Yesterday (10-18-2017) I went to Xiamen to visit with Liqing’s 7th Aunt and 2nd Brother.  With so many high-rises, trees and lush vegetation by the sea. Xiamen is looking very beautiful.  My hometown Shima (Longhai, Fujian) is also making steady progress, something that no one dared to dream of in Chairman Mao’s era, period.  Enough to eat and easy to move around, that is what any citizen is entitled to.

But I was dog tired yesterday, the reason being my jet-lag got me up at 2 the night before. Then in my trip to Xiamen, I did not get to take a nap. On returning from Xiamen, I got lost, not knowing which bus to take, and not finding my way home (ha ha！）. So tired that I went to bed before 8 last night, and woke up to find the clock pointing to half past five! Ha ha indeed. This might well mean that I've outdone jet-leg in this way. We will see.

I've been to Xiamen and back by boat last year, thinking that I knew all the tricks. On arriving at the Longhai wharf, the bus that used to wait outside the gate was not there. After inquiry, I walked across the street to a huge, newly-built bus station. There were quite a lot of buses, none of which struck some recollection in my memory. Finally, someone pointed me to a bus. The bus fare was cheap, just one Chinese yuan, or $0.15. But it stopped at roads and buildings that I was not familiar with. When I got down at a place I thought I knew, I found roads and alleys completed torn down and blocked, due to the demolition going on in the whole neighborhoods. I did reach home half an hour later, sweating and exhausted.

昨天（2017.10.18）我去厦门看望丽卿的七婶和二兄。靠海的厦门高楼林立，绿树成荫，繁花似锦，实在变得很美丽。家乡龙海石码也有了长足的发展，许多建设，许多设施，是老毛在位时无法梦想的。物质丰富，生活便利，社会体制本该如此。

但昨天好累。特别是我前天晚上2点多就醒来，等于一夜无眠。昨天去厦门没有午睡，回来石码找不到车（！）找不到路（！），走了很久，实在累极了。因此昨夜8点就去睡了。好消息是今早醒来时已经是5点过。如果保持这个记录，就无时差了。

石码到厦门来回我去年走过一次。满以为路懂了。昨天从厦门坐船到普贤，才知道要到对面车站。到了车站，不知道該搭哪辆车。上了车，不知道该从哪下车。下车后，不知东西南北。问了人，才掉头往农贸市场走。本因以此前去轻车熟路了，却处处“此路不通”，因为处处拆迁了。所以，走了弯路，兜来兜去，才大汗淋漓地回到浸水埕。可怜我这个老石码了！