Surgery in Texas

I flew to Texas on Friday, February 10th. It's a strange thing to leave China at 5:30 p.m. and arrive in Texas around 3 p.m. the same day. I arrived before I left. Or something like that.

The following Tuesday, in Houston, I had cancer screenings, checking the places where cancer reared its ugly head in 2014. It's still all gone!

Then on Wednesday, I had surgery to correct some things from the last surgery. Now I'm back at my parents' house recuperating from that surgery. I have pain. But the surgery went well. I may have to have another surgery another time (another year) to finish up the necessary corrections.

I'll return overseas in early April.

Mimi's in good hands back in the Middle Kingdom, and my parents' new dog is trying to keep me company in the meantime.

My parents are both ill right now with bronchitis. Here's a sample conversation from this morning:

      Mom: Are you feeling better?
      Me: Better than who?

Hopefully we'll all be on the road to health very soon. 

Quiet holiday

I look forward to Chinese New Year. I have my own traditions, many of which involve photography, eating out, soaking in the culture, and chatting with minority groups (for instance, Tibetans or Muslims) that mill around town because they don't celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

But this year, I missed the holiday. The flu bug bit hard. Instead of running around town, I stayed indoors with the heaters running full blast and a fuzzy doggy warming my feet while I laid on the sofa. I finally had to go out a few times: to get medicine, to buy some veggies when I could find a market that finally re-opened, and to pay my phone bill. The roads seemed deserted. I'd never seen the city like this before. With the ban on fireworks in the city limits, it was eerily quiet. No one is scaring off evil spirits as they re-open their shops after the holidays. No one is inviting the "money god" to bring him riches by setting off the loudest pyrotechnics. I really don't know what everyone did this year. I missed it completely.

Hopefully I'll get another chance to celebrate next year.