amyth, may it all get done faster and smoother than you though possible. I can't believe y'all's trip is here!! Seems like forever it's been in the making.

I know! I wish you were coming with! We'll just have to go back again. What's the use of having friends with a house in France if you can't abuse it?

(If only the plane tickets weren't so expensive.)

Off to get a flu shot.

I'm at that place where I have six days' worth of work and personal stuff to do in two days before I leave for my trip. It always happens this way. Or maybe better people are better.

I know I'm not.

I have ordered my rail pass! I finally had to call because my computer refused to recognize the website as a secure site. So, I had to talk to people, but one thing off the list!

My fire alarm is cheeping. I changed the battery, put in a brand-new one, and hooked it back up to the house AC, and it's still cheeping! What else do I need to do to make it stop?

Zen - do you have high humidity in the house right now? I had that problem after getting my carpets cleaned - all the fire alarms started chirping. I had to take the batteries out until the humidity leveled out.

Or maybe better people are better.

I know I'm not.

Me neither. But you'll get it all done, amyth! Or at least as much as you really need to. I hope you have a fantastic time! Eat lots of delicious bread and cheese for me. Mmmmmmm.

sj, yay for getting stuff done!

Andi and Daniel, you all have been in my thoughts these past few days, and I'm vibing hard for a speedy recovery.

Oh, I wanted to mention, because I am very proud of my son, I took Ryan to the playground on Sunday, where there were a couple of other little kids running around. We'd brought his soccer ball (he has a soccer ball) for kicks and throws. The other kids came up and wanted to play too, and rather than getting defensive or possessive, Ryan was very happy to play catch (or, more accurately, 'throw') with them. The staff at childcare tell me that he's very sociable with the other kids there too.

My fondest wish for Ryan (which is enshrined in his Chinese name) is that he grow up to be kind. He can be very shy around new people, although he's a bit of a showoff once he gets used to them. It makes me very happy to see him sharing so easily with other kids.

(One of the parental couples was in a very similar position to WB and myself. A couple around 40, the mother was from Japan rather than China, one boy, no plans for more. Also moved to the area only recently. So that's nice.)

Ok, I have done everything that I can do why still chatting on the internet. My drag my ass out of the apartment now.

My fondest wish for Ryan (which is enshrined in his Chinese name) is that he grow up to be kind.

I'm sure he will, just like his dad.

I am at work, finally.

Yay rail pass, sj!

Kate, I'll eat delicious bread and cheese, just for you. I'm selfless like that.

Zen, I hate that cheeping noise. It used to drive my dog nuts. Like, she had to leave the house nuts. But replacing the batteries did the trick for me, so I don't know.

Which reminds me: I've never replaced the batteries in my smoke detectors in my current apartment. Hmm.