Yesterday I was struck with a mild symptom of retching from bad food of the night before. No big deal, just no food for the day. I took a day off from work to convalescent. But it seems rather silly to waste a full day at home doing nothing but sleep when I still had the energy and the desire to breathe city pollution -- any chance to get away from my suburbia ennui. So, with my The North Face backpack, in it contains Such a Long Journey the novel, an electronic English Chinese dictionary and my digicam to snap pictures, I set off to downtown.

As usual my driving was not intended for any particular destination, just aimlessly burning low-grade fossil fuels. By the way, gasoline price is going through the roof these days.

Taking advantage of the Library parking validation, I once again stroll down to Pershing Square and caught sight of a sparrow bathing in the cool fountain water amidst the blazing sun.

By now I am already tired and hungry from excessive walking. Living in Southern California really will take away your walking tolerance. So I somehow drag myself back into the car and drove myself back to my misery. I am afraid I might not last long enough; I am afraid I will be on a plane back to Taipei next year, before my contract is up...