Adding to the simple pleasures of life - Netflix, Hulu, and conversation with a Shenzhen masseur

Whereas before I ran around Hong Kong seeking thrills, activities, new people, the last months I have been staying put at home mostly.  I find peace in my own place by myself.  After owning Apple TV for a long time, I finally managed to set up links to Netflix and Hulu Plus.  A few missing episodes of Desperate Wives and Mad Men in the queue, I am happy.  The two have a generous trial period (Netflix trial period is a month), and the $7.99 monthly fee is much more attractive than my nowTV suite.  Rather than giving money to the Li Ka-shing family by default, I called to cancel my nowTV today.  There is no need for 2 year contract now.  Who could plan two years in advance?!

To add to my peace and the simple pleasures, I went to Shenzhen for massage last Sunday.  I researched the best route to take there from Central.  Rather than transferring at Hung Hom and TST stations as I had done in the past, I transferred at Mongkok and Kowloon Bay. The whole trip took an hour but it was rather effortless.  I could read and surf the web like I normally do at home anyway.

It is probably good to note the conversation between masseur and me in Shenzhen.  She looked young but not too young and told me that it is rare for a girl to come to massage alone.  I suppose.  But I'm single.  I am not interested in engaging in coordinating activities with friends most of which don't have a visa to China or are otherwise not so close and would need my attention on the trip.  I do not have enough patience at times to act as a tour guide to people have no clue about China, either in language or in culture/history.  

She later said that she's single and born in 1976 from a family of five in Pingdingshan, near the coal mining town in Hebei.  She doesn't want to get married, so she says.  We spent the next hour talking about the strain of marriage and how modern marriages mostly don't last.  I need to be better to myself, she says.  Why do I earn all this money but not spend it on myself?  I'm the first person she's heard who come to Shenzhen not to relax but as a way to explore a channel to stay there for free while I rent out my apartment in Hong Kong (on airbnb).  When she saw me, she immediately thought that I am not the kind that would make myself look good and attractive through clothing.  I do I said.  I am just very stingy and think everything costs so much.  And I don't know what to do with old clothes.  They seem to cost so much.  Do I just give them away later?  I have accumulated so much.  Oh, she said.  If everyone is like you and keep all their clothes, would department stores have any business?

Sure.  I need to treat myself better.  She said especially if I'm single and young.  Should I be saving my money for my kids and husband in the future?  Even if I would be using my own money later when I am married, I'd need to consult with my husband and think twice before I buy a dress.  That is the exact thing my family's Shanghainese friend from the U.S. said to me.

I rejected two airbnb requests already.  I did not want to trouble with leaving my apartment when I should be in Hong Kong.  It is a great way for a side cash however.  I am thinking I might just invest in a better couch that can allow someone to sleepover, for myself and for cash and for company.

Here's the map of the city that I'm trying to get to know more - a closer and cheaper alternative to Shanghai.