Fears

At least I tried acupuncture. I appreciate what others go through when they dislike doing things but I at least go through with it to find out. Same with flying. I don't like it when people have illogical fears therefore I either don't accept that I have any irrational fears or I have to make them rational. It is the latter:
 - Flying: aeroplanes are designed and built by humans, and aeroplane companies buy aeroplanes based on price among other things. Humans will cut corners to make something cheaper so that it will be bought. That's what I think about when flying but I'm grown up enough to know that by flying to China with my family we are less likely to die than when driving to Caz and Steve's house. If that is true I should truly not even get sweaty hands while flying.
 - Needles: Ok, in the West, when having dental treatment or getting a blood sample I should not react the way I do. I'm embarrassed and I don't have a reason for it. Maybe everyone is allowed one actual irrational fear. But despite it I still will get injections done (except for China vaccinations as they're only "advised" and not as important as certain kids' ones).
 - House and drain spiders: not actually irrational - only the general fear of spiders is irrational. House and drain spiders are the closest thing to supernatural beasts and should not be witnessed by anything other than flies and caterpillars about to meet their doom.

But at least I fly, have injections, and live within 30 yards of spiders. It's the group of people who avoid their fears I don't want to belong to.

I have to fly to Belgium on Monday so wanted to spend a lot of this weekend with the kids. As Leilei had had A Da over I went out with them in the late morning after they'd finally awoken to get a bite to eat. Leilei has taken to being here better than any other year he has been since school age. His mates have been part and parcel of that despite my fears that impending adulthood would prise a fork between their friendship with its broken voices and B.O. But it's been, if anything, better than before and the kids have taken to their relatively greater independence here very well in their other home language.

Two handsome young men in the lift

I think I had a little siesta, or "wu shui", something invaluable here but if you had to put money on it it would be around GBP22-27. I had a bite to eat with the kids at Waipo's place and promised to fix their wifi but the problem was they haven't yet paid for Internet so there's not a lot I can do until then. I did notice that they still have my old BT Home Hub 1.0 but it should still work with the hacked firmware I installed a few years ago.

In the evening I went to drink tea at the tea place opposite where I'd met Li Kun the other day. I said I wanted to buy a teapot as I felt a bit bad just going there and drinking tea all the time, and said I'd be back later. Then I went next door where there was a sports shop with a bargain rail. I asked if the tops on the bargain rail were for table tennis but I was told they were for badminton. I didn't really understand the difference but said I wanted one and also wanted my name printed on it. They said it would be possible, which was music to my ears, and I told them, like the tea place next door, that I'd be back that evening.

But Xixi came first. I took her out to the guangchang despite the numerous calls from friends for her to go with them. Although it had been raining, and the guangchang was not its usual filled-up-to-the-rafters self, there were still plenty of places to amuse kids and spend money. Xixi really wanted to do some painting so we found a place that had something a bit like stained glass windows to paint. They had outlines of cartoons drawn with some sort of raised plastic so that you could paint in-between and the paint would not dribble over the outlines if you were careful enough. I helped Xixi but she was actually more careful than me. It did take a good half an hour, which, when your back is bad and you're sitting on a 6" high stool does make you draw rather quickly so that is my excuse. Anyway she did rather well too as the heavens promoted moisture in a way that was rather refreshing.

Xixi's handiwork

With the finished product and A Wu

I finally gave in to the phone calls and called Tian Tian - her mother Lin Hong answered and told us they were having bbq by the guangchang so we sidled over there and within five minutes were sitting with a couple of other young ladies. We had an enjoyable hour or so during which I showed Lin Hong some old photos of her and Tian Tian. She insisted on having these so I logged on to QQ somehow and sent a couple to her. Now she wants me to print some off too.

By the time I said I had to get Xixi back, Lin Hong flamboyantly did not let me pay for anything, even the two beers I had from the other place. I didn't argue too much as I didn't have the energy. I'll invite them out one evening and pay then. I took Xixi home for a well-needed shower and then realised at midnight that I'd totally forgotten about buying my teapot and badminton shirt. But I knew there would be no hard feelings and I'd go tomorrow for these necessities.