Trip is famous!

Trip made his debut when he appeared on MSNBC with my dad a few years ago.  The irony of that still kills me.  For those who haven't seen these videos I have included them for your viewing pleasure. 

 

 

His acting skills are obviously in high demand since he was also asked to play a part in the new MBT promotional video.  I think people are drawn to the red hair and can't help but want it in their videos.  In this one, you can actually play "Where's Waldo" with Trip because he is in the background so much!


 
(Trip's part starts at 3:45 for those who don't want to watch the whole thing) 


Anyway, I was thrilled to find this on YouTube the other day so that I can now share it with all of you.  I am less than thrilled that I show up in the background, but not much I can do about it at this point.  Hope you enjoy watching some of these!

Klip Klip

We rode in a similar boat

In Bahasa Malaysia, this means "twinkle" and is also what they call their fireflies.  A couple of weekends ago, Trip and I joined our friends Garratt and Shannan on a visit to Kuala Selangor to enjoy a delicious seafood dinner near the ocean, then travel up a river to see these famous fireflies.

These fireflies were different from the ones we have seen in the US.  They didn't really fly much and their lights were white instead of green.  The most striking difference was the way they blinked.  They would flash so rapidly that it looked like Christmas lights!  It was so surreal and almost magical looking; we felt like we were in a fairy tale.

It was too dark for any of our cameras to work while we were there, but I have managed to find a YouTube video and this picture (taken from Wikipedia) so that you can see if for yourselves.  We will be more than happy to take anyone who visits us to this awesome little place  :)

Guess Who Came to Our Campus??

Yep...this guy!

I never thought that I would ever see a former President of the United States in person.  I like to stay informed in politics, I definitely have an opinion, but I have never gone out of my way to be involved outside of voting.  However, when you are asked to be part of the planning committee to prepare for Laureate's Honorary Chancellor's visit, and that person also happens to be a former US President, you can't help but get excited.

President Bill Clinton came to INTI yesterday, and spent a couple of hours speaking to a select group of students, guests, and staff.  We have spent the last month preparing for his visit and the last two weeks have been a nightmare at work.  I must admit that I am glad it is over.  I was not a huge fan of Clinton in the past, but I did find his speech rather interesting.  The things he had to say were good, and it was kind of nice knowing that he wasn't speaking to win your vote.  I was kind of distracted since I was part of the ushering team and things were happening during his speech, but what I heard was good.  Trip had a great seat...he managed to sit in the second row!  I, on the other hand, ended up in the very back.  Dad got to sit right next to him and of course got his picture taken with Pres Clinton.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures, so I don't have any of my own...oh well.  There are plenty on the internet  :)

Overall, it was a great event, and I am glad it is now over and I can catch up on housework, sleep and other obligations that have been neglected.

Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack...captaining stuff

Trip and I have so many great stories about Captain Jack, and we are always telling them to people, but lately I have been thinking that I need to write them down so we remember all his crazy antics.  One of the things that Jack has started doing is tip-toeing away when he thinks he might be in trouble or he wants to avoid detection.  Yes, that's right, our dog can actually tip-toe!  When The Captain walks normally, you can hear his nails tap against the floor and since we don't have any carpet it's pretty noticeable.  When he tip-toes, he walks so carefully that you can't hear, or can barely hear, his nails on the floor.  It is so funny to watch and I have to get it on video!  Anyway, here is a story that goes along with this new trait.  

Jack has been missing Mumsie ever since she left last Thursday.  When she was here, he slept in her room every night and the few nights we made him stay in our room he pouted by the door the whole time.  He loves his Mumsie! Well, a few nights ago we were getting ready for bed and realized that Jack was nowhere to be seen.  I predicted that he would be on the bed in Mom's room and that is exactly where he was!  Trip brought him into our room, left the door cracked so Tigger could come in, and told Jack to "go home", which means he needs to go to his little doggy bed.  He went glumly and then just gave us this reproachful look while we were reading scriptures and doing our thing.  

Later, after Trip had turned the light off and climbed in bed, I heard Jack quietly tip-toeing somewhere and pointed it out to Trip.  Trip likes to catch Jack in the act (insert another funny story here), so he didn't say anything, just got out of bed and went to turn the light on.  As soon as Trip got out of bed, Captain Jack went silent and we assumed he stopped moving.  It was so dark that Trip actually bumped Jack  with his foot on his way to the light switch...but The Captain held his ground and when that light switched on he didn't move a single hair.  He didn't blink, twitch or anything, just stayed frozen with Trip's foot halfway under him and everything!  I'm pretty sure if we could read his thoughts he would have been telling himself that if he didn't move, then we wouldn't notice him.  It was so funny we just started laughing.  What a funny dog!

"Going Private"

There are several things that I don't like about private blogs.  One is when you find a friend's blog that is private, you have to request permission to view it.  This doesn't seem like it should be a big deal, but sometimes it is.  Sometimes your friend does not give you permission to view their blog when you request it, and then it sends you into a downward spiral of self-doubt and questions.  "What is that supposed to mean?"  "How should I take that?"  "Should I be offended?"  "Should I be worried?!"

And then there are the friends whose blogs were originally public.  You read them, you liked them, you followed them. They decide to go private, ask for your email so they can share it with you, and then never give you permission to view it.  How is one supposed to feel about that?

I have come up with a few explanations for why these things might occur and why you shouldn't let this get to you.

• Perhaps it was an oversight
• Maybe all the email and/or Facebook messages you sent to remind them to share their blog with you scared them off (you could have come across as the stalker type)
• Perhaps they can't remember how to share their blog with others
• Perhaps they turned their blog private and then got in a terrible accident and are in a full body cast so they can't use their arms or hands to type 
• Maybe you smell bad and they can sense it through the computer  
• Maybe a redheaded ninja got to them 
• Chuck Norris told them that if they shared their blog with you, the terrorists win

I am 99.9% sure that one of these explanations is true.  I'm just saying.

Mother Goose or Brother Goose?

This is the picture that Dan, my brother serving a mission for our church, sent Trip and I for our Anniversary.

Thanks Dan.  You really know how to say "Happy Anniversary".  I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but Trip appreciates it.

Dan is serving his mission in the New York, New York South mission.  He has served in the Hamptons and Freeport.  I know he has been other places, but I can't remember where.  We are so proud of him and even though we miss him, we are excited to know that he is having a great experience.  Only one more year until he comes home!

It's Official!

We finally have our tickets to go home!  We fly out Friday night (in December) and get into Philly on Saturday evening.  We are so excited to see everyone and spend time at home.  Both of us are looking forward to this well deserved break.

Both of us have been working so hard with little reprieve.  It's about time we took a vacation  :)