Orhan Pamuk has written a strangely haunting book. Part memoir, part history, yet entirely evocation of a mood. The mood Pamuk claims permeates Istanbul is, "hüzün" - a word for which there is no easy English translation. Apparently, it's close to "melancholy" and close to "despair", yet it is more positive than either English equivalent, more ( Read more... )

QiQi has developed a facial tick. Goodness knows where it came from. Now I'm worrying about rabies. (This worry is not as completely random as you might think - of course, I seriously hope it's going to be a waste of a good worry - but there is some backstory that I never gave you.) None of the webpages I've checked have listed facial ticks as an ( Read more... )

yes is a pleasant country ( Read more... )

We flew to Shenzhen yesterday ( Read more... )

The guy with liver failure is worse. His lungs are now infected, so even if they do manage to find the money to pay for the transplant, it is very unlikely to go ahead.

We're either waiting for a miracle or a death.

V would like to fly down to Shenzhen to see him, but as he's been in a coma since Thursday1, and his family are with him, I think ( Read more... )

I had started writing an entry about food safety issues here in China (dire). Then computer crashed while trying to log into internet banking (saga-and-a-half), so, yet again we have a place-holder.

My feet are cold. And I hate working seven days a week for a fortnight at a time. Next weekend, though, I get Saturday off. Yay!

So I am happy.

Last night? I was brooding (about QiQi and potentially ill cats - still a little worried about that one. Oh, and the seriously ill friend).

This weekend? Working, working, working.

...my husband. Who left the dog (the one which had recently recovered from pneumonia) tied up outside the supermarket in the rain for four hours. Because he forgot ( Read more... )

All random ideas have just been lost. V received a phone call from some of our friends. The news is: Geoffrey, a guy I am very, very fond of - without his help V and I wouldn't even be together, let alone married - is seriously ill.
Three years ago he had Hepatitis B (it's endemic in China, as at least 10% of the population here is infected, so ( Read more... )

Dear Internet,

(Actually, dear Friendslist, but as most of them are feeds they won't read this, so the rest of you will have to suffer.)

I am not American. So I can't vote. No matter how much I would like to.

Please stop ordering me to do it.

Thank you.

Me.