I like to think of myself as a jet-setter, but anyone who knows me will quickly call me on that bs. Still, I AM back in the US again. Just like that. Don’t get me wrong– John and I haven’t moved back to the States (yet); we are just here on a three-week stint for his work. Yeah, when did we plan this? Uh, the day before. Long story short, John’s company abruptly laid off most of the software development team last week. Fortunately, John’s position was spared but he now faces more pressures and responsibilities. At the moment, much is still up in the air but frankly, I was getting sick of his one month on, one month off schedule. Rather than stay in Shanghai for my handful of classes, I decided to go back with him. So here we are.

I’m such a sorry traveler. I almost lost my cell phone at the airport. Like a total dumbass, I left it on the seat. Minutes later, I was already at the tram stop in the next terminal before I realized my mistake. Argh! I hate losing things… With my blood pressure skyrocketing, I rudely shoved my way onto the next tram heading into the opposite direction and ran back to the waiitng area like a maniac. Can you fucking believe my phone was still there? I was floored. Despite my haste in going back for it, I was fully convinced it was gone. What a pleasant surprise. Humans aren’t all assholes after all.

Yeah, I guess you can say I’ve been depressed lately. The whole month of April was just blah. Difficult to explain but the world was just getting to me. I was starting to think people were inherently evil (I still believe that, actually). I couldn’t deal with all the violence everywhere. Just one example? This ridiculous occupation in Iraq. Bush is such a goddamn, egomaniacal, dick! John and I celebrated our 2-yr anniversary in April, but it was a sad reminder of the continuing chaos in Iraq. The world was just disappointing and depressing me. At the same time, I was getting bummed about own directionlessness. I was doing things I enjoyed and getting into StarPups, but my father’s voice haunting me. “What’s your plan?”

So my latest revelation is that the world is still shitty, but I am of course going to continue in my blessed, overprivileged life. I’m going to focus on learning– it doesn’t matter how I will eventually apply what I learn, but at least, I will work to stay mentally active. I still feel strong pulls toward progressive causes, but I’m just not sure which sub-area: animals, women, environment, etc. There is so much to tackle and I often feel overwhelmed.

I think the logical immediate choice is to continue on my dog work. My buddy Danielle is going to keep me posted on all the happenings in SH regarding the expat animal association, Second Chance (where both of us volunteer). On my flight over, I updated the adoptions page with new pix. Check it out.

Apparently, San Francisco is like dog-lover capital of the world. I knew the place was progressive and animal friendly, but geez, dogs are even allowed on public transportation here! Today, I found a ton of SPCAs in the area, as well as a bunch of doggie day care/training centers. Amazingly, the SF SPCA seems to have sizeable coffers too! Finally, an NGO that doesn’t have to be in financial crisis mode all the damn time!

Okay, well it is 5:30 AM and obviously, I haven’t beat out the jetlag. 🙁 I’d better get to bed now. Driving John to work in the morning.