love

i went out with Richard yesterday for breakfast. we ate at this place near main campus, but not near enough in that i didn't miss the bus. anyway, we walked about 2 blocks away on our side of the street, into an alleyway to a residential area. the alley was filled with the usual in a local Chinese market. veggies, some fruit, and some stands for food. Richard asks me what i want to eat, i say whatever, then he points to soft tofu. at the moment, my face cringed. that the worst kind of tofu i don't like. he quickly sees this and pulls me away. i promised him that i will try it next time. we walk back and i settle for 7-item porridge and steamed bun. it was good. i had been craving them.

we were sitting, and i saw a familiar man, in shorts and a jersey/tank. i recognized him as ms. Yong Yan Feng's husband. he saw me, i think. i tell Richard, and we later see [the couple] walk together. i realized that they are both in running clothes. it made me think of all the couples i knew in China. from what i see, they are so in love. i mean.. well.. in North America, we are so inclined to see couples do things separately. one person has their interests in own thing, and the other does other things. i mean, this is what we see on t.v. we have some need for personal independence.

i realize to do something together has great benefits. last week, i spent time with a local friend. they invited me to their house. i watched them cook together. even if she knew she wasn't as strong a cook as her husband, she still prepared [it with him]. i thought it was beautiful. time together doing something together is so wonderful. and i knew they really want to do it together. they were cooking for me, but they were cooking for each other, too.

it was the first time i had witnessed a couple like this. i don't think i have enough.. experiences to see this, or, i know couples, but, i just don't see people at home like this at all. it takes so little, and it's so special, you know? very simple.. reminds me.. that there is always time for everything together..

marriage on the other hand is different. more on that later..

my diet

so. i quit phys-ed in grade 10, and starting gaining weight. not too much, but not as tiny as i was before. i did take part in tennis, badminton and track. which. i was not so good in. but tried.

in 4th year uni, i started workin' at a restaurant. i had to be up most of the time. meaning, i was standing for long hours. not as much as when i worked at hmv music store, but. this also included running around. by the 2nd summer, i was pretty toned and slimmed down, having worked at the bar for 12/13 hours a day.

now, this is in my china blog because my diet has also changed since i got here. for one thing, i anticipated a big change in my diet. i thought i would not eat eggs or chicken. well, in the first morning that i was in beijing, i had egg. i also had mutton for the first time. yeah, and now i'm eating tofu and eggplant (food that my mother prepares totally differently, and not to my taste.)

didn't each much meat since i came. usually, well, all the time, my mother made meat. whenever she made a vegetarian dish,.. i went off to go find my ration somewhere else. since i knew that i'm not home, aware that my diet must change, i surprising have no strong inclination for meat. it's challenging to cook anyway. another factor in my change in diet.

after the first 2 months in china, i realized that i was slowly gaining some weight again. after the first unsuccessful running initative, i started to run. now i'm running about 1.6 km every other morning. it started off with 1.2 km (3 laps) but now it's 4 laps. i tried to do 2 km to make it even, but it was too much for my legs. i really enjoy it now, and am pretty motivated to do it.

it's nice to wake up, know i have to run, and run out. sometimes i think it's good that way at 5:30am in the morning. at that time, you're so groggy that you probably don't realize that you're up. you're just moving your weight. hahaha.. it's so true.

what is strange here is.. that when i'm up that early, there are about 3 people in the vicinity who are up also. i started to get up that early to avoid the students who get up at 6am. even though there are no students for the summer term at this campus, i like to keep the habit.

yes, so people have told me i lost weight. it's okay. i'm eating and exercising now, so it's not bad. i'm average, as usual. maybe just a little toner.

oh yeah, and i can see my blog online now, for some reason.

you wanna what?

dammit. i just get more and more excited about the day. i think it's the sunshine that i didn't have for 3 weeks. today is the 2nd day of sunshine. i'm truly.. like up and up.

i did wake up and run. i hurt myself running. i had pain. i think i'll start to run everyday. i really am up for it. i'm more awake and energetic for the day. i did take a nap today, more because i was full and satisfied from the food a fellow co-worker made. man.. pork. i can go to china, but i can't ask for meat behind the counter.. or anything behind the counter.

haha.. my co-worker mentioned how she had to ask for vaginal wash the other day. "yeah! you have to show them.. do the movement, you know, Cathy?!" hahaha, and she proceeds to show me. man, china.

the "city"

i was out with richard two days ago doing some errands with him. he wanted to get pants, so we did some shopping. we went into a jeans store near hao shang hao restaurant, in the brand name district. the attendents were very nice and asked me questions in english, of course. i saw some things i liked there, but had no money. there were these overalls, lovely skirt.. about 180 yuan. i'm sure i could get a nice one, cheaper somewhere else. but ... really the thing i want to report.

that day, there were these children performing body conforming acts. there were about 7 children, all about 4 to 8 years old, panhandling. i couldn't look at them. richard thinks it's sad to and tell me not to look. the little girl she was performing upsidedown with a thing she had to put her mouth on to keep her up. it seriously made me feel really, really bad. out of all things. one time.. we saw these men maltreating some local monkeys, making them perform tricks, abusing them. i saw a child who was just bones panhandling, couldn't get up, used a skateboard-like apparatus to pull himself around, very weak. another time, a man with no arms. it's really sad. i don't know. seriously, there is more to life.. we are very lucky, some of us just don't know it

the bus. i found finally the character that will signal the north or south direction. richard told me how. yay bus number 4.