Well, I get on the plane to Chicago at 6 am tomorrow. (I have a lo-oong layover in Chicago; long enough to actually call someone up and do something, if I weren't paranoid that leaving the airport would get me on some no-fly list . . . ) I'm almost packed, and I'm sitting in my too, too pleasant house, contemplating one last swim and a trip to Meijers for last-minute gifts. And trying not to think about how, when I land in Beijing on Tuesday, it'll be 100 degrees. Not much I can do to prepare for it; I'm going to be sucker-punched no matter what . . .

In the guise of preparing for my trip, I have been buying electronics. (Yes, they have them in China - but they're really cheaper over here.) I got what I at first considered a completely frivolous purchase until I used it:

Yep. An underwater camera. Won't do me a bit of good in China - but who cares? How did I live this long without one?

More soon.