China-cidal.

I have been refused rides by four cab drivers today. I have no idea why.

On the way home two nights ago my cab driver was cursing to himself for at least half the ride before speeding off before I could properly get out and close the door. He was angry because one of the main roads was blocked off by police and all of the side streets were stop and go. My 5 minute cab ride home turned into 20 minutes of angry muttering, followed by the unceremonious dumping off, which was then followed by a very mysterious man in my elevator with a secret service-esque ear piece who got off on the 13th floor.

I cannot explain any of this.

This is Marci.

Although Marci cannot explain any of this either, she has managed to keep me sane. She has taught me about foot massages, pointed out that my masseur looks like Chucky from Child's Play, convinced me to stop in Thailand on my way back to Portland, encouraged me to speak more slowly to my office-mates, and given me Tiger Balm for all 500 mosquito bites below my ankles. She also cracks me up by saying that nothing sounds appealing at our quadri-cultural breakfast buffet. Mind you, options range from cocoa crispies to pickled vegetables to miso soup to fresh waffles to steamed dumplings to sausage to beans to salad to canned peaches to yogurt to cheese to made-to-order omelette's to fried rice...you get the point.

Good times and yeah, Marci!

Squint if you have to. It's a mobile chicken coop.

I have 4 whole days left in China before leaving for Thailand on Wednesday. I must say, I am ready. My nerves are fried, my hair looks bad, I almost staged a sit-in in an uncooperative cab tonight...It's getting dicey and I'm beginning to succumb to "China Rage" with greater and greater frequency.

But no matter the minor inconveniences, I will truly miss things like this:

Cover page of China Daily.

For those of you without the ability to read 5 point font, the caption reads as follows: "Cooling-down measures. About 4,000 buses with no air-conditioning have been equipped with buckets of ice since yesterday in Chongqing Municipality. The temperatures in the city have been hovering around 40 C in recent days."

Subject matter aside, the staged-ness of the photo is priceless. And the guy in front who wouldn't play along?!?! I love him.

With that, I am off.

Happy Friday, y'all.