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Is it January already?  I don’t feel particularly busy, and yet, when I look at the list of things I needed to get done last week, I’m swamped.  So this is a perfect time to update you on what’s been going on.

This past holiday season, we decided to stay put in Beijing and enjoy the icy cold winds that make winter here so pleasant to avoid.  Savvy had a week off, so we took Reina to the aquarium one afternoon.  Right away, we could tell it was a great idea as she ran around saying, “Fish, fish, fish, ooooh so many fish!”  The big ones thought Reina was food

Five minutes later, she wanted to do anything but look at another fish.  We also invited a few familiar faces over to dinner at our place.  We were a small group, but we still ate most of the food that Savvy prepared.  And those were the highlights of an otherwise quiet holiday. One of these people is not like the other

What I've neglected to do here is post up the final shots of 2008 in a timely manner.  I’ve decided it should be a tradition, and did my best to capture some interesting things in the final days of the year, but the cold weather does make me want to stay indoors.  So I captured one or two from our windows.  FYI, when you open a window on the 21st floor, the wind is even stronger and colder than on the ground.  I’m still looking for a finger donor for the one I lost to frostbite if anyone has one to spare. View from, yes, the toilet window.

Back in November I did a shoot for the magazine CNN Traveler on Peking Duck.  My good friend, Brandon Zatt, came up from Shenzhen to write the story and we spent three days interviewing people on the how to and history, tracking down restaurants and eating far too much duck.  Personally, I don’t care if I ever eat it again.  The story was for the Jan/Feb issue, so it’s out in bookstores now.  I’ve yet to see a copy, so if you see one, have a look and tell me what you think.  I’ll post a shot of the PDF when I get it.  The title is Tender In The Night.  One of these two is BrandonLast week, I took a road trip with the Beijing Wushu Team to Wu Di’s hometown.  I’m still processing everything, but I’ll put something up later.  Here’s a teaser shot. As for the future, I’m gearing up for a 17-day trip to India next month.  I’ll do my best to post once or twice from the road, should time permit.

Oh, and last month Tracey Evans dropped by Beijing for a visit.  This month, it’s Sonia Jin's turn.  Thanks for taking time out of your schedules to say howdy to us in Beijing.