More TCM

I experienced yet another first in my journey through TCM... yesterday the doctor tried out cupping. Basically what happens is the doctor heats the air inside a glass jar quickly (with, and then the jar is placed against the skin, creating a vacuum and sucking the skin and muscle up into the jar. This is to release the toxins and congestion in an area. This process has a tendency to leave some pretty nasty hickeys on your person. Supposedly, the darker the bruising, the more toxins there are in the area. If my "love bites" are any indication of this, then I would have to say this is true. I had cups all along my spine, from my neck to my tailbone, but the only ones that seriously bruised were over my lower lungs.

I've been having some pretty serious coughing/breathing difficulties for the past 4 weeks. After this treatment yesterday, I figured I'd better rule out pneumonia. So off Iwent to the hospital to get a chest x-ray. Good news, no pneumonia. Bad news, all this living in heavily polluted countries (Kosovo, India, China) is doing a real number on my asthma, which used to only pop up for an hour or so twice a year. It seems that what I thought was a cold, was actually a 4-week long asthma attack. Oops. I'm on an assortment of 8 different steroids, antibiotics, inhalers, antihistimines and anti-asthma crap. I may be feeling a bit tweaky, but man, after one dose of the steroids, I slept through the night for the first time in weeks, and I only coughed twice today!! You have absolutely no idea how exciting that it for me right now.

I feel a little like I cheated, and didn't give the TCM a chance to really do it's thing. But I'm sorry, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was ready to do anything to make it stop. I say attack the thing from all directions!!

Vindication

As defined on dictionary.com:

vin·di·cate Audio Help /ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[vin-di-keyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.

1.	to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like: to vindicate someone's honor.

2.	to afford justification for; justify: Subsequent events vindicated his policy.

3.	to uphold or justify by argument or evidence: to vindicate a claim.

4.	to assert, maintain, or defend (a right, cause, etc.) against opposition.

5.	to claim for oneself or another.

6.	Roman and Civil Law. to regain possession, under claim of title of property through legal procedure, or to assert one's right to possession.

7.	to get revenge for; avenge.

8.	Obsolete. to deliver from; liberate.

9.	Obsolete. to punish.

So... could someone please tell me what this poor machine could possibly be expecting??

Ticket machine in the metro stop near my office

TCM to the rescue

I had my first acupuncture experience today. I've been struggling with asthma/bronchitis/I-can't-freakin'-breathe issues for the past 3 and a half weeks. Countless sleepless nights, one trip to the emergency room and 200 tissues later, I decided it was time to try something new. The old inhaler/alergy meds just werent doing the trick this time. I opted for a highly recommended Traditional Chinese Medicine doctore.

Dr. Zhang, who speaks absolutely perfect English, operates out of an old Chinese hotel in one of the few parts of town that doesn't look like it gets spit shined every morning. It still has a little bit of character and you actually feel like you're in China. The building itself is over 100 years old and has that old building smell, even though it has been renovated a bit. After she felt my pulse in both arms and looked at the coating on my tongue (both things are very important to a TCM diagnosis), we chatted for a little bit about my general health, the kinds of things I do, what my diet is like (I deliberately downplayed the role McDonald's has taken in my world these days), general stuff. So, from all that she gathered that I have a complicated constitution (which still means absolutely nothing to me.) I needed acupuncture to help my lungs and sinuses. Three sessions and I should be good to go.

Now, I'm not one who gets terribly squeamish around needles, but the only images I've ever seen of acupncture have been with these gigantic things shoved way under the skin sticking out all over the place where you end up looking like a human pin cushion. I was a hair nervous when I laid down on the table. She placed me on my side so she could put needles both in my backside and my front. The needles in actuality were only about an inch and a half long, including the handle bit. I didn't even feel it when she inserted them, and she placed exactly six on my back, three on my neck and chest, and two on each arm. Then I took a nap for twenty minutes. She came back, took them out, gave me some herbal goodies to help clear out my congestion, and that was that. Easy peasy!

Oh, right, and she taped some sort of seeds to the back of my ear to help with the quitting smoking. I'm supposed to rub them a couple of times a day to stimulate the pressure points. Honestly, the damn seeds hurt 20 times worse than the acupuncture. It's ridiculous.

I'm really hoping this does the trick, because frankly, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to get back into the gym... I've got 3 weeks left to train for my big trip (which I am still teasing you all about... buuuahahahahahahahaha).

I'm back!!

Thailand 003
Originally uploaded by mgaston123.

So I got chastised today, and rightly so, for not having written in my blog in ages. I keep telling myself that the last thing I want to do after sitting and staring at my computer all day at work that the last thing I want to do when I get home is sit down in front of my computer. But that's not really it. I have just been lazy. I've got about 6 months worth of pictures that I haven't posted, tons of stories that haven't been told, and loads of news to tell. I have avoided doing any of this so that I can watch any number of TV series on DVD (purchased for a mere $1 per disc). I have a floor to ceiling bookshelf full of box sets of dvds. Oops.

Anyway, the photo... it's from Koh Samui, Thailand. I met up with Captain Canadian, who was on a little well-deserved R&R from Afghanistan, to raise a little hell in heaven. I wasn't in the country for more than half an hour before I went for a massage. Bless Thai massage. It's the greatest thing in the world. We rented slcooters, zip lined through tree tops, rode elephants, went sea kayaking and snorkeling, took yoga classes, saw drag shows, laid on the beach and did nothing, ate amazing food, took a cooking class, and most of all just hung out as if it had been a week or two since we'd seen each other. In reality, it had been well over a year, but it felt like no time at all. We had such an amazing adventure. Click on the photo above to see the rest of the pictures.

And i don't want to spoil it yet, but there's a new adventure afoot... coming up in only a few weeks. It deserves it's own post, so for now, I'll just tease you a little... tease tease... mock mock... tease tease

Yes, there was an earthquake... 1000 miles away...

Yes, there was a strong earthquake in China today. Yes, we felt it. And yes, I'm fine. There's not much news about damage done to the western province where the earthquake hit, but as for here it was pretty minor. We were evacuated from our office building and have just been allowed back in. I didn't even notice the building swaying until one of my trainees pointed it out. Then we began the march down 25 flights of stairs. Fun! We stood outside for about an hour and a half, and then were allowed back upstairs. Most people here have never felt an earthquake before and there was a lot of nervous chatter in the stairwells. All and all made for an interesting afternoon.

Now reality strikes, and it's back to work. Boo.

Update: What a tragedy. I've been watching the news all evening and I'm just so saddened by the magnitude of it all. I am, however, impressed with the government's swift response. Within an hour of the quake, the president was on a plane to Sichuan and 5,000 troops had been deployed to help with the disaster efforts.

Put it on a stick

BJMar 085
Originally uploaded by mgaston123.

I was not kidding about the "if it'll go on a stick you can grill it and eat it" mentality around here. My recent trip to Beijing proved that whole heartedly. Along with the usual fare of squid, beef, lamb, and veggies, we also saw starfish, cockroaches, grasshoppers, seahorses, and well, I was chased halfway down an alley by a man with a handful of scorpions-on-a-stick, still wriggling. He thought my screams of terror were just delightful. As did everyone else. But me.

We also saw the Dodgers play the Padres, went to the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and all kinds of other touristy things. I've posted about 500 new photos if you want to check them out.

But the scorpions. That is the memory that will stick with me for a while. (ouch, did I really just make that bad of a joke?? I did, I did.)

I am a genius

In the ultimate of bonehead moves, I managed to drop my house keys down the elevator shaft of my apartment building this evening. In full slow-motion glory I watched them slide out of my hand and drift peacefully towards the one inch gap between the elevator car and the hallway. I could feel myself tense up, hoping against hope that they would take a soft bounce and make it across the chasm. But no. T'was not meant to be. There was a quiet clackity clang as they hit the ground and then deafening silence as they slipped over the edge and into the abyss.

Oh great. Now how the hell am I supposed to explain this to anyone in Chinese when my vocabulary basically consists of "turn left," "go straight," and "please stop here." Thank god my cell phone decided to stay in my pocket and not join my keys in their little sojourn into the darkness. I called my Chinese teacher and she managed to explain to the front desk clerk of my building (who kept eying me sideways and shaking her head while talking to my teacher).

And in the way that things work in China (they either work incredibly efficiently or not at all - there really is no in between), we walked around the side of the building, knocked on a small metal door, from which emerged a little man with a piece of metal shaped like a letter T. He proceeded to wedge this between the elevator doors to open them, then wedged it under the door to keep them propped open while he shimmied down the ladder on the side of the shaft. Nifty little tool. Within second he emerged with my key chain, mangled, but with keys intact. Joy! Happiness!

So as I rode the elevator up to my floor, I contemplated holding my keys in my hand so that I could save that extra two seconds and be in my apartment just that much quicker. Then I remembered what happened the last time I did that and shoved my hands as deep in my pockets as they would go. Genius.

Universal Weirdness

This was forwarded to me today, and it made me laugh. Thought I'd share...

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - Douglas Adams

Welcoming the Year of the Rat

Chinese New Year is upon us, and although I didn't shoot this video, I felt the need to share. The whole of Shanghai has pretty much been like this for 3 days. It's insane!

A Very Snowy Shanghai

SHJan 035
Originally uploaded by mgaston123.

...and an even more frozen Mich.

I swore I'd never do serious winter again after Kosovo, yet somehow I find myself a little bit delighted with the snow that's been falling here for 3 days straight. I stopped in the park on the way to work this morning to snap a few pictures of the pristine landscape. A passing policeman was kind enough to offer to take a picture of me bundled up in all my glory.

Supposedly this is the worst snowstorm Shanghai has seen in 24 years. Oddly enough, after 3 days of snow, we only had about 3 inches on the ground this morning, and by the time I left work this evening, most of that was gone.

I have to admit, even though I'm enjoying the scenery, I'd be much happier if it was sunny and warm (and I was on a beach with some sort of fruity rum cocktail in a coconut shell in my sunbaked hand).

Remembering

Thor and the girls
Originally uploaded by mgaston123.

The little protective bubble that I live in, where news is something that happens to other people, where wars are distant things, and terrorists attacks don't really affect my daily life, was horribly and irreparably shattered yesterday.

My dear friend Thor Hesla, who has been mentioned a multitude of times in this blog as the Thorganizer or the God of Thunder, was killed in a terrorist attack on a hotel in Afghanistan on Monday.

I've spent the past two days whirling through stages of grief all melded together - denial, anger, sorrow - but still cannot find acceptance for this. It's too soon, and my emotions are way too raw. A multitude of websites have gone up and a great collective effort has gone into paying homage to the man that touched so many lives.

I have also spent a great deal of time remembering. Remembering Thor making me laugh so hard that tears were running down my face and I felt like I was going to throw up. Remembering being so frustrated with him I wanted to choke him when trying to argue an opinion with him. Remembering how he always subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) took care of those around him. Remembering how he loved to make you feel good about yourself, and how much fun he had at poking fun at you too. Remembering that some people were put on this planet to make it a better place. And remembering that life is short - we should always live it to it's fullest, as did Thor.

I'll miss you a great deal, my friend, but I'll never forget you. Thank you for making my world a better place.

Ozo in da house!

ShanghaiOct 016
Originally uploaded by mgaston123.

I missed seeing Ozomatli in Bangalore by a day, but managed to get good solid notice that they were coming to Shanghai for the Yue Music Festival. Sandwiched between this weird one-man-band called Yacht and the headliners, Faithless, Ozomatli once again knocked my proverbial socks off. I took a friend who'd never seen them live before, and she too was sockless by the end.

(Click on the photo for a link to the rest of the festival pics.)

Transportationization

Shanghai is a great bicycling city. There are no hills. You think Texas is flat? It's got nuttin' on Shanghai. If the city ever floods, it'll be a nightmare because there are no highpoints. (Speaking of flooding, we were basically unscathed by the typhoon. Barely even rained - what a let down.)

Anyway, the point of all of this is that I bought myself a bicycle for my birthday. She's beautiful. Bright turquoise with a cute little basket and an even cuter little bell, which, unfortunately, sounds a bit like a sick frog when wet. We discovered this quickly after an afternoon ride in the rain.

And the best part... really, the best part... is that she came with a name. Ladies and Gentleman, meet... Alice. (there's supposed to be a photo here, but having trouble with the upload. A glitch from behind the Red Curtain, perhaps.)

The Little One and I went shopping Saturday afternoon in the rain. I came home with Alice, and she left with Homy. Not kidding. Homy - a shiny green number, also with a cute little basket and equally cute bell.

Joining us in our shopping adventures was the Ladykiller, my 6' 3" friend with red, red hair. He blends in well with the local population. HA. Anyway, he was supposed to bring his bike to get it fixed, but since the bolt that was missing was the one that kept the handlebars on he decided to leave it at home. After the big purchase, we all decided to go do a little exploring and get some lunch. Ladykiller assured us that he could just jog along if we kept the pace slow.

I want you to get a firm image in your head. Two white girls on bicycles with funny names and a big red-headed man running beside them down the back streets of Shanghai in the pouring rain. Did I mention we were singing theme songs from the Rocky films to keep the Ladykiller in the running spirit? Blending with the local culture. That's what you do when living in a foreign country. I'm sure we turned a few heads. Crazy laowai (foreigner in Chinese).

I'm trying desperately to post pics of the bike here, but it seems to be failing miserably. I'll try again tomorrow from work where I have fewer blocked sites. Speaking of pics, I've posted a ton of new photos from around Shanghai to my Flickr account. Check the link on the right.

Super Typhoon Wipha

Shanghai is bracing for the worst typhoon in at least a decade. We're talking category 4-5 hurricane levels here. They've evacuated 200,000 people and closed all schools. We were even given the blessing to work from home tomorrow, as the winds are supposed to reach up to 125 kph. YIKES.

So my big plans are thus: I'm going to haul my ass out to the other side of town and sit on the second row of an uncovered stadium and watch the USA vs Nigeria Women's World Cup soccer game that they have refused to cancel. The games tommorrow have been postponed, but not tonight's. I'm donning my raincoat, some quick-dry hiking pants, and my Tevas. Good to go!!

I'm a moron. I know.

Tomorrow, I will be hunkered down in my house, praying the huge wall of glass windows doesn't cave in on me. See you on the flip side!

Wait... where am I again?

Occasionally, I forget where I am. It's fairly easy to do living in Shanghai, where there is a KFC on every corner, Starbucks and McDonalds a little less frequent, but still prominent, and even the street hawkers are hounding you in English.

I started this morning with a full-on breakfast, American Style, at a place called City Diner. Although it was a very international crew... German, Japanese, Chinese, Canadian, British, Swiss, and the few token Americans, it still felt a bit like home. The place just oozed of good old fashioned US diner food. Biscuits & gravy, home fries, Texas toast... huge portions, bottomless cups of coffee and all the good things that come along with that - like a full belly and a partial food coma for the afternoon. Yum.

From brunch we went to a Morroccan restaurant for a 2 hour African drumming lesson. This was without a doubt one of the hardest things I've attempted. My hands are still a bit on the numb side 4 hours later. I have to admit though, I had an absolute blast. Maybe my dream of being the drummer for the Go-Go's isn't dead after all.

I lost myself in the twisty windy streets on my way home and wandered into a massage parlor, where I spent two hours being thoroughly kneaded, beaten, and twisted into a variety of odd positions until I was nothing but a puddle of mush - all for a whopping $30.

So American breakfast with a crew from around the world, an African drum lesson in a Moroccan restaurant (did I mention the teacher's name was Moses??), and a lovely Chinese massage to wind things down.. I do love my life... but it does occasionally freak me out.

Guilty pleasures

I really hate to admit it, but I went to see Transformers tonight. And loved it. I waited until half-price Tuesday to go see the damn thing, expecting what one would typically expect of a movie version of a bad 80's cartoon, and walked away entertained, smiling, chatting and feeling like I got my money's worth. Not bad. Not bad at all. A perfect end to a dreary Tuesday of blah work.

This past weekend a friend and I went on a solo weekend together (meaning we shared a cab and then didn't see each other again until it was time to cab back) to She Shan, a suburb outside of Shanghai famous for it's man-made lake and beautiful golf courses. It is also home to several large resort hotels that run 1-night specials that are an absolute dream. I spent the weekend in the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in, with the biggest bathtub I've seen in years, and a gorgeous pool that was just the right temperature. I spent two days doing nothing. - lazing poolside, taking bubble baths, sitting in the sauna, enjoying the rainfall shower.... pure relaxation. Came back with a nice tan and a desperately needed sense of inner calm.

I know it's been a long time since I've written anything here. It's been a hellacious couple of months emotionally, and frankly I didn't think I had a whole lot positive to talk about, so I just didn't talk at all. I'm pulling through it all ok now though. Things are still a bit rocky, but the waters are calming down and at least I don't feel seasick anymore.

I'm going to post some new pictures this weekend. I've got a ton to add. I hope all is well with everyone. I've missed you. :)

Update

Stella didn't pull through. I said my goodbyes and had her put to sleep yesterday morning. She was just too tiny to fight off the disease, and there was no end to her suffering in sight. It was the right thing to do, but I still cried and cried and cried. I still can hardly talk about it without getting upset, so I'm going to leave it for now. Thanks for all your warm wishes and prayers.

Need some hoodoo, praying, raindancing - pick your luck charm...

This has been an emotional roller coaster of a week. My puppy Stella, who was the picture of health on Friday, took a turn for the worse on Saturday, and it's been downhill ever since. My new vet re-tested her for distemper, and this time it came back positive. I immediately burst into tears, because the prognosis for young puppies is not good - like 5-10% survival rate. We've been visiting the vet daily for anti-viral, antibiotic and immunity booster injections, all with a good bit of hope early this week as she was still active and eating, and wasn't vomiting or having diarrhea.

But as the week wears on, the news keeps getting worse. Today we learned her cough has turned to pneumonia, and she's stopped eating anything at all - not even cooked chicken breast (her favorite). In a fit of desperation, I made chicken soup, doggie style (no spices) tonight, crushed her antibiotic tablets into a powder, mixed it all together, and force fed her with a syringe. I do the same with water every couple of hours. She hates this, and has started looking at me warily when I come towards her bed with anything in my hands. She can hate me for now; I think she'll forgive me if she pulls through this.

I haven't slept in days, as her wheezing scares me half to death, and thank goodness I have understanding bosses. I've spent a good chunk of this week working from home so I can take care of her and they've been totally understanding about it.

Anyway, it's probably too little too late, but any prayers, happy thoughts, magic, rabbits feet, genie lamp wishes, rain dances, voodoo charms, pixie dust - anything - would be welcome right now. This poor little baby is so sick, and she needs all the help she can get.

Here's a pic I took of Stella in the cab on the way home from the vet today:

Playing coy

In the metro station, before I decided to take Stella home, the man assured me that she was 10 weeks old and wouldn't get much bigger than like a foot tall. Well, I took Stella for her first vet visit yesterday to find out. First and foremost, the vet told me how stupid I was for taking a dog from the metro, that these dogs always have problems, then basically scared me half to death with all the things that could be wrong with her. She tested negative for distemper, but definitely has a bad cold. So no vaccinations until she finishes two weeks of antibiotics.

Then he told me that she was 6 only weeks old, and not a small dog breed at all, but most likely a collie/lab mix. I'm not so sure about that though, because she only weighs 2 lbs. Most of the websites I checked out said lab/collie puppies at 6 weeks should weigh around 8-12 lbs. Unless she has one hell of a growth spurt, I don't see her getting to be a big dog. Then again, Clifford, The Big Red Dog keeps popping into my head.

After two doses of her medicine yesterday, she ate a good dinner and was being a normal playful puppy. Until I tried to show her face on video....



What's with hiding your face, little pooch?? Camera shy?? So cute!

(If I'm going this gaga over a puppy, lord help me if I ever have kids.)

Stolen heart

My plan for this evening was to leave work, stop by the grocery store for some chicken, then head home to make a healthy dinner. Things didn't quite work out that way. Madame M and I left work, headed for the metro, and there I met my fate. About halfway down the stairs was this Chinese girl holding the cutest puppy I'd ever seen in my life. She put the puppy back in the box, and with one sad little look up and a wag of a curly tail, I was hooked. I picked that puppy up, she licked my nose, and that was the end of me. I took her home. She's now curled up fast asleep in my lap. Meet Stella XiaoLongBao (my Shanghai Special Dumpling):