Whew! John and I flew back from Vegas early yesterday morning. De-planing took a bit longer than expected (we were in the very last row), so I didn’t reach the office until quarter til 10. Of course by then, we had already been up for five hours. I scored major props from the office peeps– they couldn’t believe we had caught the 6:30 flight and reported for work without skipping a beat. Yup. That’s what it’s like being an Olympian-in-training. No complaints: just do it.

We’ve kept up the morning walking regimen for a week now. Still going strong. Every time I find myself dragging ass trying to get up in the morning, I just think of Michael Phelps: 30 hours/week in the pool. Sure, he’s not the only one busting ass for the Olympics. I should just as easily think of Dara Torres… regardless, all the athletes inspire me to work harder. That doesn’t mean I think anything is possible when when I put my mind to it, but I guess I’d say many things are attainable through persistence (DB is coming soon!!).

John and I met with a Mandarin teacher this evening. We were thinking about signing up for Chinese classes through one of the local city parks and rec departments, but I wanted to meet the teach before committing. Yes, I’m really picky about expending my energies to learn simplified rather than traditional text. Anyway, I hadn’t spoken Mandarin in ages, so I was really psyched about busting it out. And the teach seemed really nice; I liked her focus on speaking and reading (less on writing). So, John is enrolling in her beginning class and I’ll join her advanced. Class starts in September, and I cannot wait. 90 minutes/week. Should be fun, and we’ll be in top form just in time for our trip to Taiwan in late November. Btw, heads up to my Shanghai peeps: we’re heading back to the old stomping grounds for a few days in early December. I’m a little apprehensive because I think triggering that nostalgia will make us want to move abroad again, but we’ll see how everything goes. It’ll be nice to see my friends again and also look at how the city has changed. Oh and I’m booking massages for every single day. Seriously.

In other news, work is busy. I’m getting ready to launch a photo contest at the end of this week. Meanwhile, the Google maps nuisance continues… Ugh. I won’t even get into it…

In happier thoughts, this Saturday is Bub and I’s 12-year anniversary. Woo hoo! It’s been a long windy road (and a very bumpy one this last year), but we’re doing much better now. And I have a fun weekend planned.