taking the week off to travel to new zealand. next post will come to you from wanganui.

like death and taxes, you can’t keep a weblog and not ultimately link to youtube. i will warn you that my maiden link may convince you i’m even more disturbed than you originally suspected but this made me smile for so many reasons…

lotion by the greenskeepers – available on itunes by the way.

i’ve never actually gotten the forty-three hours my menu bar battery monitor claims i’ve got coming but it always teases me in to believing its possible.

i think smokers and their associated second hand smoke get a bad rap as being bad citizens.

in contrast to dog owners who appear to have never heard of a leash or leash laws, let their dogs crap wherever they like, and get completely offended when i’m not as impressed with their familiar as they are – i’d take second hand smoke every time.

it occurred to me recently that the genesis of nicknames is a parental coping strategy to gain even the slightest relief from the perpetual repetition of saying your children’s names over and over, hour after hour…

the fourth application for carolina’s visa will hit immigration new zealand’s desk today before 10am. this time it has a fancy ministerial exception attached to it which all but guarantees it will be approved…

by 10am tomorrow we’ll know for sure if we’re holding her stamped passport in our greedy hands….

ft. casey, whidbey island, washington. my aunt margaret and brother trevor (5 1/2 years old at the time)

30 years later, natalie, ethan and logan (4 and 2 years old respectively)

i hate to encourage stereotypes but we’re living just north of an indian reservation and of course there is a casino…

and there are more of these than speed limit signs…

the internet connection in our rental gets installed today. over the last week and a half while we’ve been in the northwest i’ve been hanging out at starbucks and the public library to keep the internet iv flowing and while most of my interactions with the public at large have been typical a couple haven’t…

there are apparently a number of people who keep office at starbucks every day. if you go in a few times a week at the same our you’ll see them. they almost always come with cords of one kind or another and some even have their own powerstrips. the loud ones on cell phones are annoying, as always, but its the man and a half who sits in the corner with his legs spread and a lazy eye casting about the whole cafe who bothers me most.

it may not be an iphone but the 17 inch mac book pro gets a good bit of attention on its own. an admirer from indiana who is working herself around the country in a camper she parks outside internet connected libraries had the most to give back after asking her 101 questions.

not only are there lots of asian restaurant here, but they have pho noodle soup shops. all they sell is pho. and there are lots of them. i may need to be reminded why i would ever leave here. while i was enjoying my noodles a lady came in to pay her bill, for the second time. over the weekend she forgot her wallet and ran home to call in her credit card number. when the charge didn’t show up on her bill a few days later she came in, the day i saw her, to make sure they ran it. she then pledged to come in again two days later if the charge still did not register. good noodles, honest people, good times!

on the flip side of the honest noodle lady is the dark skinned, dark haired, extremely loud teen cheerleader who has strong feelings about her friends holding hands or kissing their respective partners. having children of my own, i couldn’t agree more but it was the judgement and conviction of her prosecution that was hard to take. being out of range of a good npr station i have been listening to a lot of am talk radio and she was toxic even in contrast to their daily drivel.

having driven a lot of rental cars the one thing i have noticed most about the american makes is that they certainly beep at you a lot more than their foreign counterparts.

having had this experience twice now i can tell you that an often overlooked, but very important feature to consider when buying a car seat is how easy will it be to clean up after your child pukes all over it.