Finally, after much searching I found an advertised job which is 2 minutes away across the road from where i live. The hours are 12.30 to 6 pm Monday to Friday, which is great because I've developed a passion for Tai Chi at the local neighbourhood centre.
The neighbourhood centre is in the old town hall, a neo classical building from the victorian era. Monday is knitting and crocheting, Tuesday is tai chi, Wednesday is Karate for seniors and Thursday is sewing day. Having knitted many scarves and a beanie I decided on Tai Chi. On the first day, the instructor Joe welcomed me with open arms. He looks grandfatherly but is very spritely and performs Tai Chi every morning for an hour except on Sundays. He doesn't speak very much english and from our limited conversation I found out that he's on his way to Beijing soon for a three month holiday.
I did make one very big mistake ..........in an attempt to make conversation with Joe, before the other participant arrived, i mentioned that i had a sore shoulder. Anyone who has ever suffered from a frozen shoulder knows that there's not much you can do until it miraculously fixes itself after about 12 months. I have a frozen right shoulder that i keep moving with a series of "gentle"exercises and stretches.
As soon as i mentioned the sore shoulder Joe moved towards me at ninja speed and took hold of my arm. He then took my right hand and started shaking it in a wave-like motion to try and get my whole arm moving. Excruciating! As i politely moved my arm away he jumped around to my back and started a karate chop massage over my neck and shoulder. I kept praying he would finish but in the end i had to stop him and hope that I hadn't insulted him and his offer of help. Luckily, 80 year old Jane arrived and we finally started the class.
I was thinking that maybe next wednesday I'll try the Karate - self defence for seniors class. This time i won't mention the shoulder. In the meantime I'm still job hunting, wish me luck.
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