Very strange feeling: sitting at the desk I felt something very weird and even seen some movement in some equipment hanging from the rails in the lab.
The most clear earthquake I have ever felt (the curtains have been clearly moving, even only for maybe a second or 2).
Weird feeling!
Oh!!!
I see why this morning, here in Longgang, China, looked exaclty like yesterday morning, no rain, but cloudy (maybe.. maybe..) and warm (maybe not?).
Let’s see what the afternoon will bring us..
End of the world or more work??
For countless days I had not seen the sun in the morning, as esepcially a deep blue sky, cloudless sky!
This at least helps for a little of positive attitude and good spirit, and, trust me, I really need that!
But as all good things, here, finish soon: lunch itme now and we are back to a sky full of clouds and smell of rain in the air.. I am sure it will rain exactly when I strt my walk to metro for going to practice!
C’est la vie.. in Longgang!
Work time over and I’ll go at once to the subway for my first trip to Aikido class in Shenzhen tonight!
30 minutes walking, some time more than 1 hour by subway (not sure how much more, because I never went to that place before!) and then I should be at the dojo, little late for beginning but they told me it is ok!
It is an Aikikai dojo with a 4th dan teacher from Hong Kong.
Hopefully a good (re)start for old rusty aikidude!! 😉
If it goes well, the club has sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays there, and on Sundays in another dojo diametrically opposite form my location (for this I already know it is mroe than 1.5 hours by subway)..
What people do for Aikido!!!
We are dependent, yeah, but at least it is a legal drug!
I admit I am a litlte nervous.. condition not so good, but I know there is a solid chance to restart practicing often, even if the length of the trip just for practice might be an extra challenge, both mentally and physically. This combined as well with a new more demanding job..
More comments later! 🙂
The Italian internet newspaper do not write a single line, lost of course after the muslim-USA problems.. but the Chinese-Japanese crisis because of the tiny uninhabited Senkaku “islands”, or better 8 agglomerate of rocks, little vegetation and maybe in the future.. oil? Not confirmed.. so no actual value except for the pure and illogical idealism and nationalism!
The row has old roots, but in this days the situation has fired up.
In the best American attitude of old Bush times, when election comes around and it is time the people look to the real work of their politicians, these people find some distractions in order to gain power and consense.. and what’s best than a war against old enemies? Real Bush-USA typical strategy but this time the wr would not be in some remote arabic land (and dear Americans are paying dearly, especially these days!!), but it could destroy a difficult and tenous balance in the Pacific region.
Watching Chinese TV and then checking internet I have been surprised the major Italian news did not report a single line of what happened the past few days: the same thing you people see in arabic countries (burning og flags and cars, attacking embassies protected by policemen in full body armor) is happening here, in major cities, Beijing and Shanghai firstly.
Chinese police defending the entrance of Japanese embassies and large group of people trying to break through and throwing rocks to the police.
Many Japanese companies have been isolated and Japanese people attacked, in restaurant or just on the street. Friends around here said to be worried people might come to the club just because Aikido is Japanese. I seriously do not know if Endo sensei will come to China in less than one month: Japanese embassy suggested all Japanese people to avoid trips to China if not strictly necessary.
Even with “tunnel” I am having problems opening Wikipedia and Youtube: in these situation one of the first steps the Chinese government always takes is tight the Internet control.
Everybody is talknig about this, from the taxi driver to the business man. China managed to focus on the ghost enemy, the historical one, so that htey forget why the cost of life is increasing like crazy, especially in Beijing, but the salaries are not going in the same way! Why the population is let to increase again (new “one-cxhild policy”: now it is easier to get a second child, if your parents had no siblings) even if everywhere the talks are about a weak economy growth. But soon it is election time, and China needs to feel a unite nation again with a strong leader not afraid to lead a terrible battle against an old hated neighbour..
And of course, the people that does not have anything to do about this is taken in the cross fire..
I wonder when the western press will start considering this in the proper way!
Weekend in Shanghai: opening and closing August in Shanghai, again “at” Xijiao dojo (this seminar is organized by Xijiao Aikido dojo, but it will take part in a larger venue, the German school in Hong Qiao). Third meeting with Dominique Rascle here in China this year. After a very nice weekend in Wuhan last week, on and off mats, with an extremely nice bbq evening with the people there, I do look forward to.. Saturday night dinner at the Japanese buffet restaurant!
OK< I do look forward to the practice as well. Last weekend the body was ok, but the breath was short. I admit I felt short of energies. Due to also the past couple of weeks where I spent almost every night doing translations until early hours of the morning, packing less than 5 good hours of sleep per night.. past night included!
Today after work I’ll get on the train to Shanghai and I admit I look extremely forward to tonight rest: no laptop with me, no extra work, just get to the hotel, shave and relax. Go to some convenient store (Family Mart my love!!), get something cold to drink, back to the hotel and enjoy it with some reading. If there is a bathtub (I doubt it though, cheap hotel!), certainly spoil myself more!
5th weekend in a row with practice. So many memories of my past years in Norway, unfortunately with the missing weekdays sessions, but I will not complain this month! Like last weekend, also these days the weather feels more summer than the coming of autumn. Next week I will stay in Hefei, not really because I think I will need a rest, but because I have things to do, kind of things that need time during the day and therefore only possible in weekends! Kind of things I also need Chinese assistance..
Anyway, before that, a nice weekend with several good Aikido friends from Shanghai and Hangzhou and even a couple of new friends from some other city. I think the level will be quite high on the mats, and Dominique will find several partners to use for demo of the
techniques, all people with a very good condition and preparation. Meaning I will enjoy watching and trying to study his technique, and hoping sensei will have the time to throw me a little when he goes around the mats. Thing he always does!
I am envious of the people with good condition: I think all instructor feel that I lack of resistance when they throw me. When I am tori it is actually easier to mask my shortcomings, because I do have a reasonable good technique. But as uke, and since I always try to give all when attacking, a couple of repetition are enough to take the best out of me. Then my intensity decrease, I would exponentially for a good engineering description! In other words, dead in no time!!
Let’s see this coming weekend: I also found an extra ankle protection (sport protections until now were difficult to find – I must remember to buy tons of sport-tape in Norway! Nothing like it!!). Thankfully the pain has been minimal these days, only some more swelling than before. And only in the ankle areas. Knees are still untouched, and no special tingling or else. The feet are different, but my feet are a mess. Maybe before the relaxing in the hotel bed tonight I could look for a foot massage!! 🙂
Always good excuse, and what’s better a massage for starting the weekend??
Have a good weekend, folks! get a massage too!! 😉
Lunch break, and long time I do not really eat lunch.. but to cover the common noises of Chinese colleagues chewing their own lunch I started again listening to music.. sometimes to Chinese language lessons!
Today I ended up on a great live version of Fade to Black – Metallica:
Of course I cannot see the video, at least not from work 😉
But someone out there would enjoy it for sure!!
My photography growth:
Hello world! Hello Chuck!
What’s Aiki-dude then??
I love Aikido
I love Asia
I have gone a long way (mollo tutto!)
Dreaming of... Asia 