Wanderlust Wendy

Shanghai Story

Shanghai Story

Le Wagon Week 1: Change the Way We Think

March 4, 2018

Well, I survived week 1 of the 9-week coding bootcamp with Le Wagon in Shanghai. I do not remember the last time my brain was used so extensively for such prolonged period of time. Ask, and you shall receive. I wanted a challenge, and that is precisely what I’ve got. 

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Shanghai Living Quick Start Guide

February 26, 2018

This post has been on my to-do list for ages. Today, I met new friends who are in the city for the first time to attend Le Wagon coding camp! Finally, I have a reason to write this and add some value. Here are some of my favourite places in Shanghai. If you’ve been in Shanghai for a while, please feel free to add your favs in the comments!

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Why Coding Camp? Why Le Wagon?

February 24, 2018

Isn’t it ironic that I am leaving a tech giant to go learn tech? Life is ironic that way.

It’s no secret that I had been thinking of all the ways to pivot my way out of being a sophisticated bean-counter. For a while, I even worked 15-hour days, volunteering my time to another group within the company, hoping for an opportunity to pivot. Alas, it didn’t work out.

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Goodbye Corporate Grind, Hello Life!

February 22, 2018

Today, I walked away from the fancy corporate job, counting beans for that tech giant of a fruit company. It has been 1,683 days or 15% of my life that I’ve worked in a job for the sake of earning money. $120K of debt and a substantial saving later, I unchained from the golden handcuff. 

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Shanghai Photo Journal: 2012-2017

October 28, 2017

Today, I celebrate five years in Shanghai. It’s rather unsettling even as I write these words. Five years. Really? That fateful bus ride from New York to DC doesn’t seem that long ago. Yet, five years. My cousin’s kid was born just before I moved to China. She’s almost in first grade now. I simultaneously feel that I’ve accomplished so…

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Shanghai Lost Bakery

Birthday Tradition: Self Care Day!

September 8, 2017

Several years ago, someone told me that their company gives every employee a day off on their birthday. I found that to be a brilliant idea. Since my company doesn’t have this policy, I decided to implemented for myself. For the past few years, I’ve taken at least one day off for my birthday. If it falls on a weekend, as it does this year, then I take a day to make it a long weekend! This is #selfcare in all its beauty, and I encourage you to adopt it... 

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Al's Diner Shanghai

Leisure Sunday Morning

May 22, 2016

These days, I’ve swapped the late nights at the clubs for early tranquil mornings. I found myself totally alone this morning, a rare occasion these days of coupledom. It’s a rather nice spring day, after the non-stop rain the day prior. I relished in the silence of the apartment for a while, then headed to Al’s Diner for a brunch…

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Shanghai Dating Woes

July 25, 2015

  Recently, I’ve finally started watching the TV series, Girls. I know, I am 3 years late to the game. I gave it my first attempt in 2012 when I was finishing grad school in New York, and it was simply too real, and too painful to watch (Lena Dunham and I happen to be the same age!). Now that…

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Post CFA Freedom

June 14, 2015

  After 4 months, and 315 hours of studying (yes, I logged it), I sat for the CFA level I exam last Saturday. Freedom has never tasted so good. I arrived at the Shanghai Expo center around 8am, and there were 15,000 anxious test takers, mostly Chinese, frantically flipping through exam notes, attempting to cram in those last few formulas.…

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Shanghai Rush Hour

The Silver Lining of Self-inflicted Torture

May 18, 2015

This morning, I was at the subway during peak hour with a latte in hand. Normally, I am fortunate that I live close enough to the office that I don’t need to subway as my commute. But today, I was heading to a different office, and experienced the joy of Shanghai subway at rush hour. I was in no particular…

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