignment, repatriated and now as a trailing spouse, I bring a broad perspective to the challenges and changes associated with expatriation. Visit my website to learn more.
Copyright 2006 Sherry L. Read, All Rights Reserved
Labels: expat, expatriate, expatriation, goals, new year, wheel of life
Winter’s Arrival Unclear
Or
Criminal Punishment for Improper Forecasting
Following on to my “Autumn Fatigue” posting, the weekend’s Shanghai Daily (2-3 December 2006) provided an update on the expected arrival of winter. As you might recall from the earlier posting, seasons are defined not by the calendar, but rather than actual temperature. Winter, specifically, arrives in Shanghai following five consecutive days with highs under 10°C (50°F).
Winter is generally expected to arrive during the first 10 days of December but Chen Zhiqiang of the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau advises that “Now it is still hard to predict when the winter will truly arrive this year”. This is partly due to an abnormally long summer, combined with high temperatures and higher rainfall than normal in November.
How much of his reluctance could be due to an amendment to the meteorological law? The newly adopted law provides for meteorologists to receive administrative sanctions and/or criminal punishment for improperly forecasting important weather phenomena.
Perhaps, and just perhaps, sanctions should be in place for putting improper data into a meteorological model, or possibly for inaccurate computation, or even for choosing the wrong model.In a world where the theoretical science continues to develop and the models are insufficient for accurate predictions, I just wonder how many more people will enter the field of meteorology in Shanghai.
