Ever had an unreasonably nasty neighbor? They're a pain in the ass, kind of like getting a splinter that you can't pull out. There's this lady who lives below me and she's one of those nasty ones. When I moved in three years ago, I was unpacking boxes at around 9:30 at night and she came up to complain about the noise. I told her I was sorry but that I wasn't actually making that much noise and I would try to be more quiet. Mind you they live two floors below me. Then just as I was about to shut the door she started going off about how her son gets up early and how I woke him up. I felt bad because she made it seem like he was a toddler that I woke up so I apologized again and shut the door. A couple days later I was in the same lift with them and saw that the son was a teenager, I highly doubt he was the one complaining because he had his ipod on blasting music.
So after that incident I thought, well I'm new here so I should be nice, so the next time I ran into her in the lift I smiled and said hi but she had nothing but dirty looks in return. She has also been very rude to my girlfriend as well. One time, while riding the same lift, she even had the audacity to cough back into the elevator while exiting. I mean she actually stepped out then turned her head back towards the elevator and coughed at us. Is that really neccessary? You would figure in the three years that I have living here that she would chill out. I even caught her twice snooping around and looking into the window of my car and the car of a friend of mine.
Then yesterday, as I was carring a very heavy box out of the lobby, she was on the other side of the door about to come in. When she saw me, she decided to take her time going in by slowly blocking the door and then pushed it inwards into me so I had to take several steps back. As I walked past her she told me that I needed to be patient!
Not once in all the times that she has been rude to me or my girlfriend have we ever said anything back. We've always been polite and just ingored her nasty comments or looks or actions because I feel that people like that will get what they deserve. She's just a bitter, nasty, over weight, unhappy divorcee house wife that has nothing better to do than to hold a three year grudge for nothing. When she was messing with me yesterday I wanted to ask her what the hell her problem was but then I decided she did not even deserve that. When you come across idiots like this, the best thing you can do is ignore them because really all they want is attention and by responding you're just feeding the fire.
I'm moving in a couple months anyway but I truly believe Karma will get her in the end. Most of the people that have been nasty to me have always had something really bad happen to them later. It's simple physics, an action will be met by an equal reaction. If you're nice to people they'll be nice back to you. If you're nasty to people, nasty things will happen to you.
I know this because I used to be a real jerk when I was younger. I would make fun of people or say really nasty things to get attention. During that time nothing good ever happened to me. Once I got into college, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try to make a change in my life, new people new environment. It could have been less of a conscious decision and more of me becoming more mature but you know what? It really worked. I started to get better grades and lots of great opportunites began to unfold in front of me. Now I've got an awesome career and really believe that's because I stopped being a jerk. Too bad the lady downstairs hasn't realized that yet.
San Jian Bao is a special kind of dumpling, much similar to the Xiao Lung Bao but bigger and less delicate. It's characterized by it's crispy bottom that is pan fried after it is steamed.
I had to get up at 4am today for work so we could catch the sunrise. After that scene was done we had some time off and I was craving san jian bao for breakfast. My driver took me to this famous spot called Xiao Yang San Jian Bao. It's a little tiny hole in the wall shop on a street you normally wouldn't pass. When we got there , there was a line of like 20 people waiting to get their little dose of San Jian Bao. These ones were very similar to Xiao Lung Bao in that there was a delicious soup inside. The crispy bottom was pan fried to perfection, and along with some hot soy milk, I managed to put down six of them. At only 1 rmb(12cents US!!!) each, this has got to be the best meal for your buck. Actually less than a buck because 6 were still less than $1us. If you're in Shanghai try them, you won't be let down!
