fine whine

To have arrived in Hong Kong first, I now realize, gave me something to ease the transition from the red, white and blue to the Red. Hong Kong was different from that to which I am accustomed, and China doubly so.

Hong Kong is busy and runs at a breakneck pace, but there's an overall order (or at least sense) to everything. Not so with big brother China. The entire country is being simultaneously built up and torn down, oftentimes on the same lot. The people and the roads and everything is a chaotic mess, and I was doubly glad that I was in a chauffeured car with a seasoned driver and not behind the wheel myself nor in one of the buses that seemed far more susceptible to being caught in the gridlock. But on the way there traffic was relatively light on the highways and through the streets of Dong Guan.

Much of the scenery was realtively similar once we got past the border (rolling hills covered with trees, low buildings in bad shape, and tall skyscrapers, often all adjacent) so I was flipping through the paper on the way, and I came across my horoscope in both the Zodiac and Chinese systems.

First for Libra I found this:

You've had every right to be furious about the lack of support you're getting from those closest, but they could actually be doing you a favour. As you learn more you'll realise that you were being too optimistic, and their concerns were valid.

And for us Goats:

Don't indulge in rich food and neglect your usual high hygiene standard. You are likely to experience a health crisis which may stem from food poisoning. Likewise, you will need to keep a vigilant eye on your financial matters.

"a health crisis which may stem from food poisoning"? This is not the degree of specificity I usually expect from a newspaper horoscope, nor is this something I particularly want to be reading on my first trip into China, one that will include lunch.