Looks like Andreas is off in MD until Thursday evening. For his boss, "plan" is a four-letter word.

I bought Waiting by Ha Jin on Sunday and I've just finished it. I'm puzzled as to why I finished it so quickly. It's not a long book, about 300 pages, but: the translation is pretty bad (way, way too literal, making most of the sentences awkward and removing any poetry they may have had), the characters aren't compelling (I find that I don't actually care about any of them), the plot isn't action packed (action? What action?), and the pacing is the same throughout the book. It has some wisdom in it, though, and a sense of peace. Don't spend your life waiting for what you think you want; once you get it, it may not live up to your expectations. A bit Russian in its philosophy and feel.

That's it. Exciting, huh?