like a father to impress, like a mother's morning dress

i have somehow contracted an incredibly sore throat, swollen glands, and a penchant for complaining about my sickness to anyone within earshot. i'm wondering if it's because i live 12 stories above a major freeway and keep my windows wide open at night.

the may holiday starts on thursday and involves 8 days off so the boyfriend and i are venturing off to ningbo, followed by the buddhist island of putuo shan, for 3 or so days. i am super excited to get out of hangzhou for a short stint and just chill out on the beach, dig my toes in the sand and savour some good reads. also looking forward to checking out the temples there and eating vegetarian cuisine with monks! other plans for the break include day trip to local tea village, a few solid meals out, and an honest-to-goodness weekend. my birthdays falls on the last day of the holiday - may 8th - so am still trying to figure out how and when to go about celebrating it as we may be returning from putuo shan on that day, followed by a Big Day at The School!

work is keeping me on my toes but a recent week-long visit from a college friend has offered some sweet, sweet respite. we packed a lot in her trip here and had some good girly bonding moments which i have been sorely lacking - most of my friends here are dudes. anyway, the visit was great, i think she had a good time and one of the coolest things was seeing as she was vegetarian, i ate no meat right along with her for the duration of her stay. i felt pretty good after 7 days of eggs and tofu and a lot of meat but the only thing was, i found i was eating a lot more starches to compensate. noodles, rice, bread, blah blah, not the greatest stuff for me.

i've gained a little weight since i've moved back here, about 8 lbs or so, but it's because i reckon i drink too much beer and am getting a little rice-happy. i know what my body likes and doesn't like so i'm just going to try to be more careful from now on.

i think i'm getting a new tattoo - "the dream is ended; this is the morning" - cs lewis quote from the last battle. life is the dream, death is the waking up. i hold this quote close to my heart because i know my dad is experiencing that now, that awakening from this dream world the rest of us are in - i'm just waiting for the morning to come someday so i can see him again.