of night markets, rain, and getting older

the gang plan a street food dinner at the night market. i am sorry to report that i decide to have dinner delivered to the room and catch the gradual glowing up of the pagoda.

comes a time a girl has got to say, it's the rainy season in the tropics, guys. gimme my creature comforts. meituan is wonderful. as is dinner.

my year off - robert mccrum (1998)

memoir of a 42-year-old man who suffers a stroke. the account is thoughtful philosophical and surprisingly upbeat. he writes quite beautifully, which restores my confidence in publishers and makes me want to specially read faber & faber books. 

the main beef i have with him is that he is sometimes medically inaccurate, although of course that gives an insight to his perspective. and he is a little medically quaint too, because he writes from a time when people had strokes and left the hospital with just aspirin.

the one thing i learn from him is how fatiguing it can be. 

red eye travel

bloodshot, more like. two sleepless flights and a car ride later we tumble out into a hotel one can only describe as quaint.

on the other hand, the sleeping facilities at kunming airport are wonderful, with a mattress for every budget. it's a near-camping-hostel-living-like experience but very clean.

also, as we descend into the dehong mangshi airport we have to lower the shades on account of security reasons so it all feels very hush hush and momentous.

off again!

always grateful for the opportunity and ever mindful of the privilege of jiving off again.

watch this space!

i've been waitin'

one icky sweaty muggy day and four cold showers later we finally sight the clouds.

actually, five cold showers later.

make that six.

doxology

40 years almost to the day from when we had the first sunday service at the current location. really? that sounds so long ago! i feel young yet. have 40 years passed?

the new building is where HOM and i meet and where we wed and bring up J1 and J2, at least for part of their fragmented childhood. it is the home to which we return from foreign assignments and, these days, from our travel adventures. it is where we are held to the most account, of all the churches and amongst all the small groups.

my heart and my soul swell as we sing, praise God from whom all blessings flow... praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

doctored - charles piller (2025)

 

heavy-going but interesting. a little bit disjointed and kinda messy. you get upset with the villains but unfortunately there is no satisfactory resolution. i guess that is the problem with accounts of history as it unfolds and the end is not written yet. it is a troubling but enlightening read.