spotty posting

Yeesh, I haven't been very good about this posting thing. I guess there hasn't been too much worth posting about. I've been much more cloistered in Islamabad even than I was in Kabul, because the office might as well be inside the hotel. Work has been work. The last couple of days were more productive than the Sindh trip and a major concern has finally gone away, so some good news on that front.

Last night I ordered room service and it was actually cheaper than eating in the hotel restaurant. But awkward. I'd never ordered room service before. I didn't want the service part, I just wanted someone to bring me food. I'm happy to roll that cart up to myself, thank you very much. Weird. Also, yesterday I took my blazer down to the tailor on the ground floor to have the sleeves shortened a little bit and I might get a shirt made while I'm at it. It's pretty darn cheap, so why not?

I guess the one big thing to talk about is...cricket. That's right, I am completely pumped about the Cricket World Cup. Today, as I write this, Sri Lanka is crushing New Zealand in the first semifinal. Tomorrow, the reason I'm so excited: Pakistan vs. India in the second semifinal. This match has merited at least two above-the-fold stories in the newspaper every day since last week. The prime ministers of the two countries are going to watch it together in the stadium. (The match is being played in Mohali, India.) Basically, we have nothing in US sports that approaches this in terms of cultural significance or volume of fan support on either side. "Cricket diplomacy" is the topic of sober opinion pieces. No work will get done here after about 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, when they do the coin toss to determine who bats first.

God, I love sports. All sports. Even if I barely know what's going on -- and I can follow cricket pretty well now -- I get so much pleasure out of watching them.

In other news, I finished Maps and Legends. Liked very much for the most part. Chabon has interesting things to say and, when he doesn't get carried away within his sentences, he says them extremely well. Now I'm reading Chekhov's The Duel. And right now, I'm going to work out quickly and then eat dinner.