Monday, December 04, 2006
Let it tow, let it tow, let it tow...
We received a prize just for showing up, I think, considering the generator failed as we approached the judge's booth. We all lit sparklers on the back deck and sang the new "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" with the refrain "Let it tow..." We'll have to work out the entire song for next year!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Old friends
Daisen from Kugo-cho
Touristing in Tottori
Friday, September 22, 2006
Turning Japanese, I think I`m turning Japanese, I really think so...
What a trip! A head-trip that is... We all look the same, but a little older, a little wiser, but still essentially the same. Sakaiminato has changed somewhat in the port area and Yonago is creeping outwards. But what a lovely place...
Breakfast awaits. Photos coming. Gambatte ne!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
What's going on?
- Taken the boat to Weems, VA, to have her "bottom" sandblasted and painted anew (I've pasted in a photo of Wendy B pre-sandblast);
- Attended a sub-grants training in Istanbul during the World Cup (Zidane, what were you thinking?);
- Had a restful week in New England at the beginning of July, in which I watched hours of "Project Runway" and decompressed in a rather ugly, couch potato way while my husband read books and broadened his mind;
- Worked on proposals, proposals, and more proposals...;
- Moved out of my apartment and onto the Wendy B full-time.
Where does that leave the summer? Almost over! Sigh.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Bride, groom, and large knife makes for cutting evening
More photos are coming in from family -- Hoang sent the latest batch, which includes this lovely photo of what we hope is not foreshadowing.
Uncle Bruce added some ministerial flavor to the evening by announcing to everyone in my family beforehand that he had noted that 80% of the "cake smashers" (brides and grooms who smash the cake into their new spouses' face instead of feeding it to them lovingly) ended up in divorce. Luckily, unbeknownst to us, we passed the test by gingerly taking up little pieces and having a nibble.
Laurence actually made us wait until we had a plate. I wonder how we can interpret that?
More photos coming!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
How many faux Hawaiian leis can one woman wear?
Apparently, a lot! Here's a lovely photo of me getting decked out for the wedding shower luau, courtesy of Tom. My Ethiopian wedding shawl became entangled in my silk leis. And my grass skirt. I looked fetching.
Julee's shower amongst showers in Hawai'i
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Not DC! Three weeks to go!
We have all these great photos of Hawai'i, but they're still trapped on Laurence's computer, so here's another one of Kabul. Bomb damage. Realidad.
In three weeks from right now -- this very moment -- I will be married. Well, we might be collapsed in a heap of snoring at this moment in time, too, but we will be married. I'm reacting to this right now by doing spring cleaning closet purges, overeating almonds, and watching bad movies. (Or movies I've seen at least four times already because I lived in Bangladesh and had limited access to films I really wanted to see.) Tomorrow is Sunday and perhaps I'll be productive -- I had planned to go and work on the boat to surprise Laurence, but it poured today and dropped about 20', so no work. Perhaps tomorrow... Or perhaps more movies!
Spring has almost sprung. The cherry blossoms have been stripped by stong winds and storms; the leaves on the trees across the street have popped out completely, hiding the attic windows. If only we didn't have so much traffic on the street; it would be so lovely! We can hear the gibbons at the zoo in the morning and the sounds of wildness, mixed with mad mariachi from the predominantly Latino complex next door, makes for a wondrous noise.
Must go and pour through Martha Stewart's finally updated wedding site for inspiration, tinged with a wee bit of depression. These wedding magazines and websites make me blue. Perhaps there's a website out there for fat brides? Fat, cheap brides? (Or, to be PC, I could say "economical brides of size". Still the same thing!)
Three weeks!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Hangin' in Hawai'i
I am at the University of Hawai'i right now, packing up so I can move from the dorm where we've been on retreat for three days to our hotel on Waikiki. Today I officially go on leave for five whole days. And I feel sick: stuffed nose, thick head, swollen eyes, etc. Sigh. What madness. Laurence flies in this afternoon, so he's going to get a "lei" greeting by his very own gal around town, moi. I've decided a mild amount of public embarrassment is a necessary rite of passage here.
Speaking of public embarrassment, we had decided that we needed to do some sort of big team bonding/event during our retreat, so we had planned to go on a luau last Sunday. It poured -- it's been raining here for weeks now and we have had terrible, anti-Hawai'i holiday weather -- and we postponed until Tuesday. Tuesday arrives, clouds heavy in the sky, etc., etc., and we all headed down to the pick-up point at the Ala Manoa Hotel. I noticed that my colleagues seem to have a lot of extra things with them, most notably Jodie with a rather large box. As we stood on the street corner, Jodie began to pull out grass skirts for people to put on...
More anon. Breakfast and other stuff. xx
Monday, March 13, 2006
Quaking in Kabul
My colleague Maureen, who was staying at a local hotel, called the front desk to ask what the commotion was. They told her it was a bomb -- perhaps to ensure she would never forget her first trip to Kabul?
Boom!
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Afghan adventures
What a week! It was the first country visit I've made with a team before, so the entire show didn't depend on me, but rather our Vice President for Finance and Administration. This made the trip infinitely less stressful than other experiences, which gave me an opportunity to really open my eyes and take a look around. A look around from a convoy, admittedly, but a look nonetheless. They take security very seriously in Kabul!
If you're an expat in Afghanistan, you're kind of limited as to what you can do. It also depends on your organization: USG employees do not move from the American compound and live in what other expats liken to "pod living". My dear friend Amanda also says it's "shag fest", since there's nothing else to really do. (Sounds like our experience with rice mill workers in Bangladesh -- there's nothing to do but work and have sex, so the incidence of STDs in the rice areas is quite high, with local NGOs focusing on STD prevention!) For those lucky enough to be based in the town, there's eating out and eating out. We went out multiple times: French, German, Korean, Italian, and Pakistani were our cuisines of choice. And of course Afghan -- we went to a buffet at the InterContinental on Tuesday evening with our senior staff. Yummy, with a huge focus on meat. "Meat!" grinned my colleague Hashmet as the barbecue man came towards us with a massive skewer. "I love meat!"
When we did go out, it was by convoy. Admittedly, a convoy of two cars, both unarmed, but a convoy nonetheless. I think had they been armed I would have refused to go anywhere as the possibility of something going very wrong would have increased exponentially. We had a few little mishaps with cars being separated momentarily, but all went well. No western women were kidnapped during the week I was there, and that's been the standing threat since Clementina Cantoni from CARE International was kidnapped (and released unharmed!) in May 2005. And let that record continue, please.
I must take a nap. More anon.