123456

If you come to China and open a Chinese bank account, do not get your wallet stolen with you Chinese ATM card inside. This may seem obvious, but I still feel as though I should warn you.

So, as I believe I blogged earlier, I had my wallet stolen. This didn't really concern me because I didn't have that much money in my wallet, and in order to use my ATM card at all you need my pin number. And although I may be jackass, I don't carry my pin number around in my wallet. It's the screensaver on my phone. ha.

So anyway, after going through the millions of papers they gave me when I opened my account, I couldn't find any number to call and report my stolen card. So I decided to go to my bank the following day and cancel it. Once I arrived at my bank I learned that there is only one branch in all of Shanghai that can cancel and reissue a new ATM card. I should point out that when I got my ATM card they just handed it to me across the counter of my branch. It took about 5 seconds. It's not personalized or anything.

Anyway, I didn't have time to go to this one location to cancel it, so I had to wait until the next day. I arrived at the cancellation branch to learn that, for some reason, it closes for an hour in the middle of each day. Around the time I decided to arrive. So I had to go wait out the hour in a nearby park. I got to the branch and stood in an enormous line with the 3000 other people in Shanghai who have had their card stolen. I finally got to the clerk and had to fill out 5 different sets of papers all in Chinese. After going through this and having them talk me through the papers (No, you put your american address there and your Chinese address here - I don't know why they needed my American address, I didn't give it when I opened my account.) Anyway, I didn't even get my new card. I have to go back next week and fill out more paperwork.

After explaining this to my rooommate she pointed out it probably would have been easier for me to open a new account, take out all the money in my old account and put it in the new account. She's right, but I'd rather go through the pain. And if you were wondering, no money had been stolen from my account. I can continue to afford my stripper and champagne lifestyle. I knew the Chinese would never be able to figure out the pin 123456.

I spent all of yesterday in a painful haze of hangover hell. I left the house around 6 to pick up some Chinese food - the only time I find Chinese food to be appropriate. Everyone in the restaraunt and I were choking and coughing on some chemical they were using to clean the windows as I was waiting for them to finish my take-away tofu. I briefly wondered what was floating around the kitchen if this was out with customers. But for a dollar, what do you expect? I took a delivery menu as I left. I don't want to have to think about that stuff.