My Movie.....

Funny how you call it "my" movie, even when you're just a lowly singing extra. It's out. Go see it. The Work and the Glory: American Zion. I haven't seen it yet but intend to go soon! I doubt it stays at the box office for very long. You can see the trailer here: www.americanzion.com I really doubt you'll see me, and even if I can be seen, you'd never recognize me in that beautiful bonnet. If you are wondering why they spent 30 minutes braiding my hair, just to cover it with a bonnet, it's all about authenticity. Here, I am inside a house built for the set, waiting for a scene to finish shooting. They "dirtied up" my black cape. Three months after the movie shoot, I cut 12 inches off my hair (yes, my hair is still long) and donated it to Locks of Love. I don't regret it...but sometimes I miss my hair. My shower drain, however, is much happier. :)

It Could Happen....

And it is! In 8 weeks, I will be here (Beijing train station) to travel to Datong and attend a wedding. 15 days in China -- a dream come true!

Stuck On Words

I was in the bookstore a couple of weeks ago and found a jar of magnetic words (it claims to be magnetic poetry) called Writer's Remedy on sale from $14.95 to a mere $2.00. I now have the cut out words all over a steel panel above the back credenza in my office. Currently "formed" sentences or phrases are:

• I am a blue shadow
• random whispers light fires
• always be conscious of the mean, bad genuis
• don't trap success
• work makes one drink
• you are my muse
• sweet sleep is angel good
• experience life from beneath the green lime
• release of dance is precious and hot
• the desire tree will ferment through strong emotion

Our Love is Sealed....

It is said, at least in China, that if you write your lover's name on a lock and then affix the lock somewhere that is sacred.....your love will be sealed. Hmmmm. I have several locks to buy! :)

Longevity is Too Long!

I left home at 18 and went to college. I had lived in Nashville 18 years; 4.5 years in Knoxville then 4 years in Atlanta and 11.5 years back in Nashville, before heading once more to K-town, where I’m just beyond 6 years. The most I’ve stayed with one employer? 6.5 years. The longest I’ve lived in one residence (not counting childhood home)? 5.75 years. My best paying job also holds the record for my shortest stay: 6 months. Since birth I've lived in 9 homes and 4 apartments. I owned 2 of those homes. 6 years in the first one, 4 years in the second. Presently 2 years in an incredible rental built in 1899. Number of full-time jobs? 11 Number of part-time employers? 25 Longest stint with part-time employer? 2 years. Present employer? It’ll be 5 years in November. Am I getting the itch to move on? A little. I have, however, been a single mother for 20.5 years. See, Mom? There is something I can "stick with!" :)

Good Eatin'

Maybe if I had been born in China, I would never have to worry about dieting. Of course, I also wouldn't be tall. And I do prefer living in a democracy. Ah, well, there are pros and cons to everything. I enjoyed, once again, some delicious shrimp and pork dumplings last night, along with some bok choy, rice and tomatoes with scrambled egg. You're getting jealous because of all this dumpling talk, aren't you? Come on....admit it. :)

Same Time, Different Days

This past Saturday my friends Yeheng and Liyin prepared several traditional Chinese dishes and invited me to join them. I walked to Ruihe’s apartment, who would be making the rice, and where everyone would gather to eat. I met a friend of Ruihe’s, Fran (also from Taiwan), who joined us for dinner. We all sat on the floor around Ruihe’s coffee table to eat. Ruihe served me a traditional drink from Taiwan made from dried plums (which he brought from Taiwan). It was okay, but very salty. We had pork with carrots in a nice broth, green beans with chicken in it, Chinese cabbage, and a dish made up of scrambled egg and large pieces of onion and green peppers. After eating, around 10:00 p.m., Yeheng used Ruihe’s computer and got online to talk with her parents in northern China (in the city of Changchun). It was 10:00 a.m. on Sunday in China. Yeheng was very excited because her family was going to get to meet me (via webcam). I have never used a webcam before so this was a new experience. I was a little self-conscious at first, running my hands through my hair and worrying about how I looked. However, with Yeheng’s boyfriend translating, her parents commented that I was "very beautiful." Of course, there is the possibility that something got turned around in the translation. :) It was very heartwarming to see Yeheng’s mother, father, maternal grandmother, uncle, sister and boyfriend all crowded around the webcam as they spoke to us. Ruihe had a microphone so they could also hear our voices. This is just amazing to me. A young woman in Tennessee can see and speak with her family in northern China, half a world away, in real time through the internet. No wonder letters are becoming obsolete. Yeheng enjoyed having me say the few Mandarin words I know into the microphone. Yeheng’s grandmother, a very small, petite 81 year old, was absolutely adorable as she kept peering into the webcam and never saying anything. I hope to get to meet her one day. I typed several instant messages to Yeheng’s family members and her boyfriend (whom she will become married to in December when she goes home) translated for me. Once again, a comfortable, relaxing time among my new friends.