I have nothing to say, but J does, so why doesn't she post?

I am meandering back home. J. asked that I buy cakes for her grandmother and having accoplished that, I feel I can put the day to rest, I've no ambition to do a thing more. I have been pressuring her to post but she's stubborn and lazy, and I mean that in the best way. I am simply jotting down a few notes, before I make one last stop at the pool. I can't seem to wake up today no matter how much coffee I consume. I am hoping the pool will do the trick, if not, I will just go sleep and wait for wednesday morning when I fly to Batam, then ferry to Singapore. I'm a tad nervous about it, but am sure that's unnecessary worry.

In the papers yesterday NBA star Yao Ming advised his countrymen to work on their manners before they host the Olympics in 2008. He thinks they should keep their voices down in restaurants and not butt ahead in long lines. It needed saying, apparently. My own experience is that Yao is on the money. I hate to generalize but the Chinese DO talk very loudly in restaurants and push ahead in lines. Obviously, Americans are a pretty rude lot, but we know the rules of the line. Sitting with a fellow american, two brits and an aussie, I jokingly said that I believe the English are the most polite of Western peoples, followed by Canadians, then Americans and then Austrailians. Then, looking directly at the Brits, I said, "present company excluded, of course." The Aussie said, "he's right. We're a rude lot, we are. But you're very nice for an American." So, the best part about being an American expat is expectations are very low.