Jeff on the Road

I had a very relaxing morning before heading to the Chengdu Airport. Both Adha and Sonam accompanied me out to see me off. The flght was uneventful, which means a good flight. The meal O.K. The flight arrived in Hong Kong on time despite being 45 minutes late in leaving Chengdu. I only have two hours between flights this time. I usally leave more time. Two hours doesn't give much time when the arrival gate and departure gate are at opposite ends of the Hong Kong airport. It is a little bit like Denver if you know what I mean. The Wing lounge is open after months of renovations. I have been informed that they have upgraded me to Business Class because it is a full flight. Ya really have to like Cathay! They take care ... read more

Yak Yoga & Sacred Tibetan Juggling Monkeys: You too can learn to perform the very secret millennium old Tibetan Buddhist Yak Yoga! Courses are starting soon. Sign up now and receive the bonus offer of the additional training in the very rare and esoteric instructions on how to train monkeys to juggle cherry snow cones! *All instruction and supplementary course materials are included and will be provided by the expert staff. *Participants are required to bring (1) one yoga mat and (2) provide their own yak. Domesticated yaks are permissible with prior approval of the course leader. Both dri and dzo are not expectable according to the strict rules of the ancient tradition. *For those participants also registered for the Monkey Juggling a medical waiver is required and proof of pre-emptive rabies vaccine inoculation. Snow cones ... read more

Tonight is the second to last class, but an important class anyway. All the classes are important when teaching a system for learning a subject. The weather hasn't changed much excpet it was quite cool last night. I used two blankets when I slept. I managed to get some work done this morning but mostly was answering phone calls. The weekend and Monday were very productive and I was able to get most of the class preparation and student handouts done well in advance of the classes. All in all it was a relaxing weekend with quality tea shop time included. I have a friend visiting from California for a few days and that is very nice and a pleasant change. While waiting for the computer to come up and the internet I have just leared ... read more

Thursday again and back at the University preparing for class. Yesterday was somewhat relaxed with a lot of writing and preparing. The only reason there is so much to do is because I have never taught this subject in this way before. Previously it has only been one or two lectures on Tibetan Painting style, never an entire course trying to cover all the important aspects in detail and everything else briefly. Most of the preparation is downloading and organizing the 50 to 100 slides that I typically use for a two hour lecture. Like last week, I am already, again, looking forward to the weekend. The class on Tuesday night went very well with over a 100 students in attendance. The lecture was in a different room which I was a little worried about. It ... read more

This must be getting pretty monotonous for most readers. Yes, the weather is grey and cloudy again! There is also some rain. Back at the university things are quiet. Most people are still at lunch. That's what they tell me anyway. I still have some preparation for tonights lecture, but not too much. The material and subject tonight will again involve a lot of looking and less thinking. The thinking can come after. Yesterday was busy with the morning taken up by the Sichuan Museum and their collection of approximatley 300 paintings. I saw some interesting things and one historically important inscription on the back of a painting. Apparently the painting was consecrated by none other than Kathog Tsewang Norbu the great scholar and diplomat of the 18th century. There are still many more paintings to ... read more