China: The day before ...

So the wife and dog have left me -- relax, they went home to San Diego -- leaving me alone here again in Peoria so that I can resume my daily routine of covering the Padres and stopping by Salty Senorita, where I already know too many of the staff by first name and can probably recite the drinks specials without benefit of a menu.

Yes, it's been a productive spring for me. Hey, I took golf lessons and saw the Foo Fighters. Really, what more can you ask of me?

Anyway, since we have a night game today, I'm doing a little laundry, packing and also downloading Season 2 of Weeds for the Ipod to take on the trip.

Warren Miller, head media relations honcho for the Padres, has already warned me not to bother him on the trip, leaving me 12 or so hours to read, sleep and watch the Ipod before we land in Beijing at, according to my clock, sometime around Memorial Day.

I'll double-check that before we leave, but I know it's a pretty long flight.

Anyway, the plan in Beijing is to write some stories, blog some and generally just enjoy myself. We'll have stories each days and my plan, as it stands, is to take pictures and try to post them.

That's about it, if you have any questions or comments, email me or leave them here. I'm open to any suggestions on places to go, things to do. FYI, someone has already told me about Tsingtao  beer, so I've got that covered. Anyway, until next time ...

Yours truly, your intrepid Padres reporter, Beijing bureau. Corey.