Bad, bad girl!

I should probably be punished, but I'm grateful that I won't be. What's the infraction, you ask? Twice, in as many days, I forgot my camera. I can see my dad wagging his finger at me from here! It seems impossibly hard to remember essential things these days. I think a scan of my brain would reveal severely reduced function in all areas and perhaps a few lost toys would show up as well. I'd get a scan but getting pre-approval from my health insurance is just not worth the hassle (I know, their evil plan works!). Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, the camera that I forgot on my walks. I walk the dog every day (the baby gets a walk too, but I'm not sure she cares). There are plenty of days that I don't see anything particularly spectacular or even moderately photo-worthy. Yesterday and today I was caught off guard and, of course, sans camera.

Yesterday, I walked down a road that didn't exist a few hours earlier (no, that is not an exaggeration, the blacktop still smelled fresh as we walked over it--less than a year ago it was a walled-in overgrown migrant worker toilet zone and I have pictures to prove it). I saw some workers wearing bright orange vests but no hardhats, no goggles, no masks. This isn't uncommon in China. In fact, I was actually surprised to see that they appeared to have flame retardant gloves. Now, you might wonder, how on Earth would she know if they were flame retardant? See, the workers were laying down pipes, pretty big ones, and one of them was apparently too long. So, what do you do with a pipe that's too long? You cut it! The thing is, when it's an insulated pipe, that gets a bit tricky. As soon as the saw began to screech and spark against the metal, the insulation burst into flames. So, while worker number 1 managed the saw, sparks flying scarily close to his unprotected face, worker number 2 (or maybe just a really good friend) continued to beat out the flames with his gloves. When worker number 1 successfully cut through the pipe, he joined number 2 in beating the flames. Finally, after what I can only assume was the substantial inhalation of toxic fumes, the fire was out and the men retreated. It's visions like these where all I can say is "This is China."

This morning was a different story. Nothing crazy, no lives or body parts were in danger. I simply woke up at 4 a.m. (and yes, I know it's an ungodly hour), did some yoga, and went for an early walk when Olivia woke up. There was almost nobody out yet, and the weather was perfect. It was actually a bit strange because it smelled more like spring than fall. Maybe it will get warm again before it gets cold. The courtyard is lush and green right now, which is beautiful in and of itself, but the moon was absolutely stunning! It was oddly high in the sky and super bright. It was so clear and bright that I could see the texture caused by the craters. It's hard to explain actually. A very blue sky, orange at the eastern horizon and this bright moon looming overhead. I will bring my camera tomorrow, but I can pretty much guarantee that I will never see anything like that again. In spite of my attempts to show her, I'm not sure Olivia truly appreciated the moment. I'm pretty sure, actually, that all she wanted was for me to continue moving.

Tomorrow, I WILL bring my camera. (And, of course, I won't need it.)