Xie Jingying, massage therapist
Saturday begins with the sun gently hitting my body. The street scrambles back to life in my ears. A dozen sparrows and larks sing outside. Trucks, cars and motorcycles sweep by in a clatter.
Most people wake up in daylight; I, unfortunately, stir in darkness. I lost my eyesight to optic atrophy in the 1960s when I was in middle school.
I reach for the bedside radio. A piece of good news arrives in the perfect tones of an anchorwoman that the opening ceremony of the Paralympics will be held in Beijing tonight [Saturday]. My heart beats lightly. No matter what happens, I will tune in.
My first customer arrives at the massage clinic as I finish breakfast. Mr Zhou, in his mid-30s, has a chronic ache in his shoulders. He comes to my clinic twice a week and like most patients, he enjoys discussions.
Today, he criticises Liu Xiang for disgracing the nation. He says the Olympics are just a peaceful form of war and every athlete should fight to the end like a warrior. He says if Liu did not succumb to the hardship, he should have reached the finish line with one leg.
But Mr Zheng, another patient waiting at the bench, disagrees. He says Liu brought glory to the nation and that is enough: the young man was hurt, and we should understand. I do not take sides but personally I lean towards Mr Zheng.