OCTOBER 30, 2008

Life has a way of throwing curve balls. I used to be a catcher on a softball team when I was in my 20's so I've had a little experience, but seems like the pitches are fast balls these days!

My mother called me shortly after the last post to tell me that my father had failed an EKG and was scheduled for a heart cath within a few days. The next call was to tell me that Dad was being scheduled for heart by-pass surgery. We always knew that during our time in Shanghai, we might have some tough decisions to make regarding family emergencies. And so here it was.

Honestly, I have to say that it didn't take me long to make my decision. My father has always been unconditionally present for my brother and me (you may recall his offer of making the trip to China to hold my hand after the earthquake terrified me), and even though he poo-poo'd the surgery, the idea that something could indeed go wrong with me being on the other side of the world haunted me. I asked Randy to book me a ticket right away.

To complicate the issue, it was discovered during the heart cath that Dad had a somewhat serious heart defect. Instead of the usual 3 major arteries that most folks possess, Dad only has 2 (something no one had ever detected previously, even in previous heart caths). One artery had 2 serious blockages (over 90%) and the other had one (80%). As such, the surgery would need to be accomplished during open heart surgery instead of the usual laparoscopy that is the usual surgery for by-pass these days.

I won't bore you with the details of the surgery and subsequent days spent in cardiac ICU, but other than a few minor bumps, Dad did quite well (probably better than my mother who I fully expected to be in the next bed due to the stress of the situation) and is currently continuing to recover nicely. I do so wish they'd have thought to install Patience 1.0 into my father's body while they had it open. I think my father is the only heart surgery survivor to believe that he should indeed be getting back to his twice daily 4 mile walk only two weeks after surgery. We are threatening Dad with unusual uses of duct tape these days!!

No sooner did we have my father installed on the living room sofa at my folks' house when a trip out to the nursing home to visit my grandmother by my brother and me revealed she'd suffered a serious down-turn. My grandmother had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer this summer and we'd been told that she would have about a year to live. At 94 years of age, we were mostly philosophical about my grandmother's situation. My brother and I were quite surprised to find that she'd not eaten anything in several days and seemed much more feeble than when I'd last seen her just a few weeks prior before my last return to Shanghai. Seems the oncologist had missed the target by more than just a bit.

The last week has seen my mother and I making a 40 minute trip out to the nursing home sitting vigil with my grandmother in her final days. The ladies who operate the nursing home are truly angels sent from God, as are the hospice workers who worked tirelessly to relieve Grandma's pain and suffering (and who succeeded for the most part). My mother was torn between wanting to keep watch over my father who was chomping at the bit to resume normal activities, and spending the last moments of her mother's life by her side. We managed to do both every day for a week with the help of beloved friends and family. You folks know who you are .... thank you for your dedication, devotion, and assistance! And God bless.

My grandmother went to her eternal reward this morning while the ladies of the nursing home held her hand, played music, and read Bible verses to her so that she would not die alone before my mother and I could arrive to be with her. The ladies of Vadavilla, as well as the Hospice nurses, are the most amazing individuals I have ever met. It is no exaggeration to say that they are indeed saints on earth. Shelli, Lee Ann, Dawn, Jenny, Judy, Carol, and Irma .... you each have my eternal gratitude! What you ladies accomplish day in and day out is nothing short of daily miracles. Your efforts are, by every measure of the word, heroic! Any simple "thank you" is completely inadequate for all you do!! Love, peace, and blessings to you all, ladies!!!

So my Shanghai adventures are postponed for more pressing matters for a few weeks. I will be staying on in Michigan until shortly after Thanksgiving. And Happy 9th Anniversary to my hubby who is holding down the fort back in Shanghai ..... I'll make it up to you, Sweetie!!

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Once the killer jet lag had finished having it's way with me (sigh!), resuming normal activities didn't seem to be much of a problem. During my return to Tai Chi, Lao Shu proclaimed my memory fit even if my body wasn't in spite of feeling like a victim of early onset Alzheimer's (ME, not Lao Shu). But my thighs obviously did NOT remember Tai Chi as well as my head did and burned like crazy for a few days after returning to the class. I knew there was a reason I was doing this, and I think it was to keep in shape!!!

The Yanlord Singers (isn't that a line from the Twelve Days of Christmas ...... "On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...... nine Yanlords singing!") have reassembled to defend their title as the best mixed chorus in all of Changning District of Shanghai. I know .... it doesn't sound like all that, but trust me ..... there must have been 40 or 50 groups in the competition last year. This is a hotly contested, adjudicated event, and compound pride is on the line!! The featured song this year is "Bless My Motherland" (not to be confused with last year's "My Motherland"). I believe that it is common to pick patriotic music due to October being National Month here in China. Actually, October 1 is National Day and a week long holiday follows .... I suppose similar to our July 4th holiday.

Anyway, when I arrived to my first choir rehearsal, I found a seat next to my friend and fellow Tai Chi aficionado, Phil, and his wife, Danli. Phil had arranged for someone to write the pin yang (the alphabetic equivalent of the Chinese characters) on my score so that I could follow along easily. Chinese music (at least choral music) is not written on the dual 5-line staffs in the manner which most of us Western musicians are accustomed. Instead they utilize numbers on a single line to indicate the note to be sung with the addition of dots or lines over and under the numbers to indicate the correct octave. It's a little confusing at first but having seen it last year, I pretty much knew what to expect. The piece this year is basically 2 part harmony sung as an accompaniment to a soloist. And the style is not unlike last year's national hymn-style piece. Even some of the words are similar. Rah rah China and all that!!

The director started out with the sopranos and tenors as we sing the same notes (the altos and basses sing the 2nd part together). I followed along with my pin yang and quickly realized that I was not singing the same words as everyone. I whispered to Danli that I must be lost. She pointed out the correct spot which is precisely where I thought we should be but again, noticed that I was not singing the same syllables as everyone else. Danli said to me that we were not singing words yet, just notes. Hmmm .... now I'm flummoxed. Just notes. But what WORDS were being sung? This was the mystery. I was just beginning to resign myself to humming when Phil leaned forward and whispered to me that we were singing Do Re Mi. What? "Yes," he said, "You know. 1 is for Do, 2 is for Re, 3 is for Mi ..... and so on." Well, I certainly knew Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti but had never learned to sing or read music in that manner. For me, the Chinese words were hard enough without having to tax my brain to try to think that 2 2 4 7 3 1 sounded like Re Re Fa Ti Mi Do .... jeeeesh!!! Seemed more like algebra than music (and sounded a lot like Chinese)!! Just when you think you've figured it out here, a wrench is thrown into the mental works. Yes, I was DEFINITELY back in China!!

Anyway, Phil emailed me the music so that I can practice on my own in the apartment as well. I seem to be the only laowei this year which is a bit disconcerting, but Phil and Danli are both excellent English speakers so I won't be out on the language barrier limb very far. We defend our title on October 25. I'll keep you posted.

That same week, it was our pleasure to escort Teresa and Russ from Nazdar (an ink supplier) around Shanghai. They had visited ADS as well as done a bit of travel regionally to visit other customers in China, but found themselves with time to spare prior to their travel back to the states on September 28. Our tour included some of our favorite places including the Bund Brewery, the Bund riverside, Nanjing Road, Xintiandi, the antique lanes, Lapis Lazuli (the French Concession), the Pearl Market, and our favorite Thai restaurant Rua Thai. It was especially nice for me to re-visit some old, familiar haunts after having been away for the summer, and for both Randy and I to share with our new friends, Russ and Teresa, who seemed to be enjoying our attempt at being amateur tour guides. Being able to show folks this amazing city does increase our confidence in terms of the realization that we have been here long enough to present a decent tour without a map or translator at this point. When I compare that to when we first arrived and the trepidation felt just attempting to venture out of our city block .... well, that place just seems a world away now. It's a good feeling!

Later in the next week, we received invitations from two different sources. Bela and Julian asked us to join them at Big Bamboo (the new large 2-story version of Baby Bamboo which was constructed over the summer while I was stateside on the Hong Mei Lu pedestrian street) to have dinner and view the Formula One race being held in Singapore. This race was receiving MUCH hype as it was the first night time Grand Prix race ever. Julian is a big F1 fan and was keen to view it at BB which seems to have big screen TV's every few feet for the purpose of showing sporting events. Also, our friends Kevin and Vicki had asked us to join them at the House of Blues and Jazz to hear a great band with which they were familiar. After a bit of debating about which thing we should do, we decided we could eat dinner with Bela and Julian, watch the start of the race (in spite of the fact that we are not big race fans), and then continue on to House of Blues and Jazz to join McCarty's as the band did not start until 10:00.

We enjoyed some good food and company at BB, watched a bit of the race, and then excused ourselves to head to Pudong for some excellent music. House of Blues and Jazz was crowded, but it seemed a crowd we could relate to ...... older and a bit more sophisticated. The band was filling the room with some vibrant rhythm and blues just prior to being joined by lead and back up singers. It was a little loud but the music was so good, we didn't mind. We found Kevin and Vicki's table, ordered drinks, and settled in to listen to some of the best live music I've ever heard. The lead singer and his back up were also joined by the lead singer's 4 year old daughter who already had moves that Britney and Christina would envy!! The staple music was 70's rock, rhythm and blues, Motown, and a little jazz .... all wonderful and very danceable (even Randall danced!!). They put on an incredible show!! This was apparently their last performance after quite a long run at this establishment but it was announced that they would begin another series of gigs at the Hongqiao Marriott on November 1. Hongqiao Marriott is right in our neighborhood so we are already planning an evening with a group of friends for that evening.

As stated previously, we've just come off holiday week. Randy ended up having to work Monday and Tuesday but had the remainder of the week off. So we invited our good friends from Suzhou, Rich and Magali, to come over for a couple of days. We'd seen in one of the local magazines that the Elton John/Tim Rice version of Aida (a pop opera) was playing at the Majestic Theater and decided that we'd try to get tickets for the Thursday evening performance. Randy ordered them online and it was a nice surprise to find that they would deliver the tickets right to our apartment so we wouldn't have to venture to parts unknown to retrieve them. We'd proposed to Rich and Magali that they meet us at our apartment and, as we'd scoped out the area to find that there were some great restaurants right in the area of the theater for a pre-opera dinner, a plan was hatched to travel to the theater district together after their arrival to our apartment Thursday afternoon.

But as we have come to realize, the best laid plans are foiled often and easily here in Shanghai. Rich called as they were on their way to Shanghai to say that there were major traffic tie-ups and they were running late. It did not appear they would make it here in time to include dinner prior to the show. OK, plan B ..... I prepared tuna wraps, chips, and fruit which could be eaten in the car on the way to the show, and we'd just hop in their car to head to the theater when they arrived. No big deal.

Eventually, it became clear that the traffic was such that they would not be able to meet us at our apartment at all. OK, plan C .... meet at the theater for the show, dinner after. We gobbled tuna wraps and headed to the theater via taxi. In spite of a pretty sizable crowd, we were able to find Rich and Magali easily when their driver dropped them off at the door to the theater where they procured their own dinner of yogurt dipped Pocky's and bottled water. In spite of the problems getting us all to the theater together, we enjoyed a really terrific performance of Aida (albeit somewhat "Disneyfied" ...... Randy said he kept expecting them to break into a chorus of "Somewhere Out There") that included some fantastic singing and dancing! After the opera, we came home, donned blue jeans, and headed for Big Bamboo for burgers and the requisite billiards that must occur whenever Randy and Rich are together for more than 15 minutes. Old habits from home, you know.

Of course, Saturday morning saw our late rising so we took it easy. We enjoyed coffee while watching the Vice Presidential debate, and then decided we weren't up for anything more complicated than oatmeal for breakfast. It was a nice day, so we decided upon a walk to the park on the other side of the river to get some (relatively) fresh air. Lunch was various meat curries and rice at the Oasis near our compound, then we took naps and relaxed to prepare us for the evening activities ..... poker for the men at McCarty's (or as Kevin calls it, Men's Fellowship), and massages for the ladies which Vicki so graciously arranged.

The massages were expert and included an hour long foot massage while we ladies chatted and complained about kids and husbands (of course), and then an hour long body massage ..... heaven!! Our walk back to the McCarty's was a slow stroll in order to not lose the relaxation of our rub downs.

Back at the McCarty's, the group of 8 men had dwindled to 5, but was still enjoying the lively competition. Cigar smoke lingered in the air and the table was littered with crumbs from various snacks of chips, cookies, nuts, and cheeses. And of course, libation was indeed free flowing, as they say here. The ladies relaxed in the living room before it was decided we should join the men for a few hands and a good time was had by all (especially Randy who was the big winner of the evening). We enjoyed cards until around 2:00 AM, then Kevin rang a taxi for us to head home.

I can't say how long it had been since I had enjoyed nocturnal carousing until after midnight, but this old body isn't used to such activity any longer. McCarty's had asked us if we were up for shopping at Pearl Market and dinner at Peter's Tex Mex on Saturday. I replied they should call when they arrived at the market (which is in our neighborhood) and we'd see if we could motivate ourselves. Well, we could indeed (an extra pot of coffee helped), and after bidding adieu to Rich and Magali, I spent Randy's winnings having a lovely afternoon of shopping with the ladies (Vicki, Terese, and Holly) while Randy threw back a few with the guys (Kevin, Dave, and Larry) at an Iranian hookah bar. Before you make permanent wrinkles in your forehead raising your eyebrows, the hookah pipes are filled with mint and other herbal "tobacco's" .... no hashish or opium in sight! Of course, beer is always available! The afternoon concluded with a great tex mex dinner at Peter's and lively conversation with our old and new friends.

Yesterday found Randy and I longing to be homebodies. Randy made chocolate chip cookies which we noshed warm from the oven, and once nourished, we decided we had the energy to put on sneakers and trek through the district for some much needed exercise. We ventured on past our usual Hong Mei Lu area and found, to my delight and surprise, a really large discount shoe outlet at one end of a block-long Chinese mall. Shoe prices started at around $10 (US) and included every style and size for men, women, and children. Yep, I'll be back!!

We concluded our day with an early afternoon Sunday dinner at Casa Pepe for tapas, then Randy indulged in a body massage during which time I received a really incredible facial. No, I don't look 18 again but I thoroughly savored every moment of the experience which was a first for me. The facial included the use of some incredible smelling scrubs, cleansers, moisturizers, and masks that were deftly applied to not only the face but also the neck, shoulders, chest, arms and hands. An amazing experience, to be sure!

As you can clearly see, our Shanghai adventures have recommenced in earnest and we've had no problem picking up exactly where we left off in June. I am again besieged with lunch invitations from many of my dear lady friends and am extremely happy to reconnect with my Shanghai posse. I have been fairly diligent with my daily walks as the weather has eased from the 80's and 90's to mid to upper 70's, slightly overcast although the humidity is still very high. In spite of the fact that Randy continues to battle a few frustrations at work, and we are concerned about a few family members having heath issues back home, all in all I'd say life's pretty good right now.