labor free weekend

For most years I can remember, I was always picked up by a big Suburban loaded with boats and camping gear every Labor Day weekend Friday.  We'd head up to Reliance, TN for a (usually rainy) weekend of kayaking, campfires, karaoke, and great friends.  

After a 4 year hiatus, we decided to revisit those memories in the form of a cabin this time.  With way fewer people and no camping, we still managed to pack up a good amount of stuff.  It was a great time. 

I drove back Friday after class to sit in traffic and make it for Nate's varsity football game at Lovett. It was so nice to catch up with some old teachers and families from home! I certainly have some great people in my life!!

gross

friday night lights on the riverbank

Then it was a Saturday family road trip up to Tennessee. For the first time in over 6 months, I was finally getting out and about back in the South. 

how I've missed home

We arrived to a lovely little cabin in a woods down a long dirt driveway.  It was perfect.  

perfect except for this little friend

And right away, we were headed to the put-in for a run down our favorite Hiwassee River.  It's always a cultural experience up in that country. My favorite parenting 101 episode: a guy was inflating his raft via car battery (see below) and yells out at his misbehaving child, "You better shut up or I'll kill you right here in front of everyone!" Good one. 

dad of the year

Only minimal mishaps and flips on the river this time! I did manage to swallow a good bit of water but also managed to never have to swim due to my (sorta) newly acquired skill of being able to roll! It was a picture perfect day out on the water! Brought back so many great memories. And after not seeing Joyce for so long, we picked up right where we left off and just laughed ourselves down the river.  What a great friend!

Funny how a day on the water just wipes away all your energy. We were good for not much more than heaps of food, bananagrams, and laughter. 

beautiful table centerpiece 

We spent Sunday splashing and laughing our ways down the Ocoee River.  No matter how many times I do it, it is always such great fun! The afternoon brought great thunderstorms and we just sat under the cover of the porch in rocking chairs, watching them pass. It was beautiful. 

We also got the news that Mr. Kuik's father passed away. My thoughts are with him and the whole family at this time. Even when you see them coming, goodbyes are never easy.

Monday morning was a quick pack and clean and on the road again for Nate to go to football practice. (such is the life of a high school jock...)

beautiful eastern Tennessee morning!

 On the way home, we stopped at a lovely joint on the side of the road: Dirty Dave's.  Dave's got a little bit of everything in there! Dad and Nate were reluctant to go in, but there were certainly some gems worthy of a good laugh. 

hot boiled peanutes

horse hoof cleaning wipes right next to your birthday cards!
one stop shopping here

what's new

I know I've been slacking in the blogging department but that doesn't correlate to my lack of existence.  I'm here! And back in good ole Athens, GA. 

So, in the last couple of weeks...

I've been to a couple of Nate's varsity football games

I've had target practice with my new Indonesian dart gun with Mom's furniture

I've been shopping to Costco

what i would've done for a box of these a couple of months ago

I've moved into an apartment downtown with Sam and Nancy (and Gump)

and witnessed sam and gump lovin on the couch

I came back into town just in time for Kappa bid day

 

We've tortured Bear's dignity

I walk by this lovely strip bar on my way to school every day

I've been missing NZ :(

 I've experienced Athens nightlife and all its wonders

I've been enjoying the convenience of living downtown

(including Lazy Shopper's new live security - find the guy on the fridge)

I went to a Drive-by Truckers show at GA Theater

I ran into some car trouble. (thank goodness for convenient gas stations and car manuals)

I dragged Nate to one of my squash tournaments

thrilled to be there

 I've taken advantage of a kitchen stocked with granola ingredients

 And I'm loving my new apartment! rain or shine!

home again, home again

I ended up getting a flight a couple of days earlier than planned.  And, I'm so glad. Sometimes, the gift of time is the greatest gift of all.  As much as I enjoyed Indonesia, some time at home was great for unpacking, packing for school, and moving into my unseen apartment all within a couple of days before school starts. 

The nice man in the Jakarta airport got me an exit row seat upstairs, so I basically had so much room for activities such as jumping jacks to keep myself awake.  The advice given to me was to stay awake on the first flight and sleep the whole second one. It was painfully difficult to do so. I arrived in Seoul to talk my way into an earlier standby flight and continue my struggle to stay awake. I got on that earlier flight and was home in Atlanta by midday! What a surprise for everyone! 

welcome home tears

Nate and me in Mom's lovely sign

and I'm home!

The 3 of us had a delicious Taqueria Del Sol lunch! (oh how i've missed Mexican food! - probably  more than anything else.) And before I coud get home, we were at the phone store to get me hooked up again. Then it was straight to the squash gym to beat up on Paps.  Mom made a delicious dinner (again, how I've missed home cooked, family meals!) and my favorite– strawberry-rhubarb pie! I love it!

safari day

Today we went on an 'excursion' to Taman Safari just a couple of hours outside of Jakarta.  Steve, Steve, Deemer, Emilee and I loaded up in 2 cars and headed out of the city through 'real indonesia' aka slums and rubbish-covered-roads up the hills to the safari.  Along the roads leading up to the entrance, children and women of all ages sold heaps of carrots and bananas too feed the animals. After Deemer was accused of being a cheap bastard (only to later find out he way overpaid) we were loaded with treats for the animals. 

The place was unreal. Animals would stick their heads inside the windows - including critters with BIG horns and sharp beaks. We drove through different areas to see all sorts of animals – zebras, llamas, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, lions, tigers, leopards, hippos (yes, we touched the ass of a hippo), and all sorts of deer-like critters. 

lions chillin 

qhite rhino

oh hey there!

wasn't too much of a fan of this guy

steve's gorilla feet with some of our bananas

After the driving part, we headed to the more zoo-like area. Stepped out of the car to find elephants casually wandering the yards where you could walk up and play with them. a dream come true! (even better than the whole elephant ride/encounter in Zimbabwe)

love

little wink from a cheeky owl

Then proceeded to the 'baby zoo' area where we could play with all sorts of baby critters – lions, leopards, white tigers, orangutans, and a big (non baby) bengal tiger. 

the lions were a favorite

this little guy just didn't want to be held. his cries and growls were a little off-putting 

picture perfect steve + tiger

group photo!

mom, i want a baby orangutan PLEASE

steve getting the perfect ball shot

squirmy little leopard

Even after all of this, we hadn't even seen any shows yet. We opted out of the dolphin (yes, dolphins! this place has everything!) show to grab some lunch.  But we did catch the tiger show where a flimsy barrier held encircled the 3 tigers and trainers.  The strong smell of gasoline, funny music, and strange sites made us all feel a bit high and out of place.  But it was a good show. 

birds of prey area where they're all attached to stumps

an eagle owl or something

We wandered through the rest of the uncrowded sites and stumbled upon two baby orangutans and one larger, older girl nearby.  For forever we just sat and played with the fellas. TOO CUTE! They were so smart and very human-like. Steve read their palms (they're going to have long, prosperous lives) and gave them reflexology. The other Steve befriended the older girl and the two of them became inseparable.  We figured out he doesn't need a girlfriend or anything, just an orangutan.  It was an afternoon day I'll never forget!

precious baby!!!

how could you resist that look!

steve's new best friend

And to top off such a great day, we had mexican for dinner! First bit of realish mexican food in 6 months and boy have i missed it. And we finally ended the night at a dance club.  It was all too great dancing our asses off with bosses twice our age.  

day in the life

I know I haven't given many updates about Indonesia. That's mostly because my days here are pretty average in comparison to NZ.  My mom's been asking and asking for pictures from here. I don't think she gets it when I say that I live and work in a sprawling shopping mall.

A usual work day looks like this:
730/8 – wake up
830 – one of the drivers (usually Budi) picks us up at the lobby
832 – arrive at office where we are greeted by smiling faces
work on a list of projects (from coordinate validating to analyzing numbers) and when those are finished, indulge in wikipedia and draw pictures back and forth to each other
12ish – guilt one or some of the guys to take us to lunch
1 – Ricardo and I delay going back to work by getting coffee (I don't even like coffee) and taking mall walks
4 – leave work (since it's Ramadan, the office closes early! woohoo)
wander through the mall to get home
5 – go to the pool or gym (with rolled up towels and water bottles at every station)
730 – go out for dinner (either just the 2 of us or with the guys)
830 – Game of Thrones (we watched all 3 seasons within days. it's great.)
10 – bed?
hear chants and late night parties out our windows at odd hours of the night.

Then we do it again! It's a nice schedule.

quality family

So I'm sick in a third world country, sleeping on my bathroom floor and getting ready to head to a hospital in Singapore.  Meanwhile, my oh so loving family is in Vermont with some favorite family friends livin it up at a wedding. Not fair. 

they say they miss me.... psh

(Thankfully I have a fancy toilet with a bidet with all sorts of options)