Second day in China [October 2]

[aadler]

Susan woke up sooner than I did; I was still having trouble really getting comfortable. Toward the end, I remembered what Kevin had done for us last time, and used the big fluffy comforter as an extra bit of mattress-padding while I got a blanket from the spare room as a top cover. That worked a lot better, but by then I had already slept enough.

I’d been too busy yesterday (and still a bit tired from travel, I think), but this morning I pulled out something from my trucking days: a set of exercise stretch bands, with a laminated instruction sheet showing how to do the recommended exercises. Got through one set of … well, everything … before knocking off for now. Tomorrow I’ll take a try at two sets, then eventually increase to three, then start combining bands for added resistance; mild stuff, compared to what I used to do to keep from getting too far behind to pass my next Army Physical Fitness Test, but I both no longer need that particular level of fitness nor am entirely capable of it. This is just to get me somewhat better than the shape I’ve let myself settle into.

About 0830 I used Kevin’s old phone to try and send him notification that we were both awake, for whenever he wanted to come get us. The message wound up arriving at the phone I was holding; apparently I didn’t get his new number when he set himself up as a contact. I went on and sent the same message to Mei-li, and later I phoned Kevin directly (which did go through properly.)

Presently he came to pick us up, this time with Laura (mother-in-law) driving, and we went back to the overall family apartment. Today went basically like yesterday, except that Logan and Jack (while still not on hand) weren’t out fishing, they were just out. We visited with Amber, watched some television, napped in the afternoon — not as long, this time — and then did some more general family interaction-stuff.

It had already been agreed that we would have dinner tonight with some of Kevin’s friends. I thought that would mean we’d be visiting them at their place: me and Susan, Kevin and Mei-li. Nope. It was 1) out at a restaurant, and 2) all the above people (including the friend’s fiancée) plus the friend’s parents plus another female relative plus Logan and Laura. Eleven people in total. The other party showed up (I think the friend and his fiancée had been at Kevin’s Chinese wedding), and we visited in place for awhile, then we went out to the restaurant, in three cars.

I think maybe we’d been there before, 2½ years ago; it seemed familiar. The food wasn’t as transcendently wonderful as they’d started us out on back on that first trip, but it was fine chow all the same. As is apparently customary, Logan and the friend’s father had brought their own liquor, which they beneficently dispensed to the rest of us, and we ate till everybody was more or less all ready to call it a night.

Laura drove us back to Kevin’s and Mei-li’s apartment, and Kevin spent some time helping Susan further with the television set. Then he went to rejoin his wife and child, and we settled in for the evening.

We hadn’t really planned to go to bed so early, but Susan fell asleep on the couch with the television on, so — after some LJ stuff — I woke her and we turned in for our third night here on this particular China trip.

Next day