Jet Lag Brawl

The plan for my first night in Shanghai was insane. After a 14-hour flight, immediately getting dressed up in black tie attire and socializing with strangers for nine straight hours is pretty much the exact opposite of a good idea. But somehow it worked out. And what better introduction to Shanghai than the Brawl on the Bund? It was a wild night of white collar boxing, a charity event where professional business people train and compete in boxing matches in support of the Foundation for Newborns with Respiratory Failure. It was red carpet, tons of ex-pats in gowns and tuxes, interesting signature cocktails, a delicious four-course meal, and, of course, quality boxing entertainment. Just rowdy enough for me to stay wide awake and cheer for my favorite competitors, though I think the boxer who chose the Baywatch theme song as his entrance music was the crowd favorite. And the crowd definitely got sillier and sillier as the night progressed.

Did I mention Scott still had his hideous Movember mustache?

We hung out after the event was over and chatted with the other people at our table, all Scott's friends from work and his darts league and their spouses, and then we headed over to the after party, hosted by one of the event sponsors. It was located in the very picturesque Bund, in a club that plays a wide range of music from the 50s-00s. We went right in, because the security guards for celebrity and upscale events are all in our social circle now. After spending some time pretending to be a regular person and have introductory conversations with people, I got pulled to the dance floor and dropped all pretense of being a serious adult. My continuing disregard for jet lag earned me a lot of admiration from Scott's friends, but it was my ridiculously over-the-top one-woman hoe-down rendition of Cotton Eye Joe that got me the official seal of approval. People are charmed by my weirdness? This is a good sign. And the dance floor is where I stayed, having a blast until Scott told me it was 3am and I should probably get some sleep at some point.

If you want to see some pictures, here's the photo gallery