Goodbye, Shanghai!

Tonight is our last night in the city and I'm feeling sentimental. So, so long, Shanghai, I'll miss you. I spent more than two years in China, including my first year and a half of married life. I made a lot of great friends, had a lot of harrowing adventures, learned a lot of new things, and most importantly, became a little more good-natured, patient, and fearless.

Some things I'll miss about Shanghai:

1. Massages.
Plentiful and cheap, massages are perfect whenever I want to think calmly and deeply about work. They're responsible for many of my very best ideas.
2. Taxis.
Wherever, whenever, $3 will get you anywhere worth going. And no need for designated drivers.
3. Traveling.
It may not be logical, but somehow when you already live in a foreign country, the idea of going to other foreign countries just seems so much easier (even when it isn't!)
4. Street vendors selling yams in the winter.
There is no better way to spend a winter day than walking down the street with a warm yam wrapped up in your coat pocket.
5. Not having a car.
See #3. No parking, no tickets, no fill-ups or oil changes, no fender benders.

And, so I don't feel too sad, some things I won't miss about Shanghai:

1. No books.
Soon I'll be back in a place where anything - Bede, Baudrillard, or Bulgakov - is available immediately for the price of a cheap lunch. Shanghai is only the place to read if you're exclusively interested in 19th-century novels, business books, and travel guides. For $30 or more each.
2. The heat, the humidity, the pollution.
You know it's bad when you are eagerly awaiting living in Los Angeles because the air is so cool and clean.
3. Mexican food.
I can't repeat that enough. I've gone too long without a lot of foods, from In n' Out and donuts to fresh artichokes and decent strawberries, but two years without tamales is torture.
4. Missing everything.
People at home are getting married, graduating, having babies, buying houses, and I don't want to miss the fun.
5. Having a car.
Urban parking and driving might be a nightmare, but nothing beats a road trip. An open highway with the company of the radio and a cup of gas station coffee is all I need to be happy.

So goodbye, Shanghai, and hello Los Angeles!

I was very pleased to wake up this morning amid bubble wrap and boxes to find myself on McSweeneys. Now to see if I can get our security deposit back for a double-play.

Welcome, Jacob!

And congratulations to our friends Diane and David on their new baby boy! We've been promised photos soon....

Today the DIAGRAM newsletter went out, alerting people to the new issue, and I was delighted to receive a host of emails the same day: some from old friends who found my name in the magazine and dropped me a line, some from other poets whose work I respect, and one from the editor of another magazine asking me to contribute some more poems.

It's great to see how far-reaching the DIAGRAM subscription model is - many of the people who emailed me were just "regular" people and not other poets, so I'm glad to see that the magazine is getting around.

Speaking of getting around, I'll be doing an interview soon for Hotel St. George Press (check it out - it's pretty much the coolest website I've ever seen). I also have my first Tarpaulin Sky book review coming soon.

Hey Californians: Check out Felicia's reading

My very talented friend Felicia Sullivan (of Small Spiral Notebook) will be reading from her first book, The Sky Isn't Visible From Here, at three bookstores in California. And as a bonus, she will be bringing baked goods!

For more information about both the book and the baked goods, go here.

Wednesday, May 7—SAN FRANCISCO, CA–Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, 7:00 pm

Friday, May 9—LOS ANGELES, CA–Booksoup, 8818 W Sunset Blvd., 7:00 pm

Saturday, May 10–PASADENA, CA– Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., 4:00 pm

exciting news, and the helpful internet

I'm pleased to say that my recent piece "Marcel Proust Discovers LiveJournal" is due to be published on McSweeneys very soon. I've been hoping to work with McSweeneys for awhile (and actively trying to get onboard for the last three months) so this is good news indeed.

And that's not the only reason to be glad for the internet. I also posted a decorating question to one of my new favorite blogs, Apartment Therapy, and they posted it. I got a lot of helpful comments, thinking ahead about decorating our new apartment.

And speaking of new apartments, we'll be back in the U.S. in only 20 days!