Well I am back, settled down after a long day, watching the Food network--the 6 hour time difference and the 3 hour time difference from the West Coast feed makes watching tv sometimes odd.
Yesterday was a double day of lectures: Chinese history and Chinese literature. The literature professor got visible emotional a couple times...I thought he might break out into tears at least twice. Obviously he was quite moved discussing two pieces of classical Chinese literature. Then it was back to the dorm for a quick change, and then go out to dinner. It was supposed to be a large group of people, but in the end, it was a much smaller group. I went to dinner at a beach front hotel, the Outrigger on the Beach (the food was only okay) and to listen to some live Hawaiian music. I tagged along with two professors (and one of their spouses) from Drake University in Des Moines, IA, and it was a fun and interesting night. They are good people, and the couple were originally from Orlando, so it was interesting to chat with them, and to learn about their last two years of global travel, including spending a year in Hong Kong on a Fullbright scholarship.
Anyway, this morning was a class on Chinese art and aesthetics and it was interesting to say the least. This is the last lecture that concentrates on China exclusively for the next 10 days or so, while next week is the Japanese section, which I am looking forward to a great deal. I have learned a lot, don't get me wrong, but for some reason I find Japanese history and culture more interesting than China's. But I have nearly 40 pages of notes to take back with me and lots of cool ideas.
After class ended, I headed back to my room to dump off my notebook, Nook, and grab up my hat, and I headed out for the afternoon. I went to Walmart to get a new watch band (mine broke) and a repair kit; the eyeglass one was like $2 and worked well. Then I walked to the Ward Center, where I went to see the "Dark Knight Rises" this afternoon. I wanted a chance to sit in the A/C and to see this movie. I liked it a lot and thought it was a fitting end to the trilogy. Then it was a stop at the Crazy Shirt store to get the last Kona Brewing Company shirts I didn't own, and then a phone call with a friend. Finally, it was to the Ala Moana mall for two reasons: to get some dinner from the Japanese store and to stop by the Apple store because my battery is starting to protrude from my laptop. I thought it might be an easy fix, but it seems I need to schedule an appointment and bring it in for a tech to take a look at it. I'll schedule that for Monday evening...
Then it was waiting for the bus, a short walk to the dorm across campus, then heat up dinner and eat it. Now just time to relax before I wake up in the morning, get some exercise, and then work on my dissertation. If I get the chapter done tomorrow, I'll figure out what to do on Sunday, otherwise, I'll be working on it on Sunday as well. It may be a boring few days without anything exciting happening. We shall see.
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