The Middle Kingdom

I have to update the blog via a different email address, my gmail
seems to get blocked more by the powers that be than this account. I
can't visit the blog directly, it's blocked as well. I'll play with
this and see if I can keep it. It may be easiest to use a different
blog page altogether.

I should be able to upload pics. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my
adapter to the internet cafe so a kayaking pose will have to do as
guinea pig:

Updating by proxy

Another test to see if I can update my blog via email. In the place
where I am living, some websites can be difficult to load.

Water Resources Science ~ Botany and Plant Pathology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97330
http://www.oregonstate.edu/~frentrej

Packing, Cleaning & Moving

I'm leaving for China in a week and I've spent the last few weeks slowly preparing lists of things to and not to take, both for myself as well as for the intended research I'll be doing while in China. Until now though, I'd done very little actual packing and cleaning; cleaning because I'll be moving out of my apartment and storing my precious free furniture and 'stuff' for my return in September. 

The packing has finally begun and this time I've managed to actually throw out the stuff I don't use - it's easiest to just store it all and plan to sort it later but I know I won't get around to doing it later either. So, piles and boxes are cluttering my apartment, I find I've already packed stuff I need now, let alone while I'm in China, and I haven't labelled any of the boxes (so much for good organization skills). 

No pics of the chaos, you can all imagine it.