Saturday, July 19, 2014

Buying a 沙发

We're back in beautiful Dongguan after a relaxing break in Florida.  
Rainbow (and moon) at the beach on our last day in Florida.
It's good to be here and start settling in to our new apartment.  We moved in just a few days before we left for America, so we had some sorting and organizing to do when we got back.  Yesterday, we got the bags unpacked, sorted out the kitchen and the bathrooms, and got together a list of things we needed. Today we did the Walmart thing to get some household stuff (and re-acquaint ourselves with the oppressive heat and humidity).  Then we went to a furniture market to get a new couch, and that's where the fun began.

The store was huge, with two entrances off of an alley, one to the right and one to the left.  We went left, and pretty soon picked up an employee who tried to tell us (we soon found out) that we should have turned right.  Apparently, we were in the office furniture section, so we eventually got headed in the right direction and were joined by Jared, who spoke some pretty decent English. We went up to the third floor, where they keep the fabric couches that are "so soft" (sofas here can be as hard as the beds; ever try to relax on a church pew?). 

It was HOT. No AC in this store, so whenever I leaned back and rested my head, I left a little wet spot on the cushions. We found a nice couch, figured out the configuration and colors, and got outta there to the relatively cool first floor, where we managed our way through the paperwork and payment.  As we got up to leave, Jared told us we got a free prize, so we picked up a nice little upholstered footrest and started walking out the door... But wait, there's more! 

We went back across the alley, where there was a table set up. Around the table there were assorted women and a man with a microphone. On top of the table was a box with a hole in the top and a bunch of coins that the women were counting.  Eventually, we figured out that I was supposed to reach in and grab as many coins as I could. Some were actual 1RMB coins, and some had Mickey Mouse (or at least some fake Chinese Mikey Mouse) on them.  I got three chances (after I realized I wasn't just supposed to pick one coin), and the ladies sorted them, and I ended up with 79RMB, which is like 13 bucks, in cash! They were not ready for my big American hands (we looked at what some of the other contestants got, and the next highest one was 34).





I'm figuring that this is China's way of welcoming me back.  Just another weird, slightly confusing, yet surprisingly easy outing in Dongguan. The couch will be in our apartment in a couple of weeks, after a bit of China magic, just in time for school to start.

I hope everyone is having a great summer.  Take care.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Dive and Hover in Key West

So, I'm in Florida, staying at Rani's parents' house in Bradenton. It's a great spot, with a nice pool in the back yard.  The weather is beautiful, if hot, and I've been running through the sleepy neighborhoods here to try to get over the jetlag; I'm told there are houses that PT Barnum built specially for the little people in his circus nearby, but I haven't found them yet.  The second day we were here, we had a nice party with a bunch of her extended family where we cooked ribs and made salads. It was a great get-together, if a little overwhelming on my second day in the states.

The next day, we set out with Rani's parents and an aunt and uncle for the Florida Keys, an 8-hour drive through the southern part of the state. We arrived at the end of Highway 1, got situated in our tiny little cottage, and went out to see what Key West had to offer.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the scene there; Key West is a pretty unique place, full of interesting people, quirky little shops, and some really exceptional food.  While there were definitely elements of an American tourist destination like t-shirt shops and trolley tours, there is also an underlying freedom and laissez-faire attitude that I appreciated. The people watching was excellent, from drag queens on Duval Street to fire-breathing, juggling stilt-walkers at the nightly sunset celebration. We caught a few World Cup matches at the local watering holes, had a couple of really excellent meals in the courtyards of old buildings, and did a lot of walking back and forth.

Sunset on Key West

We also had a nice dive on the third day, where we got to see a couple of rays and some big lobsters, along with tons of tropical fish. The diving was different from what I've become used to in the Pacific, but definitely worth the time.

Scuba Zen




My big first on this trip was flyboarding.  I've been watching videos about it for the past year, and finally had the chance to try it out.  It was a strange feeling, and it took awhile to get used to, but after awhile it started getting really fun.  And then my time ran out. I'm thinking about trying it out again while we're here.

Who's Iron Man?  I am Iron Man.
Here's a long-ish video that is a little boring, but gives you an idea of what it's like: hard to balance at first, and nothing like the promotional videos (yet), but seriously, you're hovering on jets of water!  What could be more fun?

I meant to do EVERYTHING in this video just the way I did it...

The whole album should be shared with you, so feel free to browse all of my falls.  I hope everyone is having a great summer.



Tuesday, March 25, 2014

macAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAu!!

So we're spending a few days in Macau for spring break.  Mostly, it's a big expensive shopping mall, with casinos full of high-limit Chinese games.  But I did get to do this


And it was so much fun I went back up and did it again. Backwards.


What a rush!