Going to Boston tomorrow. Staying on grandparents' apartment floor, most likely, for lack of space. Packing so far: underwear, jeans, two black tshirts, one other tshirt, Thermarest pad. Add bathroom stuff in the morning. Esp with recent "incidents" in Glasgow, London, not interested in fighting overzealous TSA personnel on orange-red alert--bag will be checked.

Family business, not really fit for this space. I'll bring my phone & charger, a book or two, a deck of cards, probably. It'll be a hard trip. It's been two years, and two years ago it was a hard visit to make. Hoping to find a map of China somewhere, atlas maybe, sit down with family, try to find correct villages to visit next year.

I'll probably watch fireworks over the Charles River. Interesting how holidays signpost where I am (where everyone is) in my life (their lives, respectively). Last year: serving Canadian food on National Mall, fireworks on steps of Lincoln Memorial. Year before: don't want to talk about it. Year before: don't remember. Maybe not this holiday, specifically, but just holidays in general. I should research holidays/school vacay common to HK.

No Internet next week = more time spent with people, doing real things. Internet: out of sight, out of mind. Floor: "firm". Responsibility: kind of a lot, apparently. Fears: (like real, genuine fears, not anxieties, not nervousness:) for sure. Mortality, "heritage", family (its meaning in principle and practice). Sleep quality: poor.