Hello my blogging friends! Do you ever wonder whether you’ve got it in you to string together more than 500 or 1,000 words? Like maybe a whole novel’s worth? I have. Wondered, that is. Then I think, “Yikes. That’s a lotta words.” 1,667 words a day from November 1 to November 30. My birthday is in November. Would that be a birthday gift for myself, or a birthday death? I’m currently not sure. NaNoWriMo is in November. If you are more decisive than I am and want to give it a shot, sign up now. You know, it’s only like 2 or 3 blog posts a day. Connected. In a story. Here’s a good talk-yourself-into-it article posted on a friend’s blog. Maybe I should make this my last spit-in-the-pond before I leave China. It would be nice to have something to show for this little adventure I’ve been on. 50,000 words in 30 days. hmmm. I have this Lewis Carroll poem running through my head:
THE LOBSTER-QUADRILLE
“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail,
“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle — will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?
“You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!”
But the snail replied “Too far, too far!” and gave a look askance —
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.
“What matters it how far we go?” his scaly friend replied.
“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France —
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?”
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?
winner-winner, chicken dinner
Weathering The Journey 
Hey tons of things to say, but my connection is too slow…
-ok, the washing machine, how cool is it that you have a drier, I have to hang my clothes and thus smell mildewy or like a Chinaman…
-Nanorimo, I am checking it, I want to write a novel anyway..
-Leaving China, as in for good or merely to get back to the sane world for a little?
– your style is great, cool, not overdone, hope if you do leave this rock that you continue to write, I am sure you make people happy, hell I even learned about humus, and I barely know what it is….
Great site, too bad for China if you go
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Hmm. I’ve had speed/connection problems lately too. Even on my cell phone. I guess maybe it’s a China Mobile thing. Ah, for the U.S., where competition means you can try three different ISP’s, pay a fortune and get the same, crummy service from all of them… lol.
Yes, even with the perma-wrinkle machine at our old place, I was grateful to have dry clothes. Last winter, I did see an interesting thing here at the Shin Wa Chain Store (supermarket). They were selling a clothes dryer that at first glance looked like a free-standing shower. It had a curtain around it and some bars inside where you could hang clothes, and a fan at the base. I don’t know if it blew heat or just moved the air. The curtain would act to contain the breeze from the fan and thus dry the clothes inside more quickly. I’ve wondered how well these gadgets would work. They certainly won’t hold many clothes.
And yes, also, we’re moving back to the U.S. “for good”. The international schools in our area are notoriously good at sucking kids in, chewing them up, and then spitting them back out. I haven’t commented too much on this here, for reasons of “face” and “guanxi”. Don’t want to make the wrong people mad… At any rate, I have a 16 y.o. living with friends in the U.S. and a 14 y.o. here and I really look forward to us all living in the same house again. I will keep writing. It may be the only way we survive the “reverse culture shock” and besides, I still have to survive my last teenagers. 😉 Who knows where life will take us in the future, maybe someday we’ll be back here. One thing I do know. When I go back to the U.S. starting after the New Year, I plan to learn… SPANISH. It’s so much easier than Chinese and half my family already speaks it due to serving church missions in Latin American countries. And Spanish uses the same alphabet. An alphabet… I really like that concept.
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Great for you and your kids, although it is a loss for China. I have a friend who is concerned for her boy growing up here. She thinks the local one-child policy kids are a poor example of young folks, especially the boys, so wants him to leave. About, the contest, will you be doing it? If so, can you post the name or id you will be writing under, I’d love to follow it. If you dont want to do it here or leave on my site, then feel free to email it to me. For reasons of anonymity, I am doing that under another name ( I think, but am not sure). Anyway, you should have my email from the comments so feel free to use it. Great stuff here, will miss commiserating about the center country.
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