Seduction of Summer

In the land of smiles, and endless summer, the "real" summer pulls you in, like an undertow that you didn't notice until you're completely sucked in, rolling about, and finally shot out the other side of the wave, completely disoriented and exhilarated!

Departures commence next week as Lukas heads to NH, and "wheels up" for the kids and I next month; we'll hit the ground running, with a stop in MD to visit Nellie, before picking Mike up and heading north for stops all around New England, NY and back to DC.

Micah brought home a very respectable report card yesterday - There is hope for him yet :-) Just between you and I, I am going to miss that kid so much next year... he starts high school in the fall, at a Christian boarding school in NY, about a 90 minute drive from his grandparents' house.

 I don't think he's going to miss his friends very much, now that they all live and socialize in the magical, virtual World of Warcraft. And to answer the question that is sure to be nagging you right about now... Mary had a very good year and a fantastic report card as well.

I am scheduled for back surgery on July 1st. The doctor tracked down an FDA approved device that will wedge my vertebrae apart and keep it from impinging on my sciatic nerve, which can cause excruciating pain at times. It's not easy getting old, or so I am told on a daily basis.

We're having a brunch this weekend to say goodbye to Jeff Hill and David Aliprandi, and welcome Doyle Lee, Scott Baughn and Marcus Cox. The menu is set for Sangria, Mimosas and a variety of breakfast foods. Stefan is coming down from Chiang Mai to join us (and fix our routers!)

This is the first Friday, in about a month, that actually feels like a Friday! We haven't worked a full work week since before the Red Shirt protests. This has been the first, and it wasn't all that bad. I even managed to make it to the gym a couple of times.

My Facebook Phase is DONE

I had given up on the blog for a few months, in search of an easier way to keep people posted about our experiences in Bangkok. And when I say "people", I mean my parents... when I say "our experiences", I mean the kids, of course. But I'm pretty sick of Facebook now... too much "noise"! I had to cut my Facebook friends to 17 (20 max!) I don’t think people were too happy... de-friending someone on FB, for no apparent reason, can be interpreted as a very rude gesture.

We have had one helluva month here in the Big Bang... The Embassy was closed from May 14 - May 24th. Mike arrived home on the 16th and had to stay at a hotel, close to the Embassy since he was considered essential personnel. Once things got a little too crazy, I just grabbed the kids and made a mad dash to the closest beach... referred to as the "Bangkok is Burning Beach Getaway"

Things seem to be back to normal, but somehow this incident has changed the course of destiny for all of us. For example, Micah can't wait to get back to the US for good. We have been looking into the boarding school option once we depart Thailand, but Micah is determined to get a jump start on that plan this year.

We have found a very nice, Christian boarding school in NY, close to Jamestown, called Houghton Academy. As it turns out, they still have some availability for the 2010 school year. We are scrambling to submit his application and gain acceptance, without jeopardizing his spot at NIST (just in case...)

Mike and I are getting out of town this weekend. There is a Thai holiday on Friday and a US holiday on Monday. We're finally going to see Phuket! We've booked a beautiful spot on the southern tip of the island called Naiharn Beach.

Other notable events since my last post:

October 09' - Habitat for Humanity work in Chiang Mai... blew out my back and have been suffering ever since.

April 10' - Miserable, yet productive, trip to Ethiopia... caught a cold, aggravated my back injury.  But the food and the coffee... off the charts!!

May 10' - Looking forward to some kind of back surgery in the States this summer.

Facebook

I've been ignoring the blog lately because of Facebook. I find it easier to keep people posted there. Also, this is a private blog and most followers find it inconvenient to follow when they have to login.

Mike has been in the States for about a month and I will be so happy when he finally gets home. He started in Florida with a conference, then over to Ft. Campbell to talk with some of Adam's unit. He then spent a few days in DC before driving to New Hampshire. He intended to spend just a few days in NH, check on the folks and then head back to DC to fly back here. But, as luck would have it, he happened in on his folks when his father was at death's door! It wasn't a big thing like cancer, but it is something that required medical attention. So Mike got him in to see a doctor and run some tests. To make a long story short, he's better now and back home with a visiting nurse a couple times a week and an in-home caregiver a few hours every day durning the week.

Mike was supposed to come back for another work conference in Hua Hin last week but he couldn't make it because of his father's condition. I had alread bought tickets for me and the kids to join him, so we ended up going anyway. We had a great time and you can see some of the pictures on FB.

The kids are out of school this week and they have plans to spend time with their friends during the break. The seem to be doing very well in school. I had a talk with Micah this weekend about his college plans and what he needs to do to prepare for that. He only has about four and a half more years before graduation, which means he needs to start preparing for the PSATs next year and the SATs the following year. I told him there would be studying this summer and he better not give me any attitude about it.

I'm still plugging away on my masters degree. I would really love to finish it by the end of January but I may be biting off a little more than I can chew. I'm going to be a little sad when it's over because I really like doing the work and learning the details of my profession at a much deeper level.

That's it for now... I had trouble uploading pictures from the beach so just go check them out on FB.