invitation letter and other things

Just as I brought this window up to write a post, I managed to spill an entire cup of coffee across my desk, narrowly missing my computer and passport.  I nearly had a heart attack.  The passport is now on top of my bookcase, where hopefully even I won't have the clumsy skills necessary to spill coffee.

I got a call from China last night, telling me that they had finally gotten the invitation letter.  Apparently the official in charge of signing and sending my letter had been out of town until now, so that explains the delay.  I should get it this Friday at the earliest, and then I will buy a plane ticket for September 9th, if all goes as planned!  I'm just happy to know that the wheels are now in motion.

I would also like to harass the person who decided that the United States would be totally run on 110V while the entire rest of the world runs on 220V.  Rude.  So, I bought a converter/adapter today that I'll use to keep my electronics from going up in flames and smoke.

Mom and I went to Goodwill today, and I found a great hardback copy of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, plus the June 1985 copy of National Geographic with the Afghan girl cover. I am really fascinated by that picture--her eyes are beautiful and intensely haunting.  I'm interested to read the article that goes with it.  Apparently, the photographer went back pretty recently to find the girl, and she had aged a lot since he took the photo.  She's had an unimaginably hard life, I'm sure.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl
Oh, and Gilead is a great read.  We read it this past semester in American Lit, one of the last books on the syllabus, and it was one of the most enjoyable books we read.  It's in a journal/letter format--a minister, who is close to death, writes letters as journal entries to his young son to read.  It is not a hugely exciting or plot-driven book, but there were many sections in it that just hit you with the beauty of language and life.