Eric's Beijing Diary

Tempe, Arizona. The past two weeks are two of the busiest I have had for a long time. Obviously, Christmas and the New Year’s holiday have something to do with that, but the fact that I am moving has tended to increase the frenzy.

On Monday (December 22), I finally got my visa from the Consulate in LA. That evening, I submitted my resignation to the University here. Wednesday was Christmas Eve, and Thursday was my last Christmas in the US for awhile. Since Chinese schools choose to take their winter break during the Chinese New Year rather than Christmas, I probably will not have a chance to travel to the US for Christmas.

After Christmas, I had to get moved out of my apartment. Moving, for me, is always an onerous process. It’s definitely easier to accumulate junk than it is to get rid of it. It seems that every time I move, I have many more books than I can possibly take with me. The used bookstores are getting pretty picky about what they buy right now, so I finally took a bunch of books to the Salvation Army.

This Monday (December 29), I took the second portion of my Hepatitis sequence at the health department and then flew to Oregon to visit two of my daughters. Tuesday Melissa and I went to Eugene to do some shopping and “hang out.” Wednesday was New Year’s Eve, and Melissa’s birthday party. I had a good time with Heather and Melissa (unfortunately Bug wasn’t able to be there), but I noticed that watching how my daughters have matured tends to make me more aware that I am moving on through the years, ever more confronted by the wretched transitoriness of life. I was talking about getting older, and Melissa said, “What do you mean, getting older? Get a pipe and a rocking chair and you’re there, Dad!”