The Hoops Extravaganza

Hey, when the cat is away, the mice will play. Aimee leaves for a few weeks and I start having parties every weekend!

I had 7 guys and a gal join me for the festivities today. First, we played basketball for a couple of hours. They were impressed with the half-court that we've got in our neighborhood. And for you who enjoy basketball, this court has got the trapezoidal-shaped lane and an oddly placed 3-point line. It's got that european/asian thing goin' on - surprise, surprise.

Most of the guys play b-ball regularly but there were a couple that play rarely. In fact, one noted that this was the 2nd time he had played "competitive" basketball.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. The gal and one of the guys chose just to watch. One thing that impressed me is that those 2 disappeared on TWO occasions only to return with a bag full of cold gatorades and waters for all of us players. It was super nice of them and really reminded me of the generosity/friendliness of the people here. They have less than 99% of Americans but I don't know 1% of Americans that would have thought to buy cold drinks for your friends.....twice!

WARNING: TANGENT. As I type this, I'm watching rugby. Until now, the "rugby" I've seen on TV is practically non-contact. It's like powder puff style. I mean, there's more contact in billiards. It surprised me because I thought rugby was big, hairy guys beatin' the snot out of each other. Well, my expectations have finally been realized. This rugby on the TV now is brutal. Guys hitting each other, grabbing jerseys, random punting of the ball in "traffic", forearm shivers to the head/neck region....this is awesome. End of tangent.

3 of the visitors had to leave after B-ball. The rest of us walked back to the house for pizza and pop. Here are some pics.

Enjoy the weekend. I will spend most of Saturday walking parts of the city that I have not seen yet. The plan is to drop off at People's square and walk my way to the famous shopping street, Nanjing road, and then continue on to crossing the river. Should be an interesting adventure. Dial back to the Bowman Blog soon for some new pictures of Shanghai.

If you see my beautiful wife this weekend, give her a hug from me. If you see my kids, exclaim "fight me!" and proceed to let them wrestle you to the ground. Just don't send me the bill for the physical trauma caused.