I went to the public library yesterday, because hey, I'm part of the public, right? The librarian seemed to think so. She gave me a card that allows me to steal books, providing I return them after a few weeks. It's a neat building, it has no ground floor because it stands on pillars. I was looking for The Alchemist, because I've always wanted to turn common metals into gold, but it had been signed out. I got Siddhartha and some book on comparative religion instead. Today my buddy Daniel e-mailed me out of the blue and recommended The Alchemist, funny coincidence. He also told me he is moving to China again, lucky guy.

I've been thinking about China a lot today. I hadn't really much since I moved up here. I guess the reason is that Dash just went there. She should be travelling from Hong Kong to Guangzhou today. She sent an e-mail from a hostel saying she had met a Danish couple, so everything should be fine. Nothing bad ever happens when Danes are around. Dash is staying with my friend Vic, and my other friend is meeting her at the train station, and a third friend is going to give her a tour of the city. I kind of had fun planning a trip that I wanted to take, and now I can take it vicariously through her.

I miss the feeling of nothing making sense and everything being weird. One of my teachers says writing is supposed to make the world seem strange again. Moving to another country does a pretty good job of that too. I loved my first night in China. I peered through the bus windows at towering, otherworldly neon signs. My two ton pack was featherlight as I lugged it through midnight traffic, guided only by the memory of an arm gesture. The first person I met lent me her cell phone to call the people who were supposed to pick me up. A good omen it was, the Cantonese are irrepressibly friendly.

Here's a curious video clip. It's part a film about Islam made by Theo Van Gogh (yes, he is related). So controversial was this film that poor Theo was stabbed and shot to death over it. That was by an Islamic extremist in Holland last November. Boy, with this and the Pim Fortuyn incident, I'm pretty glad for boring Canadian politics.