Fire/Earthquake Drill

This morning my host mother came in my room and said, there will be a fire/earthquake drill in a few minutes; you're welcome to join if you want but you don't have to....

Now this I wanted to experience. I am glad we are only on the 16th floor. Apparently they used to live on the 41st floor, and had an earthquake in the middle of the night--that would NOT have been a fun stairway experience.

Made a 1-min video you can check out here. Love how everyone is out for a morning stroll! Wonder how quick they move when it's the real deal?

All in all, quite impressed with how organized they were. They even had free water for everyone. If you ever wondered how evacuation happens for a mall of 10 floors with 8 towers of 36-floor apartment buildings on top of it, now you have an idea.... :)

Birthday fun & looking ahead

Happy Birthday #62, Dad! We had a great time celebrating both Charis & dad's birthday tonight at California Pizza Kitchen.
1 appetizer (Spinach Artichoke Dip), 1 soup (Sedona Tortilla),
1 salad (Grilled veggie), 1 main course (thin crust Greek Pizza) and 1 dessert (Key Lime Pie). UH-MA-ZING. As Charis says:

Food always tastes better shared.

It is so true. And the fellowship was just as good if not better than the food. To top it all off, they forgot to put our pizza on the bill, and didn't bother changing it when we pointed it out! Great night. :)


Meanwhile, sleep has been eluding me. This morning I dreamt we were having an earthquake here in Singapore. But almost every
night I wake up at some point with the sensation of swaying--I mean, for the last few years. Post-traumatic-syndrome from living in a major earthquake zone? I don't know. But this morning, I thought, is going to live in this high-riser a great idea with whatever my issue is? (see picture of where I will be staying as of next week)
Help! Do I stay in those apartments or find another place?

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

I thought I would surprise Charis and stop in Singapore on the way to my upcoming home. My parents were in the U.S. and a friend from Papua was spending the weekend with her for her birthday. Around 11:30 Saturday night I arrived at the apartment and noted that the office light was on. I retrieved the secret key, quietly let myself in, walked into the office and stood just inside the doorway.Mici was sitting on the couch at my elbow, and Charis was in a chair with her body facing me but her head was turned to the TV, making comments to Mici. After about 20 seconds, I wondered when they would notice me? Finally, Mici sensed a presence in the room, turned, and stared at me as if I were a ghost. It took Charis a bit longer, but finally she turned and saw me. Her jaw hit the floor, then her feet started jogging and dancing in place (still seated), and then she started doing a crazy jumping dance, snapping her hands Papuan-style. "Mici, I told you I had a sister!" It took several minutes before I got my hugs. Above is our posed reinactment--faces only, not the staging. :) Oh-so-satisfying to pull that off.

Indian food after church (left) and a Chinese smorgasbord for supper (below), a fun treat from gracious Singaporean friends.

Man I love surprises! So much so, that this was a double/triple-whammy scheme. My parents were due in from the U.S. late Monday night/Tuesday morning and I had not informed them of my plans. So when they arrived at 1:30 a.m. this morning, I was in their bed, praying they would not have heart attacks. Success. And their shock was equally as rewarding as Charis's. : )

Charis's birthday was Sunday and dad's is Thursday. I'll be here for his, too, and then head on to my new post on Tuesday. Going from an island with the population of a large university to one of the largest cities in the world (and less than 1/3 the land), I think I'm the one who is in for the next surprise (pray I don't have a heart attack!).

Mmmm... cool, minty bliss...

That's what I was looking forward to when I was thoughtfully gifted with this rare treasure of mint Milanos. And I had cool, minty bliss the whole bag through--almost. Yesterday I saw there were 3 cookies left in the bag, so I determined I would not eat them all in one day. I ate 2. Today, with anticipation, I pulled the bag out of the fridge (I'm in a city now, remember, so this house has one), pulled out that last paper tray, was about to pick up the cookie, and saw this:

Oh my goodness.... Oh my goodness.... That is all I could say. I cannot for the LIFE of me figure out how that cicak (lizard, sort of like a gecko) got in there! The bag was completely sealed when I got it, and upon first opening, I immediately put it in the fridge, and there it has remained between all uses.
I am totally baffled. HOW did he get in there?
Is this my destiny?



Mint Milano anyone?

Goodbye

In case you haven't heard, I left the island on September 25 after 5 weeks of wrapping up my work, life, home & belongings.


Yes, I just got a new teammate in February.

Yes, we just signed (& paid!) for a 3-year house contract in April.

Yes, 2010 has been crazy. :)


Ummm, please don't ask me what is next. I will let you know once things become clearer.

Thanks for tracking my trails!





(resting after packing up the house & having a garage sale in the kitchen)






(stopping for fresh juice and journaling at a favorite lookout spot we liked to call "Applebees" after my goodbyes in my new village)





(adventures with the pre-teens from my old village)





(last visit with a good friend)...
D was my neighbor when first arriving on the island. She went from being single with no prospects, to getting engaged to a man she knew for only a few months (not uncommon), to getting married, to moving to town, to having a baby (who is almost 1)! All in my nearly-3-yrs on the island.
Look back at her wedding day here.

Jane Eyre

I've watched the movies (there are 3), and love the story, but have never read the book. Reading the classic now, and came across this great stuff last night:

...I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now. Laws and principles are not for times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth--so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane--quite insane, with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations are all I have at this hour to stand by; there I plant my foot.

and I love the description Mr. Rochester gives in response to seeing her resolution:

...Consider that eye: consider the resolute, wild, free thing looking out of it, defying me, with more than courage--with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it--the savage, beautiful creature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, my outrage will only let the captive loose. Conqueror I might be of the house; but the inmate would escape to heaven before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwelling-place. And it is you, spirit--with will and energy, and virtue and purity--that I want; not alone your brittle frame. Of yourself you could come with soft flight and nestle against my heart, if you would: seized against your will, you will elude the grasp like an essence--you will vanish ere I inhale your fragrance....

Made me think of Matthew 10:28

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.