So, I spent the last weekend near Newport, Oregon, car camping with the family. Weather was gorgeous, went crabbing and caught nothing legal to keep, which is really fine anyways since actually preparing the bastards to eat is such a pain. Pulling the crab rings was satisfying though. Managed to avoid getting sand/saltwater/smoke into my shiny new corneas, good times.

On the contract drama front, no news, which i am beginning to perceive as good news. I did get an email from the North China Institute of Technology, which I don't remember applying to, telling me that if anything comes up they'll let me know. Unless they're looking for an astronaut ice-cream tester at 10,000 USD a month, I can't really see myself as being too excited.

So, overall, things are looking up. If Beijing doesn't get back to me by the time my work thingy arrives from Xi'an, I think i can safely assume that I'm in the clear. Maybe.

...this is going to be so much more interesting when I actually get to China. I promise.