Five days before takeoff ...

For the next few weeks, this blog will transform from Plain Ol' Blog to Amazing China Tour! Blog. A fabulous and easy transition, which occurs only because a) I start writing in this thing again, and b) the orchestra goes to China.

Small flurries of excitement are traveling from computer to computer on facebook. Little postings of anticipation have been left on walls everywhere. Juliet posted photos of our most exotic destinations on the still-thriving "Tune That Shit" page. We're all isolated from each other this week, but are united by the unreal prospect of traveling across the world to play some concerts.

It's been five years since I left the US, and for lots of orchestra members, this will be their first international experience. So many things I have difficulty believing: are people really going to stop just to get photos with some white people? Is Robin Fountain really going to conduct the Cowboys Overture in front of thousands of Chinese?

It remains to be seen. I've got a new winter coat, a new digital camera, and a reinvented blog. Tools for traveling success. Now about that long underwear and anti-diarrhea medication ...