Monday, April 13, 2009

The darkness lifts

For those that haven't had the pleasure of basking in a glorious Beijing winter you may not be able to fully understand how it feels to have all the colour sucked out of your surroundings and life. For the last four months everything in Beijing has been grey. The leafless trees, the buildings, the cars, the hills in the distance and most disturbingly the people.

Case in point, the man in our building who is charged with the protection and general safe keeping of everyone's bikes has been very dark of late. No matter how cheerily I say 'Ni Hao' the response is always silence and the stink eye.

However, now that the mercury has tipped 27, and the blossoms are blooming, the birds are singing and the insects are buzzing, his mood has changed. He whistles, sings and has even started trying his best English impersonation with the occasional, 'Good Evening' (regardless of the actual time!)

Point is, the darkness that had descended on both Beijing and me, has lifted. The colour is back, the life force is back and anything is possible!

In response to this revival I decided to get a good old fashion beating at the hands of a Chinese masseuse to get the life force pumping again. However, my energy flow was more blocked than I originally realised and so she suggested an age old technique to clear the channels; a scraping.

Please see the physical results below... and watch this space for updates on whether it worked or not.



Spring has Sprung people... anything is possible!

6 comments:

Teresa said...

WTF, A! Do you really believe that getting your back beaten to a pulp is beneficial? I'm enjoying the Spring too....just without the bruises! My gosh...those marks look PAINFUL! But hey....if you say you've received divine intervention from such painful looking marks...then do tell me where to go!

Shona said...

WHAT THE HELL !!!!!!
What do they do for pleasure pull your nails out. You look like you have been a prisoner of war. Hope you don't have permanent scars of your time in Beijing.

al said...

actually it worked quite well, my shoulders feel great now!! i'd recommend it!

Dash said...

how do they actually do that? I'm so glad you are out of the darkness...we;re already well into the warmer months....geez i want some rain.

al said...

traditionally i think its supposed to be done with a tool made from a cow or bull's horn. In modern china i think its done with a plastic tool! in some poorer regions itas also been known to be performed with a spoon.

all in all, it seems to have worked, the minor muscle issues i was having have cleared!!!

hoorah! and I agree, bring on the rain!

Isa said...

I really do believe in SAD - or Seasonal Affective Disorder, as it has been dubbed. Canberra may not be as extreme as Beijing in winter (at least we get sunshine), but those cold cold days really test the soul...

Anyway, glad to hear the traditional Chinese torture has worked its wonders on you and you're feeling up to speed again!