Murky Waters Of Songwriting IX and tales of Shanghai

Hmm.

I'm back, so let me give you an account of my journeys right from my desktop to Shanghai and back.

I was packing up for my short trip to Shanghai, and suddenly (as is always the case) I remembered a small guitar lick which I found interesting. Putting all else aside, I sat down with my guitar at 9am, and my flight was at about 2:40, which meant I had three hours to do whatever I wanted and then leave home by 12 noon.

I experimented with my capo, and found an interesting chord progression which incorporated this tibny lick at the fore, resulting in a small Sun yan-tze typish lovey-dovey song, which ironically was talking about my feelings i am anticipating when I return from Shanghai.

Basically, I finished writing the song in about an hour, and then I decided to record it down before I go to Shanghai and forget all about it. I recorded it down (much to the discomfort of my father regarding time-planning) and I went off to finalise all my bags and stuff.

My dad and I hit the road and got to Changi at about 1:30, which gave us a small window to get some chocs for my friend, Tina, who lives in Shanghai, and off we went to the boarding gate.

Boarding gate 27 was the one which we needed to get to, and when I tried to go through the metal-detector, I forgot to remove my wallet and key-pouch and handphone etc. That wasn't the best of it all. When all of us boarded the plane, the flight was delayed due to some insufferable bloke who wanted to get off the plane while it was taxiing to the runway.

Apparently, he claimed that he had some family problems, and decided to leave last-minute, leaving his luggage behind.

I suppose the air crew smelt foul play and evacuated everybody and conducted a thorough baggae check to ensure there were no explosives or whatsoever. Anyhow, we were delayed for two hours just because of that lousy idiot, and we go into the air by 5pm.

We reached Shanghai after a five-hour flight. The food wasn't as bad as I had anticipated (and not without fear) due to a bad previous experience.

The funny thing about going back to Shanghai, was that the last time I was there, I was only about 13 years old. It is like a habit for the Chinese peopel to call kids 'Xiao(3) Peng(2) You(3)', which literally means 'little friend'. However, that is just a polite term to use. I was used to being called that when people wanted to speak with me when I used to live in Shanghai, and then it came as a shock when I come back there 4 years later and everybody refers to me as 'Xian(1) Sheng(1)', meaning 'Sir'.

So we were picked up by an ex-colleague of my dad's, a Shanghainese who looked uncannily like John Lennon. Apparently, he didn't recognise me, and mistook me for my elder brother because 'i didn't look like that chubby little boy' to put it in his words.

Not that he played or sang when we met him, but the striking resemblance made me do a double-take. He also had the odd habit of slapping the steering wheel while talking and laughing with my dad along the way to the hotel we were staying at.

The hotel we lodged up in was the Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai, which was located in Puxi, and it was a very nice hotel. Very fancy sometimes.

We spent our first night there without much incidence.


The next day, we decided to get a local handphone SIM card, and it took us an hour walking along the road to come across a small shop selling this. True to my word, i contacted Tina's mum the minute I got a moment of peace from the bustling streets, once again, due to everybody having the memory of me as a chubby little boy, she didn't recognise my voice, which seemed to have taken on a mature tone.

Right.

The phone call to Tina's mum (whose name is Joan), invovled organising a small dinner with our family and theirs, which was a kind gesture I couldn't decline. She then told me later that evening when I called her again that I could stay over at her place for one night, which was a small request by Tina's little brother, Vincent, whom I had also come to know during my stay there previously.

The day passed with my dad and I visiting the City's museum, visting the Pudong bund, and then having a dinner with my Dad's ex-colleagues, which involved me drinking a goblet of beer, which wasn't that bad. I had previously gotten drunk on a 'Carlsberg Special Brew', that was why i apporached the drink so apprehensively.

We both then fetched my mother from the domestic airport, as she had come to Shanghai from Lian Yun Gang, a city south east of Tian Jing.

Day two, I had made all the neccessary arrangements with Aunt Joan (as i had refered to Tina's mum since I had met her) and I was to accompany my parents to the city's subway and make my journey from Puxi to Pudong, and be picked up by Aunt Joan.

I made the journey fairly well, though I was approached by a lady-beggar, and got stuck with the coins at a public phone booth. I emerged from the subway station slightly lost, but recognised Aunt Joan's car, a black Toyota Camry, which she had since my childhood days there.

It was kinda funny to see Aunt Joan so surprised at my apparent growth spurt, and as I ahd left Shanghai shorter than her, I suppose it took a while for her to get used to looking up just to speak with me. She then drove on with me sitting with her in the car, and she told me that we were going to pick up Vincent (Tina's younger brother) from his school.

Another wave of anxiety swept through me as I pondered how Vincent would look like after four years. Definitely, he would be taller (and more plump) but he looked just like a normal, healthy kid when I saw him at school amongst his fellow 11-year-olds.

I was tired watching the kids playing their games, and a parent, who knew Aunt Joan suggested I join a couple of high school kids who were having a party. She introduced me to her two daughters, Amanda and Rachel, who were very nice, and I spent about forty minutes just hanging around talking to some people who were brave (or mad enough) to talk to an outsider like meself.

Fopr one thing, language wasn't a barrier, but conversation topics were dire. The party ended abruptly, and I filed away from them, and left in the wake of Aunt Joan and Vincent (who had recognised me shortly after meeting him) leaving for their car.


Aunt Joan's place was really snazzily decorated, and it was cosy and warm. you could stay there and not feel out of place due to the fact the the combination of potted plants and assorted collected items filling up her window sills gave the whole house a welcoming look.

I just let Vincent and his friends (a pair of twins and one other boy who had attained parental permission to hang out at his place) enjoy themselves while I chatted with aunt Joan about her decorations and her cooking. i was kinda funny, I suppose, for her to stand there with an apron on talking to a person who was the same age as her only daughter, ranging on topics such as the choice of cooking wares and decorative items. I then took up a game of darts with Vincent which wound on after dinner into the night.

Aunt Joan was one lady who would qualify as a 'Tai-tai', but her simple look would never betray that. She was also soft-spoken and kind. Ah, what a nice lady.

The moment of truth arrived when Tina and her father arrived at about 9pm in the evening, and Tina's dad (whom I addressed as Mr Qu) also got shocked at my growth spurt.

Tina was just smiling and said hi, though i didn't know what was going on in her head. The night passed with a dinner consisting of pizza and home-made soup, and just Chatting with the Qu family, and wondering (inside my head) what Tina felt about how it was to see me again. I hope it was a positive feeling though.


Day three, i accompanied Tina and Aunt Joan while they sought for some costume jewellry for their friends in Singapore which they intended to visit when they come down here. Tina looked like soem Parisian designer/model while her mum looked just the same as ever, a simple jumper and track pants.

We then met up with my parents and had lunch in a german pub/restaurant, and conversation was mainly between my mum and Aunt Joan.

I have no idea: whenever I try and talk to Tina, she would answer very briefly, leaving me hanging onto thin air. I constantly felt as though I was being brushed off. I have no idea why she was always liek that, but I suppose, like me, I didn't know her too well to say anything which might be of interest.

The night passed, with a dinner for all seven of us ( my parents, myself, and the four Qu family members).

We said our farewells, and I just felt all empty after seeing their car drive away.

Day four, we did some shopping, and eating at a small chinese restaurant fro lunch, a tea-break at Starbucks (they're all over Shanghai), and a very spicy dinner near the hotel.

It was my final night, and my dad and I left for the Airport, once again fetched by his ex-colleague, the John Lennon lookalike.

The flight was at 11:40 pm, and we touched down in Singapore at about 5:30 am, meaning that i only got about three hours of sleep last night in that nosiy, uncomfortably hot cabin.

I'm tired, and I'm tired of thinking about Tina. maybe I'll get a better chance to talk to her when she comes here in a couple of weeks time.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy