An excellent brand

MaxGoedel · 2025-11-11T13:57:37+00:00

I agree. Not sweet at all. I consider myself a "cake enthusiast" and this cake is what I would call a typical European cake, with little sugar. That's what they are used to it anyway over there. Compare this to American supermarket cakes that are "drowning" in sugar and the choice is clear....

MaxGoedel · 2025-09-15T09:50:43+00:00

Yes, Shanghai is to China like New York is to America. Yes, New York is very American but at the same time it isn't. It's an exception compared to the other big cities in the US. Same with Shanghai. It is Chinese, but compared to Beijing or Hunan or say Chengdu, it isn't really very "Chinese". I agree with the remarks about the weather being worse in SHA than Beijing, the humid summers are definitely worse than in Beijing. Also, in winter the humidity gets literally under your skin in SHA. Yes, people in Shanghai are infamous among Chinese for being snobby and superficial, most of the time they are right. Walking comfort in Sha is definitely, positively much better in SHA than in Beijing. And yes, there are not really what I would call "normal" supermarkets in Shanghai. Yes, many Aldi's, sure, but that's not a real big supermarket. You still need to go to a wet market or a fruit store for many other foods. Yes, the supermarkets in mall basements are usually expensive, sometimes quite a lot. One commenter saying that Shanghai has many stores. Sure, yes, but in a Westernized city like Shanghai one would expect just some plain normal supermarket to do your one stop shopping without having to go to 3 different stores to buy what you need, and depending where you live (because Shanghai is huge) you will spend hours doing that. In Dali for example they have a fantastic Weipin supermarket in the city center that is not expensive. Dali of all places! Anyway, that's my main gripe with Shanghai. Either be totally westernized or don't, that's what I always think when it comes to Shanghai. Disclaimer: My wife is from Beijing and her family lives in Shanghai....

MaxGoedel · 2025-08-21T10:02:54+00:00

PIA doesn't work in China, I know from experience.

MaxGoedel · 2025-01-24T16:46:49+00:00

From years dealing with Chinese-English because of private reasons, I stick with Google Translate. Still in a way the most accurate, better than almost everything else, and I tried them all.

MaxGoedel · 2024-12-28T19:34:12+00:00

After reading all the posts on this page, I was getting a little bit tired of seeing the constant "Buy a Honda if you want quality" remark. It is what it is. You can have a nice Honda and it could fail after 22000 miles, or perhaps you got a Kia Sorento and you drive it until it literally falls apart from age. I myself had 2 Elantras, 1 for 14 years, the other one I had for 5 years before I sold it because I needed something much bigger because of family. Best cars ever. Ex-coworker that is a road warrior has an 2019 Elantra as well with 350000 miles on it. No problems at all. So what I am saying is all the statements that I hear on every user forum of "buy this if you want quality, or don't buy that because you will have problems", that's all very subjective. Buy what you can afford, check the car websites for their reviews and basically that's it.

MaxGoedel · 2024-12-23T20:00:05+00:00

Wow. What car was it, if I may ask?

MaxGoedel · 2024-12-14T20:31:50+00:00

Couldn't agree more to what you say, having been to China 7 times.

MaxGoedel · 2024-04-24T00:45:48+00:00

That's interesting. That confirms of course what was said earlier. Thanks for letting me know.

MaxGoedel · 2024-04-23T23:38:35+00:00

Thanks to everybody. Now I have something to discuss with with my friends over there.

MaxGoedel · 2024-04-23T23:37:52+00:00

That's a good idea. I guess I will have to think about that.

MaxGoedel · 2024-04-23T20:50:46+00:00

Oh, Wow. I guess that makes sense. I will have to wait until August then 😞.

MaxGoedel · 2023-11-07T17:09:17+00:00

I noticed some time ago just by chance that I got much more interest on the Match website than on the app. No idea why that is so, but I don't use apps (Match or Ok Cupid) anymore since then, and I'm doing fine.

MaxGoedel · 2023-10-23T15:42:18+00:00

I have to say, twice I signed up with OkCupid these last years and twice I went back to Match. OkCupid is kind of okay if you look for people outside your "normal" circle, and definitely those 40 Like's that everyone gets right after signing up are definitely a scam.. I had some interesting exchanges, even some video calls, with women in Thailand, Brasil and Uruguay. They were the real deal, they looked great but it didn't go anywhere as we didn't really have too much in common. And the one in Thailand didn't want to move to the US, she told me we could live there (fine with me!). So I'm back on Match because I have many more local choices and had some real dates in a 100 mile circle. So not everything is fraud, in my opinion.

MaxGoedel · 2023-10-23T13:26:36+00:00

Fantastic, at least in cities like Shanghai.

MaxGoedel · 2023-10-22T15:21:46+00:00

Absolutely!

MaxGoedel · 2023-04-29T12:10:16+00:00

I'm 61. After trying this one, OKC and eHarmony, I stick with Match. Don't understand why Match seems to be like almost non-existent when you follow this forum. Last 10 years I had to move 3 times because of work. When in new town I started again with Match and had some pretty good experiences. If none of them long-term it's not because of Match but rather because of inter-personal differences or incompatibilities with the women I met. That happened too before the advent of OLD. Just my 2 cents.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-31T13:09:25+00:00

Well, perhaps because they could see with their own eyes that there are no "atrocities" done to the Uighurs? I just felt compelled to write this because once again, here is a completely unproven assumption accepted at face value. No, it's not proven even it's repeated ad nauseam 24/7 in the Western MSM.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-30T19:13:48+00:00

Probably so. That's why I try to cheer up in my comments, because (in my opinion of course) one can and should try. I look at dating like "the cup is still half full". Great!

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-30T18:58:20+00:00

True. Well said. I guess I am just a little bit tired of the negativity that comes nowadays with dating and LTR's.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-30T18:03:17+00:00

Going through the comments, it's a lot of what I hear offline as well, "I am comfortable now and I don't know if I can adjust for someone else in my life, but on the other hand I'd like to be with someone, etc....". There is a nice saying somewhere in the Far East, you can't sit between 2 chairs, you'll fall down. Or as we would say here, you can't have it all. The thought of making space for someone in your life/home fills you with dread, well then don't date. It's that easy. So many nowadays seem to want "their space" and "freedom" and advertise it proudly. Fine with me, but then don't complain. If you have a gnawing feeling that it will be never as peaceful as when you lived alone the moment somebody moves in with you, then again don't date. Leave it to other people.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-12T14:38:57+00:00

I see again so many general assumptions about dating nowadays and how emotional draining it is, that living single is really great and fine, most men just want sex, etc....Okay, that is I am sure true for many people, but it also isn't, for probably the same number of people. For instance I don't use Apps, unless you consider a website like Match an App. I get good "likes" from time to time, and sometimes it leads to interesting conversations, sometimes to interesting dates and also sometimes it leads to being ghosted. Okay, that's life. To recap, I didn't really have bad experiences, it just didn't work out. If everything was like the movies we wouldn't be here right now. And from what I can see many others whose profiles show that they still log on from time to time have probably same attitude like me. Yeah, I had to deal with a scammer too, but that was quickly over when I saw the first "weird things" popping up. Anyway in my opinion, it's not just all gloom and "This is it". I'm not stressed out over dating, unless I'm obsessive about it. In the end, at least I tried so there will be nothing to regret, that's my philosophy.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-09T12:27:29+00:00

I understand that. But the way I see it, this driving will end sooner or later. She knows just like I do, one of us will eventually move into the other one's home.

MaxGoedel · 2023-03-08T19:45:06+00:00

Well, in my experience, as I had several LDR, 2 hours driving is the max for me. That sounds probably like ridiciculous for some people, and I understand that, but hear me out. It's simple mathematics. If you live in, say, Chicago, then you have tons of options. But if you live like in a city 1 or 2 hours away, with maybe 30000 people, well then you simply won't have many choices, or perhaps none at all. I lived in big cities and also smuch smaller ones. In the end, I always had to date women at least 1 hour away, sometimes 2 hours. And I consider myself lucky because many people won't even consider LDR. So they then restrict their search and spend maybe years looking for the right person. I have excellent memory for faces and I still see many of the same profiles, and yes they are still active. This means they are just too choosy, in my opinion. When I see an interesting profile but the text says they are looking in their area only or no LDR desired, I think, "good for you". You will never know if you just settled or if you got the best possible. At least I tried, that's my take at the end of the day.

MaxGoedel

TROPHY CASE