Ni Hao!

Things have been very busy and very good over here on this end!
...Ahh! I just wrote that and then Norm came out of the bedroom saying he just got sick! ;( Oh no! I had a stomach thing a few weeks ago, I was worried it was my appendix, but it went away. I still am in love with Shanghai! I keep having experiences that make me know I am in the right place at the right time! Our friend, "The Hollywood Legend," Joey Altruda was in town last week and it was so wonderful to be able to show someone! He had the same experience we did, realizing that Shanghai is not at all what one expects it to be when you think China! It is more like New York or Paris or London, except different in that it is just becoming one of those cities and a lot of the world doesn't know about it yet! For me, I am happy the world hasn't figured it out yet because you can feel it coming, there is such energy here in the air!

We were exploring the art scene last week and it became glaringly clear that this IS the center of the art World. 'Moganshan Lu' is what you tell the cab driver who brings you to a part of town that, as you enter and see the walls after walls of VEry beautiful graffiti and homeless people on the street you begin to think, "Oh so This is the ghetto!" Then you get to the artists village. Really any artists dream. The government has set aside this whole area for artists space to create, and within these buildings you must have over a hundred galleries. The galleries are also where the artist work, so you can see them working on their latest masterpieces. Art here has taken a dramatic turn and you can see the growing freedom of expression and the influence of the West shining through a definite Eastern interpretation. And some of the messages are coming across loud and clear, but in the way only a painting or photograph can express. This is the place I want to buy a space in. It will be the West Village in about 2-3 years.

Our friend Nathan just had his magazine release party in a loft/gallery there on Thursday. Earlier in the evening we joined several couples for a fabulous dinner at a restaurant that is about to open. Such great people, we are looking forward to spending Christmas with them as well! Well, at one point we were talking about nightlife and clubs and how and why we thought the club scene (in New York especially) has just gone from being something cool, fun and desirable to a dreaded experience and expenditure... points included cell phones: Now one doesn't have to commit to anything- places or people. Leaves people always wanting more and not experiencing what is right in front of them. Bottle service- They design clubs now so if you are not buying bottles you are an outsider with no other option but to look on at the people 'in' the party at the tables (i.e. what used to be Serena's under the Chelsea-it's just disgusting now!), you can't sit down without a bottle, and you might not even get in if you don't want to buy a bottle (which usually starts at $250 minimum and usually it's a 2 bottle minimum, so before you sit down you will have spent close to a grand! i.e. Azza) But... (I'm getting to the point) the last complaint was that there was not a variety of people all hanging out together. Everyone has segregated themselves from each other: The rich go to rich clubs, the poor... well, stay home! (or more likely, are the ones working there!), gay people go to gay clubs, black people go to black clubs, rockers go to rock clubs, artists go to openings, older people go to older spots, young kids go to Webster Hall, Chinese go to Chinese clubs, Koreans go to Korean clubs, etc.... (Okay, now the point..!) At Nathan's magazine party which we attended right after the extraordinary dinner, there was SUCh an eclectic group of people there.... every group I just mentioned all hanging together, having intelligent conversations, meeting each other, taking pictures together and to see that right after I had had the previous conversation just made me say, "YEs! This is how it is supposed to be! And THIS will be how great things happen!" That was a long explanation, but I keep having moments like that here that just make me know I am here at the right time. There will be a lot of people coming here in a short amount of time, and I am happy to be here now as a part of the group of people who are the ones to Make it happen!

I had my first job here on Friday! I was hired as 'Party Flavor,' which, I don't care what anyone else says, I still think it's one of the coolest jobs out there! Basically I get payed to go to someone's party in a fabulous costume and have a great time! It was a great time! The only thing is, nightlife is pretty serious here! When I left at 5:30 am there were still people arriving! Unreal! I got paid very good, even by NYC standards! The funniest part for me was that they billed me as the star, making a flyer for me calling me "The Princess of NYC nightlife, making her debut tonight!" In NY you would have to pay a lot of money for that kind of publicity!

When Joey was here we throw our own party at the apartment! We had about 30 people here, an incredible amount when you think we've only been here 10 weeks! I posted pics on the flickr site, www.flickr.com/photos/ameliakallman and will post some more now...

Got the Christmas tree up! My lovely parents sent Norman and I a wonderful Christmas care package with all the holiday snacks and goodies we have been craving! Norman will now have his Christmas pudding, which he was terrified he wouldn't be able to find! I've been keeping some of the snacks hidden so that they Actually make it to Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, send your address to my email so I can send you a Christmas card! ameliakallman@hotmail.com

xxx