Beijing - Day 3 (12/2): Cold Tissues and Old Issues

When I woke up this morning my throat was very sore. Sort of a “be careful or you’re going to catch a cold really quick” type of sore. I knew what that meant … lots and lots of rest. I think it’s a result of getting such big doses of cold weather and super-heated rooms so quickly. This sort of weather really does a number on you.

I spent the morning working on the blog from the day before and after a while talked to Jenn and Wang Wei on the phone. They were going to visit the Tea Market to buy ...Read more

Beijing - Day 2 (12/1): People, Duck and Dragons

Can you believe it’s December already? Where does the time go?

Well, I managed to get up yesterday and did all that work on my blog, photos and videos before heading out to meet up with Wang Wei and Jennifer at Ya Xiu Market in San Li Tua’r. We ended up doing a decent amount of shopping and I bought two pairs of “Adidas” shoes along with a couple t-shirts and a sweater vest. While I was at Ya Xiu I called up Li Yan and spoke to him about the training at his university. We agreed that I would meet hi...Read more

Dong Ming/Beijing - Travel Day (11/30): Online Training & Beijing Arrival

I just wrote a nice long entry, but it got “poofed” by my stupid browser crashing. Ah well … Long story short. I’m on a train heading to Beijing but able to get online courtesey of my wireless internet card.

This morning I woke up, got my things together, did a quick blog from the day before, showered and headed over to the Wang’s where I got some breakfast. Dumplings — which you eat when leaving on a journey … as opposed to noodles which you eat when arriving at your de...Read more

Dong Ming - Day 6 (11.29): Video Killed the Sleep

I’m writing this entry a day late, but when I finish it you’ll understand why.

I had gone to bed rather late on Tuesday night, talking to varoius people online and working out certain logistics. I ended up sleeping around 2:30 a.m. or so. I had thought that I would not be needed the next morning until almost noon so I didn’t worry about what time I had to wake up. Well, color me silly because just before 8:00 a.m. I got a call from Wang Wei. He wanted to know what the possibility was for me to put...Read more

Dong Ming - Day 5 (11.28): Tie a Yellow River

The days are getting so filled with relaxation and casual socializing with friends that my blog entries are going to start getting smaller and smaller until I head off to Beijing. That is probably a welcome relief for some of you who complain about the length of my blog entries (well, just one of you, but Wu Di is just being fan si le) or it’s a problem for those of you who use my blogs to fill up the lonely hours you spend in the office waiting for something interesting to happen online.

In any case, on...Read more

Dong Ming - Day 4 (11.27): The Day After

I could probably write up today’s activities in about one paragraph, since it was a fairly relaxed day. Being who I am, I won’t, of course, but I will keep it brief.

I spent the morning cleaning up my room and organizing my things, followed by uploading the photos from the last 3 days and finishing up the wedding blog. Then I took a shower and got ready and met up with the Wang’s (Jenn, Wei, Fei and Xiao Yan) for lunch. We met up with Read more

Dong Ming - Day 3 (11.26): Wang Fei’s Wedding!

The big day has finally arrived! At 7:00 I woke up (actually 6:50 … my internal clock woke me up a bit early) and I showered and changed for the celebrations. At 8:00 Wang Fei’s friend, who’s name I always forget (but had lunch with Matt and I in Zhengzhou last month), came to pick me up and took me to the Wang Residence.

It was in the throes of preparations. People were running to and fro getti...Read more

Dong Ming - Day 2 (11.25): Wedding Preparations

I must have been tired last night because I ended up sleeping until my phone rang just before 9:00. It was Jennifer and I said I would be ready at 9:30 to meet up with them for breakfast. I showered, changed and got my things together. At 9:30 they came and we went down the street to a small, local restaurant which served a lamb soup and bing combination that was to die for. The weather was cold and th...Read more

Jinan/Dong Ming - Travel Day (11.24): Mark in the Heze

I was up late last night talking with Pat on IM and got to bed around 12:30. That’s the latest I’ve gone to bed in a good long while. But darn my internal clock if it didn’t wake me up at 7:30 anyway. I took a shower, did some preliminary packing and went to go get Wang wei and Jennifer at 8:30 for a final goodbye (hello for them) visit to the Shandong Wushu Team.

But on our way we went to t...Read more

Jinan - Day 11 (11.23): Video Delivery and the Wang’s Arrival

Yesterday I saw a picture of my on my friend Mike’s blog from this past June in Beijing. I hadn’t trained in a year (for the most part) and when I saw the picture I couldn’t believe how BIG my face looked. Seriously FAT. So I found another picture of my from about 5 months ago and took a picture of my face last night and made a comparison of the two.
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