I’m in Beijing, in a little PC-bar near the hotel that my traveling companion Randy and I stumbled into last night. I was exhausted and slept the sleep of the dead, let me tell you. I actually am just about to go back for a shower and to call my ex-student to meet for lunch and an afternoon of hanging out. I’ll only be in Beijing for a few days, and then onward to Shanghai (another ex-student is helping us book cheap flights there, which cost about as much as a train ticket). First impressions? Reminds me a lot of …

Well, I just printed my e-tickets, and Randy and I are ready to check in. Of course, there’s other stuff to do once that’s done — travel insurance, for example, and a last phone call to Lime — but basically we’re here and ready to go. The snowstorm isn’t quite as intense here as it was on the way, so I’m hoping the flight goes as planned. In other news, important only to me, I decided to bring Stross’s Accelerando instead of the Borges. It’s all a size thing: same strain for the brain, at half the weight and cubic …

Right, that’s me heading off to Beijing tomorrow. I’m nervous, of course, given the anxiety over my health lately, but my doctor gave me the green light. I have another test to do when I return, but other than that, I’ve got a clean bill of health. He actually said my heart’s great (according to an 85% accurate test involving an EKG and a treadmill), my cholesterol and other bloodwork looks wonderful, my blood pressure isn’t significantly high, and that I’m going to live a long life if I cut back on the stress and get more exercise. (He also …