I've been on a bit of a fitness kick recently, and have been running 9-10km almost every day. Well, not the days when I'm hungover, as on those days it's all I can do to walk from the couch to the kitchen and back again. Thankfully hangover days have been pretty limited since Shotty and Cookie left :)
In addition to all the running, I've been playing heaps of basketball - usually 3 hours on Wednesday, then another 3 hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, with all that exercise and the crap condition of some of the surfaces that I've been running/playing on, my extremely comfortable pair of New Balance shoes has fallen apart on me. After only a month of wear and tear, most of the sole came off the right shoe on Wednesday night.
I was extremely happy with those shoes even though they didn't last very long, so on Friday night I went over to the Raffles City shopping centre at People's Square in Puxi to get some new ones. I bought exactly the same pair as my last ones, but figured with all the basketball I'm playing, I'd better buy a more suitable pair of shoes to play in. I went into the flagship Nike store on the ground floor, and had a quick look around. They have a 'build-your-own' section there where you can design your own pair of shoes, which is pretty cool but pretty pricey too. My eye was caught by a pair of vintage Michael Jordan's, but those were more than $AUS400 (!), so I gave them a miss. I finally settled on a decent pair of Dirk Nowitzkis (he plays for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA but I just bought them because I liked the look of them) for a little over $AUS100.
I took them out for a session on both Saturday and Sunday, and they held up very well! They're much more supportive around the ankle area for the quick turns that are made on a court, and are definitely a better fit for basketball than the running shoes were. Here's hoping that my New Balance's will last longer this time since I'll only be using them for running.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Haircut, beer, dancing...it's all happening!
So Saturday was a pretty busy day. I started out with a run in the morning because I knew I would be doing no more exercise after the evening's activities. I did a bit of a lap along the streets around the apartment complex, and as I went by a few hairdressers I realised that I hadn't had a haircut since I was last in Australia, which was more than two months ago. So I finished my run, had a shower, and then wandered down the road in search of a place that wouldn't shave my head completely bald.
The closest place was a little busy, so I continued up the road before taking the plunge at Wenfeng. Wenfeng is a large beauty/hairdressing chain that has more than 100 salons throughout China. I figured if they had expanded that far, they must be doing something right, so I took a deep breath and made my way inside.
I was greeted by about half a dozen girls standing by the door and a couple of guys who were dressed in suits. They made the snipping haircut motion to me, and I said 'yes, I would like a haircut' in Chinese. At least, I think I did. They may have interpreted it as 'purple monkey table bottom' based on my pronunciation. At any rate, they got the idea, so one of the girls took my arm and sat me down in front of a mirror...and proceeded to get some shampoo and lather up my hair. I had known this was coming, so I wasn't all that surprised, but it was a bit of a different experience from what I get back in Melbourne. She washed my hair and gave me a scalp massage for about 10 minutes, and then led me over to a chair where I leaned back and had the shampoo rinsed out.
At this point, the girl seemed a little confused as to what to do with me. She went over to another assistant and they took me to a big board with a list of services and prices. Turns out they wanted to know if I wanted to move onto the cutting of hair, or whether I'd like a massage first. I hadn't yet had a massage in China, so I agreed since it was only going to be $25 or so for an hour long treatment. The girl took me up some stairs to another area where there were a few others lying down on massage tables (thankfully clothed) and getting their arms, backs or legs worked on. I got onto one of the spare tables (with some confusion about which was I was supposed to be facing initially) and proceeded to have a very relaxing massage for the next hour.
Once that was finished, it was almost with regret that I ventured back downstairs where I had my hair rinsed and dried for a second time. After that I was finally led over to a guy dressed up like a soldier in dress uniform. Seriously, he had stars on each of the shoulders of his jacket. I don't really know what was going on there. Anyhoo, he grabbed a bunch of my hair to indicate how much I wanted cut off, and after I agreed he went to work. I've got to say he was very good - was extremely precise and didn't mess around. Those that know me know that my hair is not exactly in the most complicated style, so he was finished in around 15 minutes. I was then led back to the girl to get my hair rinsed for a 3rd time, before going back to the military guy to have it blow-dried and be subject to a final inspection.
An hour and a half after I walked in, I was finally finished, for the grand total of $AUS35. Not too shabby at all. As a side note, I've since found another place a little further up the road where all the girls dress up in sailor outfits. No prizes for guessing where I'll be going next time.
I was feeling full of energy when I got home from having the haircut, so I grabbed my basketball and jogged up to the courts where I proceeded to shoot around for the next two hours with a couple of other guys (it was raining on/off at this point so there weren't many around). I then made my way home to shower and get ready for the night ahead.
Last week, a new employee (Alex, also from Melbourne) started on the project I'm working on. He's been to Shanghai before, but not for years, so I offered to take him out to a few places to show him around. We met up at 8:30 (he's stayed in the same apartment complex as me) and got on the subway to make our way to the Bund. We strolled along the Bund for maybe half an hour and made our way down to the Old Town area where I had gone the previous weekend and took a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, Old Town had closed. By the time we got there a little before 10, the place was absolutely deserted. We had a quick look around but there was nothing open at all, so we hailed a taxi and made our way to Windows Scoreboard (see previous posts for tales about this place). A quick $2 taxi ride later, we were in the surprisingly not-packed bar and partaking in some delicious frosty (and very cheap) beverages. I expected it to be extremely busy on a Saturday night, but it seems like Friday is the time to go there. It meant we had no problems finding a seat, which was preferable to standing around like I did the last time I went there.
We stayed there for two or three beers, and then moved onto Hengshan Rd, another of the big bar areas. As the taxi driver was trying to work out where to drop us off, we spotted a big place I hadn't been to before named SBS 191. For those of you reading this in Australia, yes it has the same name as the TV station. Actually, it was a pretty cool place...and Alex and I were the only two westerners in the entire bar :) We ordered some (expensive) jugs of beer and took up a position not too far away from the stage where a very energetic band was playing a bunch of popular western songs (Beyonce, Lady GaGa et all). At one point they started playing 'Eye Of The Tiger' which was awesome, but it ended up just being a lead-in to something else we didn't recognise.
While Alex and I were drinking, we had a look around the establishment and noticed something odd - there were at least 10 military officers in there. And they weren't on leave or having a social night out - they had been strategically placed around the bar to stop any mischief that may have arisen from all the alcohol consumption. At least, that's what we assumed. After about 10 minutes or so, we also noticed that a bouncer had made his way over from the door area and took up a position directly behind us. And when I say directly, he was less than a metre away. Like he was prepared to make a move at the least sign of trouble from either of us. It was quite amusing.
We downed a few jugs between us and fended off the advances of a few determined young ladies (one girl named Tracy was quite brazen about her services and seemed quite put out when I refused to buy her a drink), and by this time the band had stopped for a break. To my utter amazement, the DJ then put on some absolutely pumping doof-doof music. I had had enough beer by this stage to want to have a bit of a dance, so I started dancing on the spot...and almost gave the bouncer behind us a heart-attack. He was extremely startled by this sudden burst of energy and gave me a bit of a dirty look, so I apologised and made my way out to the dancefloor instead.
And nearly caused a riot.
Well, maybe not. But I did have some people stop what they were doing and look at me in slack-jawed amazement. The dance floors over here are tiny, and as a result everyone tends to dance the same way - that is, swaying from side to side or just sort of moving in the same spot. It's less prevalent here in Shanghai, but in some of the smaller cities that I've been to in China, it really is quite an experience to be in the middle of the dance floor where everyone is swaying side to side in the same movement to the music. It's like being a part of a writhing amorphous blob-like organism where everyone moves in tandem. Anyway, as those who have been out with me in Melbourne can attest to, I tend to move around quite a bit on the dance floor, and some of the patrons there just couldn't comprehend what I was doing. I was the lone wolf amongst the sheep - it was heaps of fun :)
I actually made such an impression on one guy who was dancing with his girlfriend that he invited Alex and I over to his table, where they offered us cigarettes and free alcohol (Chinese wine mixed with green tea, not too bad actually). Eventually I drank enough that I actually smoked one of the cigarettes on offer, which is something I haven't done in years. We also played a very popular Chinese drinking game where two people each have a cup with 6 dice. Each person shakes the cup and places it face down on the table. The totals of the dice are then compared, and the person with the lower total has to drink. I absolutely sucked at this game and as a result ended up drinking quite a bit in a short amount of time (no, I wasn't losing on purpose).
Anyway, we stayed at SBS until the place closed at 2, and then Alex and I got into a taxi (somehow, have no recollection of that taxi trip) and made our way to Judy's Too on Tongren Lu, a bar that I knew stayed open until 5 so that we could drink and dance some more. Alex lasted there for about half an hour and then went home, but I wasn't prepared to stop dancing at that point, so I stayed around. I seem to recall having a dance-off with the only other guy in the place that was older than me. He was a much better dancer than I am, and we had a great time for a couple of hours.
I stayed at Judy's Too until it closed at 5am, at which time I got into a taxi...
...and went to another place that I knew stayed open until 8. Yes, I am a massive loser! I just don't know when to quit! I went to the Dragon Club, spent $AUS20 to get in, spent god knows how much on beer there (I remember going in and I remember leaving but nothing in-between), and finally made my way home around 7...
...by way of the 24-hour City Diner where I had a delicious omelette and an orange juice. I don't remember how I got from the Dragon Club to the Diner, but I definitely remember the omelette :)
I had given Alex my trusty piece of paper which has the address of our apartment complex written in Chinese, so I had to trust that my Chinese was good enough to get me home. Amazingly, considering how much beer I had consumed during the evening/morning, I was able to convey where I wanted to go to the taxi driver, and I got home safe and sound at about 7:30 for the princely sum of $AUS10. I love this city!
Sunday: worst hangover so far in China. I didn't wake up until after 12, stayed in bed until 3pm watching TV, and then when I got up I only made it to the couch where I didn't move for the rest of the day. That's the price you pay for having so much fun on a Saturday night. Speaking of fun, I have visitors arriving on the weekend - Shotty and Cookie are getting in on Sunday morning. It's a holiday here on Monday, and I'm having Tuesday off, so I'm sure there will be tales to tell of our activities next week.
The closest place was a little busy, so I continued up the road before taking the plunge at Wenfeng. Wenfeng is a large beauty/hairdressing chain that has more than 100 salons throughout China. I figured if they had expanded that far, they must be doing something right, so I took a deep breath and made my way inside.
I was greeted by about half a dozen girls standing by the door and a couple of guys who were dressed in suits. They made the snipping haircut motion to me, and I said 'yes, I would like a haircut' in Chinese. At least, I think I did. They may have interpreted it as 'purple monkey table bottom' based on my pronunciation. At any rate, they got the idea, so one of the girls took my arm and sat me down in front of a mirror...and proceeded to get some shampoo and lather up my hair. I had known this was coming, so I wasn't all that surprised, but it was a bit of a different experience from what I get back in Melbourne. She washed my hair and gave me a scalp massage for about 10 minutes, and then led me over to a chair where I leaned back and had the shampoo rinsed out.
At this point, the girl seemed a little confused as to what to do with me. She went over to another assistant and they took me to a big board with a list of services and prices. Turns out they wanted to know if I wanted to move onto the cutting of hair, or whether I'd like a massage first. I hadn't yet had a massage in China, so I agreed since it was only going to be $25 or so for an hour long treatment. The girl took me up some stairs to another area where there were a few others lying down on massage tables (thankfully clothed) and getting their arms, backs or legs worked on. I got onto one of the spare tables (with some confusion about which was I was supposed to be facing initially) and proceeded to have a very relaxing massage for the next hour.
Once that was finished, it was almost with regret that I ventured back downstairs where I had my hair rinsed and dried for a second time. After that I was finally led over to a guy dressed up like a soldier in dress uniform. Seriously, he had stars on each of the shoulders of his jacket. I don't really know what was going on there. Anyhoo, he grabbed a bunch of my hair to indicate how much I wanted cut off, and after I agreed he went to work. I've got to say he was very good - was extremely precise and didn't mess around. Those that know me know that my hair is not exactly in the most complicated style, so he was finished in around 15 minutes. I was then led back to the girl to get my hair rinsed for a 3rd time, before going back to the military guy to have it blow-dried and be subject to a final inspection.
An hour and a half after I walked in, I was finally finished, for the grand total of $AUS35. Not too shabby at all. As a side note, I've since found another place a little further up the road where all the girls dress up in sailor outfits. No prizes for guessing where I'll be going next time.
I was feeling full of energy when I got home from having the haircut, so I grabbed my basketball and jogged up to the courts where I proceeded to shoot around for the next two hours with a couple of other guys (it was raining on/off at this point so there weren't many around). I then made my way home to shower and get ready for the night ahead.
Last week, a new employee (Alex, also from Melbourne) started on the project I'm working on. He's been to Shanghai before, but not for years, so I offered to take him out to a few places to show him around. We met up at 8:30 (he's stayed in the same apartment complex as me) and got on the subway to make our way to the Bund. We strolled along the Bund for maybe half an hour and made our way down to the Old Town area where I had gone the previous weekend and took a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, Old Town had closed. By the time we got there a little before 10, the place was absolutely deserted. We had a quick look around but there was nothing open at all, so we hailed a taxi and made our way to Windows Scoreboard (see previous posts for tales about this place). A quick $2 taxi ride later, we were in the surprisingly not-packed bar and partaking in some delicious frosty (and very cheap) beverages. I expected it to be extremely busy on a Saturday night, but it seems like Friday is the time to go there. It meant we had no problems finding a seat, which was preferable to standing around like I did the last time I went there.
We stayed there for two or three beers, and then moved onto Hengshan Rd, another of the big bar areas. As the taxi driver was trying to work out where to drop us off, we spotted a big place I hadn't been to before named SBS 191. For those of you reading this in Australia, yes it has the same name as the TV station. Actually, it was a pretty cool place...and Alex and I were the only two westerners in the entire bar :) We ordered some (expensive) jugs of beer and took up a position not too far away from the stage where a very energetic band was playing a bunch of popular western songs (Beyonce, Lady GaGa et all). At one point they started playing 'Eye Of The Tiger' which was awesome, but it ended up just being a lead-in to something else we didn't recognise.
While Alex and I were drinking, we had a look around the establishment and noticed something odd - there were at least 10 military officers in there. And they weren't on leave or having a social night out - they had been strategically placed around the bar to stop any mischief that may have arisen from all the alcohol consumption. At least, that's what we assumed. After about 10 minutes or so, we also noticed that a bouncer had made his way over from the door area and took up a position directly behind us. And when I say directly, he was less than a metre away. Like he was prepared to make a move at the least sign of trouble from either of us. It was quite amusing.
We downed a few jugs between us and fended off the advances of a few determined young ladies (one girl named Tracy was quite brazen about her services and seemed quite put out when I refused to buy her a drink), and by this time the band had stopped for a break. To my utter amazement, the DJ then put on some absolutely pumping doof-doof music. I had had enough beer by this stage to want to have a bit of a dance, so I started dancing on the spot...and almost gave the bouncer behind us a heart-attack. He was extremely startled by this sudden burst of energy and gave me a bit of a dirty look, so I apologised and made my way out to the dancefloor instead.
And nearly caused a riot.
Well, maybe not. But I did have some people stop what they were doing and look at me in slack-jawed amazement. The dance floors over here are tiny, and as a result everyone tends to dance the same way - that is, swaying from side to side or just sort of moving in the same spot. It's less prevalent here in Shanghai, but in some of the smaller cities that I've been to in China, it really is quite an experience to be in the middle of the dance floor where everyone is swaying side to side in the same movement to the music. It's like being a part of a writhing amorphous blob-like organism where everyone moves in tandem. Anyway, as those who have been out with me in Melbourne can attest to, I tend to move around quite a bit on the dance floor, and some of the patrons there just couldn't comprehend what I was doing. I was the lone wolf amongst the sheep - it was heaps of fun :)
I actually made such an impression on one guy who was dancing with his girlfriend that he invited Alex and I over to his table, where they offered us cigarettes and free alcohol (Chinese wine mixed with green tea, not too bad actually). Eventually I drank enough that I actually smoked one of the cigarettes on offer, which is something I haven't done in years. We also played a very popular Chinese drinking game where two people each have a cup with 6 dice. Each person shakes the cup and places it face down on the table. The totals of the dice are then compared, and the person with the lower total has to drink. I absolutely sucked at this game and as a result ended up drinking quite a bit in a short amount of time (no, I wasn't losing on purpose).
Anyway, we stayed at SBS until the place closed at 2, and then Alex and I got into a taxi (somehow, have no recollection of that taxi trip) and made our way to Judy's Too on Tongren Lu, a bar that I knew stayed open until 5 so that we could drink and dance some more. Alex lasted there for about half an hour and then went home, but I wasn't prepared to stop dancing at that point, so I stayed around. I seem to recall having a dance-off with the only other guy in the place that was older than me. He was a much better dancer than I am, and we had a great time for a couple of hours.
I stayed at Judy's Too until it closed at 5am, at which time I got into a taxi...
...and went to another place that I knew stayed open until 8. Yes, I am a massive loser! I just don't know when to quit! I went to the Dragon Club, spent $AUS20 to get in, spent god knows how much on beer there (I remember going in and I remember leaving but nothing in-between), and finally made my way home around 7...
...by way of the 24-hour City Diner where I had a delicious omelette and an orange juice. I don't remember how I got from the Dragon Club to the Diner, but I definitely remember the omelette :)
I had given Alex my trusty piece of paper which has the address of our apartment complex written in Chinese, so I had to trust that my Chinese was good enough to get me home. Amazingly, considering how much beer I had consumed during the evening/morning, I was able to convey where I wanted to go to the taxi driver, and I got home safe and sound at about 7:30 for the princely sum of $AUS10. I love this city!
Sunday: worst hangover so far in China. I didn't wake up until after 12, stayed in bed until 3pm watching TV, and then when I got up I only made it to the couch where I didn't move for the rest of the day. That's the price you pay for having so much fun on a Saturday night. Speaking of fun, I have visitors arriving on the weekend - Shotty and Cookie are getting in on Sunday morning. It's a holiday here on Monday, and I'm having Tuesday off, so I'm sure there will be tales to tell of our activities next week.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Massive weekend - part 2
So after I left Windows Scoreboard I was off to the Blue Frog (another $3 taxi ride). The Blue Frog bar is on Tongren Rd, which is a pretty famous bar strip in Shanghai. It's quite a strange sight actually - you turn onto the road, and the first hundred metres or so is packed with a dozen different bars. Each one has a couple of pretty girls out the front and they shout out a welcome and invite in everyone that passes by. The Blue Frog is about the second-last one, so I had to walk past all the others first to get to it.
Upon entering it looked pretty small. The downstairs area has a DJ and bar, and a number of tables along the side. It was quite busy, and initially the only place I could stand was right in front of the bartender as he was mixing drinks. A few minutes later a table freed up, and I was able to sit down and enjoy my (reasonably priced) beer and some complimentary nuts. I had a quick flick through the menu while I was there; they have a pretty good range of drinks (and a hundred-shots challenge that I can't imagine anyone completing), and a good range of bar meals too. It's actually a multi-level place - second floor is a restaurant, and the third floor a lounge area. It'd be a good place to go with a few friends and relax for a bit. I stayed there for a few beers, and then went off to my final establishment of the evening - Studio 78.
Studio 78 is actually only two doors down from Blue Frog, so I didn't have far to go. It isn't particularly well-labeled, but you get into an elevator and go up one flight and there it is. It was bigger than Blue Frog, and actually had a dance floor which was a reasonable size and some very comfortable couches around the place, although it wasn't very busy. There wasn't anyone at the entrance when I walked in, so I wandered straight up to the bar and asked for a pint of Tiger. The barman handed it over and went about his business...and didn't ask me for any money.
Around this time I notice the sign on the table which said 'Open Bar Drinks', and then had a list of drinks underneath it. A lightbulb blinked on inside my head, and my inner child gleefully informed me that I had stumbled across free beer. I suspect that the establishment was having one of those nights (which are quite popular here in Shanghai) where you pay something like $AUS20-50 at the door and get free drinks for the rest of the night. I must have walked in at a time when the door-person was having a break, and so didn't have to pay any money.
Now I don't know about you, but when I get free alcohol of any kind, it's hard to pass up. So although I had been originally planning on only have a few drinks during my bar investigation night, I ended up getting pretty smashed. I think I had 3 or 4 pints at Studio 78, after which time I mustered up the courage to walk out as I knew I had things to do on Saturday and didn't want to be too hungover. I was quite proud of myself actually. I went outside and got into a taxi and got home just after 2. Cost to get home: $AUS10. Awesome.
Saturday I woke up mostly hangover free, which I was quite pleased about. I did a bit of research on the interwebs to determine which bars I would be going to Saturday night. Then I got my gear together and jogged up the road to the basketball courts where I had played the previous week. Got there by 11 and found both courts empty, which was great. However I'd only been shooting around for 10 minutes when a young Chinese guy came up and asked to play one on one. We did that for about half an hour or so by which time a group of guys had come along to the other court. We organised a 3 on 3 matchup and spent the next 90 minutes trying to outdoor each other on the court. It was heaps of fun. By this time it was midafternoon and I was getting hungry, so I made my apologies and left. I made a quick detour up the road to the DVD place I'd gone the previous week to pay them the rest of the money I owed, and then went home for a late lunch.
I spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies, before getting changed and heading out on the town again. More about that in the next post.
Upon entering it looked pretty small. The downstairs area has a DJ and bar, and a number of tables along the side. It was quite busy, and initially the only place I could stand was right in front of the bartender as he was mixing drinks. A few minutes later a table freed up, and I was able to sit down and enjoy my (reasonably priced) beer and some complimentary nuts. I had a quick flick through the menu while I was there; they have a pretty good range of drinks (and a hundred-shots challenge that I can't imagine anyone completing), and a good range of bar meals too. It's actually a multi-level place - second floor is a restaurant, and the third floor a lounge area. It'd be a good place to go with a few friends and relax for a bit. I stayed there for a few beers, and then went off to my final establishment of the evening - Studio 78.
Studio 78 is actually only two doors down from Blue Frog, so I didn't have far to go. It isn't particularly well-labeled, but you get into an elevator and go up one flight and there it is. It was bigger than Blue Frog, and actually had a dance floor which was a reasonable size and some very comfortable couches around the place, although it wasn't very busy. There wasn't anyone at the entrance when I walked in, so I wandered straight up to the bar and asked for a pint of Tiger. The barman handed it over and went about his business...and didn't ask me for any money.
Around this time I notice the sign on the table which said 'Open Bar Drinks', and then had a list of drinks underneath it. A lightbulb blinked on inside my head, and my inner child gleefully informed me that I had stumbled across free beer. I suspect that the establishment was having one of those nights (which are quite popular here in Shanghai) where you pay something like $AUS20-50 at the door and get free drinks for the rest of the night. I must have walked in at a time when the door-person was having a break, and so didn't have to pay any money.
Now I don't know about you, but when I get free alcohol of any kind, it's hard to pass up. So although I had been originally planning on only have a few drinks during my bar investigation night, I ended up getting pretty smashed. I think I had 3 or 4 pints at Studio 78, after which time I mustered up the courage to walk out as I knew I had things to do on Saturday and didn't want to be too hungover. I was quite proud of myself actually. I went outside and got into a taxi and got home just after 2. Cost to get home: $AUS10. Awesome.
Saturday I woke up mostly hangover free, which I was quite pleased about. I did a bit of research on the interwebs to determine which bars I would be going to Saturday night. Then I got my gear together and jogged up the road to the basketball courts where I had played the previous week. Got there by 11 and found both courts empty, which was great. However I'd only been shooting around for 10 minutes when a young Chinese guy came up and asked to play one on one. We did that for about half an hour or so by which time a group of guys had come along to the other court. We organised a 3 on 3 matchup and spent the next 90 minutes trying to outdoor each other on the court. It was heaps of fun. By this time it was midafternoon and I was getting hungry, so I made my apologies and left. I made a quick detour up the road to the DVD place I'd gone the previous week to pay them the rest of the money I owed, and then went home for a late lunch.
I spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies, before getting changed and heading out on the town again. More about that in the next post.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Ok, so it was that kind of wasted
Ow.
Ow.
Ow.
Ok, now that I have that out of my system...
Ow.
My entire body hurts. It's like I have been placed into an extra-extra-large tumble dryer set to maximum. Every time I take a step, my calves scream in agony. A pain like the fire of a thousand suns travels from my legs up to my back with each passing moment. And I have a hangover.
Other than that, things are just peachy.
So yesterday, when I last left you readers hanging for more, I had confided that I was going to go buy some drugs, a DVD player and settle in for a day of trying to shake off my cold.
None of those things happened.
I decided to man up. I said "F%#k this" (which is actually quite difficult - have you ever tried to say a '#' sign out loud? It sounds kind of like "cckkth" but more guttural) and made a decision to get out and do some exercise. I told my body to suck it up (my gut obliged) and I got my gear on, grabbed my basketball and made the 3km trek to the courts next to the office.
To find that they were both occupied. In the immortal words of Jack Bauer: "Damn it!"
Undeterred, I decided I'd walk another couple of km to buy a few DVDs. I had a little bit of cash with me so I figured it was a good way to pass the time while waiting for a court to become available. I wandered up the road (not at all looking like a massive loser with a basketball tucked under one arm) and did some some browsing around. Momentarily swayed by the idea of purchasing the entire 4-season set of Doogie Howser, M.D, I ended up instead purchasing the 7-season set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I like that show. Abusive comments welcome. Anyway, I didn't quite have enough money to buy it, but somewhat amazingly, the girls in the store were perfectly happy for me to take it anyway. They said 'we trust that you will come back next week with the rest of the cash'.
Suckers.
No seriously, I've bought DVDs there before and they know they'll see me again. Was nice of them though.
Excuse me - if my stomach does not get some food in the next 10 seconds, it will kill me...by...um, starving me to death. That sentence was not well thought out. Back in a jiffy.
...
Right, food has been demolished. And when I say demolished, it was hoover-style. Possibly the fasted meal ever consumed.
Anyway, I trundled back up to the courts with my new purchase...only to find that they were still occupied. Damn it again! This time I decided to sit and wait for a while. Within 20 minutes, one of the courts freed up, so I was able to go out and shoot around. The guys on the court next to me invited me to take part in a game of 3-on-3, which I was more than happy to do. We played for about 2 hours all up (hence the soreness today, I am out of shape) and then I walked back home to have some dinner.
By now I was feeling pretty good, and my cold had subsided, so I figured I'd head out on the town. I went back to Malone's, the place I went last week where I had free vodka. Unfortunately it was very quiet, and there was no free vodka this time, so it wasn't as much fun as last time. I left at about 11 and went to another place called 'The Coconut Bar', which was in the same plaza. This place was very small, but absolutely pumping...and full of German men. I like Germans, I've even been to Germany...but they were everywhere! Major sausage-fest...and not the good kind of sausage-fest, like at a food-type-place where you...um...eat sau...
Ok, there is no way I can salvage that sentence. I stayed at Coconut for a couple of beers and then decided to go to a place that stayed open past 2am. I went to Logo.
Logo is on the other side of the river, in Puxi. I had to get a taxi to get there, and even though it took quite a while, it still only cost me $AUS17. Back home in Melb it would have been at least double that. Anyway, I got to Logo and it was packed. Like sardine packed. I had more intimate contact with people on my way to the bar than I've had in, well, let's not go there.
Anyway, the beer was cheap (Corona for $AUS4 is always welcome) but the fact that it was so busy was kind of a turn off. The other thing that it didn't have going for it was the band. I'm not saying they were the worst band in the world...no wait, I am saying that. They sucked! Needless to say, I didn't stay as long as I would normally. I think the place has potential, but I think I need to get there after 2am. I also need to find out if the band is a regular fixture. If so, I won't be.
I was out of there by 2 and got a taxi back to the apartment. On the way, I stopped by the local 7-11 equivalent and bought myself some hangover food for today.
Which I promptly ate before reaching my front door. The Oreo cookies made it through mostly unscathed, although I have now eaten all of them.
And yes, I feel extremely average. Hangovers are not cool.
Ow.
Ow.
Ok, now that I have that out of my system...
Ow.
My entire body hurts. It's like I have been placed into an extra-extra-large tumble dryer set to maximum. Every time I take a step, my calves scream in agony. A pain like the fire of a thousand suns travels from my legs up to my back with each passing moment. And I have a hangover.
Other than that, things are just peachy.
So yesterday, when I last left you readers hanging for more, I had confided that I was going to go buy some drugs, a DVD player and settle in for a day of trying to shake off my cold.
None of those things happened.
I decided to man up. I said "F%#k this" (which is actually quite difficult - have you ever tried to say a '#' sign out loud? It sounds kind of like "cckkth" but more guttural) and made a decision to get out and do some exercise. I told my body to suck it up (my gut obliged) and I got my gear on, grabbed my basketball and made the 3km trek to the courts next to the office.
To find that they were both occupied. In the immortal words of Jack Bauer: "Damn it!"
Undeterred, I decided I'd walk another couple of km to buy a few DVDs. I had a little bit of cash with me so I figured it was a good way to pass the time while waiting for a court to become available. I wandered up the road (not at all looking like a massive loser with a basketball tucked under one arm) and did some some browsing around. Momentarily swayed by the idea of purchasing the entire 4-season set of Doogie Howser, M.D, I ended up instead purchasing the 7-season set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I like that show. Abusive comments welcome. Anyway, I didn't quite have enough money to buy it, but somewhat amazingly, the girls in the store were perfectly happy for me to take it anyway. They said 'we trust that you will come back next week with the rest of the cash'.
Suckers.
No seriously, I've bought DVDs there before and they know they'll see me again. Was nice of them though.
Excuse me - if my stomach does not get some food in the next 10 seconds, it will kill me...by...um, starving me to death. That sentence was not well thought out. Back in a jiffy.
...
Right, food has been demolished. And when I say demolished, it was hoover-style. Possibly the fasted meal ever consumed.
Anyway, I trundled back up to the courts with my new purchase...only to find that they were still occupied. Damn it again! This time I decided to sit and wait for a while. Within 20 minutes, one of the courts freed up, so I was able to go out and shoot around. The guys on the court next to me invited me to take part in a game of 3-on-3, which I was more than happy to do. We played for about 2 hours all up (hence the soreness today, I am out of shape) and then I walked back home to have some dinner.
By now I was feeling pretty good, and my cold had subsided, so I figured I'd head out on the town. I went back to Malone's, the place I went last week where I had free vodka. Unfortunately it was very quiet, and there was no free vodka this time, so it wasn't as much fun as last time. I left at about 11 and went to another place called 'The Coconut Bar', which was in the same plaza. This place was very small, but absolutely pumping...and full of German men. I like Germans, I've even been to Germany...but they were everywhere! Major sausage-fest...and not the good kind of sausage-fest, like at a food-type-place where you...um...eat sau...
Ok, there is no way I can salvage that sentence. I stayed at Coconut for a couple of beers and then decided to go to a place that stayed open past 2am. I went to Logo.
Logo is on the other side of the river, in Puxi. I had to get a taxi to get there, and even though it took quite a while, it still only cost me $AUS17. Back home in Melb it would have been at least double that. Anyway, I got to Logo and it was packed. Like sardine packed. I had more intimate contact with people on my way to the bar than I've had in, well, let's not go there.
Anyway, the beer was cheap (Corona for $AUS4 is always welcome) but the fact that it was so busy was kind of a turn off. The other thing that it didn't have going for it was the band. I'm not saying they were the worst band in the world...no wait, I am saying that. They sucked! Needless to say, I didn't stay as long as I would normally. I think the place has potential, but I think I need to get there after 2am. I also need to find out if the band is a regular fixture. If so, I won't be.
I was out of there by 2 and got a taxi back to the apartment. On the way, I stopped by the local 7-11 equivalent and bought myself some hangover food for today.
Which I promptly ate before reaching my front door. The Oreo cookies made it through mostly unscathed, although I have now eaten all of them.
And yes, I feel extremely average. Hangovers are not cool.
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