So, that means I am hanging out in Wuhan while Randi and Henry are in Hong Kong...kind of sucks. Well, we had a long night last night at the office; I finally made it out of there around 2000 hours and then headed back to the hotel. I got a nice workout in (even though the gym is limited) and then I finished reading "Not A Good Day To Die" by Sean Naylor. This is a magnificent book abut Operation Anaconda. I strongly recommend everyone reading this book and "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. These two books will remind you (vividly) that the United States is at war and that the great soldiers of this country are fighting and dying every day to ensure that radical extremism does not gain a foothold. Our soldiers are waging this war in extreme environments against determined fighters and they are conducting this war with honor, integrity, and morals. To say I am proud of our country is an understatement.
So, I stayed up until almost 0300 hours reading and am just waking up...well...actually waking up for the 2nd time today. I am not sure what happened this morning but at 0650 someone decided to set off some fireworks (the ones that sparkle and then explode on the ground) in front of our hotel. Now, I am not talking just a couple of fireworks...I am talking about enough to cover the entire sidewalk for a full block...I am not making this up. This...display...lasted for 5 minutes or so as firework after firework exploded. I swear for a second I thought I was on Takur Ghar.
Plans for today are not too exciting...one of the team members decided she needs to go into the office today...so...instead of heading out with the rest of the team to go site seeing in Wuhan; I am going to head into the office with her. Dad always told me to make sure that you never ask someone to do something you won't do yourself and I figured even though this was her idea...I shouldn't let her go in by herself.
So, I will take the time to study for the CFA exam which is just a few short weeks away. I am hoping that I am not going to be in the office all day. The rest of the team is going to go check out East Lake, which is a famous lake here in Wuhan, and then they are going to go to some museums and check out the Wuhan University. I think that would definitely be interesting...and maybe I will just go and site see myself tomorrow after I get the intel from the rest of the team on where and what to see and of course what to skip. I am here through June 4th...so, I have another weekend next week as well. We will see what I can figure out to do...although I am sure a majority of that time will be spent in the gym and studying for the CFA.
The hotel here has a little gym that has a few dumbbells, unfortunately the heaviest one is 25lbs. Now, at first I was a little disappointed as usually the lightest dumbbell I use is 30lbs when working out...but...I decided to just "rep-out" on everything. So, I have been doing 20 to 30 reps for each set in my workout...which is actually pretty tough. So, for my arm and back workout yesterday I ended up doing 6 exercises with dumbbells and I did 4 sets of 20 to 30 reps for each of those exercises depending upon the exercise. Let me tell you...that was actually a really good workout. My biceps were screaming to me after my 4th set of 30 one arm isolated curls...wow...I am actually a little sore this morning. I also did a lot of creative stuff and kind of used one 25lb dumbbell as a "kettle ball" and did some "dynamic" exercises working my core. So, even though a hotel gym may be limited you can still be creative and get a good workout. Also, the hotel has a pool and I always bring my swim gear so I can swim laps. Unfortunately, when we first arrived the pool was being repaired...but as of last night the pool is back in business...meaning I can get some laps in tonight.
Randi is in Hong Kong and I am sure right about now she is at Berlitz taking a Mandarin lesson without me. I have to say Randi is progressing really well with her Mandarin. I am doing all right...as I get to "practice" a bit on my travels...which is fun. I think she is going to go see the musical "We Will Rock You", which is set to Queen's music, tonight with some friends. I am sure it will be fun and when she goes out with the girls they always have fun.
Tomorrow is scheduled to be a Henry day and she is going to get together with more friends and their dogs and let the four legged friends play and socialize. I have to say Henry has some good "dog" friends here. In fact, our friends Phil and Lauren just got a new dog named Juno and Henry and her get along wonderfully. In fact, they get along so well we started joking that Henry has a girlfriend. Juno was at our house the other day and they played constantly for several hours just "flirting" with each other. Juno is a puppy so she has tons of energy and when Henry would collapse from exhaustion she would come over and nip and lick at Henry's face until he would get back up and go for another round of chase or tug-of-war. It was hilarious watching them play...the simple things in life are always so amusing.
Well, that is all from Wuhan...I think it is time to get up and get the day going. Have a great weekend and remember to be safe, buckle-up, and treat everyone you come across this weekend as you would like to be treated. Oh...and make sure you smile and say "hi" to everyone you come across...you never know it might otherwise brighten someone's dreary day. Here are a few more pictures from Wuhan:
A shot of me on the Yangtze with a few co-workers Jacko (my right) and Sally (my left):
Larry knocking back some boneless chicken feet...yummy:
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