I cant remember.....

So its been a while, seems to be much harder to write stuff on here compared to email but here we go for another update of the crazy adventures of Steve and Alyce in the weird and wonderful world of Chairman Mao.

Winding back the clock to Saturday two weeks ago I found myself in a soccer team playing full outdoor for the first time in 3-4 years. I am in a team called Voodoo Child and I had to meet the team at Big Bamboo at midday for the bus to leave for the ground. Alyce rode with me to the 'Boo' and we said our farewells as I boarded the bus, trekking....and I mean trekking out to the ground which was 50 minutes away (mind you it would be longer but we had Aryton Senna reincarnated as our bus driver. As I was on my way Alyce went to the shops and started preparations for the greatest Cheesecake in history as we also had dinner at friends house after the game.

So back to me!!! I arrived at the ground in one piece......just, remember I nearly died on the way due to Mr. I want to be a F1 driver being a nutcase. Got into my gear (navy and white) and started warm ups for my first game back as a professional player.....haha well a player anyway. We were playing a combined premier league and 1st division team who had a few young boys (3-4 between 14-18 years old) which gave me confidence we could win as some of these boys were half my size. What I didn't realize was that these boys were FAST........clearly a long way to go in the fitness area for old man Steve. So anyway, the game was a good battle, we never really looked like scoring as we didn't have many forwards and in the end we lost 2-0. While the game was happening Alyce was on the train and then in a taxi to come watch as I told her the ground would not be far by taxi from the end of the line 2 train. After half time Alyce still had not arrived and I was beginning to think Alyce was going to miss my big comeback altogether. Alyce finally arrived after a 150RMB taxi ride, fair to say the train line was no where near the ground and actually made the trip longer hehe.....sorry hun!!.
To make up to my lovely lady she came back on the bus with the boys, which im sure was alot of fun.....a few cases of beer, alot of laughs and a trip that took over two hours because of the traffic, how much fun does that sound like!!

The bus dropped us off at the sponsor pub, Alyce and I now had to rush (I was hobbling) back home to get ready for dinner which was again a trek on the other side of town. We took beers and wine and of course the Cheesecake and went to Dale and Jo's house for a BBQ in the cold. Their place is awesome, 3 story townhouse in a MASSIVE compound, I mean MASSSSSSIVE. We met their two boys and had an awesome night. We played poker, a game called SWIM, the boys DJ'd on you tube and basically we drank and played games until 3am when it was time to head home.

On Sunday we woke up a little hungover (not much), very tired and for me I could hardly walk.......I found a downside to playing proper football again, it hurts the next day!! As a result there was no way I was playing 7 a side on Sunday, but being the awesome captain / coach that I am and Alyce the awesome team manager we went along to cheer (just watch actually) the boys on. Unfortunately we lost 1-0 but hey I felt better as my legs could rest hehe......I cant actually remember what we did on Sunday night so lets move along shall we!!

Last week went by at lightning speed, we had mandarin lessons which continue to be a major frustration for me, and for Alyce as I just whine all the time haha. Our teacher is on speed I think as he goes though things soooooo fast that it is hard to keep up with him. Plus his English is not that good so I think im doomed.......my plan however to convert ALL Chinese people to English is working with our guards now often saying hello rather than Ni Hao.....Go Steve and Alyce...YEAH!

Friday came along, which was a massive relief, I was dying for a relaxing night out and with plans for Alyce and I to attend the NZ weekly drinks (I know, why would anyone want to spend time with a kiwi???) we got our wish. Even better was the fact it was free food and drinks for the first 30 minutes after we arrived!! Not long after the free drinks stopped we decided to wander around the corner to Zapatas, a Mexican bar / club. We got a booth for 10 which was a great score and we settled down to some beers and nachos. The night turned into a drunken blur, especially since we thought it would be a good idea to buy a bottle of Tequila and do shots, while smoking a Hookah.........BAD, BAD, BAD idea.
Apparently we got home, neither Alyce or I can remember walking in but we made it, with wallets and phones as well.
Saturday was a HUGE sleep in, followed by a lunch at Commune at Taikang Lu (Mom and Dad you will know that place). We wandered around the shops and then decided to get a cab out to Alyce's work ghetto to do some shopping at HOLA (again mom and dad you know the place). We wanted to buy a few things for home and ended up buying the following in no particular order: A table, a pot with some sticks, place mats, ornaments (including a Buddha head), more balls to go along with the ones mom gave us, a rug and a bunch of other stuff. We actually got the table 600RMB off as it was floor stock, it is being delivered tomorrow between 10am and 6pm, so helpful HOLA thanks for the specific timing. It actually took us longer to tell them we wanted it delivered than it did to buy all the stuff. Not 1 person in HOLA speaks English so there is every chance someone in Shanghai is going to get a nice new table courtesy of Steve and Alyce.

We trotted home and crashed on the couch with some takeaway and chilled for the night. Sunday was again a slow start, I basically woke up and went to soccer, Alyce stayed home as she has had a cold the last few days. Alyce made a cheesecake again, I love it so much. We finally had a win, we played the team in 3rd place and after a tight first half we scored 3 goals in the second half, with one from me to take the victory. This takes my season goals scored to 4 in 5 games played.
The weather was horrible yesterday, rain and cold but we needed to do a grocery shop so we went to Lotus at Superbrands (mom the place you would not look at the frogs!). We smashed trolleys with other shoppers, got hassled by sales attendants, had to pack our own bags but hey we did it with a smile and wondered why we are here haha. Nah kidding its all good fun, except walking home in the rain.

So that brings us to today, weather is cold and overcast and before I go I will give the weekly weather outlook.
Today - H 16, L 8: Tuesday - H 15, L 8: Wednesday - H 15, L 7: Thursday - H 9, L 2: Friday - H 8, L 2: Saturday - H 10, L 3.

I bet you wish you were here....NOT! Come on seriously, a top of 8?? What is wrong with this place, its not even winter yet. We were told it gets cold in Dec, Jan and Feb.....It better not.