Getting back on the horse... + moon cake madness

When I got up this morning I wanted to get two things accomplished today... (1) get some bicycling in, and (2) get some doors for my book case at Ikea.  I managed to do both!

For those of you who were reading up on my biking adventures ( like this one) back in May and June,  I had been riding my bike all over the New Territories... but since i moved down to Kowloon and started working in Sheung Wan,  I've only had a chance to go riding once... pretty much weekend afternoons are all I can hope for right now...

meanwhile my bike is an orphan... waiting weeks at a time at some remote KCR station, waiting for me to come back and let it stretch its legs.  Last time I left it at Shatin so thats where I started today.

Despite some strong head winds, I managed to make it all the way to Tai Po Market before my legs and my rear end were too sore to continue (keep in mind that I swam a few hundred meters yesterday and my arms are still killing me from the wake boarding):

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1338859

wow, 7 miles.  i guess i'm not in as bad shape as I feared,  but still, I need to do this more than just on the weekends. :-P

Anyway, I parked it under an overpass and rode the train back to Shatin, where part 2 comes in... Ikea.  I managed to find my way through the maze and got to my target: bookcase doors... but carrying it home on the train was a pain w/ my super-wobbly legs and super sore forearms... :-P

Also the mall was INSANELY packed (more than normal...)  its because this week is the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important holiday of the year in Chinese Culture.   The big thing is to give people ' Moon Cakes'...  so all the malls (and the train station next to my house) have huge blocks of roped off for the selling of moon cakes.  any bakery or desert shop is also likewise focusing on selling them. 

And everywhere you see people lined up to get them... and on the train you see a lot of people carrying them home in freezer bags and boxes. (even Häagen-Dazs is selling something mid-autumn festival related...)

From what I gather, the giving of gift baskets is also a big part of the mid-autumn festival in HK...  I've seen a lot of delivery trucks unloading them on the street,  and I spotted this display at City Super:

I guess Easter and Christmas weren't making enough money so they decided to work baskets into this holiday too. :-P

Anyway,  eventually I fought through the crowds and got home.  Despite my tired arms, I managed to work the screw driver enough to get my new Ikea doors install properly on my Ikea bookshelf:

now i can shove all my shoes and boxes and random junk in the bottom half and hide it all behind these attractive cabinet doors. :-P

Now I need to finish cleaning up... my place is /almost/ presentable. :-P

ok, time for bed.  tomorrow is another busy work day....