I usually mop around the house during weekend mornings until I get sick of my room. Google+ was acting up and it got frustrating to keep trying to reconnect. I tried to post on my Facebook that I wanted to hang out with people on Google+ and FB wouldn't let me post that message. I didn't think much about it because it gave me an error that said to come back later. So I came back later and posted another status that did not include the Google+ part (accidentally) and it went through. Hm......
I paid rent early this month since the 15th falls on an early part of the week. The last two times I was a bit late but they don't seem to mind. I basically walked around my neighborhood and did a few errands during the early part of the afternoon. Then I ventured to sign up for the gym again.
There are only a couple of big gyms in HK, one of them being California Fitness. There are a lot of smaller gyms but they feature only one location and are very, very small. Everyone I've asked so far about gyms have joined California Fitness so I went there as well. Last time I tried to join, their deal didn't seem very good and they wouldn't let me have a one week free trial. But after talking to another friend, who seemed to have gotten a much better deal, I went to another branch and haggled again. It seems like haggling involves knowing what to say (as opposed to just being persistent). Last time, I said the name of a friend who was referring me but her membership is only for one club location so that's what they tried to sell me. This time, I went in and said that a friend of mine is paying for access to all the clubs and that I wanted the same. I told them that I have friends who liked to use different gyms so I would be going to different gyms during different times of the week. The guy didn't even try to bring up the one club only deals. At some point, I agreed to a deal for access to 3 gyms and then he came back saying that since I have a HSBC Visa Platinum card, they can give me access to all the gyms at the same price. I always walk away from these things feeling like I've been cheated or missed out on some deal. Whatever, let's just hope I use the facilities enough for this money to not to go waste.
They tried to sell me on all sorts of things once I paid for the actual membership. Apparently you can rent a shoe locker and get different plans to train with a personal trainer. I was like no thanks and left without even trying out that gym. I was actually feeling pretty hungry since I hadn't really had lunch and it was getting close to 5pm.
I got some bread and went back to the office to do a few things, including watching a video on some geotech software. I would have stayed to read the papers that were referenced in the video but the office was really hot. And I had a headache. The rest of my team was there as well. Sometimes they're a distraction though.
I went to the gym in Mong Kok and did some running and some ab exercises. It took me a while to find a shop that sold locks and I managed to get one where the instructions are all in Korean. Anyway, it's red so it's easy to identify. The gym provides towels and has showers with soap, shampoo, and conditioner. This is very nice since it means I don't have to head home right after working out. They even have hair dryers. I might think about bringing my own shampoo and conditioner though since I have a preferred brand. I swear, the showers stalls are larger than my bathroom. I went to a nearby mall and got rendang with rice from a Singaporean place. The food wasn't very good. My jaw was getting tired from chewing on the beef.
I decided to go check out the branch of the gym that has a swimming pool on Sunday. It took FOREVER to get there. Forever in HK means over an hour. It didn't take too long on the MTR but you had to walk a long ways through a couple of malls to get to the shuttle station. The mall that this gym is located in is not right next to an MTR station. And the line for the shuttle bus was really, really long. Lots of families going to the mall. I found out later that this mall has several with play areas for kids. I would have just walked but it was super hot outside. So it was better to wait in line. Good thing I downloaded a book on my Kobo and had something to entertain myself with. I'm currently reading: The Invisible Bridge
It's about a Hungarian-Jewish guy who is studying architecture in France right at the start of WWII. I just started and it's a pretty interesting book so far. The main character is from a small town and it's the first time out of the country for him.
Anyway, I had planned to go swimming and then go watch Harry Potter. I really should have gone to see the movie first. I ended up getting to the theater a little bit too late. The pool was also a disappointment. It was super small and very crowded. They had two lanes set up for slow swimmers. There didn't seem to be rules for the rest of it and there were just too many people. I tried to follow someone so that I wouldn't be running into oncoming swimmers. But people were swimming too slowly for me to follow. Anyway, poor timing on my part. Next time I'll go earlier.
I walked around that mall a bit and got really tired. I came back and napped in my bed before going to buy groceries at a nearby mall. The lady at the checkout was really slow. Must be her first day or something. I find that I really like the supermarket at my workplace. It has a lot more international brands and choices in general. So there goes another weekend. Time to get ready for another week!
1 comment:
I like the name of the gym!
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