china: 3 weeks and counting down

Wow . . . only 3 weeks away. It's fast-approaching. It's happening so fast that it's hard to imagine it. Our sensitivity to anything Chinese has been heightened even more with the exposure of the Beijing Olympics.

People seem to be intrigued when we tell them where we are going to go for our vacation. Almost as if they're conflicted between thoughts of what China is becoming (a flourishing, modernized economic superpower, flushed with a renewed interest in tourism, etc.) and "Why the hell would you go to China on vacation?"

We're in full-throttle preparation mode right now . . . reading everything we see having to do with China, watching China specials on the Travel Channel, getting legal documents prepared . . . I'm even taking DAILY Chinese speaking lessons - and I'm getting quite good. Hell, we've even arranged it so that the cats can stay at home while we're gone (we think).

Check out our $300 Visa . . . a friggin sticker in our passport. That's the most expensive piece of paper I believe I own. Even my single share of DreamWorks stock (which I have - framed on paper) isn't worth that much money. For Chrissake.