This is Loc's room with Rain Forest theme on the bed spread and all around. One stuffed penguin sits atop a tricycle and more are on the bed. Note the rocking chair.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
I hate packing
I hate packing. I just hate it. My mind seems to go in 12 directions as I try to think through the whole mix 'n match wardrobe thing. Is it okay to bring the orange Coolmax shirt, since it will go with the slacks and the shorts but not the baby blue "skort"?
I wish they had "Garanimals" for adults.
And then the luggage sizes and limits, most of which have to be converted from the cm's on the airline web sites to inches -- it makes my head hurt. We've worked out a whole scheme that relies on our eating no less than 6 pounds of snack food before we take the in-country flight so that our big piece of luggage meets Vietnam Air requirements.
We got a little way-laid in the trip prep today, due to my garbage disposal giving up the ghost last night and causing the dishwasher to drain through the kitchen floor into the basement. We are the third of the four couples on our trip to have a plumbing issue days before departure.
Luckily, my partner is a do-it-yourselfer, and four trips to The Home Depot later, I have a brand-new disposal with the fierce brand name of "The Badger." Still, we could have used those six hours to pack or spend our Sunday in a last-minute kid-free adventure.
Yesterday was far more productive. The family came up and did a massive job of preparing the house. Grass got cut, Loc's room got set up, rooms are baby-proofed and cleared out. Things are looking good, especially his room, which is so cute. My family is incredible -- everyone pitched in and worked so hard yesterday.
I should be getting ready for work tomorrow, but right now I just want to chill with a Wailua (wheat beer brewed with passion fruit from Hawaii!) and not think about the plane ride. Or what I might be forgetting to pack.
I wish they had "Garanimals" for adults.
And then the luggage sizes and limits, most of which have to be converted from the cm's on the airline web sites to inches -- it makes my head hurt. We've worked out a whole scheme that relies on our eating no less than 6 pounds of snack food before we take the in-country flight so that our big piece of luggage meets Vietnam Air requirements.
We got a little way-laid in the trip prep today, due to my garbage disposal giving up the ghost last night and causing the dishwasher to drain through the kitchen floor into the basement. We are the third of the four couples on our trip to have a plumbing issue days before departure.
Luckily, my partner is a do-it-yourselfer, and four trips to The Home Depot later, I have a brand-new disposal with the fierce brand name of "The Badger." Still, we could have used those six hours to pack or spend our Sunday in a last-minute kid-free adventure.
Yesterday was far more productive. The family came up and did a massive job of preparing the house. Grass got cut, Loc's room got set up, rooms are baby-proofed and cleared out. Things are looking good, especially his room, which is so cute. My family is incredible -- everyone pitched in and worked so hard yesterday.
I should be getting ready for work tomorrow, but right now I just want to chill with a Wailua (wheat beer brewed with passion fruit from Hawaii!) and not think about the plane ride. Or what I might be forgetting to pack.
Friday, July 11, 2008
To-Do List From Hell
Plane tickets have been purchased. Visas are ready today. That's two things checked off a list of a gazillion.
Right now I'm obsessing about shoes. I am determined to take only one pair with me (and some flip-flops), one of those moderately fugly pairs of waterproof, lightweight hiking/sports shoes. They won't look too god-awful with my nice outfit for the official business, and they'll be better than taking sneakers. But this quest could consume the entire day, as I've already struck out at REI and Dick's.
Then there's all the other things to do today. Get a haircut, get the prescriptions filled, buy the mattress and boxsprings, and work on the house, which has its own subset of to-do items. Luckily, my family is coming up this weekend to pitch in. There are hundreds of little details -- this morning, I remembered I need to photocopy our passports (which are waiting to be picked up at the Vietnamese Embassy downtown). What else am I forgetting? And at some point this weekend, I'll probably need to go to the office. That to-do list almost reduces me to tears.
But I did sleep in today, despite all the stuff I have to do. I'm down to my last three opportunities to sleep in for quite some time.
The plane ride is really concerning me. We couldn't get "deluxe" for the trip over, so we'll be spending the trans-Pacific flight cramped in coach. Yes, the airline, EVA, is supposed to be wonderful, but I've got some long gams. And the layovers are looooooong. Thursday is going to be one long-ass day. Leave Dulles at 5:30, arrive in San Fran at 8 (11 p.m. our time), then leave San Fran at almost 2 a.m. local time, meaning almost 12 full hours of travel/layovers before we even leave the USA. Then another long layover in Taiwan before we get to HCMC.
I keep thinking of Lewis Black's bit on flying to New Zealand, where he says, "If you ever decide to fly to New Zealand...first take out a gun and shoot yourself in the head."
But layovers sound longer than they ever really are. The time will fly by! Right?
I'm on the fence about the long layovers on the way back. My hope is that at each one I will have enough energy to run Loc around the airport like I'm a bull and he's in Pamplona, to completely tire him out so that he sleeps on the next flight. But I wouldn't place any bets on that happening. The inverse will probably be true. To anyone on the three return flights, I apologize in advance.
Okay, it's 10:30 and I'm way behind schedule. Time to mark some things off the list.
Right now I'm obsessing about shoes. I am determined to take only one pair with me (and some flip-flops), one of those moderately fugly pairs of waterproof, lightweight hiking/sports shoes. They won't look too god-awful with my nice outfit for the official business, and they'll be better than taking sneakers. But this quest could consume the entire day, as I've already struck out at REI and Dick's.
Then there's all the other things to do today. Get a haircut, get the prescriptions filled, buy the mattress and boxsprings, and work on the house, which has its own subset of to-do items. Luckily, my family is coming up this weekend to pitch in. There are hundreds of little details -- this morning, I remembered I need to photocopy our passports (which are waiting to be picked up at the Vietnamese Embassy downtown). What else am I forgetting? And at some point this weekend, I'll probably need to go to the office. That to-do list almost reduces me to tears.
But I did sleep in today, despite all the stuff I have to do. I'm down to my last three opportunities to sleep in for quite some time.
The plane ride is really concerning me. We couldn't get "deluxe" for the trip over, so we'll be spending the trans-Pacific flight cramped in coach. Yes, the airline, EVA, is supposed to be wonderful, but I've got some long gams. And the layovers are looooooong. Thursday is going to be one long-ass day. Leave Dulles at 5:30, arrive in San Fran at 8 (11 p.m. our time), then leave San Fran at almost 2 a.m. local time, meaning almost 12 full hours of travel/layovers before we even leave the USA. Then another long layover in Taiwan before we get to HCMC.
I keep thinking of Lewis Black's bit on flying to New Zealand, where he says, "If you ever decide to fly to New Zealand...first take out a gun and shoot yourself in the head."
But layovers sound longer than they ever really are. The time will fly by! Right?
I'm on the fence about the long layovers on the way back. My hope is that at each one I will have enough energy to run Loc around the airport like I'm a bull and he's in Pamplona, to completely tire him out so that he sleeps on the next flight. But I wouldn't place any bets on that happening. The inverse will probably be true. To anyone on the three return flights, I apologize in advance.
Okay, it's 10:30 and I'm way behind schedule. Time to mark some things off the list.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Finally.
I'm sitting here waiting for the travel agent to call me back and trying to get my head together from the last few days.
We got our final approval to go get Loc.
It looks like we leave on July 17. YES, NEXT WEEK.
It's all happening so quickly -- more quickly than our agency predicted -- but I'm not complaining. So, we have a week to get visas, our second round of shots, our plane tickets, tie up loose ends at work, cut the grass, buy a stroller, pack, etc. etc. We're both out of our minds right now.
I got "The Call" while I was working at my company's annual convention. In fact, I was juggling a gazillion things at once, including trying to troubleshoot a snafu for a press conference that was starting in 15 minutes, when my agency director called and said, "Congratulations!"
Since then, it's been a whirlwind (could have used this weekend at home instead of being out of town, grumble, grumble), and today we got the travel date confirmed, and now I am really freaking out. How will I get everything done in time?
We had our travel meeting today with the other three couples who will be traveling with us. We're all getting along splendidly so far. They're getting tiny babies, so Loc will be the old man of the group. He plays with the babies at the orphanage, so I hope it'll help him to have some familiar faces around for the time we're there, and that we can all stay in touch as the kids grow up.
We'll first see Loc on July 20 for a couple hours, then we'll get him for good on the 21st. After that, we'll just be filing paperwork and hanging out, getting to know each other, until his passport is ready. We'll be in Vietnam about two and a half weeks, probably coming back August 3.
I can't believe it, but it's sinking in -- after all this waiting, it's almost time to go get him!
We got our final approval to go get Loc.
It looks like we leave on July 17. YES, NEXT WEEK.
It's all happening so quickly -- more quickly than our agency predicted -- but I'm not complaining. So, we have a week to get visas, our second round of shots, our plane tickets, tie up loose ends at work, cut the grass, buy a stroller, pack, etc. etc. We're both out of our minds right now.
I got "The Call" while I was working at my company's annual convention. In fact, I was juggling a gazillion things at once, including trying to troubleshoot a snafu for a press conference that was starting in 15 minutes, when my agency director called and said, "Congratulations!"
Since then, it's been a whirlwind (could have used this weekend at home instead of being out of town, grumble, grumble), and today we got the travel date confirmed, and now I am really freaking out. How will I get everything done in time?
We had our travel meeting today with the other three couples who will be traveling with us. We're all getting along splendidly so far. They're getting tiny babies, so Loc will be the old man of the group. He plays with the babies at the orphanage, so I hope it'll help him to have some familiar faces around for the time we're there, and that we can all stay in touch as the kids grow up.
We'll first see Loc on July 20 for a couple hours, then we'll get him for good on the 21st. After that, we'll just be filing paperwork and hanging out, getting to know each other, until his passport is ready. We'll be in Vietnam about two and a half weeks, probably coming back August 3.
I can't believe it, but it's sinking in -- after all this waiting, it's almost time to go get him!
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