What I'll miss (and not miss) at home.

Dateline: Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport -- Ten minutes before boarding time. Destination: Zurich and then Belgrade. Emotions: Already missing my wife, son, inlaws and everyone else.

It was biting cold in the High Desert -- somehow it seemed colder than it was in Belgrade, but it must be an illusion. I changed my packing and dressing strategies. This time, short-sleeve shirts, more Levis, fewer dress pants, no bulky coats or jackets. Layers. I bought a magical windbreaker that should do the trick when the wind blows so hard that my bones curse me. It rolls up in my computer backpack so I can exercise my right to bare arms and still have some protection.

OK, here are pictures of Xiao Mei's mother and father. I didn't get any pictures of Da Hai (David) 'cuz he was off in his own world -- the world of 16-year-olds or something.

mine-has-to-be-bigger-than-yours-or-I'm-not-a-man trucks and SUVs. That's one of I'm also going to miss the desert. The part I'll miss is the wide open space with the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. The part I won't miss are the giant,the nicest things about Belgrade. Nobody has them. Nobody seems to want them. They're not matters of consequence. As big as I am, I can fit nicely in the front seat of a tiny taxi, thank you.

I'll arrive in Belgrade on Sunday afternoon. It's noon-15, Saturday in California right now -- 9:15 p.m. in Serbia. I'll fly through the night and somehow lose an entire day. I'm supposed to be in one of those emergency exit rows, so I may be able to actually open the laptop and work till the batteries run low. The down side is that my seatback won't go back. I'm wondering how I'll survive without being able to move my head back 1.5 inches (that was sarcasm).

They're starting to board, so I'll race to attach the pictures. Look for more later.

Update: Now I'm in Zurich, Switzerland awaiting my flight to Belgrade. Can you believe the snow here? Did I mention that I decided to carry only light-weight jackets so that I can work with layers? Somehow, I fear I've underestimated the coming of spring.

And for those of you who think I'm not daring, let me describe my breakfast here at the Zurich Airport:

Double Whopper with Cheese -- plain, fries and a Diet Coke. Call me Mr. International!