I'm on this kick to be productive these last few days.

Yesterday I woke up at 6 A.M. because I just couldn't sleep anymore. The Beijing/Birmingham time difference is thirteen hours. Right now it is 11:20 A.M. in Birmingham. It is 12:20 P.M. in Beijing. My inner clock is somewhat off kilter.

So, once I was up, I did a load of laundry, walked three miles, studied Lao for about 30 minutes, took a shower...all before 9:30 A.M. I met my family at a mexican restaurant for lunch. Mexican food was something I couldn't really get in China and craved often. I even missed the actual Mexicans, because for some reason they just don't immigrate to Asia, and they are such a permanent fixture in my home community. Once at the restaurant, all I could manage to fit in my stomach was chips, salsa, and rice. Good old rice. We are having a love affair.

In the evening I went to a church to watch my brother sing and play. It was nice because I didn't know anyone in the church so I didn't have to be bothered. I am not ready for a barrage of China questions, you know? Afterwards we went to a 24-hour Mediterranian restaurant where all I could ingest was about 3/4ths of a piece of pita bread and some hummus dip. It is so sad to me that all of the foods I have been craving all year will not fit into my stomach.

After the above, we went home and some of my brother's friends came over to watch one of our many pirated DVD's we purchased in China.

This morning I went to renew my driver's license. The photo on it now looks like I am missing a tooth or something. It's really hot. I saw my old soccer coach at the DMV, but I didn't speak to her, because I have painful memories of the way she treated me due to her superiority complex. She had gained weight. Vengance is mine, saith the Lord.

I am overwhelmed by the loudness, expensiveness, gregariousness, largeness, over-consumption, wastefullness, fastness, that is America.

ckb

Monday, Jun. 30, 2003 at 11:19 AM