47

It is 5:10pm as I head out of the office 10 minutes later than I had planned and nine hours after I arrived. This would be a full day for most but for me is a short day. Like most of my days since winter started. I wish I could say it was because I've finally been finding the balance in life but that's not it. I'm just not all that motivated. Could be my mom's passing. Could be a month of below freezing temperatures. Could be a midlife crisis, mine or another's. There is no "why". It just is. Maybe I could rewind the chain of events and find the "why" but that's not where I'm at right now. Mainly because I think there are many "whys" that can be blamed. Live in the moment and fix forward is what I aim for.

At the moment of 5:15pm I am gloved up on the street and walking to the subway station. It is a Friday, the first workday after three consecutive days off for New Years and the first of eight consecutive workdays. It is also my birthday. My 47th excuse my French birthday. My subway ride is uneventful, crowded as usual, and I listen to music and play solitaire. I get off the subway and rebundle up in preparation to ride my bike home in 15F degree weather. Bike unlocked, I push it through the storm of people going into the subway. I hop on the bike and..flat tire.

It used to be that bike repair stations existed at every major intersection of Beijing but not so many people ride their bike anymore and especially not in 15F weather so the bike repair folks are nowhere to be found. I have a birthday party waiting for me at home for which I will surely be late if I walk my bike home. So I jog it home instead and while I was still a bit late, I wasn't that late. More importantly, I discovered that I really like the feeling of running and even at this excuse the French age of 47, I can still do it. Even at 15F and pushing a bike, I can still do it.

I arrived home. Yang, Aidan, Lydia, and Elisa were waiting for me. Elisa gave me a UPC code for a birthday present and I was as happy as I could be. A married couple who are friends with us arrived and we had long life noodles and my mom's chocolate cake. 47 is still 47 but it felt better for a bit.