PICTURES!!

So I realize that emailing pictures is time consuming and limited. This is going to be my main outlet to show the most of my amateur pictures. Now let's see what I can do with this...

This first pic is the Hong Kong Temple! It was so pretty. I didn't even think to get a temple recommend so I could do baptisms for the dead. I was jealous of all the girls that went.

I wanted to show off the sound that these annoying crosswalk things make. If it's possible, I'll get a video up or something. They were terrible.

Bamboo is everywhere! They use it on the construction sites of even the tall tall skyscrapers!

This is a terrible pic, but it's the view of the city from the suspension bridge that goes from the island with the airport to the main Hong Kong island.

...these are my tired feet after flying for 20+ hours then hiking through the airport to baggage claim.

So, a little irony, a little...idk...small world syndrome...idk...whatever you call it, hit me today. I was thinking about starting up my blog again while I'm off to China, and what do you know? My last post was August 25, 2009. One year, to the day, that I leave the country. I don't know if that counts for irony, but it struck me as funny.

So, if you didn't catch that, I'm leaving for China on the 25. It still hasn't quite hit me that I won't be in the U.S. for four months. Things are still happening so slow, that I even wonder if it's going to happen at all! Four months of teaching kindergarten age kids how to speak English. Who forced me into this? you might be wondering. Well, to be honest, no one did. I signed up. AND dragged my friend into it! God bless her for coming with me! Everyone knows that I could never do this on my own!

So while I'm off experiencing China, I hope to learn the language, see the sights, and come home safe! There will be many, many photos, and even more stories. Wish me luck!

Contacts

Where to begin?

I never really thought of the troubles of getting old in this "new age" where everything is tiny and simple and small. I mean, phones are small, cameras are small, computers are getting small; the only thing getting bigger is the tv! But that's beside the point. Everything is small.

Now to the story and the point of my mindless typing.

My dad called me down the stairs this morning. His contact had fallen out. Now, you may or may not know that dad is in his sixties. I was as surprised as anyone else to learn that he was going to be wearing contacts. My first thought, upon learning this, was "how in the world is he going to take them in and out?" I look at my dads hands. They are quite large.

Now imagine a hand like his putting contacts in. Is it just me, or do you think it looks a little painful too? Idk...

Sorry, back to the story. So dad asked me to put his contact in for him. I'm squeemish so I turned that opportunity down. This was one mountain he'd have to conquer himself. I told him, and showed him, how I would go about the task, then turned him loose to have at it. It was quite obvious that there was going to be trouble from the first try.

I'd watch as he struggled to get the contact all loosey goosey and not in a jumbled mess on his finger tip. Success came, but the contact was so dry that he'd have to shove it back into the solution to get it wet again and start all over. Then putting it in his eye. That was a joke! He'd get it close, then just as he almost had it in, he'd twitch and his eyelid would fall and he'd look the other direction and end up stabbing the contact half into his eye and half on top of his eyelid. Even more, he'd pull his hand away and say, "is it in?" How can you not laugh while watching that then seeing the contact still on his fingertip as he says it? Granted, he's old and going blind, thus the point of the contacts, but still...really?

After many many attempts, I told him to go to the eye doctor's office and have one of the nice assistant ladies jab it in for him because his daughter is too much of a wimp to do it for him.

So I'm laughing because he actually took my advice and left. But it left me thinking: what am I going to do as I get older and things get just too complicated for my old brain to wrap around? Not saying my dad is dumb or stupid or anything! Just, when he was young, if you had problems seeing, you wear glasses, simple as that. Will I be too proud to put the glasses on when I'm old too? Wear what the kids wear to be cool? I don't want to be asking my kids or grand kids how to work something and look stupid for not knowing how!

brrrp....*sigh*

P.S. not a picture of my dad's hand, just a random pic off google search!

Oh, the advancements in technology!

So here I am, parked on the couch with Rupert (my dog) and midnight just rolled around the corner and I decided to update my iPod. That was a big mistake. I have nothing to add to it, thus I think it's a good idea - "think" being the key word in that sentence - to go ahead and buy something from iTunes. Oh I spent money here and there...on a game ($1 for Reversi - Woohoot!)...some songs that I really like but didn't really need...another game ($5 for Uno...not so good)...and a couple more songs. Now it's half past One o'clock and I'm forced to stay awake until Uno finishes downloading...in an hour!

When did that happen? When did technology suddenly become so advanced that we could use our computer to buy music online? It just surprises me that, what, two...three years ago someone invented the iPod. Now it is everywhere in all sorts of sizes, shapes, makers, styles, etc. And before that...nearly...40? years ago the Internet came about, and before that computers. Since the computer, however, it seems things have just come about super speedily. It almost boggles my mind when I get thinking like this...

Anyway, the point is this: My computer has been so slowed down by the game that is downloading, making it so I can't watch The Office on Hulu and I can't play Peggle online. I'm forced into thinking on paper...or on keyboard...yeah...I'm tired and so done now...

Babies!

So I know they aren't my babies, but I know Roxy and Kacey won't have enough time on their hands for quite a while, so I'm taking care of putting a few pics up of the twins. They sure are adorable!

Cam Morgan (8 lbs.) and Micah Bradley (6 lbs.)