There is a rush of noise. I wake up first, groggy. I don't know what is happening. Something is banging. Lots of things are banging - the mirror on the bureau, the floor lamp rocking, things in the building. The motion is the motion your pen would make, drawing curlicues on paper. Up and down and around. Suddenly we are holding each other tightly. It goes on - ten seconds? A long ten seconds. It stops. The noise and banging stops. The dogs in the neighborhood bark and fill in the silence. We talk pensively. But it starts again. The banging starts again. Do we get up and stand in the doorframe? I look overhead, nothing but a light fixture, but it seems ok. We ride the motion, the waterbed sloshing. Again it stops. Again the dogs bark. Megan is shaking.

Three days from now I would not have been here - I would have been in Jakarta. Megan would have been alone. That thought scares me more.

My plastic container of dental floss was on the bathroom floor this morning - the only clue from 3:06 AM.

By checking in the local Taipei newspaper, we can consult the Lunar Prophecy. This feature indicates the phase of the moon, and advises you on activities for that day. Wednesday's paper says:

It's a good day for:
Getting married
Making offerings
Moving house
Burials

It's a bad day for:
Installing a bed
Installing a door

I hope you acted accordingly.

It has rained every day for over two weeks. It's raining right now. It drums down on the hard plastic awning over our balcony. I'm truly expecting for houses to start sliding off of Yangminshan. I think Boracay was the last time I saw unadulterated sunshine. I'm heading to Jakarta next week, but without Megan. I'll have to put some sunshine in my carry-on for her.