That's a great question. Work has been. Well.....work.
Jill and I were feeling like we needed to go out and cut loose a little. So- we got everybody together for KARAOKE. Yes- we dragged out work friends out to do some sweet singing. Here in China karaoke is not about public humiliation so much. You don't stand up in front of a crowd of strangers and torture them with your half-sober rendition of 'Hey Jude.' Here- you and your friends rent a small room (about 300 yuan for 2 hours). It comes all set up with a flat screen, touch screen karaoke machine, tambourines, maracas and -of course- a disco ball. They offer a limited American selection. Oh- and there is a free buffet included in the cost. Alcohol though is expensive. Jill and I got our pay-checks that day so we treated everybody to a couple of beers. (20 beers for 200 yuan aka $1.4/bottle) There was a touch screen video game that provided MUCH entertainment. Herby and Shoo kicked some major karaoke butt. Jill and I held our own. I was in charge of all of the rapping, which showed up a lot thanks to the LARGE selection of Black Eyed Peas songs.
After all that singing we came back to our apartment to watch some of our rather LARGE DVD collection- but I was so tuckered I could not make it through Hot Tub Time Machine. Later in the night when Jill tried to get me off the couch I told her "no more drama" and to "get off me."
Yesterday, Jill and I did our normal Monday ritual which is mostly us sleeping in, eating breakfast, napping, talking to our family/friends, and getting out of the house around 1pm. We went to our favorite nail place, ZigZag, nestled into the Wudaoyang Hutong near the Llama Temple. Jill and I have seen a lot of people in and around the city who have done 'cupping' which is an ancient Chinese medical practice. You can spot them with their large circular 'hickey' marks on their backs. Somewhere in the past 20 years it has been popularized in the west as a spa treatment to help your qi flow more freely. When we saw that it was roughly $10 Jill and I both decided we wanted to be cupped. We got our toes perfectly pedicured as usual (light blue for Jill, sparkly purple for my toes) and then it was on to the cupping. The process involves laying on your stomach. Your spa-master then takes circular glass cups and heats the air inside for a few seconds with a flame. Then they place it on your back along your energy lines and the heated air causes suction. They are left on for 10 minutes and it sucks your skin up into the cup. It supposedly also sucks up toxins and helps the qi flow freely by removing bad blood. The biggest thing I can tell you is that the cupping isn't especially comfortable. The glass cups are heavy and you can feel their weight pressing on you as you lay there. By no means does it hurt. But when they remove the cups it feels really good- and thats almost the relaxation part. We look a bit like lady bugs now- with perfect rows of polka dots going down our backs. Or we look as if we have been attacked by an overly-zealous lover sucker fish.
Today (Tuesday) Jill and I got up, did a little bit of chatting, and then met Nana at the newly opened Bagou mall. We ate yummy Korean food and then Jill and I saw Inception. Yes- I know- everybody in the US is over the hype and LOVED it and thought it was awesome like 2 months ago. BUT- Inception was awesome! I won't rant about how good that movie is- which it is. But I will tell you some weird habits here at Chinese movie theaters. #1 Tuesday is always half price day for movies- in all of Beijing. #2 You are not allowed to be seated until 5 minutes before the movie starts. No Joke. You have to wait in the lobby. #3 You choose your seats before hand- like a real theater show. #4 Their popcorn is sweet- but not like Kettle Corn.
We then went grocery shopping and found TURTLE FOOD! Phew! Which has eased our minds and our turtle's bellies. And we found Jianzi. Jianzi is a chinese hacky sack- sort of. We've seen groups of older chinese people playing with it the same way you would a hack sack, in a circle, kicking it back and forth. We have been looking for one of our own with out much luck. So we FOUND ONE! Jill got it for 3 yuan and we spent an entire hour kicking it around the apartment mostly unsuccessfully.
We're trying to figure out dinner now. But- I don't know. But- I hope you enjoy all the crazy pictures. Cupping process and results. Jianzi shots. OH and Karaoke! Oh wait- also there is one on here that shows Jill proudly enjoying a beverage on the streets of Beijing- because their are no public open container laws.
