Although I can't complain, things are not going well for friends and family - nothing overly tragic, but as I said before, 2008 is not a good year for too many in this country and the world.

I could be doing more, but when one has an assignment that sucks the life out of you (if you are not careful), there is very little energy left do to anything else.

I've taken to reading as an escape and both this new book by a comical guy named Troost and a book released in 2005 by a guy known to write stunning nonfiction have me hopping between two worlds.  Let me point out I am escaping into two nonfiction works!

A year or so ago I was gearing up to spend some time in China, as Korea was becoming fairly mundane.  It turned out that I was needed elsewhere and I was both regretful and relieved that my China adventure was not to happen - at least not yet.

The Chinese city for which I was to visit, the culinary specialty was fried duck blood, for god's sake!  Still, China is one exotic place where a middle-aged white guy with a US Passport can travel without too much relative risk.

J. Maarten Troost not only comically and sarcastically captures the essence of visiting China as outsider, but manages to throw in social commentary wherever he happens to drift off to, and he does a lot of drifting.  If I had the actual skills to be a writer, this is a book I'd have loved to write.  He, however, best never return to China, as his observations from this book would likely land him in a labor camp in Outer Mongolia.

John Berendt is known, of course, for his other work of nonfiction that reads as fiction, in a story that takes place in my old home of Savannah, Georgia (read the lower capture in the photo for a hint). 

This book I completely missed when it was released in 2005, and it caught my attention only because of its sale price of $7.99 when I was looking for a cheap read at the Tulsa Airport.

Picture yourself living in Venezia (Venice), Italy a little over a decade ago, in the heart of the city, when the Fenice Opera House burns down.  Then expect to meet a stranger group than in Midnight and take it from there.

Unlike Planet China, this is a slow read with no expected bursts of laughter (as least so far).  But I find it fascinating, especially after spending some six months in Italy.

But note that the furthest north I ever got was Porto Encole; and Northern and Southern Italy are about as dissimilar as New York City and Montgomery, Alabama.

What I find interesting is reading both of these books together.  I mean, I'll take a break and read a chapter or so of each and my brain seems to create a hybrid world somewhere in between.  It makes for some weird dreams as well.  I hate to use the word juxtaposition, but what a great little dual escape, when things are not going so well in the real world.

This weekend - a rushed trip and then off to LA for a month or so the following weekend.  Man, I miss Italy, and I would love to see China after the Olympics, but LA seems a safe haven provided any future earthquakes remain under the 5.8 range for a time.

July 26, 2008

Well, nothing against my new friends in Tulsa (a really great group), but that place is not for me, not for more than a week anyway.  I'm never going to fly on a CRJ200 again, and the only redemption came in a 1st Class upgrade from Memphis to DC - awesome clouds and that great rapid angled decent into Reagan National Airport (for security reasons, so I heard). 

A week or two at home and then off to the City of Angels.  I do miss Europe, but I can't complain about some domestic assignments for a time.  At least I have a job. 

It's hell out there, pure hell, for those that don't.  Thank Mr. Bush and his greedy buddies for our current mess.  Funny how our leaders take all the credit when thing are going well, and point fingers when they are not.  How refreshing to think he and all of his appointees will be gone next year.  If only all the problems that he and his cohorts created here and abroad would disappear as well.  No such luck!  Sorry, I just had to do a little bush bashing after a week in a red state!  Nothing personal guys.

July 22, 2008

It's just plain hot in Tulsa and I can't say I care, as I'll leave by this weekend and will simply return to a slightly less hot Piney Point.  What I like about the city so far is very little traffic and good Mexican Food.  I may have a steak before I leave.  I'm covering for a guy assigned temporarily  elsewhere, but I can't complain, as, at least, the air conditioning works everywhere.  If I were now in Southern Italy, it might not!

July 18, 2008

It's hot and humid in Piney Point, but the mighty Potomac comes to the rescue.  No wonder past US presidents have come here to escape the heat of Washington DC.  At 8:52 PM a full moon and stiff cool breeze from my pier in Potomac Sands make life bearable.

July 12, 2008

Funny, a decade ago my timetable called for me to be semi-retired and bluewater sailing on my Beneteau 57 around about 2008.  But somehow my overly optimistic financial planning back then did not gel into the reality of today.  Not even close!

While it appears unlikely that I'll ever do any blue water sailing, I still love the water and I've had every intention of buying a boat someday.  Then a funny thing happened: properties values took a dive and the stock market followed suit.  Suddenly spending tens of thousands of dollars on what amounts to be a money pit did not make too much sense.

Well through circumstances that I had not planned for, I have become the somewhat reluctant owner of a cute little bass boat, due to a friend of mine that came upon some financial difficulties.  The economy in the US is in the pits and getting worse, and the toys are generally the first to go.  But why reluctant?  Well not any more, as we took her out on the mighty Potomac this weekend.

Initially I thought she would be too small for these waters, yet if conditions are fair, this little gem is a blast in the water.  And in these days of economic gloom and no end it sight of the price of gasoline, small is definitely better.  We cruised around for well over four hours and used but only a half a tank of fuel.

Even though it is a fresh water bass boat, this little Skeeter proved perfectly suitable here on the Potomac Tidal Waters, and is probably ideal for the tamer Patuxent River that borders the North of St. Mary's County.  Now, I just have to learn how to fish!

Da Hood

Here's my first view of my quiet little community from a distance beyond the pier.  One day on the water and one comes to realize the abundance of life in the waters here where to Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay!

July 4, 2008

I should not be complaining, especially after 90, or sometimes 180 days on the road in Asia in 2006 and 2007.  Now the routine is two weeks of travel and two weeks working from the house (generally to close the mounds of electronic paperwork I must generate when I travel).

But now approaching the two-week mark at home, I'm getting a bit bored.  I don't recall ever saying that Piney Point is an exciting place; the lack of excitement is a primary reason that I like it here. 

Yet this 4th of July had to be the dullest day of the year for me.  I could have worked (double time-and-a-half), taken the boat out (the thunderstorms didn't materialize until early evening), gone for a cruise in the Bimmer (oh yeah, premium unleaded is $4.39 a gallon) or just tackled the "to do" list of things around the house, which I will possibly put it up for sale if I ever get the list complete (I have my eye on a bigger one).

But no, I wasted away the cloudy day snoozing and web surfing.  Maybe I needed a wasted day. 

The only redemption came in the form of grilling some steaks & veggies out on the porch and then watching a charming little movie about a French student spending a year in Barcelona - all these tasks performed with a number of cold beers as it was, after all, a holiday.

I have two days to make up for the wasted 4th of July and I should be able to recover the lost time, as the forecast here for the next few days is cloudy mornings and evening thunderstorms.  No doubt I'll be tantalizing you all with details.

Tomorrow, I'll have to do extra duty on the treadmill and take some necessary steps to pull myself out of the doldrums.

Collectively, 2008 does not seem to be a good year at all, as so many are suffering across the globe or in hardship in the US.  For me, friends and family are affected, and that may be wearing me down as well.  I have been out of contact with one friend in China since the earthquake.  I have been hesitant to email her organization, but relieved to see they reported no injuries (or worst) within their group.

Watching Euro 2008 was far more exciting than watching anything political in the US - the damn primaries went on way too long to hold any interest in the mudslinging to come in the months ahead.  We are stuck with Bush for the rest of the year and he seems intent to do more damage before he goes down as the worst president in contemporary history.

The upcoming Olympics in Beijing - even less exciting than the US election, although I can't wait to take advantage of cheap luxury hotel rates once the big crowds depart after the games.

Maybe an escape to Barcelona is just what I need?  Or maybe I just need to get on the road again.  Time for bed; tomorrow has to be a better day.

~~~

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