Let The Blogging Begin….

I have never been much of a swimmer, I can do it… just not something I like to do for exercise. I remember being in swimming lessons when I was little, specifically a time when I was supposed to be learning how to float on my back. The instructor had her had under my back to help hold me up, then all of a sudden without warning she took her hand away and I started to sink. Suffice to say, I started screaming… my mom had to come in and get me out of the pool and I don’t think I ever went back. However, there comes a time in ones life where you need to put all anger aside and just jump in.

Due to my fubar’ed right knee I needed to do something other than running on land that would give me a cardio workout without the impact. My good friend here, who trains for marathons, iron man’s ect.. suggested I start going with her to the pool and try running in the water. With nothing to lose, I went and bought my first one piece bathing suit in about 15 years, a “very cool” looking water belt and of course the water cap (you can’t go in the pools here without one). My first day was alright… more a honing of technique day, rather than a workout… but I have the hang of it now and am quite enjoying it. The water is very relaxing and it is something completely different and new. It is amazing how the resistance of the water gives you such a good workout… my hamstrings are thanking me.

I also like to think of it this way: At least I will fit right in when I hit up the old folks home down the road….

I think this women might be taking it to an unnecessary level…

I love food.  It is as simple as that… and having a home base here in Holland with Jill we can make some yummy-ness on a daily basis.  As I have mentioned before, there is a coffee shop in Nelson called Grounded that I go to practically everyday… it has the best coffee and scones… so Jill and I decided to re-enact a "Grounded" morning… here were the results…

Last month Susan and I took a trip to Beijing for my bi-annual shopping trip. Beijing is a great city and every time I go back, there is something new…
Lots of people have bought furniture while visiting and I thought it was about time I did the same.
Susan took me to this street of furniture stores which was insane…it just went on and on forever….
There is this one vendor in particular that most people go to and so after wandering around for a few hours, I finally came to a decision on a few pieces. It arrived at my house a couple weeks ago and now that it is all unpacked and set up, I thought I would post some pics for you to see.
This being my first big furniture purchase for myself, I was quite excited…and I can’t wait to see it set up in my own place in Canada some day.

The big ball on top is a buoy type device that fishermen use…it would have traps hanging off of it into the water…thx S.C.

Notice the wine holder….my two good friends here have helped me to appreciate the odd glass or two… ;)

I got two of these bedside tables…

A “CD” holder, which will never hold CD’s…I liked how “Chinesey” it was…

Was introduced to this band recently and thought I would share them with all of you…and by “all” I mean the few of you who are actually reading this….haha.

They are called “The Script” and they are an “Irish Trio whose music boasts the kind of artful twists sure to turn all preconceptions on their head.” I enjoyed the sound of their songs upon hearing the first note and thought this was worth sharing. This is their first album and it is self titled…this album is said to have “all the emotion and passion you would expect from across the Irish sea, but it is glittering in its modernity, universal in its singalong addictiveness and global in its syncopation, music for the feet, heart and head.” How could you not want to check this out?!

A few other artists I have on repeat right now are Josh Ritter, Nickel Creek and Mattafix. Check em’ out if you are need of some new tunes.

About a half an hour drive from my house is the major city of Dalian (translates to - Big Harbour…or something along those lines), I live in a satellite city of Dalian called KaiFaQu (translates to - Development Zone). So there is quite a bit to do in this big city of mine….however, I wouldn’t be able to tell you a quarter of it. When I go into the city I go there for the essentials: groceries, getting clothes made, buying illegal dvd’s, and going out on the town (which doesn’t happen very often). So suffice to say, the touristy stuff has been left on the back burner.

Last weekend I went in to the city for the usual routine, but ended up heading to this castle to check it out. Here is a pic of what you see from the bottom of the hill when you drive up to it:

Now one might think that this grand structure would be perhaps a luxury hotel, or a spa etc…but no, no, no….this is none other than a “Shell Museum”. Yes…that’s right, a museum of shells in all different colours, shapes and sizes. AWESOME! (insert sarcasm here)

Anyway….a couple more pics are below…I don’t think I will ever be back here, but there are just some things you have to do once….

It often happens that we will wake up in the morning or come home after work and find that either:

A. We have no water
or
B. We have no water pressure

This is what I found yesterday morning…so after a long day of drinking coffee, reading my book and going out for dinner with some friends, I hit up the bath house.

Now this bath house is a huge place…when you walk in the entrance males and females are separated into different sides and led to a big locker room where you undress down to your “birthday suit”. The bath house I like to go to is pretty big…it has about 6 different pools, all of which are different temperatures…and one of them is outside so you can lean back and enjoy the starry view.

Now, upon going last night I noticed something new. A pool that had tons of little fish swimming around and three Chinese women laying in the pool getting nibbled on by these little guys. I read the sign in front of the pool and it said that these fish eat away the dead skin on your body.

After showering up and enjoying the outdoor pool I thought I would give it a go. I slowly slipped into the water and immediately was swarmed by the little guys. It felt weird at first…but I got used to it.

Here is a little “blurb” on it:

“Doctor fish” - so named for their ability to produce healthy, glowing results from even the most crusty or diseased epidermis - are the key ingredient in a spa and skin treatment becoming increasingly popular across Japan, China, Turkey and Europe. The idea is that you immerse your feet, hands or, if you are brave enough, your entire body in a warm pool that swarms with hundreds of hungry minnow-sized feeders. The fish zoom in on your most crusty, flaky or scabby skin and chomp away at it to reveal the fresh layer beneath. According to the spas and their enthusiasts, you emerge refreshed, healthy, buffed and glowing.

So with that said…I encourage everyone to try it if you have the opportunity.

Look at how much fun these ladies are having!!

I was NOT this crazy…although the woman beside me was!!