Puddle Jumping in DCThe Bug Blog is on vacation while Mac & Jen are in China. You can track our travels at There & Back Again.
I figure this is close enough to fit the theme.
Mac with our nephew, Zachary.
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Unblemished white is so unusual in my life. In the U.S. and Japan, white is the traditional bridal color symbolizing purity. In China and India, white is the color of mourning, death, and ghosts. White is the absence of pigment or the presence of the entire light spectrum. In the classic westerns, the hero wears the white hat. |
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| White curtains, white blossoms, white court, but not white things and never white clothing. | ||
| I do spend a lot of time thinking about white balance. Why White Monday? |
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In preparation for the weather in Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi'an, Mac got a haircut. 'Nuff said?
He doesn't look all that different, but the mop is smaller.
We're in full throws of packing/planning. Friday we did a mock travel day and carried all our gear around DC while we picked up our China Visa and ran errands.
Of course, we found ourselves in a tea shop playing cards.
Mac learned that his bags are uncomfortable and awkward. We all agreed to ditch the bags before the 3-day hike at Emei Shan and made list of things that we'd forgotten to pack, didn't leave room for, or should leave behind.
In other news, I've accepted a new job. I will be the media coordinator for Food & Water Watch when we return from China.
Many blogs have a distinct voice, an obvious audience (often grandparents and far flung relatives), or a particular theme (small birds, green living, going on a trip). I'm not sure that the Bug Blog has really found its voice, especially since Bug's presence comes and goes. So, I will be experimenting with voice and theme for a while.
One common blogger device is the game of questionnaire tag. You've probably gotten one by email. Those do not bring focus to a blog unless the author is very creative and they do not appeal to me, personally.
However, some participatory blogger devices are more flexible and visual in nature - this is a visual medium, after all. I'm a particular fan of what used to be Self-portrait Tuesday, the Self-portrait Challenge. (June is Pop-Art so, watch for it.) Stephanie at little birds is prompting a Color Week. She does some nice color themed blog entries and I just might play along this time.
Ok, one last thing:
While there are a few more things to do in here, one of them is the breakfast dishes.
This morning, post Dr.'s office for travel meds, pharmacy, photo shop for visa pictures, and meeting Alex to get his application, we hoped a bus for the Chinese Embassy Visa office, which isn't, by the way, in the Embassy at all. It's way up Wisconsin Avenue between Georgetown and Tenleytown. 
We arrived at the visa office at a little before noon, passed through the metal detectors,drew a number (# 161), and sat down and watched Chinese TV while we waited.
When we arrived, the clerks were serving #149. Folks around us headed up to windows 1 & 2 when called . . . right up to #160, when the office closed for lunch.
So I launched a travel blog called There and Back Again where you'll be able to track all our China adventures.
