the end of the shuffleboard era

The other day I got an email from Michael about their move to JP from Somerville.  I am very sad that they are moving to the other side of the river.  I guess I can't really have much input since I'm technically on the other side of the globe. 

This is what Michael has to say, which I found entertaining -


T minus six days until the big move. If you guys haven't practiced your breathing exercises I would get started. 

That said, the bad new first. We will no longer be moving the shuffleboard table to JP. The owner of one of Boston's finest tittie parlors purchased it yesterday as a wedding gift for his friend. Yes he really did pay all $500 of the purchase price in dollar bills. I know you were all looking forward to moving this large piece of butcher block furniture, but not to fear today is trash day in Somerville, and I've collected the following items to replace the Suffleboard table. (1) a chair with three legs, (2) an old speaker from a hifi set, (3) a weight room set, (4) mystery prize (I'm actually not sure what this thing is, but if someone identifies it correctly, they can keep it.)
That said, we'll be starting at 9am Saturday (not my idea) at Sarah's place, [ ] Beacon Street, Somerville. For those taking the T, we'll have enough car seats to transport you to JP. Alternatively, if two people would like, they can ride our shinny new tandem bike to JP (note: the tandem is neither shinny, nor new, but it is a schwinn.) Lastly, for those who want to sleep in, the address of our place in JP is, [ ] Roundhill Street, the closest T stop is Jackson Square or Heath Street.

I will definitely miss that shuffleboard.  I still can't believe Sarah bought that thing on eBay by accident.
A new tandem bike?!?  I am so excited to ride on that thing when I get back to Boston!  What else do you need aside from a tandem bike?


It's wicked hot over here in Beijing.

My apartment is 27C (81F) and I am not even in direct sunlight.   Last weekend it was up in the 90s, unbearable to climb in the sun.  I tried turning on the ceiling mounted fan coil unit last night, but there was a strange burnt circuit odor.  I didn't really want to suffocate myself, so I opened the window again to get some fresh air. 

I have been wearing tank tops going shopping at the market for the last two days.  Most people wear blouses that cover their shoulders (even most climbing ladies do this), and I really stick out like a sore thumb.  Most of them will wear short shorts before wearing a tank top.  Some people wear summer dresses.  So what if my legs are all banged up from climbing?  I have no choice but to wear skirts or shorts.  I can't even fathom putting a pair of pants on right now.  Nylons?  Forget it.  I get stares from the locals, but I don't really care at this point. 

My tan from the last Indian Creek trip has also caused a lot of scolding from the Chinese. I accidentally  burnt myself on the first day climbing back in April.  Now I have a permanent racerback pattern on my back.  My arms are bronze, but my rest of my body is pasty yellow.  I got a halter top to go climbing with, in a hopeful attempt to even out the tan. 

You got dark, is one of the first comments I got from almost everyone here.
It's a real no no here in Asia.  To be sooooo dark.
These included my coworkers (male and female), my climbing buddies (still fair), and even my masseuse.

My masseuse Yang gave me a good rub down on Monday after my hard weekend climbing.  Labor is cheap compared to the US, and I have to take advantage of something while I am here.  I am not sure what methods they use to un-knot my tight back.  Whatever it is, it works.  It's almost painful, but I always get a really good night sleep after the session.  It's some kind of east meets west method.  All I can tell you is she uses some type of ruler or board to scrape my back and put pressure on my knots, then they suction cup the hell out of it.  After all that, they give you the regular massage by hand.  The first time I tried it, my back looked like it got a huge hickey from a giant catfish that took days to recover.  These days, the redness goes away the following day.

I used to not be able to have a conversation during the massage session because it was so painful.  These days, it's a bit more manageable.  Yang told me to treat my body better and stop abusing it with my reckless climbing obsession.  But then again, she loves to hear about my adventures from the weekends away, and I can tell that she is living vicariously through me.  She is working inside the shopping mall spa all day, and doesn't get to see the sun much.  They only get 5 days off per month, but they don't always know when those rest days are.  It's a hard life as a farmer's daughter and moving to the city to work. 

The market is bustling with shoppers trying to get the freshest produce.  Apricots, melons, and cherries are in season, and they are delicious.  Watermelon is also in season, but I have avoided them thanks to the exploding watermelons I heard about earlier in the season.  I made myself some leeks and bamboo shoots with soft tofu last night.  Trying to eat more healthy this time around in Beijing.