Rainy Monday

Not an overly jam-packed or exciting day, which actually kind of fits the weather in Suzhou... which was mostly rainy and really dark and overcast, which is the first time I’ve seen rain while here. And when I say rain, I mean the drizzly misty kind, not a good solid raindrop to be found anywhere, which I prefer if it’s going to be rainy!

So back to the work week, or for people like me, back to the days where everyone else is working (still feel so weird about this sometimes, and then others, I don’t miss it at all)! Haha

Anyway, today was pretty low key – got Curt off to work, chatted with Ash, went and worked out (Lisa was there, my new friend, so we did stair stepper together and talked the whole time so time flew)! Note that our gym for whatever reason doesn’t turn on the air conditioning until later in the day, so after a few minutes of humid building + stair stepping, we were drenched. We don’t really have towels yet at the house except for a few big ones for the shower, etc., so I ended up taking off my shirt because I couldn’t wipe my sweat with my sleeves fast enough – gross! But at the same time, I guess it’s good for you and I WAS at the gym, so oh well. Had a great workout, and then came back to chat online some more with Ash, the family, and even did a 3-way call on Skype with Ashley and David on Ashley’s phone since he doesn’t have a computer or anything, it was interesting and reminded us of high school days…

Then I did some laundry, did the dishes (the maid does both of these things, and she comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays), but I almost try to do this kind of work for her so she can spend her time on the stuff I don’t like to do as much and so she’s not here all day (sounds weird but I feel like I can’t be as productive, you know?)!

And finally 3 p.m. rolled around, which I was so excited for as it was time for my first cheap, Chinese massage! YES! I shopped around a bit and asked a few of the ladies who was good and reasonably priced, and a couple times a name that was within walking distance came up, so I made an appointment, and for about $20 USD I got an hour massage (you can even find them for cheaper than that, but this was a nicer place that I felt comfortable with, at least to start). I scheduled an appointment for a Japanese style massage (they offer different kinds) vs. a Chinese massage as the Japanese massage tends to be a little harder and more with pressure points I guess, but I’ll try the Chinese massage as well some time to see what it’s all about as well… the massage was great. Very different from a typical Swedish massage that we would get in the states, but so nice… why is it that the time in a massage always goes by ridiculously fast?!

Then off to hunt for a hair straightener – this is turning out to be a challenge, people… I’m looking for a ceramic plated straightener, and am having no luck. I'm normally not so high maintenance when it comes to things like this, but it is humid here so would like for the hair to stay looking nice for at least a few hours at a time - haha! So I had heard that there was a salon not too far away (also within walking distance) that might have some, so trucked it down there and came up empty handed. I may be going to Shanghai on Wednesday with Lisa (new gym friend) and her friend Jana, so maybe if I do I’ll have better luck there. We’ll see… (they’re going to the “copy market” which is where you get copies of virtually everything, so even if I’m not in the market to buy anything, I think it would be interesting to see?

So after all of that, I finally walked home (this was like a 45 min- 1 hour adventure walking all over town, and still in the misting rain, mind you), did a few more things, Curt came home, and instead of wanting the meal I had planned that night we ordered pizza. Haha – totally fine with me, I guess, we’ll have it tomorrow and this time I’ll make it in advance so we don’t fall into the unhealthy, better sounding option trap. My pizza was delicious, though - thin crust cheese! And then of course more brownies from yesterday's Easter treats! Yum!

All in all a low key evening, and kind of tired so maybe to bed early tonight, we’ll see.

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Love,