China, part deux. Purchased my ticket to return to China this summer! And this year I am going to travel after teaching. We hope to go to Thailand, maybe Tibet and Nepal, take a cross-country train back thru to Beijing. see some of the wall, i hear it's great.. etc etc. ANYONE have travel tips for me? eg... how i should go from yue yang (changsha) to thailand? travel modes, routes, destinations, etc? definite do's/don'ts... Like last year, I'll stop thru SF on my way back for a few short days to visit T-N & T-J. Then make it to Texas in time for ACL Fest! BJORK. deja vu! I'm in Texas right now. I was supposed to be here for 13 days. That was 6 weeks ago :) Should make it to NYC at the ... read more

Drove 6 hours. I had to put in driving time, too -- on a stick shift. eek! There was life in the French Quarter. Musicians were out. Artists were out. Tourists were out. The sun was out. The vendors were out. There was spirit. There was energy. I don't think that could ever get washed away from N.O. Walked around all day... 'til we worked up the appetite for Cafe du Monde: coffee & beignets! Bought a t-shirt: Make Levees Not War. Did I misspell levee? A lot of construction still... but it still felt the same -- at least for a visitor. Stopped off at Harrah's to give them the last of my cash. Even the penny slots got me! Played DJ on the way home -- got out of driving. Bon nuit. ... read more

made it to texas tonite! 3 trains & a plane later.. here i am! visiting the fam. real world errands already start tomorrow: dentist, bank, temp gym pass, wash clothes. but the FIRST thing i will do tomorrow: drink COFFEE with my family. ahhhhhhhhhhh. i've been waiting MONTHS for this ;-) gnite from tejas! xuxu ... read more

I *thankfully* managed my way through the airports in Changsha and Beijing. @ the beijing airport, they confinscated my water, lotion, toothpaste, deoderant, body spray... jeesh. i asked if i could use one last go-around but they said NO. I blinked my eyes and POOF I'm back in the states. In SF/Davis CA visiting Natalie for the weekend (2 hour train ride from SFO - but Nat met me half way). Skipped out on the high school reunion. Decided to have some college fun w Nat & hopefully Xina. Got here Thursday morning (at the same "time" I left China). Yesterday we drove to Lake Tahoe. so nice! woodsy, cleeear water (unbelievable!), and a lovely drive. ok -- I'm burning time on the comp... we're heading out! I'll put up pics soon! Love from the West ... read more

i bought a new pair of prescription glasses yesterday. i know: i never even wear my glasses! they have some great frames & it only cost $40 USD. niiiiiiiiiice. bought some gifts yesterday. and a coconut. i started to ask the man about his stack of coconuts & he jumped over his counter, grabbed some crazy butcher knife and started hacking away at one. i was going to ask him exactly what i was going to buy, but the stack of coconuts kept loosing one in the bunch.. and a coconut would roll away and he'd run after it w the knife in his hand. when he'd throw the coconut back in the stack another would start rolling away. and again off he went w his intimidating knife to get his lost goods. i ended up ... read more