Crystal Ball, or A Hat of a Different Color

Since I've been to Beijing before, I am going to let Chris tell you about it from his perspective as a first time visitor. But I will tell you one story. Before we left, Chris was worrying about which cap to bring. He could only find his white one with red and blue on it (too cheesily democratic) or one with a big red star on in (too suggestively communistic). I bet him a dollar that before we left Beijing, he would have a chance to buy a very appropriate knockoff Beijing Olympics 2008 cap. He finally found a different color hat to bring. Yesterday after our first breakfast in Beijing, our group met in the lobby and headed out to the bus, which was parked 20 feet from the ostentatious front door. Before we could reach the bus, we were accosted by at least three hawkers selling commemorative 2008 Olympics caps.

Okay, that's my bit on Beijing. What I'm much more interested in is the fact that we are probably going to meet Xuan in Jinan tomorrow. The weather forecast for Sunday, July 29 in Jinan is 85degrees F with 86% humidity and scattered thunderstorms. That proves that sometimes in real life, as in the movies, the weather mirrors the emotional state of the characters involved. If only there was a weather satellite that could predict whether events would follow Hollywood conventions as neatly as it predicts the weather orI predict the availability of hawkers.

I’ve been obsessing for months, or maybe years, about what Xuan will be like. I classify names as suitable for certain categories but not others: extrovert, brainiac or girly-girl and wonder which one best describes her. At no time however has this question seemed more urgent than now, as we wonder how she will initially react to being thrown down the rabbit hole and landing in our universe. We know that we will love her unconditionally whatever kind of personality she has, we just wish we knew what to expect so that we could prepare for it. For lack of more concrete evidence, I’ve begun to look for clues wherever I may find them.

For example, Xuan was born in 2004, the Year of the Monkey. What does that mean? According to Wikipedia, monkeys are quick-witted, creative, charming and generally honest, but with a mischievous and selfish side that can make life difficult for those around them.

Her birthday is June 5. That makes her a Gemini. I had to look that one up too. Wiki didn’t have much to say on Geminis, except that the sign is opposite Sagittarius, which is my sign. I don’t know if that is supposed to be good or bad. But another web page identified positive Gemini traits as: Mental Brilliance, Diplomacy, Vivacity, Enthusiasm, Tact, Cheerfulness, Witty and Versatile and negative one of Prevaricative, Indecisive, Lazy and Untidy. Hmm, surprisingly consistent with monkeys.

Last week I even caught myself reading a Birthday Color book. This was a completely new one, but the description on my birthday’s page was accurate, and printed in my favorite color. Chris’s page was too. So we looked up June 5 and saw the color green, which matches her Chinese “lucky stone.” It said she was energetic and positive with an attractive and sparkly personality. But she needed to work on consistency and organization.

As a firm unbeliever in astrology and superstition (except for St. Christopher of course) I was surprised at the consistency between these three accounts. But before I start developing parenting strategies for an extroverted, energetic little girl with a wicked sense of humor, I should add that after looking up June 5 we also looked up the colors for Chris’ mom and sister and could find no similarities to their personalities at all. Fellow Geminis are John Wayne and Paul McCartney, who are so very much alike. And I don’t know enough about the Chinese zodiac to add any debunking details here, but the fact remains that she is just as likely to be a shy, slow-moving little girl inclined to adhere to concrete moral standards without reference to the particulars of a situation. Which would make her just like her mother.