Well, here it is. Our departure grows ever more imminent and this will be my last post until after we are settled in India. Every aspect of the relocation has gone like clockwork so far [*knocking on wood*]. We are quite satisfied with the support system in place at State; everyone in the organization has shown us the utmost courtesy and professionalism, and now all that remains is our actual packout which will happen early next week. I'm giving our car, a 1999 Honda Accord, to my folks, and my dad is on his way via Amtrak to pick it up. I would like to take it to India, but I worry about the availability of parts (it is a V-6 and I don't know how common that engine type is in India). Plus, I understand the roads are in very poor shape there and I'd hate to see the vehicle take a beating. It has served us well and has a long life ahead of it. We will most likely buy a second-hand auto after we get there. I'm looking forward to exploring the area and surrounding regions when we have the free time. Right now we are in the midst of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival here in DC. We went to the Tidal Basin today to see the blossoms, along with about 18 million other people. I've never seen the Metro so packed. They actually had attendants standing outside the stations cordoning off the escalators. We caught a break; the weekend forecast called for intermittent showers, and although it was windy and chilly, the sun peeked out this afternoon for the first time in several days, allowing for pleasant viewing, crowds notwithstanding. People come from all over, and I do mean all over. We heard several dialects of Chinese, including 成都话. I've posted some photos below (click on each one for a larger image)...

2004 Cherry Blossom Festival

- posted by Prince Roy @ 4/04/2004 12:50:00 PM| |

 
Technical Difficulties Resolved Everything is good to go now. I was rummaging through my C: drive just now when lo and behold there were the files I needed for East Asian language inputs! I installed them and now everything works. Don't believe me? 看到了我的厉害吧? The downside is that they are not on the reinstall CD, so if I ever have to reinstall Windows I may be in a world of hurt; therefore, I am still going to need a replacement CD. I guess I could just copy them to a blank CD, but since I paid good money for this damn computer I want to get a proper backup version of the operating system. I know my tales of geek woe interest very few of you, and so I promise this will (probably) be the last word.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 4/01/2004 01:40:00 AM| |