"Your BUTT is bigger than the GALACTIC UNIVERSE!"

T's girlies keep us pretty much in stitches. EVERYTHING is SO DRAMATIC!

Syona: (Very seriously) Grandpa, you don't EVEN want to smell Devon's butt. It smells very bad.

Devon: No! Your butt smells worst of all!

Syona: Your butt is HUGE!

Devon: (Very pleased with herself) Well, your butt is bigger than OUR HOUSE and the WORLD!

Syona: (Demonstrating the benefits of a scientific education) Your butt is bigger than the GALACTIC UNIVERSE!

Devon: (Ceding the contest) Syona, do you want to play Polly Pockets later?

These two are so close and play so well together for hours. They have their spats, of course, but they are generally short-lived. They are a great satisfaction to be around, and we will miss them so very much while we're away.

Puro Girlie.

Devon sings of her love for her granny.

The Revenge of the Aliens.

We may have defeated the aliens, but they've had their revenge. You may remember that we narrowly escaped the alien's vile probes on our harrowing journey through Area 51. Well, having failed with the direct approach they set in motion a cunning plan.

With the connivance (I'm sure) of the Alien-in-Chief (born in "Hawaii" by way of Fomalhaut), they managed to inveigle me into not one, but two grisly procedures: prostate biopsy and colonoscopy.

I totally fell for their smooth "gentlemen of a certain age really should..." patter. Ugh.

But the good news is that the results were stellar: "a small, symmetrical prostate" and "pink and lovely" colon.

Revenge is sweet.

A Hot Time in the Old Quarter.

We have a hotel! We decided to splurge ($65 per night instead of $30-$40 that we originally targeted) at the Hanoi Old Quarter Hotel and get a king-sized bed. Apparently a double bed is standard size and it's pretty difficult to find anything larger. But jet lag calls for king size. So we've booked it for two nights and then we will find something less pricey when we can actually see it in person. Lots of bad stories about people booking economy rooms on the internet, then finding they have no windows or are damp and moldy. So we'll do our research the old fashioned way--feets on the streets.

Yesterday we went to a going-away party with Ophelia's side of the family: two of her sisters, various nephews, nieces, and cousins. We had a great time, with great food and conversation and many teary farewells. It really reminded us that the hardest part of this journey will be the separation from family and friends.

Next week we'll have a combination going-away party with Peter's family and 94th birthday party for Phyllis. She continues to do well and we hope to stage a bigger party for her 95th next year.

Hitting the Ground Running!

We just set up our first face-to-face interview with a school in Hanoi! We've had several phone interviews now, and we've had people say they'd like to talk to us once we're in-country, but we now have our first actual appointment to visit a school and talk to face-to-face set up for Monday August 10. And as we were celebrating that milestone, we received a couple more emails from schools that want to set up interviews. So it looks like we're going to have a busy first week! Today we get our vaccinations--just two weeks before we leave!

Back by Popular Demand.

Okay, okay. Jeez, we can't even take a couple (uneventful) days off from blogging without our adoring fans (well, Steve) complaining that they're suffering from information underload.

So here's the latest: I had an interview with a recruiter from Saudi Arabia. He seemed interested, but I read later online that Saudi isn't issuing work permits for anyone over 58, so we'll see. O. is working madly on her grammar specialization. We spent 3.5 hours today at Wells Fargo opening accounts and making sure we can transfer money to and from Vietnam. An hour was murdered talking to AT&T about how to get out of our cell phone coverage and related communications issues. Still ahead--passport photos, police good conduct letters, vaccinations, etc.

Plus it's bloody hot and this bloody laptop isn't helping. But the blog must go on.

P.S. Thanks for being loyal readers. It makes us feel loved, and we like that.

The Buttocks of a Dog! Part II

Just a hint of the yumminess that awaits us! (Be sure to click the pic for maxiyum!)

Can't wait!

Putting the "Ha!" in Ha Noi!

Okay. We're going for it! We've booked our flight from LA to Ha Noi via Seoul on Korean Air for 12:30 PM on August 6. We've applied for three-month visas and we'll see what we can scare up.

Yow! We're scared and excited, but mostly excited. Wish us luck!

When Dreams Die.

For many years I dreamed that we would some day have a big, comfortable house where we could eat and drink and laugh with friends and family. We achieved that in San Francisco. We had many great years there. As the dream evolved in included warm summer evenings, a pool, and an orchard where we could grow our own delicious fruit to eat off the trees at the peak of ripeness.

And we had that, too, in Escondido. But then that dream died. And like all deeply desired dreams it died hard.

It has taken months, even years, for us to come to terms with this death. What strikes us now is the there has always been another dream, one that was shoved aside in our dogged pursuit of Dream #1, and that is the dream of being able to travel the world, live other places, to be free of the weight of property.

And that dream is beginning to emerge in our life right now.  One dream finishes so another can begin.

How lucky is that?

Homoeroticism in the High Desert.

I Love the Smell of Jerky in the Morning. It Smells Like Victory.

The Alien Wars are over, and apparently we won!

It was with great trepidation that we approached the area in which the harrowing alien pursuit we described a few posts back took place. But it looks like the alien menace has been thoroughly subdued. And seasoned. And dried.

The truth is: they taste like chicken. Well, actually, more like beef. Which is probably because they were stuffing themselves with all those poor kidnapped cows.

We stopped at the local equivalent of a "Killing Fields" museum:
We were sickened by the evidence of the bovicide that had been perpetrated on our helpless cattle:

There were also on display pouches labeled "Cowboy Jerky," etc., but I couldn't bear to photograph them.

So I'm sure that some of you extreme civil libertarians will decry the practice of rendering our foes into harmless packets of meat, but I challenge anyone to say that they don't deserve it.

And we can all use a little more protein and caffiene in our diets:

Write if you get work.

Well, bad news. The two jobs that we thought we'd lined up in Hanoi have fallen through. One due to the economy, the other we're not quite sure about. Anyway, we've been rather discouraged, but O. just came across an article that says that Vietnamese schools prefer to hire teachers after assessing them in person. It also says that many of the jobs are never posted on the web.

Which brings us to a momentous decision: we're going to move to Vietnam without jobs for a least a month or two and see what we can scare up. We're still researching this option, but everyone we've talked to so far confirms that this is a better way to get that first job.

So. It's scary, but it looks like the best way forward. Either way it will be an adventure. We're targeting mid-August for departure.

Wish us luck.

Idaho? No, You Da Ho!

Alas, our stay in Idaho is done. Thank you John, Emily, and Michael for a wonderful time. Here are just a few of the high points. Unfortunately we were too busy enjoying ourselves to take a lot of pictures.

Chon and two of his three daughters. Daddy sure loves his girls.

Li'l Chubbers plots her next outrage.

The sappy, I mean happy, couple.

Guess who gets to lick the spoon!

Baking is serious business.

The little fashion plate prepares for a cooling dip to beat the July heat.

Mr. Puddles! I've got snausages! Oops, Grandpa slightly overcooked them!

The Poop Suit with the Drape Shape and the Sheet Pleat

Even grandparents pay their dues.

So we decided to give John and Emily a break by taking Luciya on a jaunt to the local park. We had lots of fun helping her climb on the play structure, go down the slide backward, and run screaming through the various water sprays that were the biggest attraction in the 90+ heat.

All is well until Luciya suddenly freezes in her tracks with that look on her face.

"Do you have to go potty?" Grams asks sweetly. A stricken nod from the little statue.

"Too late," says Grandpa, wisely eyeing the growing bulge in the back of that cute pink swimsuit.

We had thought we were safe because L. had just had a big poop before we left for the park. How wrong we were.

"Don't let her sit down," warns Grams, racing to the car for diaper and wipes. "Easier said than done," thinks Gramps, left holding the little paw. But Luciya is uncharacteristically immobile. She desires neither to prance nor to roll about wantonly. She stands perfectly still for what seems a smelly eon while Grams searches the car frantically for wipes. Finally found stuck way under the seat, they prove to be as dry as week-old corn husks. Still better than nothing,

Then the exquisite logistics of removing the poop suit without inconveniently spreading the wealth. Luckily, L. is happy to be a poseable doll: flat on her back, feet in the air. Only when a small, corn-studded morsel falls on her chest does she move, grabbing it before she can be grabbed. But she willingly relinquishes her prize and submits to the rest of the cleaning process without complaint or inordinate writhing.

Scraped, swabbed, and diapered, she's ready to head for the water again. but G & G have had enough fun for the day, so L. is returned to her rejuvenated parents just in time for dinner.

1am - Do you know where you are?

We had our second interview with a school in Hanoi at 1am our time, 2pm Vietnamese time last night..  Oh the butterflies in the stomach are  fluttering.  First and second interview seemed to go well;  now we are awaiting an email regarding pay rate and start dates.  

This could be it!

Hanoi -our Vietnamese city of choice - less humidity, four seasons, termed by some:  "The most Beautiful Asian City".  

We wait, we hope.