Leaving Anhui after a week holiday, all full of love, was simply the greatest.

6 weeks later, leaving my wife at Jinan airport, I bawled my eyes out. My handkerchief soaked with tears and sniffles jerking my whole body. Nothing the airline staff could do, would comfort me in the least. I was grateful that my colleague and mate Ivan was there to drag my sulking corpse onto each of the flights.

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Amy is born in the year of the monkey. It was most auspicious to have recently discovered that my birth date falls in the year of the tiger where

• Their energy and love of life are stimulating.
• Tigers are romantic, passionate, and playful.
• They love life and want to live it to the fullest.

If you prefer the alternative low down on your Chinese zodiac, check out Snarling Tiger, Dirty Rat: A Short and Nasty Guide to Embracing Your Inner Beast (by Stella Hyde). The Mating Mistakes combination of a tiger and a monkey are :

Monkeys know how to ride you, and you love having your fur groomed. But then they tease you, and you lose your temper and roar and look foolish.

Amy’s visa came through so quick, it definitely smashed all the Olympic records. A much needed 40kg baggage allowance ticket was found and finally we are counting down the hours. I have arranged Monday off work and my dad has come to help with airport transfer bright and early on Monday morning!

Naturally I’ll be occupied, taking care of MY wife. To keep the rest of you entertained on Monday, don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity :

27^th August; the day the whole world is waiting for.
Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky, starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on 27^th August when Mars comes within 34.65 million miles of Earth. Be sure to watch the sky on 27^th August at 10:30pm. It will look like Earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

石首君 (shi shou jun) is my Chinese name – “Wow!”