(no subject)
so... i'm at my brother's house in milwaukee. i wasn't even going to check my email again before i get home tuesday, but i needed pamalama26's phone number, and i was watching coverage of hurricane charlie in florida and was worried about my lj friends from fl.
so i guess today's saturday. it feels like a sunday to me. for no particular reason. just because.
the fam's out at a brewers' game right now, so i have a bit of a break, which is fantastic. i'll use it for this, paper journaling, and trying to make more progress on wild swans. wild swans is another china book, and (just like all the others i've read) it's crazy-good. it takes you right inside the mind of a chinese citizen during mao's reign. it's like reading the story of how i would have been had i been born there and then.
i won't get too into discussion of the rest of my fun times yet. but highlights have included:
-the chicago art institute
-my cousin sandy telling me the history/personality of various chicago neighborhoods as we drive/walk through
-a tour of wbez, the chicago npr station where this american life, wait wait don't tell me, blues before sunrise, and odyssey all come from, among other pri shows
-eating amazingly good food at super hip little restaurants
-seeing my second cousin stephen for the second time ever (last time, he was 7. this time, 15) and finding him disturbingly similar to another of my second cousins on that side of the family who he's never met
-hanging out with my 7 year old second cousin mara
-my nephew micah being super excited to see me (he just turned four. funniest thing he's done so far today: pawing at my upper chest, asking "why do you have a poofy chest?" "because i'm a girl, micah." "noooooo!" then later, he was hitting my glasses and i put my hands over his face and he said, "i don't have glasses." "you don't have glasses, micah?" "nooo! i'm not a girl!")
-hitting a cool indie record shop and secondhand store with heidi, an old roommate, buying cds i've been wanting and cheap cheap classic books
the countdown to china is disturbingly short. exciting, but scary. i've gotten a few more emails from other people going through my program. i've yet to see another girl listed as going:) but it'll be at least six guys and me.
don't forget, if you want a postcard from me while i'm in china, you need to go here. i'll copy the addresses down before i go, so regardless of how internet things go there, you'll get mail.
so i guess today's saturday. it feels like a sunday to me. for no particular reason. just because.
the fam's out at a brewers' game right now, so i have a bit of a break, which is fantastic. i'll use it for this, paper journaling, and trying to make more progress on wild swans. wild swans is another china book, and (just like all the others i've read) it's crazy-good. it takes you right inside the mind of a chinese citizen during mao's reign. it's like reading the story of how i would have been had i been born there and then.
i won't get too into discussion of the rest of my fun times yet. but highlights have included:
-the chicago art institute
-my cousin sandy telling me the history/personality of various chicago neighborhoods as we drive/walk through
-a tour of wbez, the chicago npr station where this american life, wait wait don't tell me, blues before sunrise, and odyssey all come from, among other pri shows
-eating amazingly good food at super hip little restaurants
-seeing my second cousin stephen for the second time ever (last time, he was 7. this time, 15) and finding him disturbingly similar to another of my second cousins on that side of the family who he's never met
-hanging out with my 7 year old second cousin mara
-my nephew micah being super excited to see me (he just turned four. funniest thing he's done so far today: pawing at my upper chest, asking "why do you have a poofy chest?" "because i'm a girl, micah." "noooooo!" then later, he was hitting my glasses and i put my hands over his face and he said, "i don't have glasses." "you don't have glasses, micah?" "nooo! i'm not a girl!")
-hitting a cool indie record shop and secondhand store with heidi, an old roommate, buying cds i've been wanting and cheap cheap classic books
the countdown to china is disturbingly short. exciting, but scary. i've gotten a few more emails from other people going through my program. i've yet to see another girl listed as going:) but it'll be at least six guys and me.
don't forget, if you want a postcard from me while i'm in china, you need to go here. i'll copy the addresses down before i go, so regardless of how internet things go there, you'll get mail.