First massage and red wine faux pas

Damnation to my 4-5am window. Getting to sleep at 2am I thought I'd at least last longer than 5am but it wasn't to be. So at 6am I got up and found some shorts and by 6.15 I was at the guangchang with nothing but phone and keys in hand. My only target was to do more than the three laps I'd managed last time but rather than try four I walked the first half lap so would only be attempting 3.5 laps. It would be easier to beat the record of three laps that way. But on the second lap I wasn't feeling up to it, just no motivatation although beating last time should have been enough. Then I came across Zhang, who was jogging with a female. He noticed me and made the Chinese sound of recognition between males: "ah", and bade me jog with them.

It transpired that he and his pretty (for her age) friend had been jogging partners for 15 years. I had already noted that last week when I went with him to play ping pong he was wearing a top that mentioned the Nanning marathon. I hadn't been aware of such a thing but he'd done it. Luckily they weren't running any faster than a tired me so I stayed with them for a bit. They were doing longer laps than me and normally did four of them. The conversation and just company did for me more than I could have expected and I jogged a lap and a half, after which they (the woman is called Huang, I just learned) said I should relax as I'd started earlier. But I wanted to prove something to them so started a new lap even though I'd already well beaten my previous record here. It was slower, and my average speed per mile came down to 10m25s but I managed it, even with a sprint finish and was happy to see I'd done a 5.24 mile rather hot jog.

At home, just to make it better I forced myself to do a 7-minute workout, during which I sweated more than is decent. But the shower felt good. The kids and I walked to the dou jiang place on way to Waipo's with Tan, then after having a bite of brunch, left her as she was going to Baise a bit later for a few days for a primary school friends' reunion.

We went to the jade place where I had my annual change of necklace string for my jade pig. This year it was 10 kuai, as opposed to 6 kuai last year, but it had been more in the past. Pretty random but I'm not going to complain. After, the kids and I went to look for something new but even the bridge that had been built some seven years ago still didn't have a road on the south side. I tried to explain to the kids why this may be but could only muster that it was a project gone wrong, something I don't wholeheartedly believe in this place.

Still on the bike, we noticed we were getting battered by the soon-to-be-midday sun, so took a turn to Ma Laoban's place where we hugged as it had been nearly a year since we last met. We shared a couple of cups of tea then he said we'd call me to eat with him tomorrow lunchtime. I had semi-hoped we might go for a bite with him there and then, so instead we all went to A Ni's. There, the bloke with the same surname as Tan, Tan invited us to eat with him upstairs. It transpired he had some extended family for a meal, so that was quite good timing. Tan ordered steak for me and I asked for boring chips for the kids. A bottle of red wine was ordered for some reason, and some poured for all the adults. We all got up to cheers and I followed the Chinese tradition of gan beiing my glass only to find that everyone else just took a communion-sized sip from their glass. I felt rather sheepish as I was poured another - I wouldn't have downed it if I didn't think everyone else would.

Lin Hong called and came to take the kids to play, so I went home but decided it would be better to go for a massage as I haven't done that yet. It seemed that, without the kids, and with the whole afternoon and a sleep to come, not pouring a nice G&T would be bordering on criminal, so I kept on the right side of the law and had a wee glass and one for the journey. Five minutes later I was at A Wu's favouring massage place and was told to get upstairs. So much for a relaxing massage I could fall asleep during. This woman had it in for me. She kept telling me this place and that area were "ying" (hard) so applied more and more pressure. As tired as I was sleep would not happen in the next 70 minutes. But as soon as she was over, the soothing calmness of not having your muscled pulled and pushed to unnatural places brought me to a slumber that lasted another 70 minutes. I only woke up as the air-con was set at its lowest, and pushed it to 26 before resting again. Thankfully this place never seems that busy so sleeping after is quite the norm.

Not a good idea to take a selfie while taking the dian dong che back from the massage place but hey

It was already 4.30 and not long after A Wu called to invite me to eat steak at A Ni's again. It's more than I really want but it's company. There were a couple of other blokes too and beer was taken, but not more than a couple. The kids came back to then A Ni took them out to Yi Xiao to spoil them, and they came back with new shoes, clothes, and toys. Then it was my turn and I took them to the guangchang where once again they got absolutely soaking wet on the jumping castle. As it was pay day, and I'd thankfully got a bonus, I was able to withdraw 5000 kuai to give to Ling Ming for helping sort out the house. 5000 was a lot (especially with the rotten exchange rate since Brexit), but fair enough he had sent a breakdown of the costs (which I'm yet to translate). Ling Ming, his wife Xiao Nong, and their now 18 month old son came to meet us at the guangchang, then we went to A Ni's to see her son and to exchange the cash.

Then I saw Leilei was doubled over in pain. He wouldn't eat or drink so I got them both back home where he just lay down. I guessed it was the jumping and drinking of water too quickly and that seemed to be it for a few minutes later he seemed ok again. But it meant we were no longer to go out tonight and have a relatively pre-midnight bed.