house, you are dead to me

i'm in p-town for a few days before heading off to dc/new york to hoof it around during the real spring break. i flew in last night very late and crashed until late this morning when LEJ called me and told me to get my ass out of bed. technically, i am still not on vacation. i am two-thirds finished with one paper which i WILL finish tonight and will complete the other one tomorrow.

my parents are selling their house and moving to iowa. there is a sign in front with pretty brochures. the realtor made them clear out most of the house--it is sparsely furnished and there is nothing on the walls except for one non-descript picture. it looks like a show house and it feels like a show house, like no one has ever lived here. it's worse than living in a hotel, because you can't make a mess of any kind. it is extremely clear--all the clutter i am used to is gone. and as a result, the house feels dead to me. it's a shell-- not a home like it used to be. i suppose, though, that this makes it easier to leave. having the house all empty seems to have taken away all the memories--good and bad. it's no longer my home.

i miss nawa. i hope she is not scared with all the new people she is meeting. at least she didn't have to fly anywhere this time.

would any of you like the explain the key differences between the current legal regime for global trade and that for global investment? me neither.