The Search For A Swimming Pool

This morning our little angel, yes I mean Ryan, decided to wake up at 6am.  I have had just about enough of this early morning stuff, especially when he didn't even go to bed until nine o'clock last night, so I took him back to his room, laid down on his bed and told him we were not getting up until he went back to sleep for a while.  After about two hours of talking, tossing, turning and banana eating, he finally went back to sleep and so did I.  At 9:40 we finally woke up and when I realized what time it was I scrambled to get some breakfast and get dressed before Lena showed up.  I am hoping that if I keep taking him back to bed, eventually he won't bother getting up until a reasonable hour.  By then he will likely be going to school and I will have to fight with him to wake up earlier.

I think that while I was sleeping in Ryan's bed I must have stayed too long in the same spot because when Lena started doing my massage my lower back began hurting and it got worse as she went along.  When she was done the massage and I mentioned that my back was really bothering me, she stayed another ten minutes or so and rubbed it while I sat on the bed.  Now that's service!  She only charges 70rmb which is a steal considering she comes to my place so I always give her a little extra.

After my massage and a shower I met up with Celine and Caroline for our pool excursion and shopping trip.  I guess I am always a little ambitious when it comes to planning because the way things go in Shenyang, it is almost impossible to get more than one task accomplished per day.  But, I must keep trying.  The first problem was that I didn't have the list of pools with the addresses on them.  I had given a copy to Tian Ye a couple of days ago so he would be able to prepare but Tim had accidentally brought it back into the apartment.  Anyway, it was okay because he had already known one place on the list so he took us there first.  We drove for almost forty minutes to get there so had already decided that it would probably be farther than either of us wanted to travel to swim, unless of course it was a warm pool with really good prices.  Unfortunately we never got a chance to find out.  When we got there we found out the place had closed and apparently had done so quite some time ago (so much for updating websites).  I called Tim and got the address and phone numbers to be sure we were in the right place and it appeared we were.  So, no luck there.  The only other place we were going to try was at the Olympic Stadium which is really close to our apartment complex.  At this point we had decided that we wouldn't go shopping at the market today.  Celine wasn't too keen on taking Caroline there and I don't blame her.  Wu'ai market is supposed to be very busy on Saturdays and her baby gets much the same attention as my kids do.  Celine really hates it when people try to touch her baby so she tells them "Ne touche pas" and pushes their hands away.  We wouldn't have had a lot of time to shop anyway since we both we having people over for supper and still hadn't seen a pool.

Tian Ye told us that there was a pool at New World Garden, the same apartment compound where the Kid Castle (I called it Big Castle before, oops!) Kindergarten is located.  Since it is only fifteen minutes from Eastern Venice, this pool, if it was acceptable, would be great.  Celine already uses the one at Riverside Garden but finds the water rather cold which is why she is looking for something better.  Tian Ye easily found the place and we went in to find the pool area.  When we did we tried asking about prices but none of it was very clear.  They, like most places, had no price list that you could take with you to have it translated.  Tian Ye joined us and helped us to figure out how much it would cost but none of it was straight forward.  Prices change depending on if you have a friend with a membership card and what day of the week you go.  We wanted the price without a friend and Tian Ye was trying to get us the better price by telling him that we did have a friend who goes there, just no card.  We were sort of sabotaging his efforts.  We weren't going to pay for anything today, just have a look, so I knew it would all have to be repeated when we actually went back to swim anyway.  The locker rooms were beautiful; very clean and western style toilets!  Celine actually went in and stuck her hand in the water and said that it didn't quite feel like the twenty-seven degrees the guy at the desk said it would be, but it wasn't too bad.  In the end, if we could get the 'friend' prices and go during the week, it would be an okay deal. 

Next we decided to check out the pool at the Olympic Stadium.  This should have been a quick stop but ended up taking an hour.  First we had to find a gate that we could drive into then, although we found the pool and could see it through the window, we couldn't get in.  We walked and walked around the pool building with no success.  We ended up in the tennis building (which was actually badminton) where there was a tournament going on.  Tian Ye asked someone where the pool was but seemed to be getting bored with our plight so Celine took over and said to me, with her French accent, "We must find someone who looks intelligent.  Who looks intelligent here?"  She is really funny and has a great sense of humor.  She is also outspoken and says what she thinks and I love it!  Eventually, after all the walking and talking we finally found someone who knew what was going on and she told us that there is no public swimming at the Olympic Pool.  It is only used for training.  Sigh.  I still haven't given up on the first pool and may talk to Chloe to see if she can help me to find out if it has relocated somewhere.

By the time this was all done we decided to come back home since Caroline was hungry and needed a nap.  Celine suggested that perhaps next Saturday we could go to Wu'ai market because her husband would be home to look after Caroline.  She said that first she had a seamstress coming to her house who was going to fit her for a dress and then they were going to the fabric market together to pick out some material.  She asked if I would like to come along and we could then go to the market together.  I thought that was a great idea and will likely go over to her place before hand to have a look at her dress.  Perhaps I will have some clothes made for myself.  Since I changed my eating habits back at the beginning of February I have lost quite a bit of weight and most of the clothes I brought with me (including all the stuff I bought in Florida) are no longer fitting.  It would be nice to have some custom made items in my wardrobe!

After we said goodbye I went home, quickly said hello to the kids and Tim, grabbed some bags and headed off to Carrefour for some groceries.  One of the reasons I wanted to go to Wu'ai was to get a new purse and wallet.  The one I got for Christmas (which I love) has a tear in the seam and I need to get it fixed but I must have something to use in the meantime.  I looked at Carrefour but found nothing so when I was done getting my groceries I walked through the mall to another store that sells purses, wallets and belts.  As soon as I stepped foot in the store I had a shadow.  It is not unusual here for salepeople to follow you around while you shop but the guy in this store was ridiculous.  Every time I took a step, he took one.  I knew I probably wouldn't buy anything there so I decided to have a little fun with him.  I walked around and around, from one display to another, stopping and starting, then going back to where I had just been.  I figured he would give up eventually but he didn't, so I did.  I left but had a little chuckle at his expense.

When I got home from my shopping Paul was here to have supper with us.  He is so easy to have around.  You don't have to entertain him and in fact with his stories and facial expressions it is he who keeps us amused.  Tim cooked us a nice supper and we chatted for a bit then he left.  I got the kids ready for bed while Tim cleaned up the disaster that was our kitchen.  I think I got the better end of that deal.  Now Tim is watching some really weird sci-fi movie that is not my cup of tea so I am writing instead.  Hopefully I won't have any strange dreams from "Number Four". 

Tomorrow should be a relaxing day, although I will see what I can do about that.  Tian Ye is coming in the afternoon to cook us supper, very cool.  It should be a good day!