purple room vents: DIDN'T LEAVE THE HOUSE TODAY!!

I had a perfectly lovely day. I spent the whole day, well except when I went to the pool, on my laptop. I LOVE it when I get to spend my day on my laptop...doesn't happen very often.

I didn't get up all that early today. I weighed and have lost a few pounds but my sugar numbers are still sitting at 9, better than 24, where I started. I have to aim for 4. At ten thirty we went over to the pool and did our half hour of walking. The water in that pool is divine!! And I have to admit it is all too easy to talk and talk and talk as we walk. I can see how Tracy can do that so easily. Fortunately Bill throws in his two bits now and then (when I let him, poor guy)!

When I got back here I hopped onto the lappy and started to make reservations for upcoming trips. Hotels, airline tickets, etc... The Paris trip in May is all done, but we are cruising all of Sept. and I needed to figure out the before and after hotels and book flights. Its kind of nerve wracking. I have made a lot of reservations over the years and I have only made two mistakes...but those mistakes haunt me every time I go to hit "confirm".

I ordered theatre tickets once for the play Chicago starring Brooke Shields, which was playing in New York. I asked for the Tuesday evening. In New York, on Tues. morning I pulled them out to take with us. It saved us coming back to the hotel to get them later. When I looked at them they were for Monday. Ahhhhhhhh....$250.00! And once I was booking a one way ticket home from Singapore. I snapped up the cheapest ticket, and it really was cheap, at least half of all the others. It routed through Shanghai, and no matter which way you go its an evil long gruelling trip. Minutes after hitting that confirm button, I noticed that the layover in Shanghai was not 5 hours, which is reasonable and doable, but 15! WTH!!!! It worked out in the end. We stayed in a nearby hotel. But it has put an indelible fear of the confirm button in me.

I received an amazing supportive email today from a friend we made on our China trip a year ago. He is funny, interesting and a very good soul. We had had several conversations with Dean over the Yangzee portion of our trip. On the day we were visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Dean, Bill and I opted to stay on the bus whilst all the others battled the crowds. We had seen it fairly recently. As the bus circled around to where the bus parking lot was, and it was quite a slow long process, I, urgently, and I mean urgently, needed to find a "happy place". OMG!! I finally threw all inhibitions aside and went up and asked the bus driver where I could find a loo. So he pointed to where he would eventually be parking and let me off the bus. He kindly got off with me and asked directions from a shopkeeper, who pointed down the street.

So, I dashed desperately down the street, and thank god, I found the big WC sign. And of course, there was a line up and this was down in a hutong (an old narrow streeted original living area) and these women were astonished to see a big white frowzy me hop into line....and proceed to hop around, I had to go so bad. Finally, all done and euphorically relieved, I came out and couldn't really remember where to go. As I stumbled about, a kind gentlemen led me to the bus area.

I climbed onto that bus to find Bill and Dean sitting there. I figure the only way through an awkward embarrassing moment is to talk. So we got visiting. We had a wonderful conversation that has always stayed with us. He is truly one of the few people, no he is the ONLY person I have met on trips that we have stayed in touch with. So in honour of that meeting, I have gone back to those pics of that trip and picked out a few, just a reminder! TTYL