The routine and breaks from it

The time between vacations is rather repetitive.  It helps to take breaks from the routine once in a while.  That is not to say that things have been boring since my last post. 

From February 19-March 13 life was rather drab.  Faye and I were both adjusting to being back into our work schedules.  For reference my typical week day starts at 6:30 when my alarm goes off.  I typically hit a 5 minute snooze between 1-3 times.  I roll out of bed, get dressed, kiss Faye goodbye when her alarm goes off at 6:50, then head to work.  I usually take the 15 minute walk but sometimes will be able to get a rental bike for 1.5RMB ($0.21).  My typical arrival time is about 7:05-7:15am.  I have stopped eating breakfast in an attempt to lose weight by reducing my caloric intake and maintaining a 16 hour fast each day.  I will however have a cup of black coffee once I get to work.  After I brush my teeth and use the bathroom I start working.  Classes start at 8am and I have two classes back to back before my first break.  There are times when I need to cover a 3rd period class but it is not often.  Once I finish my morning lessons I spend the rest of the morning grading, planning, and sometimes meeting with my co-teacher to ensure horizontal alignment. 

I eat lunch at 10:55-11:15.  On Mondays and Fridays my schedule is then open for more planning and grading until my next class at 1:40.  On Tuesday through Thursday I have other duties.  Tuesday and Thursday I have lunch duty at 11:30-12:00.  Wednesday I have that lunch duty and a second library duty at 12:35-1.  I sometimes am able to fit in a 30 minute nap on the cot that I put in the bio lab prep-room, in the auditorium, or in the garden if the weather is nice.  I have two classes from 1:40-3:25.   On Mondays and Fridays I finish at 3:30 and go to the gym across the street.  On Tuesdays I have student hour from 4:30-5:30.  Wednesdays I advise the biology club and Thursdays there is usually a meeting (department, division, or network).  Tuesdays and Thursdays I usually try to fit in a swim.  Most Wednesdays I hit the gym, but if I skip it then I make it up over the weekend.  Weekends involve resting, relaxing, ordering groceries, sometimes gym make-up, and sometimes hashing on Saturdays.  

While my routine is pretty packed, Faye's is worse.  Her routine has a negative impact on her sleep cycle (and mine) and her mental state.  In the first couple weeks of March she was in a really bad mood and it led to tension between us.  She spent almost every day complaining and I spent every day listening, trying (without success) to offer comfort, advise, and encourage.  I don't want to air out our dirty laundry in a public forum but eventually, after some arguing, I decided I needed a break from routine and we needed a little bit of healthy space. She insisted I get out of the house to give her some space.  So, I booked a weekend trip to Bangkok from March 14-16 without her.  I figured a weekend away would be a healthy decision.

On the 14th I went straight to the ferry port after work and took an evening flight to Bangkok.  My friend Felix happened to be going to Bangkok that weekend as well and I ran into him a Shekou Port.  He was planning to go to some concerts and I decided to join him for the Thailand Grind Fest on Saturday March 15th. 

While this was not really my style of concert I did enjoy it and thrashed out a bit to vent some rage.  After a couple of joints and a few drinks I eventually grew tired and hungry. So, after the second band finished, I decided to leave to get dinner.  

I found a nice Ethiopian restaurant called Habesha and got the vegetarian platter. 

After dinner I went back to the hotel and just hung around for a bit before going to bed early.  

I caught my 11am flight back to Bangkok on the 16th and landed in HK before three in the afternoon.  I took the ferry back to Shenzhen.

After getting some much needed space from each other, Faye and I got around to talking about our relationship and her career goals.  We set a clear timeline of objectives for her to reach so that we could maintain our relationship over the next three years and beyond.  It was a much healthier and more productive conversation than we had in a while.  

Her objectives are as follows: 

1) Complete TOEFL test in summer of 2026. 

2) Take some courses on SOFIA to get some credits toward her second bachelors degree until January 2027.  Apply to start her online degree program in time to start in 2027 

3) Quit her job and start a full-time program in January 2027 and finish in 1-1.5 years. 

4) Find a new full time job until we leave China together in June 2028.  

This plan helped to put both of us at ease and set a clear goal for her.  While we still both hold some anxiety about the future, this plan makes the most sense and assures that she is more employable when we do decide to relocate.  We have considered a few options including UAE, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.  UAE offers the most benefit for both of us.  

After this discussion things started going much more smoothly for our relationship.  This discussion helped to establish more trust in our relationship now that we have a path forward together. 

During the week of March 17-21 I had my students working on an interesting project that I want to share.  I had them make and explain models of the lac and trp operons that turned out pretty good. 

On Monday March 17th we decided to change our Qing Ming (April 4-6) plans.  We originally intended to complete section 4 of the Hong Kong Maclehose Trail during that break.  Instead we opted to do this hike over the weekend of March 22nd-23rd thus leaving the Qing Ming break open for us to go to Bangkok.  

We left Shenzhen on Saturday March 22nd.  There were some issues as Faye forgot her HKID and then realized at the last minute that she needed to have it renewed.  While frustrating it was not a huge deal since we were not in a hurry.  We went through the border at Shenzhen Bay and hopped a bus to Sha Tin.  We ate dinner at the New Town Plaza and then stayed in the Alva Hotel for the night.  The next morning we ate a hearty breakfast, caught an Uber to our start point, and set out on our hike.  We started at the end of section 4 near the Gilwell Campsite and hiked to Kei Ling Ha.  This meant that the hike was mostly a descent and it was a lot less strenuous had we done the other direction.

It was a truly beautiful hike, and since we had left most of our stuff at the hotel, it was pretty easy.  Flowers were in bloom and the air smelled wonderful.

After the hike we took an Uber back to the hotel and grabbed our bags.  Then we had dinner at the New Town Plaza again before catching a bus back to Shenzhen.  It was a lovely little escape from Shenzhen for the weekend and we both really enjoyed the experience.  We have now finished 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) of the 100 kilometer (62 mile) Maclehose Trail.  We have completed section 1-6 and most of section 7.  We plan to return to finish the rest of the trail (the rest of section 7 and 8-10) during the 4-day Labor Day holiday in May. During which we will need to carry our supplies with us and camp out each night.  

We are back in the routine until Qing Ming.  We plan to go to Bangkok so we can go to the Thailand-Japan Collaborative Flea Market again.  I also plan to take a solo trip to Bangkok mid-April for a break from routine and to celebrate April 20th.