Been feeling under the weather for the past couple of days, but this morning I finally ventured out, bundled up, and happy for some fresh air. I tried to get some work done at a little local coffee shop, and overheard this, from a British woman: “Can you believe it? My little girl saw all the snow and said, ‘Mommy, did the Beijing government make it snow for Obama?’”
Uh, maybe? Nothing would surprise me. There’s a joke out there; something about how a Chinese city without snow is like a woman without make-up (oh, here it is specifically, from Twitter: @sioksiok When the snow melts in Tianjin, it’s like Maggie Cheung took off her makeup and turned into Jiang Zemin). Ha. Ha.
Not that Beijing is ugly; on the contrary, I think it’s a lovely place, in all seasons. But some folks get uptight about these things. Obama, incidentally, is visiting China soon. The men and women at the Embassy are probably pulling late, late nights in preparation for his visit. These people I sat near were highly stressed—and, I think, talking a little too much in public, if you know what I mean.
I haven’t been keeping track of my NaNoWriMo word counts—mainly because I’m judging my progress by projects completed, rather than words written. I’ve got three things to finish this week, and I’m way behind on email.
More pictures from the day after the snowy day.
