I decided to invest in a small piece of Asian art, a resin dragon, which set me back about $20 in Beijing. I'm not sure how many Yuan that was. Anyway, it would just have to get broken in my bag on the plane, wouldn't it? Along with the Chinese paints and calligraphy set I bought... ughh.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller