t looks like it's gonna be a nice day here. Cold, but nice. I enjoyed the warm weather, but we needed a cold streak

I really want to see some snow. It's January, and there hasn't been any yet.

It's so nice to have TV back. In Italy, generally the only English channel was CNN International, and sometimes BBC News. CNN International would just show about four stories over and over for hours on end, which really confused me -- they're international. They've got a whole world to report on. Couldn't they find some more stories.

Also, one of the stories was a 2006 retrospective that was driving me nuts. They managed to get through the "Rumsfeld resigns" story without once mentioning that plenty of Americans disagreed with most of his in-office decisions. They mentioned international opposition to him, but not American. They even took some footage of someone in the Army saying something like, "Well, a lot of people don't like his decisions, but he's the one who's got to decide," and framed it so that it seemed like the "a lot of people" he was talking about were Iraqis, when I'm just about positive he was referring to Americans.

Also, they had a story about an Israeli Arab rap group where they consistently used "Palestinian" where "Israeli Arab" would be the correct term. Do they not have fact-checkers?

Anyway. This wasn't meant to turn into a CNN International rant. Not quite sure how it got there.

Alone again, for the moment. I drove the Wallybee to the airport this morning, and she called me at about 10:30 pm to confirm she's arrived safely in Shanghai. I won't see her again for two months.

May those 2 months pass swiftily, billytea. Still, it's one step closer to the ultimate goal, having a Mrs. Wallybee billytea on your arm.

Oof, billytea, long separations suck. I hope you guys will be able to email/im/phone lots.

It's chilly but sunny here and I'm taking the kids out regardless. Their noses have finally stopped running and I haven't left the house since Monday afternoon.

I'm officially a crazy person.

A very quick two months to you, bt.

Empress, the hair looks gorgeous! It reminds me of AH's new color.

May those 2 months pass swiftily, billytea. Still, it's one step closer to the ultimate goal, having a Mrs. Wallybee billytea on your arm.

This is true. We've put all the visa application paperwork together, including a written history from each of us detailing our relationship. That was fun to put together. Highlights include meeting online (the internet is a magic place), proposing to her while watching the sunrise at Uluru (her answer: "Here?") and that our relationship has been bookended by penguin movies (March of the Penguins and Happy Feet, of course).

Now, we have to wait and hope for a speedy visa approval. It's going to be lonely coming back to Australia alone after our wedding. I hope I get to greet her at the airport again soon after.

I love hearing When billytea Met Wallybee stories, but now I am impatient for this to have its very deserved happily and togetherly ever after. I hope the two months go quickly. Mrs. Tea!

I love hearing When billytea Met Wallybee stories, but now I am impatient for this to have its very deserved happily and togetherly ever after. I hope the two months go quickly. Mrs. Tea!

Yeah. Why can't this be like a movie, when you'd see a caption that says "Two months later...."

but I think I am gonna keep the length.

What? No mink sleek pixie cut?

::adjusts day's setting to "Mopey / Disconsolate"::

That color looks very good on you, Aims. It may, in fact, be optimal.

What? No mink sleek pixie cut?

Not this time. I'm sorry. Joe rarely makes a request on my hairstyle, so I figure why not this time.