Winter Arrival, What To Do?

It's Fall now, but as Winter approaches and the weather gets much cooler, going out to do things becomes less appealing. And Zoe is not a winter person. Sometimes, she insists on not wearing a winter jacket because it feels "too heavy on her." (She belongs in Cali... Seriously, a Cali queen.). More importantly, finding things to do in the Winter can be a pain. You are a bit limited, and a lot of people get bit by the winter bug, depression, coldness in your soul, freezing air - all the crappy stuff.

So what to do when winter arrives?

Luckily, we live in the big city of Shanghai, so there are a lot of things to do. Here's 10 things Zoe and I have done when the weather wasn't so hot (literally and emotionally).

1. Stay home and watch DVD's - China is great because you can get DVD's for 5 kuai each. (That's about a dollar, and it will be a dollar soon if the currency rate keeps going the way it's going...). You can get a whole season of "Everybody Hates Chris", some peanuts, tea, some candles lit around the house and you got yourself a night (or day). Insulation isn't very strong (still!) in China, so get an electric heater, a fleece blanket and snuggle up with your honey.

2. Art Exhibits - Art exhibits are inside, and it makes you feel like you have a bit of taste in your life even with the gey winter skies lurking over our heads (or it might make you look and feel pretentious... Perfect for Shanghai!), but nothing says romantic than the two of you guessing what the artist felt and though when he or she created this work of art. This may lead to painting at home, something I think I suck at - and if we had more space and no accident prone cats at the apartment, we could start painting. But to get back to the topic, it's a cool place to go for culture and stimulate that right side of your brain with your loved one. (and they might have free wine and cheese there. Pretentiousness is the bomb!).

3. Vacation and get the heck out of dodge! - If you have money and time, this is the way to go. Zoe and I took a trip to Sanya during Chinese New Year (CNY for short) and although the weather could have been better (it rained a bit in Sanya), we escaped a major snowstorm, so we were blessed. Also, it was cool eating barbecued fish by the beach with a nice big bottle of Qingdao (Tsingdao) at an outside wooden patio during the "winter". Very memorable. If you are in China, you can always get great packages for two on Ctrip.com. They have packages in Chinese and in English. I like the thought of wearing swimming trunks and flip-flops in the middle of January. hehe

4. Hit the gym together - what does spinning, body pump and treadmill all have in common? They raise your heart rate, thus raising your overall body temperature. We already go on our own about 3-4 times a week. I generally do different things like lifting free weights (aka the testosterone zone), while Zoe might go for bellydance classes (I don't do belly dance), but every now and then, Zoe and I will find those classes that work for the both of us that we can both enjoy, especially during the winter. Also, it's those Winter months that are key in getting that beach body you want for the Summer, packing on Winter pounds are hard to get rid of!

5. Anyone up for some karaoke??? - One of the best things to do in China is to sing karaoke. Some folks are reading this and thinking, karaoke means singing in front of a bunch of people you don't know at an open karaoke bar. No. You can get your own room. Some folks might read this and think if you book a room for karaoke, you have to invite an army of folks to sing with you. No. You can book rooms for just two people, and that's our kind of room. "The Mini Room." We sing all the duets, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Ni Zui Zhen Gui", even "Upgrade U", and no one else is in the room to tell you the both of you guys sound so... mushy (or bad). Zoe has a really good voice and I... well... I get an A, in effort, especially if there's a nice fruit plate for us to dig into for energy.
I'll just list these five for now, I have at least 95 more, but these are some of the ones I like the most that come to mind. Activites are good!!