Gurbob Imbibepants

[PettyMort]

Had a conversation with my trainer to tell him I won't be coming in tomorrow. I told him how it feels like every time I'm ready to go back to the gym, something else goes wrong and I can't - my period, sinus infection, what's next? He asked if I'm thinking of giving up, to which I replied:

 

 

[PettyMort]

I've been a rockstar today.

 

No, I didn't throw my TV out the window or do a lot of drugs. 

Quite the opposite, actually. 

 

I cleaned the living room, dining area, kitchen, our bedroom, my cosmetics sink area and rearranged some furniture. I also aced the Miserable Yoga PVP and conquered my Samwise Gamgee minis before lunch. Behold! 

 

 

 

 

Aaaaaaaah it does serious wonders for my mental health. So clean! So shiny! Much wow! 

Let's not talk about the laundry now, ok?

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well done on on all that cleaning.

[PettyMort]

Whoops, I really suck at updating regularly. Well, here's a brief overview of this week's successes:

Food

Mostly managed to stay on track minus a couple of ice creams (tiny haagen dasz tubs) and diet cokes. My stomach has been rebelling since Monday, which is no fun. Went out for hotpot dinner with my coworkers last night (and karaoke) and I only ate the fruit, veg and meat, so that was good. Drank too much of the smoky plum juice though... It's so yummy. I'm pretty satisfied with my food choices this week. Ordered pizza for the Texan's dinner when I got home and I didn't even think of asking him for a bite (which he hates me doing anyway). 

 

Fitness

Still haven't made it to the gym... because it's closed at the moment for an exhibition. That's what happens when you go to gym in the Expo center. I'm making up for it with swimming though.

 

Swimming

Went to the pool and realised I'd left my swimming cap and waterproof ipod at home, so I didn't get any hours towards my book (which I have to restart anyway because the one working earphone kept falling out). Borrowed the Texan's cap because he didn't really feel like swimming anyway, and discovered that I swim better without the ipod distraction after all. I set myself the goal of 50 laps of anything, and an hour later I was done. Paced myself by switching to different muscle groups when I needed too, speeding up to boost my heart rate or slowing down and focusing on form, trying different breathing patterns and repeating stroke exercises I vaguely remember from the swimming team in high school. My SwimPro training app was too slow to load so I just did what felt good and boy did it feel good. The first four laps were a slow slog, but by the time I got to the last ten, I was so in the zone that I barely noticed the bits between turns. 1250m completed, with gusto, and all I want to do is get back in the pool after work, but they're having a celebratory buffet because our (brand new) school got accredited in record time.

 

Reading

Still slogging through A Court of Mist And Fury but I might just ditch it in favour of something better. It's really... not that great. I don't get the hype. I'm used to reading stuff with an entertainment value similar to shows like Legion, House of Cards or West World, with depth of character and complex world-building that is evocative and can pull me totally out of my day-to-day. With ACOMAF I just feel like I'm reading words on a page about people I don't really like or care about. Meh.

 

Cleaning/Laundry

Managing to mostly stay on top of it, and I've been making an effort to pick up a bit before bed every night, just to keep the areas that I cleaned cleaner. The new furniture arrangement is better too.

 

Miserable Yoga

This has been the highlight of my week. I've been trying to find time and a miserable setting for my next pose... Maybe surrounded by my students' annoying, incessantly beeping science projects? Could work.

 

Samwise Gamgee

- Planks and Pushups

I've done a couple but not every day like I said I would. Give myself half a point for this.

- Kitchen stuff

Been staying mostly out of the kitchen... whoops.

- Cleaning

See above.

- Hanging Strength

I've been hanging here and there but nothing serious or committed; nothing that's going to make me make any progress. I could be working harder on this.

 

Overall I'd give myself about 75% for this week, but that's not too bad considering I've been recovering from this sinus infection. It's mostly gone now. I just wish the pool was open on weekends.

 

It's Friday!

 

 

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

12 minutes ago, Gurdris the Imbiber said:

Went out for hotpot dinner with my coworkers last night (and karaoke) and I only ate the fruit, veg and meat, so that was good

 

Hot pot has things other than meat?  Who knew!

[PettyMort]

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Hot pot has things other than meat?  Who knew!

Yeah, apparently it has green stuff in it too. It's a new Hai Di Lao that just opened up in our city. Waiting line a block long (so long that they have board games and tables to pass the time while you wait) and we had 3 separate private shows in our VIP room - face-changing mask guy, noodle spinning guy, and some kind of synchronised/zumba group dance. It was pretty awesome, as far as awkward dinners with coworkers go. I had a good time, and I'm still full. Now we have buffet tonight... and we just had cake for my co-teacher's birthday.

 

This is hard.

[WhiteGhost]

Haidilao is awesome hotpot.  A little on the pricey side, but they make up for it with the service and food quality.  They have tons of them here in Beijing and they all have hour long wait times but the distractions they provide help.  Does the one near you offer manicures while you wait?  

 

The only green things I put in my hotpot are Tong Hao (茼蒿), which is some kind of leafy vegetable but I have no idea what it is called in English.  I put it in first to flavor the broth which makes a wicked good soup.  Sometimes I will also get a side of Bing Cao (冰草) which is also green but like nothing I have ever seen before.  Pretty yummy though.

 

[PettyMort]

20 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Haidilao is awesome hotpot.  A little on the pricey side, but they make up for it with the service and food quality.  They have tons of them here in Beijing and they all have hour long wait times but the distractions they provide help.  Does the one near you offer manicures while you wait?  

 

The only green things I put in my hotpot are Tong Hao (茼蒿), which is some kind of leafy vegetable but I have no idea what it is called in English.  I put it in first to flavor the broth which makes a wicked good soup.  Sometimes I will also get a side of Bing Cao (冰草) which is also green but like nothing I have ever seen before.  Pretty yummy though.

 

 

That does look interesting... I'll try it next time. Our Haidilao is the first one in the city (I think) so the waiting area has about 50 full tables of board games, snacks and drinks, as well as about 15 chairs to sit in to wait to get to the waiting area, and the manicure desk (which only has room for two at a time? COME ON! Luckily we were in a VIP room with reservations so we didn't have to wait at all. It was great, although I would probably stick with our usual hotpot place (downstairs from Haidilao) and do HDL for special occasions/visitors. I think the food quality between the two places is about the same.

 

In other news

Work made it virtually impossible to stay on track with nutrition this week, from the fatty zongzi we got for the long weekend, to cake TWICE for birthdays, and hotpot+karaoke followed by a buffet dinner the next night... I did my best to stick to the healthiest options where I could, but it will be nice to settle back into a healthy routine in the week to come.

 

Saw Wonder Woman last night and it was amazing. When I did my last huuuuuge respawn about a year or two ago, I picked Wonder Woman as my mascot. The Texan got me a bunch of stuff (WW underwear, socks, sleep wear, hoodie, etc) and I did the hero's journey on Darebee. So it had a bit of extra oomph for me. I loved watching her kicking ass all night. I feel inspired.

 

Still don't have a key to the pool so no swimming this weekend, but I'll do some darebee and yoga with Adrienne because I feel horribly bloated from all this irregular eating. My stomach has been in rebellion for days and shows no sign of improving. Might have to do a day of oatmeal and probiotic yoghurt at this point. Waiting for my trainer to tell me if the gym is open again yet.

 

Time to think up some more Samwise Gamgee goals and catch up on all the threads I follow.

[PettyMort]

Oh hey, @WhiteGhost, I google translated and apparently 茼蒿 is Garland Chrysanthemum. Not just good tea, but good eatin' too! Link for proof: http://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/garland-chrysanthemum-leaves.php

[PettyMort]

The gym is closed until the 7th. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

 

 

*starts collecting darebee workouts*

[PettyMort]

I remember talking to @WhiteGhost about dryer sheets before. Well, I just leveled up my laundry game by making my own reusable dryer sheets using nothing but softener and some old socks. 

 

Next time I'll try the dry version. If this works, it's going to save plenty of space in my luggage for new clothes and flu medicine instead... 

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

3 hours ago, Gurdris the Imbiber said:

Oh hey, @WhiteGhost, I google translated and apparently 茼蒿 is Garland Chrysanthemum. Not just good tea, but good eatin' too! Link for proof: http://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/garland-chrysanthemum-leaves.php

I knew there was a reason I liked it so much

[WhiteGhost]

52 minutes ago, Gurdris the Imbiber said:

I remember talking to @WhiteGhost about dryer sheets before. Well, I just leveled up my laundry game by making my own reusable dryer sheets using nothing but softener and some old socks. 

 

Next time I'll try the dry version. If this works, it's going to save plenty of space in my luggage for new clothes and flu medicine instead... 

 

 

Does it also work to reduce static cling?  That is the primary reason I use the dryer sheets

[PettyMort]

7 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

Does it also work to reduce static cling?  That is the primary reason I use the dryer sheets

According to the blogs, yes. Trying the first load now.

 

[PettyMort]

Follow up, it worked pretty well. The clothes are softer and smell nicer, and there was less lint and static cling. It's so easy I'm definitely going to keep doing it. Soaked some dishcloths in softener and hung them up to make dry sheets, but I didn't notice any spotting from the wet socks I put in before. All round, a success! 

Plus, I just folded ALL the laundry, and I mean ALL the laundry - we've been using the bed in the spare room as a dumping ground for clean laundry/wardrobe and now there's nothing on it but sheets!

 

[WhiteGhost]

Cool, will have to give it a try

[PettyMort]

Finally back on track with my workouts. Today I picked up one of the workouts my previous personal trainer made for me - the "getting back into it" workout. HIIT 1 minute intervals including strength, mobility, cardio and core, with kettlebells/dumbbells. Man, it felt gooooood to sweat again.

 

Midway through my workout, one of my nicest coworkers invited me to go around to the park to toss around frisbees, try my hand at slacklining and learn to skateboard. The frisbee is mine but the other two are things I've been dying to try, and I have been wanting to develop the friendship with this particular couple because they're lovely, hilarious and we have fun at work together. I've been so lonely here in our small city of 4 million chinese but less than 100 foreigners (and most of those foreigners are on opposite schedules to us). The Texan told me he doesn't know which is worse - how overwhelming work is or how boring everything else is. I feel pretty much the same although I'm a loner so I have a higher social boredom threshold; I can entertain myself happily with movies, colouring books, puttering. But he's suffering and he's tired of being the one to make plans all the time. It's time I pulled my shit together and put some effort into our mutual social life too. I'm thinking a dinner party.

 

Anyway, having this plan for the park this afternoon means I've just lost most of my afternoon, so I need to pull my thumb out of my butt and get all these school reports done in the next two hours. That said, the house is spotless...

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

2 hours ago, Gurdris the Imbiber said:

Finally back on track with my workouts. Today I picked up one of the workouts my previous personal trainer made for me - the "getting back into it" workout. HIIT 1 minute intervals including strength, mobility, cardio and core, with kettlebells/dumbbells. Man, it felt gooooood to sweat again.

 

Midway through my workout, one of my nicest coworkers invited me to go around to the park to toss around frisbees, try my hand at slacklining and learn to skateboard. The frisbee is mine but the other two are things I've been dying to try, and I have been wanting to develop the friendship with this particular couple because they're lovely, hilarious and we have fun at work together. I've been so lonely here in our small city of 4 million chinese but less than 100 foreigners (and most of those foreigners are on opposite schedules to us). The Texan told me he doesn't know which is worse - how overwhelming work is or how boring everything else is. I feel pretty much the same although I'm a loner so I have a higher social boredom threshold; I can entertain myself happily with movies, colouring books, puttering. But he's suffering and he's tired of being the one to make plans all the time. It's time I pulled my shit together and put some effort into our mutual social life too. I'm thinking a dinner party.

 

Anyway, having this plan for the park this afternoon means I've just lost most of my afternoon, so I need to pull my thumb out of my butt and get all these school reports done in the next two hours. That said, the house is spotless...

 

I would love to try slacklining, it looks really hard, though.  Let me know how it goes

[PettyMort]

I did the things! They are both fun. Slacklining is hard but I got up to 4 steps on it. Could get the hang of it with more practise.

 

Also I guess I'm buying a Longboard. Tossed my Frisbee around too.

 

Took our remaining kiwi fruits and made sorbet popsicles by chopping then into pulp and freezing them in paper cups.

 

Now we're playing scattergories. Life is good.

[PettyMort]

Swam 2.8km using a myswimpro workout. Woooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[PettyMort]

I forgot about my loot! Guess I need to go shopping this weekend for watercolour paints (I'll order some nice Japanese ones online), clothes (put that on hold for July), and a full body massage (totally going after this one TODAY).

 

I didn't really officially start week 2 off, so here we go with some adjustments.

 

Main Quest

 

Mental: Go to bed before 10pm every night.

Loot: 1 Doctor Who episode to be watched on Saturday.

 

 

 

Life: Get on top of my workload by using my bujo and finishing my work to-do list before 5pm.

Loot: Restock my stash of the good drip coffee.

 

 

 

Fitness: Swim 3 times a week, for at least 2km each time.

Loot: ANOTHER massage. Massages are good. And cheap, here.

 

 

 

Nutrition: No ice cream or diet coke from now (Tuesday) until next Tuesday.

Loot: Popsicle molds for making our own using fresh fruit.

 

 

 

Bonus feats

Samwise Gamgee Cooking Feat: Buy vegetables and cook dinner 3 times this week.

 

Miserable yoga: 3 poses

 

[PettyMort]

I had some dishcloths that I'd soaked in fabric softener hanging up to dry, to become dryer sheets. The Texan is making steak for dinner and wanted to wipe down a container to put them in while he seasoned them, and instead of looking in the "clean dishcloth" cupboard, he went outside to grab a towel that was hanging up...

 

Yup. 

 

Wish us luck. 

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

Yikes!

[PettyMort]

Well it's an hour later and aside from jokes about my tongue feeling softer, we seem ok. The steak was delicious.

[WhiteGhost]

1 hour ago, Gurdris the Imbiber said:

The steak was delicious.

 

And fresh as a spring breeze!