Oh Sweet November...

So many things are happening at the beginning of this month:

I start my new job with MRI Worldwide on November 3rd (this upcoming Monday), the same day of the Kanye West concert here in Shanghai.

The following day, November 4th, a new US President will be selected. Time for some Obama-Domination!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!

Then, on November 5th, Quantum of Solace, the new 007 flick, hits Shanghai. I have heard that it is much shorter than Casino Royale, but apparently makes up for length with sheer intensity.
Daniel Craig definitely portrays the most haunted and interesting Bond yet (not to mention the most badass), and I can't wait to see how the character continues to develop in this next film.

Those three days are going to be awesome!

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The weather is definitely getting colder here in Shanghai. Colder, and wetter. This will be my first full winter in China, and from what I have heard Shanghai stays pretty wet and frigid the entire time. On top of that (and forgive me if I have already mentioned this point before...), no apartment buildings except for the newest of the new have any sort of central heating, so not only does Shanghai get extremely cold, but come December and January there is nowhere to run from the winter. Therefore, though some places North of here (take Beijing, for example), actually get colder by the numbers, Shanghai is said to feel like the coldest place on Earth due to the lack of escape.

As chilly as it sounds like things will get here, I am really excited about winter! As much as things slow down in the winter, it also makes me feel more alive in some ways. However, we'll see how I feel in a month or so when there is nowhere to run....

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On a sadder note, the climbing gym at Hongkou Stadium where I have been hitting the wall nearly every two to three days since arriving in Shanghai is being refurbished throughout November. Today was open-climbing, free of charge, because it was the last day that it will be open for quite some time. I climbed for 3 or 4 hours, making sure the try any problems that I hadn't tried yet, because they will all be different come December. That being said, I will not stop climbing!

There is another gym at Shanghai Stadium, and it sounds like I will get a chance to go to Yangshuo (one of the most beautiful climbing spots on the world) with some people from Hongkou sometime during the coming weeks as well.

Anyone who has yet to try rock climbing, I suggest you get out and give it a shot sometime! There is truly no other sport like it! Plus it's one of the best ways to stay in shape without the boredom of sitting around the gym lifting and pushing large hunks of metal around like a mindless fool.

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Goodnight World, and hello November!