Counting down the days

Things are getting pretty crazy here.  We leave in 2 and a half days and it feels like every time I check something off of my "to-do" list, I add 1 or 2 more things!  I'm sure I wouldn't feel so busy if I didn't have to work and if Trip wasn't consumed with final exams and projects.  He is spending all his free time finishing school, I am spending all my free time getting ourselves ready to go.  It is tiring and stressful, but it is totally worth it!  Plus, if we are sleep deprived when we leave, it will make it easier to sleep on the plan, right?!

On a different note, we finally figured out what to do with Jack while we are gone.  Trip was struck with a brilliant idea about a week ago.  Everyone we normally ask to watch Jack when we are gone has travel plans of their own over the holidays and it was looking like we had no other option but to put Jack into boarding.  I am okay with the idea, especially since the boarding place we looked at was ridiculously clean, but 6 weeks is a really long time!  I couldn't help but worry that Jack might think we had abandoned him, especially since he was abandoned before we found him.

Anyway, we had Tennyson Jr over and in the middle of lunch Trip suddenly asked him what he thought about dog and cat sitting at our place for the next 6 weeks.  It was kind of last minute, but everything has fallen into place.  This is a win win for all parties involved...Trip and I don't have to worry about Jack or Tigger, Dad won't be alone and won't have to clean the litter box, and Tennyson will earn money for school and get to test out living with a roommate.  We are truly blessed to have moments of inspiration and friends who are willing and able to help us out!

We are super excited to be home for the holidays and we can't wait to see our family and friends face to face.  I am even excited to wear sweaters again. 

Thanksgiving in Malaysia

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday.  Since Malaysians don't celebrate Thanksgiving, we didn't get a nice long weekend like everyone back home.  But we made the most of our weekend and had a great time with a bunch of our friends.  The McKinley's were kind enough to host the celebration just like last year.  Trip and I volunteered to make the stuffing this time and it was awesome.  We made so much...we are still eating stuffing!

We also made some cookies.  Scott McKinley had been telling us about these cookies he had grown up with in Pennsylvania called "Gobs".  As it turns out, he was talking about my homemade oreo cookies that I had made for dinner!  I am going to call them Gobs from now on...it sounds much more interesting.

I made more of an effort to take pictures this year.  Unfortunately, I can't upload them right now, so I will have to do that later.

The food was delicious and the company was great!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  :)

IBM Career Day

Previously, I had posted about our Business Leadership Series at INTI.  That has been a project that I find very satisfying and yet somewhat exhausting.  This last week we held an event that was a mix between a Business Leadership Series event (see this website for more info) and a career fair.  It was called IBM Career Day.


We had IBM's HR department come to INTI and spend the day doing career talks for different fields, mock interviews, and administer a pre-employment exam.  We had a great turn out and overall it was a success, especially for being the first event of it's kind, but man, it sure took a lot of my energy!  I was again asked to help manage this event, and while I did not do all the work, I did end up being the one who everyone went to when there was a problem.  The whole week leading up to this event I was working overtime to get things ready.  Thursday was the event and I was so busy that day, I barely managed to take 20 minutes for lunch.  I was so wiped out that I took Friday off, which was good because my feet were still sore and my shoulders were still tense.


I was really proud of this event and how well things went, but I am definitely feeling the effects of working so hard...Trip and I are just getting old I guess.  Anyway, this isn't a very interesting post, but it does give you an idea of what I have been doing this week and why I haven't posted recently.  Trip has also been super busy since school is in it's final month.  He has work projects that are moving forward, school projects that will be due soon, and he is keeping busy with the Young Men in church.  He is constantly sprinting to keep up with everything and will appreciate the Christmas break when it comes!  We will post more when we have had a moment to catch our breath.

Hong Kong - Day 1

I have had such a hard time getting posts up about the family visit to Malaysia because there are just sooo many pictures that I want to share, not enough time to sort through them all, and not enough space to work with.

So, I have been sorting through and narrowing down and I finally decided that I will just have to create a web album to share everything.  For now, here are a few snippets from our first day in Hong Kong.

I can't get over this face!

While I was going through the pictures I noticed that we seem to have a lot of pictures of Preston making eyes at Trip (who was behind the camera).  Hmm...should I be worried?  :P
 

Brayden loves being held in the air.  He open mouth smiles and squeals...it is so cute!

 

Monkey boy!

Something that Trip and I learned about Brayden while he was here is that he loves water.  He is fascinated by it.  Combine that with his love for being held up in the air and he is in heaven!  I know there are a ton of Brayden pictures, but I can't help it.  He is my only nephew, after all!

I love Brayden's fascination with Trip's hair.  He is so cute when he is checking it out.

This was a restaurant that I never thought I would see.  It is toilet themed...need I say more?

The entrance

This is just a cool picture...all done with mirrors!  Trip is the only one taking a picture here.

The table and chairs

The awesome dishes...

There was a picture of Brayden being held in front of one of the little drink urinals, but I can't find it...maybe that's a good thing?

We had a great time walking around the city and spending time together.  We had some laughs at this crazy restaurant and got some beautiful pictures of the city.  I tried to capture all of that in the few pictures that are up here (there are more than a few, I know).  

There is so much more to catch up on that I will try to work double time to get everything up here!

Friends, Family & The Far-East

The title of this post is a little bit restrictive. Between the two of us, Kimberlee and I have lived in 6 timezones, visited every US state, and have traveled to dozens of countries. In all that time we have been blessed to make so many wonderful friends. 

We are also both so lucky to come from amazing families. Our brothers and sisters are awesome. Our parents are loving, supportive, inspiring, and generally cool (yeah Dad, as you say, "It's like riding a bike."). We have a great time with aunts, uncles, and cousins. While we have spent the majority of our married lives closer to Kim's family, we love the Baker side just as much and hope to make our way back to the Northeast in the not too distant future. 

Our lives have been extremely blessed to know so many wonderful people. Couples like Kortney & Rustin, Leslie & Evan, Sandi & Travis, or Hailey & Jeff; that we could spend a lifetime as neighbors, having weekend barbeques and playing games. It seems that everywhere we go, we meet friends like that.

Here in KL we have gotten to know so many great people like Scott & Tobi, who have claimed the right to be a third set of grandparents for our future children. Kim and I love all of the hours we've spent with them enjoying food, fun, and especially Mexican Train together.

Back home in NJ/ OH we'd love to spend more time with Kathy & Chris, Tim & Megan, and especially my Mom & Dad. Which brings me to the point of this post, and the real meaning of the title. Where ever we go in this world we seem to expand our circle of friends & family, but as we continue our trek, we leave behind so many that we wish we could spend more time with. There is never enough time to see everyone. 

I guess the only thing we can do is to take advantage of the opportunities we have and treasure the memories that are made. 

Anniversary Lovin'

This year our wedding anniversary was about as perfect as our wedding, and to me, our wedding was perfect!  We had a lovely anniversary and appreciated all the congratulations received from family and friends.

My original plan for our anniversary was foiled due to unforeseen circumstances, and needless to say, I was pretty disappointed about this the night before our anniversary.  Trip told me not to worry and that he would take me out to dinner and we would still have a good time, so I was satisfied with that.  I had no idea what was coming next!  Here is a list of reasons why my earlier disappointment was turned into blissful satisfaction:

• Just before Trip was leaving to pick me up from work, he told me to look at our blog, and I was surprised by the sweet post he had put up here.  I loved it!
• When he arrived, he not only opened my door for me (which is fairly normal with him), but he also surprised me with a bouquet of purple and white flowers!  The flowers came with such a sweet card; his cards always make me teary.

 

• Dinner wasn't really a surprise, but it was fantastic!  We went to the same restaurant that we went to last year and the food was perfect.  We had Caprese Salad, handmade Gnocchi, Margarita Pizza, and Creme Brulee.  Mmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it! 
• After dinner we came home, and after putting my flowers in a vase, I found a box of chocolates on my pillow with yet another sweet card from my loving husband!  Wow, what did I do to deserve all of this?! 
• I was also treated to a massage, which was awesome and very much needed.

Trip really knows how to treat a lady and I am so lucky to be married to such a thoughtful and caring person!  I love you babe!  You make me smile and I am so happy to be with you!

Three Years of Marital Bliss

Three years ago today, Kim walked down the aisle, tripped on her dress, recovered gracefully and said yes to marrying an awestruck red head. Since then we have had a lot of good times (living at the cabin; adopting Jack & Tigger), a couple of bad times (me being unemployed), countless adventures traveling the world and enjoying life with friends and family.

Three years ago I never imagined that we would be where we are today. I won't pretend to know where we will be in another three years. But I do know that I'll always have my best friend with me no matter what. 

Kimberlee, marrying you is the best thing I have ever done and I am so thankful to have you as my eternal companion. Happy Anniversary! I love you. 

Young Women's Camp

We did Young Women's camp in September this year.  I always enjoy camping with the young women and even though I wasn't looking forward to being away from Trip for a whole week (Young Men's camp was immediately after), I was still looking forward to spending time with the girls.


So far, I have camped in the jungle twice, both times with the young women, and both times very different than any kind of camping I have ever done before!  I think this year takes the cake when it comes to memorable experiences.  There were only 4 YW leaders at the camp this year, and we were short on priesthood support as well.  We didn't have too many girls, so this wasn't really an issue, until it came time for the jungle trek.  With only 1 priesthood leader available, I volunteered to stay back and keep an eye on camp.  This was my crafty plan to try to avoid all the leeches that were sure to be on the trail...it had been raining a lot and leeches were in abundance this year.  If you have never seen a leeche crawling towards your bare flesh, count yourself lucky!


Anyway, our camp was divided into 2 parts; the area with the tents and a concrete bunker where we could lock up our food.  I was in the bunker cleaning up from the morning activities when I noticed a troop of monkeys coming towards the door.  I have heard stories about monkeys getting aggressive around food, so this made me kind of nervous.  I quickly shut and locked the door to prevent any trouble and then watched them leave from the window. 


Not too long after this, I decided that I should go up to check on our tents and make sure everything was okay.  I wasn't really worried about it since we were in a fairly remote location and there were park rangers at the base of the trail leading to the tents.  When I got there, I was completely caught off guard.  There were at least 20 monkeys running around our camp, trash was strewn everywhere and everything was a mess!  I even saw one monkey who had opened a water jug filled with Milo and was sticking his hand in, then licking it off.  I felt like I had walked into a scene from a movie.  I marched right into camp to chase the monkeys away, when I realized that they weren't scared...and they weren't going anywhere!  Instead they were circling around me.  Yikes!  Having pretty much no experience when it comes to monkeys, I decided to retreat before anything happened and call the first person I think of when it comes to monkeys, President Renner, my branch president.  I told him about my predicament and asked him what he thought I should do.  This is pretty much how the conversation went:

• Pres. Renner:  Just grab a stick and start hitting monkeys.  They will get the idea.

• Me:  But won't they charge me or something?

• Pres. Renner:  Oh yeah, they will probably bear their teeth and run at you, but that's why you have the stick.

At this point I'm thinking he is pretty much insane.  20 monkeys + 1 of me = sure disaster, even if I have a stick!

• Me:  What about a Plan B?

• Pres. Renner:  Well, I guess the other thing you could do is get the park rangers to help you.  I will be there in 40 minutes with a slingshot and a bag of marbles.

In case it isn't obvious, I went with plan B.  It seemed safer.  As soon as I hung up with Pres. Renner, I went over to the ranger station.  It was 4:45pm and there was only 1 park ranger left.  I told him about the monkeys being in our camp and he just looked at me for a minute before giving this response:

• Park Ranger:  Where is the rest of your group?

• Me:  They are still trekking.

• Park Ranger:  (silence)

• Me:  So can you help me?

• Park Ranger:  Oh no.  I can't go up there, they will attack me.  I am going home now, have a good night!  (Followed by a hasty drive into the sunset on his scooter)

• Me:  (speechless, and in shock)

This response did not change my opinion of the "stick plan".  Luckily, the rest of the camp returned right about then and we were able to chase the monkeys away.  There is definitely strength in numbers!  Also, the slingshot and marbles helped to keep them away for the rest of camp.  

I don't think I will ever look at monkeys, or park rangers the same again.  This was definitely an experience that I NEVER would have seen coming...how interesting life can be!

Rock the Lord

So today was another wonderful Sunday. I got to talk about General Conference with the Young Men today and share my conversion story with some family of our friend's the Sanders. It got me thinking about my testimony, the decisions I have made to bring me to this point in my life, and my love of the Gospel.

I am so happy about the decision I made almost four years ago to join Christ's restored church. I am amazed at the difference that the Gospel has made in my life and continues to make as I live its principles. I've been blessed to have the opportunity to share this Gospel along side our missionaries and will even be performing my first baptism this upcoming Saturday! Every time I get the chance to teach eternal truthes or bear my testimony of Jesus Christ, I catch a glimpse of a better version of me. Someone who I am not yet, but have faith I can be in the future. With that I'd like to leave you with my testimony. 

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he died for each one of us so that we can have the opportunity to return to live in the presence of God, our Heavenly Father. I know that we are led by living prophets of God and that Thomas Monson is the man that has been called to serve as His prophet today. I know that Joseph Smith was called to be the prophet to usher in the restoration of the church that Christ originally established over 2000 years ago. Finally, I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, that it testifies of Christ and that by living according to its teachings has blessed my life in more ways than I am aware of. 

If you want to read a bit more about my beliefs or how I became a Mormon, then take a look at this.

Caught in the act!

Jack in a box

Captain Jack Sparrow got his name for many reasons.  One is that he is devilishly handsome and scraggly looking all at the same time.  Another reason is that he is also a sneaky little scallywag who tries to get away with anything and everything!

Example #1:  When we first got Jack and Tigger we were living in Salt Lake City.  Our trash can was the kind with the swinging lid, but we had lost the lid in the move, so it was open.  The can was one of the tall kinds though, so Jack and Tigger couldn't get into it.  Neither Trip nor I ever really thought much of it, until we started coming home to the can knocked over, trash all over the floor, and both animals acting guilty.  We couldn't be sure which one was doing it and it just kept happening more and more often.  

Well, one weekend we were at home and upstairs in our room when we heard a dull 'thud'.  Trip and I exchanged a look and without a word, started to sneak downstairs to catch the culprit.  It is important to note that our kitchen was the kind with 2 entrances, one from the hallway and one from the dining room, both of which connect to the stairs.  We quietly went down the hall and peeked around the door into the kitchen to see Tigger sitting in the other doorway looking very concerned and Jack nose deep in the trash with his back to us.  As soon as Tigger saw us she took off, which caught Jack's attention for a moment, but not hearing anything (I think we were both holding our breath at this point) he went right back to what he was chewing.  Trip stepped into the kitchen and was only about a foot away when Jack realized something was wrong.  He looked over his shoulder, got HUGE eyes when he saw us, and took off running out the other doorway.  Unfortunately for Jack, we also had tile floors in the kitchen and he didn't really move anywhere even though his legs were pumping at 100 miles an hour.  

Trip swooped in and caught him before he was able to move more than a few inches and it was all we could do act serious and not laugh right then.  Later, we laughed until we cried at the look on Captain Jack's face.  I wish I had this moment caught on video!  From that day on Jack never knocked over a single garbage can, though he will still grab anything within his reach.  Who says "shock" therapy doesn't work?

Example #2:  Trip and I got Captain Jack and Tigger just after Thanksgiving in 2008.  Since it was the holiday season there was a lot of activity at our place...food, games, and fun.  This also usually means some crumbs and "treats" left on the floor for Jack.  The Captain is shameless when it comes to food and begging...you would think we never feed him!

One evening that winter, Trip and I were sitting in front of the fireplace eating popcorn and reading (how I miss the cool weather now!).  I had dropped a piece of popcorn on the floor and didn't get to it before Tigger pounced.  She wasn't interested in eating it, only in batting it around, so I let her have it and figured Jack would eat it when she was done.  However, Jack didn't know that it was okay for him to eat the popcorn because I didn't think to tell him so.  A few minutes passed, Tigger had moved on to something else, and I had completely forgotten about the popcorn until something caught my eye.

Jack was standing with his back to me and chewing in the weirdest way...it was quiet, and almost like he had peanut butter in his mouth.  I knew it was the popcorn and thought that it was kind of funny for him to be chewing it like that.  I called Trip's attention to him so he could be amused as well, but as soon as I spoke Jack stopped chewing and I thought he might be done.  We called him over to see if he still had the popcorn, and he came walking over as if nothing had happened so we figured he was done and started to return to our books.  As soon as our attention was diverted, we heard a crunching sound and looked just in time to see Jack chew and swallow the popcorn.  The little sneak had been hiding it from us in his mouth because he thought it was a forbidden treat!

We learned that when Jack acts like nothing is wrong, and won't open his mouth, it means he is hiding something.  I have retrieved game pieces, the foot from a chair, and used tissues from the little rascal's mouth.  We have learned to "child proof" our house thanks to Captain Jack.

Who can resist this begging face?!

The Beginning of the End

Today marks the first day of the last semester of Trip's Master's program.  Yay!!  We are pretty excited at how soon he will be finished!  We are also excited because this means that our trip home is coming up.  It has been too long since we saw our friends and family and we can't wait!  Congrats luv!!  Hope this quarter is nice and easy for you  :)

Playing Catch Up

We have been pretty busy the last couple of months.  Here are some of the things we have been up to...

Jack has been helping us wake up, and Trip grew a beard

We have been working hard at INTI

Tigger reminds us not to work too hard

We puppy sat Chi, who might be the cutest little puppy ever

  

I love the look she is giving Trip

We had our hands full with 2 dogs and a cat

We got to play with this little guy!

 The best part of our summer was when the family came out and after all the teasers I have been giving, it's about time I got around to posting about it!  So, coming up next is our month of fun with everyone out here!

A Night's Tale

Tonight, our tale begins at a fairly nice restaurant, where a family of 3 went to dine.  Not so nice that formal dress was required, but nicer than a local Denny's.  

The family should have known that it would be an interesting experience from the moment they walked in.  There are 2 entrances to this fine establishment and when the family first walked in, they were halfway through the restaurant, looking for a table, before anyone even acknowledged their presence.  The woman who finally did notice, kindly asked them to wait to be seated at the other entrance; apparently they could only be seated from one entrance?  So our dear family walked to the doors on the opposite side of the dining area, turned around, and... what do you know... the very same woman has followed them so that she could lead them back to where they were just standing and to seat them at the very table they had been standing next to.

But wait, it gets better...

Our heroes of the tale got their menus and didn't have to wait too long before someone came and asked if we they had ordered yet.  When the response was no, these 3 patrons thought that this kind fellow would help them out, but sadly, he called someone else over to take their order and walked away, leaving them hungry and alone.  They were able to make their requests and satiate their hunger in good time, so they did not suffer long.  When they completed their meal, the desserts were just too tempting to pass up and the family thought that they could quickly add these delicious looking morsels to their order.  

However, after many failed attempts at catching someone's eye (one heroine swears they were all avoiding eye contact with the family), the father figure finally just got up and grabbed 3 menus for the family to look at.  Again they attempted to attract the waiters' attention... waving arms, raising their hands like school children, calling out loud, and even kissing noises failed to attract the attention of the hardworking men and women.  A younger, more feisty member of this family finally decided to take matters into their own hands, so they stood up, walked across the room and told the manager that everyone would like to order dessert.  She came and took the order and our heroes/ heroine thought the fiasco would be over shortly.

But wait, there's more...

After finishing the scrumptious desserts, they again had to throw themselves at the mercy of the wait staff's attention; and again they found themselves lacking that special something, which remains a mystery to us all.  When the family stood up in pretense of walking out, their bill miraculously made it's way to the table.  It was quickly returned with a credit card safely tucked away, and the party of 3 thought that finally they could make their way home in peace.  

But alas, it was not meant to be.  Apparently, all the patrons of the restaurant were preparing to leave at exactly the same time, which, of course resulted in chaos and confusion.  In order for anyone to receive their receipt and credit card, the entire room had to wait as 1 waiter made his way around, returning the other patron's receipts as he went.  One by one he made his way from table to table.  Such patience and diligence has never been seen, ever before, as he waited for each person to sign their receipt and take their card; he did not falter and did not move on until these simple acts were satisfactorily completed.  He did finally make it to our table, where we in turn were able to do our duty as patrons and sign on the dotted line.  Only then was everyone free to go.

Our poor family had waited an additional hour to get their dessert and bill.  I think they should consider themselves lucky, since it could have been worse.  And that is how our tale ends.  Tragedy or comedy?  It's all in the eye of the beholder.

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On a side note, there are some things here that I don't think I will ever get used to...

Long Overdue

It has been so long since I last posted!  We have obviously been busy.  I have also been going through all our pictures from the summer fun we had with family, so there will be some good posts coming up to look forward to.  For now, here are some random pictures from Thailand.  These are some of the good ones that Trip took while I was down with food poisoning.

The night market in Chiang Mai

This Tuk Tuk driver was pretty cool

We will be posting more soon!