Drama at work, Big Rocks on the Hash, and Hope for the End of Covid Travel Restrictions

 Today's post is a day late for the fact that my weekend was rather busy.  Last week at work was a tad stressful.  First there was some confusion around a supply order that resulted with me meeting with my head of department on Monday to establish that I was, in fact, following the protocol.  Additionally, I had intervened in the classes of two other teachers with whom I share a classroom.  Those teachers felt I had undermined their authority with their class.  However, when all was said and done I established with all involved parties that I had only intended to assist, that I would not intervene without being asked again, and that the next time they take issue with me that they should address it with me directly before going to the head of department. They appreciated my apology and commitment to not repeat the same mistake and we established a stronger rapport as a result.

Friday night I took it pretty easy.  I drank a bit at home but really did not go too overboard.  I have failed in eliminating alcohol from my diet, but have managed to reduce my weekly intake substantially by limiting myself to one beer with dinner each week day.  This Saturday was also my first day as Beer Meister of the Hash.  With my new role I am responsible for counting the beer after each night and making recommendations for orders for the next week.  Sure, I got home after midnight, but I did not drink as much as I would have for the sake of staying sober enough to count the beer.  I also drank four whole liters of water which kept me from suffering the next day as a result of what I did drink.  In retrospect I realize committing to this role will be difficult on weekends I leave town or during the summer when I plan to travel. I will handle that when it comes up I suppose.

The run on saturday was an A-B run in Baoan.  We started in a farm, ran up a mountain, used a chain to get up a giant rock, and then ran down the other side.  We ate good food, but I think some of it messed with my gut a bit. I also agreed to lay a trail with a friend from work and a neighbor on December 10th. 

Sunday was just band practice and chores.  Now that we mostly got the songs down we are working on refining our sound. 

Photos below are mostly from the run on Saturday. That is the only chance I get to do anything interesting during the week. 

Some of the best news I heard all week is that China has reduced the number of quarantine days for incoming travelers from 10 days (7 in facility + 3 at home) to 8 days (5 in facility + 3 at home).  This is part of the CPC's plan to gradually roll back covid restrictions.  This also applies to close contacts of confirmed cases.  The government will no longer be hunting down secondary contacts for lockdown.  They have also stopped penalizing airlines for bringing new cases in.  Many people are hopeful that this is the beginning of the end of covid restrictions.  While tourist visas are still a long way off, there is hope that things are getting better.