"Moving home is the next most stressful task next to getting a divorce and changing jobs," a friend once said.
Breakfast time in our house was, until quite recently, a chore for me. My wife, Ellen, had taken to eating bowl after bowl of mung bean soup, and it was my job to buy and cook them.
I received pictures of my daughter floating in bliss on a lake in California. Yes, right there under the sun during the hottest time of the day.
"You are so brave," the dentist exclaims over and over again, tapping Michael's shoulder, until my husband explodes and lets her know that he is not indeed brave and that he wants an injection.
As Ellen wheeled her bike out the door, on her way to work, she stopped and asked, "Stu, why don't you ride a bike?"
While stuck in a traffic jam at Chang'an Avenue, immobile and frustrated, I had the tearful realization that, Beijingers have outgrown their bicycles.
"Walkies!" We don't have to tell them twice. Our two dachshunds, Lulu and Alex, point their ears and bark excitedly.
The other day, Ellen was reading a magazine, and I glanced over her shoulder at a photograph of a rather plain looking woman.
While touring the Forbidden City one day in early July, I was fascinated by the intricate architecture, the enormity of the complex, and the vast history of the palace. But, another thing that grabbed my attention was the heat.
Once, a worker rang my doorbell at 8:10 am to repair the toilet. "I was expecting you early," I said, "but not so early."
I never knew I was fashionable. Not until I got an e-mail telling me I was.
Several years ago I visited the Badaling section of the Great Wall.