David works as a mid-level functionary for a global software giant in Shanghai.

I don't really plan on leaving my house this weekend. Ever since the new Sherpa's menu book arrived in my mailbox a few weeks back, I've lost the urge to do anything in Shanghai.

Sure I go out sometimes. I go to All Days quite a bit. I also go to the Bank of China when I need money to pay the Sherpa's guy. I go to my local DVD store. And I also go to work. Just not on the weekends.

Some people might think this is cause for alarm. Every weekend I get four or five calls from friends who are "concerned" and tell me if I don't leave the house and go to someplace like the swanky, yet warm "Velvet Lounge," that they are going to come knock my door down or organize an intervention or something. I also had a co-worker tell me it wasn't "healthy" to spend 60 consecutive hours on my sofa. Right after I asked her if she knew how awesome "The Wire" was, I asked her whether she thought it was healthy to spend six hours in a cloud of cigarette smoke at The Shelter dancing to the sickest ear-bleeding Detroit techno Shanghai has ever witnessed.

I mean to each his own, right? Some people like to go to events. And others like to call up Sherpas and find out whether restaurants are within the three kilometer zone in which one needn't pay the 30rmb delivery fee. Who knew that Tapas Bar, the delicious Spanish-style restaurant on Maoming Lu, was more than 3 kilometers from Xujiahui? Or that the Simply Thai on Dongping Lu, to me the most authentic of their four restaurants, was within 3-kilometers of Xujiahui? You don't learn these things when you're off dancing and prancing around the Bund.


So what will my weekend be like? Friday night, I'll probably order a Montana Burger from the new Blue Frog in Xujiahui right before I shut off my phone. After dinner I'll probably watch a couple episodes of The Wire and then maybe a movie or two.

My favorite part of the weekend is waking up to a loud repeating DVD menu screen for a film that I don't remember putting in. On Saturday, I'll wake up early, read the Sherpa's book and turn my phone back on. I'll erase all the "are you okay?" text messages and think about which movie goes with a pumpkin soup and chicken salad sandwich from Element Fresh. After my lunch comes a siesta, a word that always make me think of ordering Taco Papos for dinner. But then I remember how nasty it is. Saturday nights are always kind of a blur.

Sundays are about one thing and one thing only: relaxing. After I've cleaned up all the fetid plastic Sherpa's containers from my coffee table, I'll kick off my socks, put my legs up and wait for my ayi.
Then the brunch invitations begin. A sumptuous and affordable Indian buffet at Vedas? Sorry, can't make it. A waffle at Arugula? I told you last week never to call me again. Again, I pull out the good book after all, it's Sunday -- and I leaf through its pages to find an entry that speaks to me. One of my favorite passages is from Dan 2:33 which says, "kasslerbraten smoked pork loin served with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut." So wise.

And this delectable Danish delight usually puts me out until Sunday evening, my movie night.

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