My First Major Surgery Experience

When I heard about Tiger Wood’s accident on Today’s Show last Tuesday, I had a momentary flashback when they mentioned that he had emergency surgery with rods, plates and screws on his leg. My first major surgery happened on May 5, 2017. It was an open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgery of my left ankle.

Shanghai, China. It was the first day of the 3 day weekend when I decided to head to the shopping center to watch a movie, enjoy a good meal and shop for new shoes. I took a bike from my apartment to the shopping center. I remember when I got there, my legs were like jelly. After I watched a movie, I was just walking around the mall when I notice a crowd in the children’s fun area. A child fell from one of the jungle poles and hit his head. I observed for awhile but the emergency services were taking there sweet time that I moved on. I then headed to the shopping mall across the street. Since I don’t want to cross the street in traffic, I decided to take the basement route through the subway station. I remember I was holding my phone but was focus on the path I’m taking. When I reach the entrance to the mall, I suddenly crashed on the floor as if I twisted my ankle. When I tried standing up, I knew it wasn’t just a twist of my ankle but something more. The shopping center personnel said they can call an ambulance for me. As I wasn’t that familiar with the hospitals in Shanghai, I just asked them to bring me to a place where I can have a sit. I called some friends of mine who helped me pick up some clothes in my apartment and brought me to their place for me to stay while I recuperate.

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Shanghai – Financial Capital of China

Shanghai is two hours away from Beijing by plane.  If you are in need of a getaway from Beijing and do not want to rusticate in the countryside, this place is the best for you.  Shanghai is considered as the financial capital of China and one of the municipalities of the country.  It’s a modern and cosmopolitan city with tons of skyscraper and highways.

There are several ways to reach this city, you can plane or train it from Beijing.  If you plan to fly, you have two airports to choose from: Hongqiao and Pudong.  These two airports are located at the opposite sides of the city.  Hongqiao is mainly domestic and is located west of the city.  Pudong airport which has two terminals serves mostly the international riding public is located east of the city.   To train it, there are two stations : Shanghai Main and Shanghai South.  To check the train schedule and prices, browse through my train guide here.  For flight information, you can try http://www.ctrip.com or http://www.elong.com.

Shanghai Starbucks Tumblers

My sisters came to visit me in Beijing but since they took the budget flight to Shanghai, I had to pick them up there.  As usual, I have to stop by a Starbucks shop to purchase for my favorite collectors.  There are several Starbucks in Shanghai notably in famous tourist spots like Xintiandi, Yuyuan and Nanjing Road.  They still don’t have a store at the new Terminal 2 airport of Shanghai Pudong.

Unlike Beijing tumblers, Shanghai have box sets perfect for gifts.  I was lucky enough to purchase a Shanghai box set and a Zhejiang box set.  Each box set costs RMB 388 (Ouch!).   What I like about it is, some of the tumbler designs are transparent and can only be purchased in a set.  The Shanghai box set is composed of Shanghai, Xintiandi and Yuyuan.  The Zhejiang box set is composed of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Hangzhou.  Check out the pictures of these sets.

Hooters (美国猫头鹰餐厅)

Hooters in the US is known for their beautiful, well-endowed servers.  When Hooters opened in Beijing in 2007, foreigners particularly men flocked the restaurant hoping to be served by these beautiful, well-endowed servers.   However, they were disappointed as Asians are not known to be blessed with big breasts.  Reviews at that time were focused on their servers and not their food.

In any case, I only got the chance to visit this place last month after church.  It wasn’t full as it’s a Sunday and to make up for their lack in bust size, they perform a 30 second dance routine almost every half an hour.  Service was great and the place is filled with flat screen TV tuned in to different sports channel.