I was away for 17 months, and I’ve been back in the US for about 2 1/2. My settling back in has been unsettled. I’ve had many moments of joy, mostly around seeing friends & family. I’ve caught myself being seduced by my old New York lifestyle, checking Craigslist for full-time jobs and the price [...]
Posts Tagged ‘digressions’
Unsettling in
Posted in USA, tagged digressions on December 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The “f” word
Posted in USA, tagged digressions on November 11, 2010 | 2 Comments »
My 8-year-old nephew Griffin failed at growing the biggest sweet potato in the world. Earlier this year, he dug a little garden in his back yard and planted an old potato that had started to sprout. A budding scientist, he explained his project to me when I visited him after my return from abroad. “I [...]
Neverending countdown
Posted in USA, tagged Cocoa Beach, digressions, Florida, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, space shuttle, space shuttle Discovery, USA on November 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I arrived in Orlando, Florida, in a state. I was stressed – about the cost of the trip, about what day the shuttle would launch and therefore what how to manage my hotel, car and flights. It was too much. I decided I would stay only until Wednesday; if the launch was delayed again, I [...]
Back to socialism
Posted in SE Asia, Vietnam, tagged digressions, Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, Vietnam on July 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Oh, how I missed those golden stars on red badges fastened to army-green uniforms! It’s been quite a few months since my adventures in socialist China, the single country of the dozens I’ve visited that I never ever intend to visit again, at least not on my own dime. So here I am, in another [...]
Last post about China
Posted in China, tagged China, digressions, Malaysia on October 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I am *so* glad to be out of China. Malaysia is…*friendly*. Polite. Happy. Full of tasty food. In such an atmosphere it’s easy to overlook things like mosquito attacks and sudden, unexplained interruptions of internet service – things I would have railed against in China. I would love wrap up my feelings about China (something [...]
Natural disasters (and other irritations)
Posted in China, tagged China, digressions on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m sitting here watching the nth hour of creepy Chinese propaganda on TV – today is the 60th anniversary of Communism (ahem, now “with Chinese characteristics“) in China. Every building, car and motorbike is festooned with Chinese flags. On TV, cute 9-year-old girls in colorful dresses and forced smiles dance in perfect synchronicity. The air [...]
Notes from China
Posted in China, Planning, tagged AirAsia, China, digressions, Guilin, Kashgar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Urumqi, Xian on September 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
This is sort of a catch-up post. The first two bits were written while I was in Xinjiang province, where I had zero internet access. The last part was written here in Xian. Not my best post ever, but whatever. ————- 9/18 Greetings from Urumqi, city of Chinese race riots. Actually, this post can’t possibly [...]
Ill communication
Posted in China, Planning, tagged baseball, China, digressions, Han, Kashgar, Liuluang, Planning, Tulufan, Turpan, Uigur, Urumqi, Xinjiang on September 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’d love to write a thoughtful note about China, Take II. But I’m too distracted – the cats, yes, but also there are other people about, and we’re going into town in a few minutes for lunch. In the afternoon we’re catching a bus to Liuluang (sp?), then tomorrow morning a train to Turpan, near [...]
I would have written sooner, but there’s a cat in my lap.
Posted in China, tagged Buddhism, China, digressions, Dunhuang, Gansu, Han, Hui, Labrang monastery, monks, prayer wheels, Russian Far East, Siberian, Tibetan monastery, Uigur, Xiahe on September 10, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I swear I’ve tried to write this afternoon. But the three kittens at Charley Jhong’s Guest House, in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, won’t let me. First they jumped onto the table and demanded food, though I have nothing but fruit and crackers. I gave them crackers, which they practically bit my hand off to get. Back [...]
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