Getting Rolling

Great things are afoot. Let me tell you about a few of them.


This past Friday we struck the outgoing exhibition for the new one that opens in a few days. It was just like a theater strike, except with art. I took apart a display of several hundred bright orange life vests, and almost created a catostrophic pillow fight with them. I ended up working a 13-hour something day, returning home to watch Chinese soap operas while eating Subway (apparently one has the option of adding raw bacon to any sub? I gladly accepted this offer), and going to sleep. It's the working life, and it's real.

The weekend was marvelous. Will and I romped around Carrefour and bought up an unreasonable amount of food. It was used to cook brunches and a terribly tasty dinner last night, where Will, Lisa, Madison and I cooked up chicken beurre blanc, roasted potatoes, mandarin orange salad, and garlic bread with some white wine. It's fun to create a little bit of the West in our kitchen. It makes me appreciate cultural houses and groups and the way they love to cook up their native foods and create a little bit of Home wherever they are. Food seems the surest way to visit another culture. Today we visited our own.

Speaking of food, Saturday night was the best meal I've had yet this trip. A Yale alumni took us out to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant. Now let's talk about the concept of "All-You-Can-Eat". It's a Nobel Prize-worthy idea. But the ambiguity in "can" has haunted me since I first discovered the renowned Pizza Hut lunch buffet in 2005. I mean, I "can" eat a lot, but I will also eat until I'm physically and mentally sick. Perhaps it should be renamed "All-You-Want-To-Eat" for those of us who are less intelligent. But then again, I would always prefer to eat more than less, and I usually do. This one was actually all-you-can-eat-and-drink, which ended in several tastings of sake, Japanese beer, and plum wine - all highly recommended. Until they find a way to idiot-proof the system, I'll be going back for unexplainable amounts of food soon.

Speaking of unexplainable amounts of food, Will and I have plans for a pig roast in the future. Anyone with experience roasting pigs in un-ideal places is asked to please advise.

My friend Ethan came by for a couple of days, on the first stage of his year-long stay in China. God bless him. His adventures and mishaps are on his blog: http://thatstrovewithgods.blogspot.com/

Ethan, Lisa, Will and I had a nice day of tourism Saturday, one point of interest being the "Marriage Market" in People's Square. It's a healthy bit of culture. (Mostly) Parents put up pictures and resumes of their kids in hopes of attracting a husband/wife. The men's resumes typically include height, occupation, and whether or not they have a car. Women's resumes include a picture, height, weight, and whether or not they have a complicated relationship history.

Sunday I got a manicure and pedicure, and (because?) Yale paid. I would explain more, but it would become less of a good story.

I found a track!

Back at work today, busy getting the exhibition ready to open on Wednesday. I'm giving my first guided tour on Friday! Can't wait.