Yesterday Jodi and I went out to celebrate the second Chinese Valentine's Day this year (lunar calendar added an extra "leap month", so all associated holidays repeat). I got off work exactly at 4:30 and rushed down to Xujiahui. We met in front of the Metro City KFC—great place for people watching, by the way—and walked back into Metro City and bought a small digital camera for Jodi to use at work:

Then we walked through the metro station (between Xujiahui and Zhongshan Park, we spent more time walking around underground than above ground!) to the 小肥羊 hotpot place. Our usual fare being 傣妹, this was quite a treat! The soup, the lamb, the vegetables... the quality of the ingredients is outstanding. While we were eating I gave Jodi the second part of her gift, a custom-made public transportation card with our wedding picture on the back and Poopy's picture on the front; I know it's a little nerdy, but it's practical and a good memento.

Then Jodi surprised me with a gift that made me extremely happy. It's something I've been wanting for a while, but have never been willing to part with the USD 120 to buy: a 好记星 Chi-Eng-Chi dictionary! With stylus input! And it can play music! You can point to a Chinese character in another character's definition and easily get the pinyin! And best of all is that the box has a big picture of Dashan on it!