Omar

Workout today was supposed to be 3 X 1000m row but I was forced to run instead. First time I’ve run in quite a while. I realised:

• Sometimes I like running - it felt pretty good
• But I don’t like treadmills as I could maybe have gone faster but wasn’t quite brave enough.
• I’m not confident about my Airpods Pros staying in.

After I did some farmer’s carry’s and then some side plank. Lyra and I have been exercising more regularly than I have in the longest time and I feel so much better for doing it. Would love to continue but how I fit that into my schedule when I go back to work is to be decided.

Lyra and I made a proper effort to not spend time on our phones when we were with the kids. A few photos, directions and other uses aside.

I managed to read a WHOLE book today and start on another.

I reread The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because I needed something easier as I’ve been slogging through some non-fiction and not really enjoying it. Though, there’s plenty in the story that I didn’t find easy, ironically. It’s sparked a desire to read fiction again though.

I am reminded of what I wrote when Natalie left last year.

We said good bye to Wil this week, who is someone else who has bee, was I suppose, a big part of my China experience. I think this year has been a year where a lot of the people I associate with China, just aren’t here anymore. Dealing with that is hard for lots of reasons.

They are annoying but I miss them so much. Though I think mostly it’s worry. Our children are mostly looked after by wife and I. This is the first time the grandparents have had them for an extended period of time. If you can consider 3 days an extended period of time. Sometimes I think about that.

Scott’s is a fish and chip shop in the UK that hosts Chinese tourists after the Chinese president visited. Today we visited the restaurant that was opened in Chengdu, China as a result of that.

We had fish and chips… It was ok but it’s just not the same. The chips from ‘chippies’ in the UK are not usually crispy like these were. The fish was ok but I like a bubblier batter.

(Link)[https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18054524.east-meets-west-scotts-fish-chips-opens-restaurant-china/]

Our youngest likes to see the light rail trains.

We always point them out when we see them. Yet, we don’t ever take them even though the station is only 5 minutes walk from our flat. It’s easier to drive or take a Didi (Chinese Uber). So this afternoon we took the kid on it. Lyra found a restaurant near* a stop that’s 6 stops away. So we donned our masks since it’s one of the few places that you still have to wear them and we went.

It was nice. It felt like an adventure.

We walked (and walked). We saw things. We explored a new area a little. It made us realise we didn’t do this much. We drive and and we go to the same places a lot. We said, we should do this again soon. Admittedly we also said it would be easier when the kids are bigger too!

Then we found the place, a Korean bbq restaurant, that was busier then we expected but was worth the wait. We’d bought some baozi (steamed buns) for the kids on the way to keep the kids occupied a little. I had a couple of beers, Lyra and I shared some plum wine too. The place was busy in a good way. I started to feel a little drunk, in the best kind of way.

Here’s to next time.

*It wasn’t near.

It’s the Chinese name for the Mandarin duck and where the first character refers to the male and the second to the female. There are believed to be lifelong partners. So in Chinese, it’s used as a sign affection and fidelity.

However, it’s also used to describe things being put together - e.g. today I had a yuanyang drink, which is a mix of coffee and tea. I really liked it.

As well it’s what you ask for when you order hot pot and you want spicy and non-spicy broth.

Hi again!

Elise talks about our evening out.

I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
— Dawna Markova

I’m aware how much I gloss over most of what I read online, taking the time when there’s some more scrolling to do. With that in mind, I’m copying some of the poems down into a notebook to help me take more time over them.

I keep meaning to post things I like but I normally end up sending various links to different people.

Via Metafilter

• The Hu - A Mongolian folk metal band. We’ve been liking their stuff since I started playing it yesterday. Especially Wolf Totem
• This stop motion short about a trans kid coming out featuring Godzilla. via

Also

• This John Hamm voiced meeting of a father and his daughter’s boyfriend that flips it a little. I’m not going to lie that this isn’t something I’ve thought about. via this inbox zine