Who Said Snow Globes were Tacky?

Even when I was a little kid, I never really liked snow globes... at first, I was always upset because I wanted to touch the little trains or snowmen inside and I couldn't. Then a few years later, I just found them to be annoying and a bit cheesy. In a bit of fear, I realized the last December that I miss them, which might mean I'm passing into another phase of old age... but that's another story!

I always go to Sanlitun (a foreign favorite in Beijing) on Sunday for brunch. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I was shocked to see what might be the biggest snow globe in the world! 

Hmm... ok, well at least the biggest I've ever seen... The minicooper is real and operating. The house is about as big as my apartment in Hong Kong was. :-P

One thing I can be sure of, this baby wouldn't last 5 minutes if it was placed out all night and day in Manhattan... FREE MINICOOPER!

Oh... I should say... I hate minicoopers. But for obvious reasons (besides being cute - which a lot of Chinese girls I know love) it is growing in popularity here.

Note: A few weeks after taking this picture, I was walking past this again and saw some people in the house! I don't know what they were doing... I could only see all the feet... I just put my head down and went to brunch. heh heh

~Let it Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain~

 

I was looking through some old photos of the office when I came across this little gem... this is the pantry of our office - you can't walk around in it... all blocked off. :-)

This is what happens when it rains in Asia - people don't close up their umbrellas, they leave them open to dry... for hours... walking into the pantry for a cup of coffee in the morning... this will wake you up quick!

Ommmmm (Ugh)

So I started doing this Bikram Hot Yoga class in January. Mostly for something different - I started doing Hatha Yoga (very slow, relaxing yoga style) about 10 years ago, but I wanted a switch.

The room is HOT - over 100F!!  Plus it's humid... they have little spraying hoses that put a mist in the air all the time - the result is pretty gross... people are sweating all over the place.  The first time I did this class, I literally almost fainted twice. I still get light-headed, but not so bad.

I thought that might be a good thing to be in this weather (because rapid heartbeat and sweating mean weight loss, and I'm not getting any younger)! Turns out that this is not the case really. Most websites say you won't really lose weight (bummer!)

So I just finished my third class tonight, and here are some of my thoughts.

No weight loss, that's true. I am am slowly shedding pounds and getting muscle, but that is because I do Thai Boxing 4 times a week - starting Hot Yoga didn't increase that at all. That said, some muscles I didn't know I have DO hurt, so something good is happening there I guess.

One strange thing I did notice... I can breathe REALLY well now!

I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back, this can only be because of the Yoga class in the furnace-like room.

It started when I was running for boxing class... Usually I do well anyway, but suddenly I felt like I could fly or something - I had allll kinds of energy! My lung capacity was much much larger... no comparison.

Then the next weekend I was singing (yep, singing) and man... I was BELTING it out there! I could take huge breaths of air and really just let it all out (much to the pain of my neighbor I guess!). I also noticed that during these times (running and singing... ha ha) my body automatically straightened right up... I didn't do it on purpose, it just happened. Cool stuff. :)

Anywho... I'll keep mixing in the yoga for awhile and recording any results... having expected nothing, it's cool to see something this quickly. If all else fails, I can just go back to my Hatha. :)