Shanghai Calling #7-- Empty Thoughts

I find myself in a very familiar situation: bored. Not much has occurred since I last posted, just a bunch of dinners with random people. Every time we come here, my parents have to visit a lot of old friends, and these friends usually insist on inviting us to dinner. Sunday brought not one, but two family gatherings. For lunch, we had a party in honor of my cousin's graduation with all 11 members of my dad's side of the family. (Immediate family: grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins). We ate homemade dumplings and a cake. Truthfully, I enjoyed it, since I kinda like hanging with that side of the family. For dinner, we went to a restaurant with a big group of my mom's family (immediate family+ some of my mom's aunts/uncles and cousins). We occupied a big room with 2 tables. My parents and I sat at the table with the older folks. :( Boring.
This weekend, we have yet another gathering of my dad's immediate side of the family. We're going on a river cruise complete with a dinner buffet. The cruise travels along the river and provides lovely night views of both sides of the city. Pictures galore! Last time I was here, I went on the same cruise with my summer camp (without the dinner, though). The scenery was nice, but my pictures didn't come out on my crappy disposable camera.
We've also been doing a lot of shopping and some sightseeing along the way.
4 days until my return! Until then, wrapping things up...