Long post.  I'll add links later (kids need lunch) but I wanted to get something up since I've been back a week. 

Timeline notes

Got up yesterday around 0620 in Chengdu and went to bed around 2130 in Maryland.  Same day.  Damn was that a long day!  I think it was the first night since I left that I got a full night's sleep, however.  Couldn't find the melatonin, but I didn't seem to need it.  Woke up when the family got back from Chestertown and again around 0800.  Very nice.  I don't have to be back at work until Tuesday, so I'll see the local friends at the Federally Mandated BBQ. 

I have so much to tell you guys about, like my new best friend, the day in the life post that lj ate, getting used to aftershocks, being on TV/asking questions at the first press conf, how amazingly good the food was, etc.  I would do that all now, but I've got a million things to do now that I'm home.  For starters, there's hugging these kids for hours on end, then gardening, cleaning, washing my few clothes (I packed light... did I tell you about that?), and the like.

More to come, but for now... c'mere you cute kids... 

 Had a really nice post about my day, but it was eaten.  Sorry.  It was an awesome day.  So awesome in fact, that it's left me too tired to try and recreate the post.  More tomorrow (which is only 5 minutes away here, but 12 hours and 5 minutes back home) when I get up.

Love to all 

[edit 5/19- I lied about reposting the long post today.  It looks like another great day, however.  If I do get some downtime, I'll try to write up a post in Word or something.  That way it won't die when the computer goes to sleep!]

It's hard to access livejournal.  Looks like it's on the banned list so I have to jump through hoops a little.  I haven't gotten outside much, but went out to eat last night.  Chinese food, of course!  The food here is good.  I'd expected to see more of the impact of a 7+ earthquake on daily life, but it looks like Chengdu is going about life normally with a few important exceptions.  There's a high number of forced out into tents due to damage to their buildings.  The airport looked more like a bus terminal with groups of people camping out to wait for flights.  There are also people here who've come in from the damaged areas, but mainly the people seem to be staying in their villages to deal with the rescue and recovery.  Some question whether the government will rebuild the villages or move the people to the cities.  The central government is getting high marks from the affected people, but their local government is getting low marks.  The Red Cross exists here, but is an arm of the government and hasn't been the sort of help that it was for us during Katrina, for example.  Another notable exception to the norm here is the lack of traffic.  To me, there's plenty of it, but I'm assured that it is a ghost town compared with regular life.  Pollution is also lower due to the recent rain as well as the lack of intense traffic.

That's all I have for now.

Love and Peas to all.

So, despite the horror of a 7+ earthquake devastating the province I'm flying to tomorrow, the good news is I'm all packed and ready for the gig.  Got a call today from work asking me to take 2 more cases of equipment (on top of the 3 I already have- 2 heavy, 1 not heavy ) and was moaning about that when my daughter asked if anyone was hurt in the disaster.  Once I cashed my reality check, I told her that yes, many people were and my having to carry too many boxes was nothing compared with pulling rocks off of  a loved one's body.   (No, I didn't say it that bluntly to her, she's only 10.)

None of our people who are in Chengdu were hurt, though three were stranded in Beijing since the Chinese blocked flights to the province for the time being.  It should be cleared up before I arrive, but we'll see.  I hadn't planned any sight seeing time in Beijing, but fate could have other plans for me.  At least sight seeing in the terminal at the airport, maybe.  I once saw France that way (heading toward a cholera epidemic maybe I shouldn't travel internationally?)

Black shirt today (but not in a fascist way)

*snap* *snap* for the beat poet

Don't be too shocked, but I'm trying to plan ahead this week.  We're going out to see Iron Man at the Uptown Friday night if anyone's interested.  We're leaving the kids behind (hopefully we'll find a sitter in time) and going out to play.  In my book, there's no better theater to see superhero movies at!

In other news... I'm trying to get stuff organized for the family and get packed at work.  I've read the TSA's dos and don't info, so now I'm thinking of getting a solid bar conditioner to go with my solid shampoo (avoid the 3 ounce rule!).  The shampoo also works well as soap, but the hotel will probably have some of that.  I might get some Dr. Bronner's soap so I can do laundry in the sink, though.  Mother's Day is Sunday and then I leave Tuesday.  Little bits has a chorus performance that night as well, but I'll miss it.  She can use some of my overtime to pay for therapy, says I!

I'm feeling so excited about my upcoming trip!  I've got the carnet sent in (of course someone after the fact caused me to change one peice of gear for another but it won't _really_ matter... I hope) and most of the gear packed.  I'm reading manuals for a few of the new technologies I'm bringing and  now I'm (finally) starting to think about the language.  They speak Mandarin, although  their own dialect of it.  Basically what this means is that I've got zero chance of surviving without a translator holding my hand.  Still, good fun to try.

"The Lord Honors Your Heart's Intentions"  Huh?  That was the message greeting me at the Chevron on my way to work.  I've mentioned this place before (or intended to... heh) but I get a kick out of either arguing with them or (rarely) agreeing to the things they post on their sign.  These one sided arguments occur at about 0320 and 35 miles per hour so no one else gets to hear them, but they keep me amused.  They have the right to post what they like and I have the right to vehemently disagree.  I wouldn't get gas there anyway since their prices are insanely high.  There are about 2 or 3 places in our neighborhood that have decent gas prices and then there are places where you can be ripped off by any one of four gas stations along two blocks.  The "inspirational" Chevron is from the latter grouping.

Here's where they may have come up with the idea, but does x=y?   I don't think so.

The Gecko tells us that Laxness Cannot Be Forgiven, so I will just say that I'm back.  Then I'm going to leave again.  At least I have the sense to make it somewhere interesting this time!   Oh, and I'm writing again.   It'll be a while before I get back to fanfiction, but I'm writing my own stuff a lot more.  Several projects are percolating about.  About not being sociable here on lj, I apologize.  In June expect me to be a better person.

Peace out!

So my friend Barak was all like, "You are so cool!  I'm glad I'm your friend."  And I was like, "That's just what my friend Hillary said!"  And then my friend Lance came up and... Hm, maybe it wasn't just like that but I've had the chance to meet some cool people lately thanks to my work.  Just yesterday I was hanging out at the Mayflower Hotel.  (Yes, I was so gorgeous that heads turned and citizens locked up their governors!)  But enough about them, let's talk about ME!

Spring Break starts today in our school district.  I'm taking the kids around the East Coast a bit.  We may be in your neighborhood and the lovely make your move wants me to warn you that I'll just leave stuff at your house if you let me in.  

There's a little cold going around and we seem to all have it.  Someone at work suggested it could be allergies, but I had a little fever the other day and took a sick day.  It wasn't entirely a lounge about day since the kids had a dental appointment and then my son bit the numb side of his lip/mouth until it bled and was so swollen it looked like he'd been in a bar brawl ("No, social services, I don't know how it happened.  Maybe he ran into a door?") so the nurse who already doesn't like my attitude sent him home.  He cried great big salty tears over it because it was his day to make a presentation about his favorite things since he was "Citizen of the Week" in class and he was on the agenda and everything!  Luckily we had to go back to school to pick up his sister so we made the extra trip to explain it to his teacher.  Still, the boy was ripped off. 

When school started in September, the teacher explained about "citizen of the week".  It was a chance for everyone to get to know each other, to feel special and to have to speak in front of the class.  The kids bring in photos, toys and the class makes a book about the featured child.  She told us his would come sometime in March.  He dutifully would mention when other kids were highlighted ("Henry R. led the class because he was Citizen of the Week!", etc.) and he would wonder when it would be his turn.  Last week his teacher mentioned it and sent home a little note.  Sure, he gets the week with Good Friday in it, I thought.  We didn't have our fecal matter consolidated enough Sunday night to pack the photos and all, but the teacher said that was fine, he could bring it all in the next day (which he did).  Tuesday came and my kids missed the beginning of school for that dentist appt, then he got sent home, in pain and bloody.  So does my seven year old rail against the unjustness?  Does he demand another week?  No, after his teacher reassured him that he'd get to show do his presentation the next day, he was happy as a clam.  Reminds me of pre-school when he forgot the toys for show and tell.  His teachers said at pick up time that he cheerfully stood up in front of the class and told them all about his clothes.  God I love him. 

This has been consuming my life lately.  I've finished the series, but the site itself is pixel after pixel of danger for me!  Like I need another time waster!  Was OneManga not enough!?  Sigh.  

"Have a good, Good Friday!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day (and happy birthday to dracschick  and a coworker named... Patrick).  We have Irish on all sides (except the Swedish side, I guess) but I don't think we're Irish enough for this to be "our" holiday.  The kids however, have taken notebook or art paper and put up signs in the window that say "Irish here live" or "Irish live here" depending on the order you read it.  Amused the devil out of me.  They are much more Irish thanks to their father's side of the family.   One of his great grandmothers was said to be born on the boat coming over from Ireland.  It was suspected that she was actually born in the Emerald Isle but for her own reasons insisted that she was born en route.  No one has traced her successfully, so there's no way of knowing.

Got to sign up for the MS Walks coming up! 

My son lost his first tooth Sunday night.  Big excitement where we're from.  His sister assisted, of course.  The tooth has looked ready to fall out pretty much since January when it took two major hits in one week.  There was a tooth visible growing in behind it but day after day it stubbornly held on. 

Around 9 that night I was drifting off to sleep and the call came (she used the intercom feature on our phones) that the tooth was out.  Both kids were keyed up and overly tired after a really fun day, including the family concert by the MSO.  Apparently when looking for excuses not to sleep, dentistry came up and... well after some pulling and twisting she managed to get the tooth out.  That led to a round of grandparent and father phone calls so that everyone was kept up to date.  I'd gotten so used to his snaggletooth look that this gap in his mouth is taking some time to get used to.

Lent is on my mind lately.  I didn't grow up observing Lent (Southern Baptist) but since I've been attending an Episcopal church and trying to set a good example for the little ones, I've been trying.  Drank some hot chocolate Saturday night, but Aquazoo pointed out that it was close to Sunday and there's a tradition in some faiths that every Sunday is little Easter, so it was close to being alright.  In past years I've been more extreme, but this year I let it slide without adding any punishments or new fasts.  So that was still fresh in my mind Monday when I came across a piece (through my work) about a church in Massachusetts that's encouraging people to have a "Carbon Fast."  I've heard folks talking about such ideas and I agree with them in spirit, but the way this radio piece was done made it seem so incredibly holier than thou!   "If you  give  up chocolate, who  does that really benefit?"  one woman says (as I recall).  Um, benefit?  The point (as I understand it) is to be reminded daily of the temptations and sacrifices of a man who died for what he believed.  According to the Bible he fasted for 40 days during which he grappled with his ministry and overcame the temptation to turn from the road he was on.  You can give something up or take on new projects that involve some sort of sacrifice (time, energy or money).  I'm pleased that these people are taking on this challenge (reducing their energy usage) but the high they're feeling about their habit changing Lent doesn't mean they are connecting with their faith any more or less than any other Christian who is also observing Lent.  Maybe I was annoyed because they picked my personal choice (although I've also given up Coke, gotten involved in a project at the Church, am praying daily and trying to be more open to talking about religion, especially with my kids) as an example of a "selfish" way to observe Lent. 

One of the many things I find funny across all religions is the way we set up rules and then parse them up in order to either find ways around them or to find more extreme ways to follow them.  People!  Gotta love 'em.

Hey (mostly) local friends!  Anyone want to go see this on Sunday?  Our fave violinist will be performing, of course.  I'm going to call today and get tickets for us but anyone's welcome to join in.  We'll try and see our H-town friends (who we hope will soon be Wheaton friends) while we're there.  If all this is too cryptic, feel free to call or e.

Sweetie's been working way too hard the past two weeks.  I'm glad for him because I know he likes to be productive, but it's also wearing him out.  Send some good thoughts his way if you can.

This Saturday is the birthday of a big boy in Colorado and my kids are all excited about it even from a distance.  We didn't get the cards out, but they've been drawn and may make their way west soon.

Out for now! 

Howdy!  I'm still a bum.  How about you?

The gleeful one has a link to everyone's favorite cartoon (Garfield of course!  Just can't get enough of that Monday hating, lasagna eating, obese feline!)  Reminds me a lot of my favorite Family Circus site, the Nietzsche version.   Take something so familiar that it's a parody of itself and change one element and- Voilà!  It's new and interesting.  Like perhaps my lj?  Where the new element is that I'm posting?

Love to all!

Looks like it's been a little less than a month since I've posted.  No real explanation or excuse.  I think the great dousing of my laptop in juice (the kids knocked a cup of some sort of tropical juice after dinner) corresponded to my absence, but doesn't explain it. 

Assuming my friends will forgive the silence, I'll jump back in.  I've been writing again and my romance novel is coming along as is the framework for a comic.  Went to see a movie recently.  That would be big news in my world if it weren't a kids movie.  I can't really recommend the Spiderwick Chronicles unless you have a child who's read it and/or would be really into it.  To an adult, it was pretty lame.  My daughter assures me that the books (which are more like a series of chapters) are better so we're listening to the first ones on tape.  On her strong recommendation I read Brandon Mull's Fablehaven and enjoyed it. 

Prince of Tennis has ended it's long run.  I'm amused that the big lesson of the last game is (dun, dun, dun) 'Tennis is fun!'  Heh.  My daughter would like you to know that we've also been reading Akuma to Dolce and found it very funny.  Like one of my cool friends, I find myself an unexpected fan of shoujo manga.  Pretty funny since I got into manga via Hellsing. 

In real world plans, my daughter has a choral concert on May 13th if anyone's interested.  It's a county wide honors chorus and they sound pretty good.  Both kids are doing great and my son's interest in space is taking us to NASA later this month for some kind of kid friendly event. 

Found a couple of discs worth writing about at work today.  The Whitsundays' (not "the magnificent Whitsunday Islands, which is made up of 76 pristine islands that lie at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, halfway between Brisbane and Cairns on Australia's East coast," but a Canadian indie band) self titled album is essentially the same sort of tribute band that the Puppini Sister's are.  Where the "sisters" harken back to the Andrews Sisters' style, The Whitsundays remind me of a Brit Pop/psychodelic/boy band with all original songs.  I liked the writing and the song types varied.  Antisocial was my fave, at least on the first spin.  Well worth the time to listen.  Usually when I listen to the radio I comment to myself "Nails," "Beatles," "Stones" depending on whose style is being ripped off by band du jour, but this one is self consciously ripping and yet I couldn't just pick a band to compare it to.  I kept thinking of XTC/Dukes of the Stratosphear but that wasn't quite it.  Give it a listen and tell me what you think. 

Less enchanting was Meg Hutchinson's Come Up Full.  I can't point out exactly why it didn't work for me.  I'm a sucker for alto country/folk singer songwriters and her writing is strong, but... there's a relaxed, breathy, singsong-y style that grated on me by the third song.  Now you may be asking yourself- why post a review of what you don't like since your normal reviews are really recommendations?  I'm glad you asked.  I'm hoping you'll see what I didn't in her.  There are probably a lot of gems on her album and maybe on a mix tape (CD) she'd fit in wonderfully.  So give her a listen and let me know.  Or better yet, make me a mix CD.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAM!  My Best Frisz is getting older, wiser and better looking (if that was possible!).  Love you!

Peace out.

Friday night we were able to hang out with oneskunktodd, aquazoo, ginerva007, tdjewell and other cool folks watching kid friendly anime.  We brought and shared the surreal Princess Tutu and our host shared the first few episodes of One Piece.  I'd heard good things about One Piece and just to be prepared (as overprotective parent) I'd read a few of the manga.  I really enjoyed it.  The US theme song alone is worth the price of admission, if you ask me [here's the video version].  Sweetie tried to join us but was thwarted by a flat tire.  Tonight he's out playing with Pirates (how many with straw hats?). 

Peace out.