So, I've already shipped two big boxes of books back home, and I never thought sending them by surface mail would be so friggin' expensive. I had a third box to mail today, which was considerably heavier than the previous two (I have some massive dictionaries and reference books). It was a miracle that I even managed to get it to the post office without throwing out my back. And so I get there, and they tell me it's overweight (maximum weight is 30kg), and to go home and re-pack it into two separate boxes.

I told them in no uncertain terms I was not lugging that thing back home and redoing it, and they'd better give me another box and let me do it right there ... I think they were surprised at how ... uhhh ... "forceful" the 'stupid foreigner' was able to speak to them in their own language (the Chinese and Taiwanese believe that all non-Chinese races are barbarians ... they'll *say* they don't, but they do ... they constantly go on and on about their '5,000 years of glorious civilization' ... bleh) ... well, actually languageS, since I used a few choice words in the local dialect (Taiwanese) to get my point across. So, I finally ended up shipping two boxes of books, both heavy as f***, and got a migraine from the whole experience. Not exactly a pleasant outing ... and I still have quite a few more boxes to ship, and it's getting expensive. Surface mail is supposed to be CHEAP, that's why you have to wait 50-60 days to get your package, but it's like US$70 per 20kg box. I'm sooo NOT happy right now.

In other news, my M.A. thesis is DONE. All of the corrections have been made and it's all printed out. I just need to take it to the printer to make bound copies next week, then turn it in to the Chinese department and wait for them to call me and tell me when I need to take the oral exam.

SOOTB Ch. 11 was posted, and yes, it was not a "happy" chapter. Kitty and I both knew that it would elicit a very emotional response, hence the reason we decided (well, Kitty decided, I just do whatever she tells me! lol) to post Ch. 12 shortly thereafter. So Ch. 12 will be posted on Saturday evening, so for everyone who's having a fit about the ending of Ch. 11, just RELAX, take a few breaths, and wait for Ch. 12 to come out. In other story news, I'm working on Ch. 15 now and it's coming along well. I think once I've gotten through Ch. 16, I might try writing another short story.

And a big thank you to all of you who have stopped by my new discussion forum. It's really taken off, and I'm very pleased with it. The number of postings, replies, and hits have already surpassed a number of forums that have been here for a while, so that's been a really nice surprise. I never expected SOOTB to be so popular, and I've enjoyed all of the comments and the whole writing-editing-posting process. I'd never thought of writing fiction before, but I can now safely say that I've found a new hobby that I really enjoy. I just hope the next serial I decide to do can live up to SOOTB ... it'll be hard to do. Somehow Dom seems to do it, but I am certainly no Dom Luka. *sigh*

Anyway, I need a stiff drink and a nap right now. It's been a rough day!