Beijing - Day 1 (Part 1)

Madam Malindo (not her real name) was in her late 50s. If obesity is the word, then she is obesity. Her derriere were colossal  Despite being on the wrong side of obesity, she could walk pretty fast. Her thighs did not wobble. She was of my height, give or take an inch, but her long luxuriously black hair was something else. Her husband was a tall pleasant man standing more than a head over her. The eldest son (single) held an important position with a leading housing developer while the second son (married to a professor) is a doctor. I am sure you are impressed with my interrogative skills but I must assure you that your awe is wrongly placed. The aforesaid information were volunteered without cajolery.

"Malindo Air is far better, you know," Madam Malindo whispered to me as the flight attendant marched down the aisle. "Did you know? Malindo Air had far better seats, better food and their planes are roomier too."

In truth, I wasn't very comfortable with Madam Malindo. She had those size-em-up eyes which gave me the creeps. She was among the thirteen in our group heading for a Beijing holiday.

The Tour Manager, Mr Fever (not his real name) was a young man in his early thirties. He was proud of his extensive knowledge in Chinese history and took trouble to illustrate his expertise. Mr Fever was down with fever from Day 1 of our trip and was ill until the day we left Beijing for home. Having a sick Tour Manager tag along the various Beijing destination was an interesting but precarious experience. With him sneezing happily from the front of the van, it did not take long for the others in the group to join his joyous cacophony.

Arriving in Beijing at 2 am in the morning, we were ushered through the airport, told not to stop at any of the washrooms as they will be crowded, packed into a little van and delivered to the hotel. The Chinese tour guide (Ms Cao) was a chatty Manchurian of about 55. She explained that the Han Chinese were the majority in China and that the Manchurians were yada-yada-yada. In truth I couldn't quite figure out what she was getting at for they were gibberish to me.

Beijing Olympic Park

After about 4 hour's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we piled into the little van and headed for the BEIJING OLYMPIC VILLAGE, which, if you asked me (and you shouldn't) wasn't much to shout about.

It being Spring, the air was contaminated to the hilt. The agent of pollination plagued the city and while the local populace did not look like they were affected by it, most amongst us were in the thick of a sneezing revolution. 

Part 2

Experimenting with soap balls

The soap balls embedded inside these soaps (right) were made using two semi-spheres which were merged into a single soap ball using a thin coat of water.

After that, it was just a matter of fooling around with the colours for the effect below. This is not a practical technique because the weak link between the two semi-spheres became ugly cracks after the soap was cut.

Meanwhile, these frogs are still the cutest ever.

Jitters Aside

"So, what have we here? Fatty Liver, eh?" Dr Stanley remarked as he pointed me to a chair beside his desk.

"I don't know. I'm only worried that it might turn out to be that other thing, the big C." Says I, more than a little petrified by the fear of bad news.

"Oh come on, we've been seeing you for more than two years without treatment. If it is that other thing, you wouldn't be here after six months."

"Gosh! Thank you for saying that. You've laid my qualms to rest." 

Indeed, he had. My liver enzymes were not within appropriate limit - yet - but its getting there. As for the cholesterol and blood sugar, they're not looking good but I could get used to that. Meanwhile, the previous bone scan revealed that I had Osteopenia. (reduced bone mass of lesser severity than osteoporosis.)

So all in all, it's blue skies and everything nice. I'm in such an jolly mood.

Except.

That's right. There is an exception to everything. I can't bend my fingers in the morning. The firm grip that I once had is gone. And me finger joints hurt some. I'm not sure how long I'll take to get used to this.