My friend Leo would tell me that one day is just like the next. Leo used to be Buddhist, but he doesn’t always agree with himself on this.
Moday, while we were running around Jin Xian and then unable to get online, I missed wishing my “little brother” Robby a happy birthday. Even though the internet is “fixed,” we still have trouble getting online. Take right now for example. I’m typing this in Notepad cause I can’t sign in. As a result, on Wednesday I missed two more birthdays due to lack of access. I’m hoping I can get on soon, because Saturday and Sunday are two more birthdays (students), and I’m sharing Monday with Megan’s mom! August is a very busy month.
There are two happy boxes in festive paper on top of Becki’s wardrobe. They are a little bit squished from being shoved into my suitcase with Becki’s shopping list, but the squishing wasn’t too bad. One of these boxes has my name on it. The other is for Becki. Her birthday is after I get home, but her parents wanted to be sure she got it, so here it is.
Good grief, I’m getting old! I have friends who are 30! I also have friends who are nearly 40 or past 50. These don’t sound old, but 30 sure does. Odd how that works. I have a few years yet before 30, but it sure is getting close. I started realizing this last fall when Patrick and Jason both turned thirty. I shouldn’t worry too much about thirty, though. Becki likes to joke that 28 is the really big deal. “It’s all downhill from there,” she claims, but this only applies to me, apparently. That’s only a year away. I guess I’d better start living, right? ;)
On a completely different note, we had Uighur food for I think the fifth time last night. There is a street vendor near here who sells yang rou quar (pronounced yawn row chwahr). That would be lamb on a stick. We get some la spicy some yi dian la a little spicy and some bu la -not spicy. Ten sticks of lamb and two pieces of bread is sufficient for the two of us, and it costs 11 RMB. (8 RMB = 1 USD) Yup, a yummy dinner for two is just under a buck fifty! I love it! Last night, though, we went to an actual restaurant. SO GOOD! I really really like yang rou!
Tomorrow we get to go all over Tianjin. We have fabric at three tailors and pictures at a framer. One tailor is making skirts, one is making a Chineseish outfit for me, and the third is making curtains for Becki. Some of the pictures are from Becki’s Thailand trip, and the one for me is a really pretty picture of elephants. Me like.
I’m not really sure what the next few days will bring, but it’ll be fun. Then comes Monday!
