Been to Guangdong and Meixian, place of the ancestors …. Not posting any picture here. It’s already on my Facebook account, and they were not good ones anyway.

I’m following a Gua Sha 刮痧 treatment for my back. It’s where the masseuse scrape your back with a jade comb-like object. Ok, it’s more like Dracula’s mouth with two protruding teeth on the side. The space in between is to allow space for your spine. I think. I was always lying face down, so no idea how they used it.

What can I say, my health is not that great, and I fracking love pain. I should try S&M one day. Joking.

For more than an hour the masseuse scrapes your neck, your shoulders and spine, and where she encounters some ‘knots’ she keeps telling you some bloody stories about this meaning some part of your body being sick (your liver, your spleen, etc etc, no idea what the hell they’re talking about since my Chinese is not that good) …. After my first session, the length of the area of the spinal cord was red/black. For them, that meant really bad health. For me it meant they’re fracking trying to get me killed. Haha.

I’ve enclosed a grainy picture of my back.

My back after gua sha treatment

I’m going to do a facial today. If the fracking rain stops. It’s been raining heavily during the last hour or so.

Ok, I need to stop watching Fracking Battlestar Galactica. Too many fracks.

It’s been a long time since I posted anything. Been busy/lazy/whatever ….

I am now in Shanghai, feeling darn cold. I will spare the rants about Air Mauritius’s lack of Chinese music and movie channels not properly identifiable. There is no HK destination on the list of flights.

I moved into a small apartment, which is not bad, although the toilet/bathroom could be better, and the kitchen’s got no window, meaning that the apartment would for hours smell of whatever I cook. Will decide whether or not to get satellite channels later. There is already a satellite dish affixed, courtesy of former resident.

I got internet back on, although I have to leave the darn modem on all the time. If I shut it off, the laptop has problems connecting to it for the first 5-10mins. I tried changing the network name and password of my wifi modem, but there was apparently a problem, and the password is no longer recognised. I tried resetting it, but that doesn’t seem to be working. WTF? No wifi for the moment, need to connect my laptop to the cable directly.

My HP laptop’s fingerprint scan recognition feature’s gone bonkers. Can no longer use it to log in or redo new fingerprint scans. The laptop’s only a few months old.

I still haven’t bought all my stuff. Too lazy to go out in the cold knowing I would have to fight to get a cab back home afterwards, while carrying awkward bulky stuffs.

Went to a bath/sauna/massage place last Friday. My friend, who is a flight attendant, had dropped by in Shanghai and we decided to go there as soon as she reached her hotel in Hongqiao. It was then around midnight, and after picking her up, we went to the place. Left there after 3am, went to sleep around 4am, then got up at 7am to get ready for work. Felt so sleepy on Saturday (I work full day on Saturdays). I dozed off several times in the afternoon. Good thing not much to do that day.

I now enjoy having a daily drink of Caffe Latte by Suntory. Best drunk cold. Doesn’t do much to your sleepiness.

Oh yeah, I did a physical test as part of the visa procedures, and among other things the diagnosis was:
Suffer from high blood pressure (well, that’s not surprising)
Fatty infiltration of liver (whatever that means)
Abnormal liver function (WTF? I am not a heavy drinker, what abnormal FUNCTION?)
Hyperlipidemia (i.e. likely to suffer from bad cholesterol)
Abnormal electrocardiogram (Didn’t precise what abnormality)
Abnormal cardiovascular system (WTF? Why no details?)
Just reading it makes me wonder if my time’s almost up in this life. Haha.

Looking for a gym in my neighbourhood. Part of my new year resolution of having a better lifestyle and be more fit. Didn’t find any interesting gym on the net. I should walk/bike around looking for those not on the web, but too lazy for that. Best option is to go to Xujiahui’s Physical (on 5th floor of Metro City, just above Xujiahui metro station). However, it is not that big and if I go there after work, the place would be packed and difficult to find free machines. I am considering going there early morning. Get up at 6am, arrive there at 7am when it opens, do an hour of exercise, take another shower, then get to the office by 9am. Feasible in THEORY, except that I know I’m so lazy.

Work has been slow because Mauritius office is closed till January 8th, so I can’t get the information I need to work.

I still have to open a bank account. My passport is currently at some governmental office where the work certificate thing is being processed. Should get it back tomorrow. Then, if there has been no problem, it will be a trip to the PSB to get my residence certificate, and I will be hassle free for about a year (I think).

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But having him here meant waking up early, going out shopping with him everyday, accompanying him to whatever places he want to visit (not the tourist sites, he has been here before), looking for places where there might be the stuff he’s looking for, calling and messaging friends to help, trying to figure out what restaurants are decent enough to take him there, get him tickets for metro, bus, train (he spent a couple of days in a town near BJ)… Lots of enegy spent. Well spent I should say, since I am such a lazy guy.

But his departure was a bit at a bad moment. I didn’t manage to watch Liverpool win against Chelsea as I was at the airport seeing him off, then last night I was too tired to stay awake to see Man Utd get beaten (I had only about 2hrs sleep the previous night)…. Hope there will be nothing special for the Champions League Final later this month.

The weather’s gone warm, in a week or two it will be too hot to walk outside, so better enjoy the weather now. I’m going out to feel the sun on me, and read a book at the park near where I live.

I’ve been in pain since I woke up on Tuesday morning, and have been finding it hard to move about, especially when I have to turn on my waist or bend down/stand up. For walking straight it’s fine. In the evening I couldn’t bear it any more and went to the ‘blind massage’ parlour. I can tell you, to put on trousers, socks and shoes, it’s not easy if you can’t bend. The chief therapist there is a middle aged man with a big belly (if he was a woman you could say he was on the verge of giving birth ;))

After pointing at my lower back and saying it was hurting, the guy (yes, none of them were blind in the blind massage centre :lol:) got me laid down on one of the massage bed and started poking around, asking me where exactly it hurts. But the thing is, when lying down, it’s hard to say which part causes the pain. And the guy was a bit frustrated as I kept saying “about there”, “I am not sure:. Plus I had problems understanding what the hell he was mumbling about.

Then he surprised me by asking if I had been ‘consoling myself’ or had had sex the night before, whether I did it standing or lying down… Types of questions which took me by surprise and got me uncomfortable. Apparently he believes that was the cause of the problem.:slap:

Anyway, after more than half an hour of massage (incl. an attempt by the guy to wank me, which scared the shit out of me :really:), I left the massage parlour slightly better, but only just. However, by the time I got back to my appartment the pain was back to its original state except that I can bend a little, but not twist to the side. Maybe I would have been better off going to the sexual massage about 100-200m further away. :lol::razz:

Now, it’s almost 6am Wednesday morning, and I have slept barely 1 hour as the pain is killing me. I am actually slightly better than when I got back, except that about the lowest part of the vertabral column (the coccyx?), it’s hurting like hell. It seems like the guy applied too much pressure there. I don’t know, hope it will get better during the day. I was planning to go to SH in the afternoon and stay over at a friend till the end of the week, but now I don’t think I’m in a state to travel. Big disappointment. I had found a plane ticket for 400rmb plus tax to SH (normal plane ticket cost is like 1200rmb while express overnight train ticket is like 3-500rmb, but you normally end up paying the 400+ berth ticket)

Ok, I’m just gonna stay in bed. Later during the day I will send my friend a msg to let her know I can’t make it for the trip, and then try to find someone who would visit me and cheer me up a little. Hopefully I will be moving freely by Thursday.

Last Friday, one of my friends asked me if I had 腊八粥 (Laba porridge). I had no idea what she was talking about, and she then explained to me that it was a Buddhist festival. So here’s the lowdown about the festival:

Laba is celebrated on the eighth day of the last lunar month, referring to the traditional start of celebrations for the Chinese New Year. “La” in Chinese means the 12th lunar month and “ba” means eight.

Legends about the origin of this festivity abound.
L1: Over 3,000 years ago sacrificial rites called “La “(腊) were held in the twelfth lunar month when people offered their preys to the gods of heaven and earth. The Chinese characters for prey (猎物) and the twelfth month (腊) were interchangeable then, and ever since “La” has been used to refer to both.

Since the festival was held on the eighth day of the Last month, people later appended the number eight (”ba” in Chinese), giving us the current Laba .

Laba rice porridge was first introduced to China in the Song Dynasty about 900 years ago.
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L2: Buddhism was well accepted in the areas inhabited by the Han Chinese, who believed that Sakyamuni（释迦牟尼）, the first Buddha and founder of the religion, attained enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth month. Sutras were chanted in the temples and rice porridge with beans, nuts and dried fruit was prepared for the Buddha. With the passing of time the custom extended, especially in rural areas where peasants would pray for a plentiful harvest in this way.

There is, however, another touching story: When Sakyamuni was on his way into the high mountains in his quest for understanding and enlightenment, he grew tired and hungry. Exhausted from days of walking, he fainted away by a river in India. A shepherdess found him there and fed him her lunch — porridge made with beans and rice. Sakyamuni was thus able to continue his journey.

After six years of strict discipline, he finally realized his dream of full enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Ever since, monks have prepared rice porridge on the eve and held a ceremony the following day, during which they chant sutras and offer porridge to Buddha. Thus, the tradition of eating Laba porridge was based in religion, though with the passing of time the food itself became a popular winter dish especially in cold northern China.

According to written records, large Buddhist temples would offer Laba rice porridge to the poor to show their faith to Buddha. In the Ming Dynasty about 500 years ago, it became such a holy food that emperors would offer it to their officials during festivals. As it gained favor in the feudal upper class, it also quickly became popular throughout the country.
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The majority Han Chinese have long followed the tradition of eating Laba rice porridge on the Laba Festival.

Laba rice porridge contains glutinous rice, red beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, peas, dried lotus seeds, red beans and some other ingredients, such as dried dates, chestnut meat, walnut meat, almond, peanut, etc. Actually eight ingredients are used, cooked with sugar to make the porridge tasty.

Northerners prefer to use glutinous rice, red beans, dates, lotus seeds, dried pulp, walnuts, pine nuts and other dried fruits in their porridge; southerners like a salty porridge prepared with rice, soybeans, peanuts, broad beans, taro, water chestnuts, walnuts, vegetables and diced meat. In the north, it is a dessert with sugar added; in the south, salt is put in. Some people like to add cinnamon and other condiments to add flavor.

Laba porridge is not only easy to prepare, but also a nutritious winter food because it contains amino acids, protein, vitamins and other nutrition people need. Cooked nuts and dried fruit are good for soothing nerves, nourishing one’s heart and vitality, and strengthening the spleen. Perhaps that is why it is also called babao (Eight Treasure 八宝) porridge.

Every winter, the flu epidemy causes the local authorities a lot of concern. Actually the flu “season” in BJ starts around October and tails off at the end of March. Right now is the peak season. Beijing hospitals are examining about 4,700 new cases daily.

No need to say that some friends are telling me to be careful about this flu, as it’s not ‘normal’ flu, but rather a strong virus flu, whatever that means. Last year when I was in SH, the teachers at uni were saying the same story… Every so many years, there is a strong flu virus that comes and affects the population, and we’re due for it. Well, maybe there is a virus, but I’m still going through the same routine, and only wearing my padded coat over my tshirt (at times I also wear a sweater inside), no scarf, no gloves, no ear muff… I guess I would be a good candidate for catching that nasty cold. If I stayed out for long that is.

SARS has resulted in the Chinese govt taking more actions about preventing the propagation of diseases, but flu is not something easy to control, even in developed countries. The number of people that keep coming into and leaving the city on a daily basis and the fact that many people still often don’t wear the face mask when sick means flu will propagate. And sometimes we think that the cold is just a small one, and won’t even bother to take proper medicine.

I saw on the net that the Chinese are advised to take day offs instead of going to work and spread it among their colleagues. In today’s world, where so much are expected from the employees, and where taking days off mean losing part of your pay, not all of them will do so. Hey, when I was working back home, the sick colleagues would often turn up for work as the workload and tight deadlines meant you HAD to be there. It was almost a ‘the only reasonable excuse to skip work would be if you’re dead’ sentiment. So, I guess we will be stuck with flu, cold and cough every winter.