Update on Mountains, Jobs, and Threesomes, or "Putting the 'Bait' back into 'Jailbait'

So I got real sick of all the bullshit around here, and decided it was time to go hiking. "There is no bullshit in the mountains," this was my thinking. It's 100% true, and has a nice ring to it; I think we can put that little treasure in the canon next to Murphy's Law and the Pythagorean Theorem.

So I took a bus or three and wound up at Bingyugou, a fantastic canyon river surrounded by miles and miles of craggy cliffs and rolling forested hills. The downer was I arrived a little late; in the summer you can float on your back down the river, and up through October you can watch what I imagine is a spectacular display of tree-leaves, but by the time I got there, it was pretty much a cold, lifeless canyon.

But the up-side, of course, was that I was the ONLY PERSON in the entire joint. I hiked for 7 hours and only saw one or two park staff and some farmers; the rest of the time, it was just me and the mountains. Well worth the trade-off. And to be honest, the trees did still have some color; no reds, but some brilliant yellows and that goldish brownish not-quite-dead hanging-on-to-the-tree-for-life sort of resilience that makes being struck by a falling leaf all the more rewarding, like being brushed by an angel in descent.

Anyway, one day in transit and one day of hiking left me feeling MUCH better, and I returned with renewed vim and even some vigor. I've applied for some incredible jobs (NY Times Shanghai bureau anyone?) but we'll just have to wait and see and keep looking in the meantime.

And yes, the threesome. Those of you following my drama with the 18 year-old Mongolian hottie will get a kick of this. Her cousin's in town. Hotter, younger cousin...

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jrechtman at themastersschool dot com