T-1: Sunday

May 14, 2023

I originally came to China in 2002. Intending to spend a single year here as an English teacher, my goal was to do a bit of something outside academia in the gap between university and graduate school. One thing led to another, a year in China became a year and a half, a year and a half became moving to Hainan to finish out my second year which then became going to a local school to study Chinese...

Shortly before the start of my tenth year in China, I completed the process of getting a business license for a small translation agency. This was back in the days when such paperwork took months instead of hours and no one in Authority had a clue how to handle issues for people who didn't have Chinese names or ID cards¹.

In the interests of full disclosure, I wouldn't have stayed here for as long as I have if it weren't for the disparity between what an educated professional can earn and the local cost of living. However, if I had gone back to the US the way I was supposed to, or had gone to grad school the way I was supposed to, I can't imagine a situation where I wouldn't be earning rather a lot more money than I currently make.

However, at the same time, despite the certainty that I would have a lot more money in overall numbers, the chances of my being able to afford the kind of life I have (a life which includes an annual multi-month Bike Tour) are pretty well close to nil.

When did I become the sort of person for whom a visit to the spa is a necessary prerequisite for going Touring?

It being Sunday, and thus being a regular day off work for the friends I'm not going to see again for months and months and months, a Spa Day was practically a necessity.

We started with the kind of beauty treatments that, as someone who considers a "t-shirt without holes" as dressing up, I mostly haven't yet been persuaded are worth the money. While others got face masks and microneedleing and weird skin treatments, I just did laser hair removal².

This was followed by a trip to a bougie foot spa of the sort where there's snacks and movies and heated compresses and people sticking things in your ears.

I particularly like the bit with the peacock feather and the tuning fork

Then, back home to get everything packed and into panniers as the shop tells me I can pick up my bike tomorrow afternoon and that means TUESDAY EVENING DEPARTURE!!

¹ This is in contrast to the current situation wherein someone can usually be found who has a Clue.

² I have very strong eastern European genetics and, as a similar ancestry friend of mine once said about 15 years ago, "having a mustache kind of makes me feel like a dude."

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