It is strange to not have the day off on Thanksgiving!! I will be thinking of you all (my family) at home watching football and smelling the turkey in the oven....have a great day!! Hard to believe that we will be in the States in less than a month....
I do want to thank you for being the greatest parents and sisters, (and cousins and anyone else in the family that reads this blog) a guy could ever ask for!!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
UN Day and Off To Bangkok
I have internet problems AGAIN....last night, after the UN Day performance, I went home to try and update the blog, and could not connect to any site...when I was able to connect, I was only getting speeds of 0.8 kb per second...I am paying for 1MB per second which I have yet to see....so, I could not update the blog last night, so doing it now at school.
Today is UN Day at school, and it is raining.
I need to get to the performance (last night was for the parents), to take some photos...I took this group photo last night...
I am off to Bangkok this afternoon for the fitness convention, and Tika and the girls left at 5:00 this morning for the airport...they are flying to Solo to visit Tika's family for the weekend. Tika and the girls get back on Saturday, and I get back late Sunday night...
Today is UN Day at school, and it is raining.
I need to get to the performance (last night was for the parents), to take some photos...I took this group photo last night...
I am off to Bangkok this afternoon for the fitness convention, and Tika and the girls left at 5:00 this morning for the airport...they are flying to Solo to visit Tika's family for the weekend. Tika and the girls get back on Saturday, and I get back late Sunday night...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving FEAST
The FEAST was fantastic!!
BUT, it didn't start off well. I had some problems. As most things in life, nothing is easy!
I took the day off of work to prepare for the feast. It was nice to sleep-in. I then strolled into school at about 10:00 to get some money, check email, and pick up a couple of coolers. Then I went to Ranch Market to pick up the 6 turkeys...my plan was to start cooking at 1:30, and have all the turkeys already cooked and carved by the time our guests arrived.
Well, all was going smoothly, and then I hit traffic coming home from Ranch Market...got to the house late...2:00. Ok, no problem....plenty of time to get the turkeys cooked. Spech was already at the house setting up the music system. I rushed to the garage to get the burner, gas, oil and the large pot to fry the turkeys, and set it all up on our back bedroom terrace. Our maids started to clean the turkeys and tying the string through the turkeys for easy dipping into the hot oil.
Problem one: The hose connector to the gas tank didn't fit....after fiddling with the thing for 20 minutes, we decide to use the fitting from the kitchen....ok, gas works.
Problem two: after pouring all of the oil into the huge pot, we didn't have enough!! PANIC!! Where are we going to get oil NOW? Traffic is heavy, and time is running thin...I call Tika who is somewhere downtown waiting for our driver to pick her up (he just left the house to get her). She says she will buy more oil, but doesn't know when she will be back to the house as traffic is bad, and Muz (our driver) was still not there to pick her up. We THINK there is just enough to at least cook the first turkey....so we start heating the oil....it is now 2:30...running 90 minutes late.
Problem three: I run upstairs to check the internet about the temp of the oil. It says to be very careful to not heat past 400 degrees F and to monitor the temp carefully with a deep fry thermometer. I go to the kitchen to get the thermometer that Tom Schulz lent us. It is the wrong thermometer...it is a meat thermometer that only goes to 180 degrees F.
PANIC Again!! How are we going to measure the heat of the oil?? I make frantic calls to school to see if the science department has a thermometer that goes past 400 degrees F. They have one, but it won't be here until 3:30 at the earliest...Solution: Greg says if we drop a couple of drops of water into the oil, the water will "dance" on the surface if the oil is at the right temp.
Problem Three: It starts to rain. Change of plan. Turn off the burner, move the entire cooking set-up to the garage. It is now getting close to 3:00....have not even started the turkeys yet, and people will arrive at 4:00...
Problem Four: The caterer arrives with the mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and gravy...and meat from two baked turkeys that we ordered. The problem is that they were supposed to provide mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy for 80 people, and they brought only enough for "two turkeys" worth....panic call to the caterer...they apologize, and say they will bring more by 5:00...(as it turned out, they did bring the extra food, but they kept the trays of food in their big box, and we never saw it...the ONE tray of mashed potatoes and stuffing was enough...we found the extra trays of food when we were cleaning up)
We put the first turkey in the pot at 3:30....the extra oil arrived, and the thermometer arrived, and we were able to get all the turkeys cooked by 7:00....but had plenty of turkey for the start of dinner at 6:00.
We had SO much food...people brought gigantic salads, pies, ice cream, vegetables, etc....everyone had seconds or thirds, and the turkey was the best I have ever tasted!!
Before dinner, we made a little speech about Thanksgiving, and tributed this year's dinner to Wayne Kaler. We said that the Thanksgiving Feast tradition that Wayne and Dick started 20 years ago was now officially continued after a two year break...
I was so busy cooking, I didn't take any photos of the actual feast....we had our own little small party out in the garage where the cooking took place....what is it about a BBQ or cooking station that attracts so many guys? We had a good time drinking beer and cooking turkeys....here are "the boys"...the six of us who organized the dinner with our first turkey!!
BUT, it didn't start off well. I had some problems. As most things in life, nothing is easy!
I took the day off of work to prepare for the feast. It was nice to sleep-in. I then strolled into school at about 10:00 to get some money, check email, and pick up a couple of coolers. Then I went to Ranch Market to pick up the 6 turkeys...my plan was to start cooking at 1:30, and have all the turkeys already cooked and carved by the time our guests arrived.
Well, all was going smoothly, and then I hit traffic coming home from Ranch Market...got to the house late...2:00. Ok, no problem....plenty of time to get the turkeys cooked. Spech was already at the house setting up the music system. I rushed to the garage to get the burner, gas, oil and the large pot to fry the turkeys, and set it all up on our back bedroom terrace. Our maids started to clean the turkeys and tying the string through the turkeys for easy dipping into the hot oil.
Problem one: The hose connector to the gas tank didn't fit....after fiddling with the thing for 20 minutes, we decide to use the fitting from the kitchen....ok, gas works.
Problem two: after pouring all of the oil into the huge pot, we didn't have enough!! PANIC!! Where are we going to get oil NOW? Traffic is heavy, and time is running thin...I call Tika who is somewhere downtown waiting for our driver to pick her up (he just left the house to get her). She says she will buy more oil, but doesn't know when she will be back to the house as traffic is bad, and Muz (our driver) was still not there to pick her up. We THINK there is just enough to at least cook the first turkey....so we start heating the oil....it is now 2:30...running 90 minutes late.
Problem three: I run upstairs to check the internet about the temp of the oil. It says to be very careful to not heat past 400 degrees F and to monitor the temp carefully with a deep fry thermometer. I go to the kitchen to get the thermometer that Tom Schulz lent us. It is the wrong thermometer...it is a meat thermometer that only goes to 180 degrees F.
PANIC Again!! How are we going to measure the heat of the oil?? I make frantic calls to school to see if the science department has a thermometer that goes past 400 degrees F. They have one, but it won't be here until 3:30 at the earliest...Solution: Greg says if we drop a couple of drops of water into the oil, the water will "dance" on the surface if the oil is at the right temp.
Problem Three: It starts to rain. Change of plan. Turn off the burner, move the entire cooking set-up to the garage. It is now getting close to 3:00....have not even started the turkeys yet, and people will arrive at 4:00...
Problem Four: The caterer arrives with the mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and gravy...and meat from two baked turkeys that we ordered. The problem is that they were supposed to provide mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy for 80 people, and they brought only enough for "two turkeys" worth....panic call to the caterer...they apologize, and say they will bring more by 5:00...(as it turned out, they did bring the extra food, but they kept the trays of food in their big box, and we never saw it...the ONE tray of mashed potatoes and stuffing was enough...we found the extra trays of food when we were cleaning up)
We put the first turkey in the pot at 3:30....the extra oil arrived, and the thermometer arrived, and we were able to get all the turkeys cooked by 7:00....but had plenty of turkey for the start of dinner at 6:00.
We had SO much food...people brought gigantic salads, pies, ice cream, vegetables, etc....everyone had seconds or thirds, and the turkey was the best I have ever tasted!!
Before dinner, we made a little speech about Thanksgiving, and tributed this year's dinner to Wayne Kaler. We said that the Thanksgiving Feast tradition that Wayne and Dick started 20 years ago was now officially continued after a two year break...
I was so busy cooking, I didn't take any photos of the actual feast....we had our own little small party out in the garage where the cooking took place....what is it about a BBQ or cooking station that attracts so many guys? We had a good time drinking beer and cooking turkeys....here are "the boys"...the six of us who organized the dinner with our first turkey!!
This one's for you WayneO!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Preparing For The Feast
Tomorrow is the BIG day. We will be hosting a big Thanksgiving feast here at the house. Today, the tent people arrived, and set up tents at the front of the house and down the side of the house. We will seat about 60 people outside of the house keeping the interior free for people to talk, etc. The table is ready for the food too....we will have a long buffet line set up. We are expecting around 90 people (including kids), so it will be quite the undertaking, and the largest number of people we have had in our house since our house warming party a couple of years ago...
I am taking the day off from school tomorrow to cook the turkeys. We will cook 6 turkeys in hot oil, and we are having two other turkeys oven baked by a local caterer. More photos of the actual event tomorrow...
Oh, and the reason we are celebrating Thanksgiving two days early?? We have UN Day at the high school on Thursday, and people get stuffed eating all the international food....so for most people to come, we re-scheduled for Tuesday....
I am taking the day off from school tomorrow to cook the turkeys. We will cook 6 turkeys in hot oil, and we are having two other turkeys oven baked by a local caterer. More photos of the actual event tomorrow...
Oh, and the reason we are celebrating Thanksgiving two days early?? We have UN Day at the high school on Thursday, and people get stuffed eating all the international food....so for most people to come, we re-scheduled for Tuesday....
Friday, November 20, 2009
PIE Talent Show
So Kayla has been practicing with a group of older kids for the talent show for the past month or so. They did that famous Michael Jackson dance from the video Thriller. Let me be clear....I am NOT a Michael Jackson fan...but the kids were very cute in their dance, and Kayla did a great job even though her only job was to run around and scream at the start of the dance and at the end of the dance...but her screaming was the best I have ever seen...ha ha....
Butch's daughter, Mariska sang a solo, and was the very first act. I missed it as we were rushing to school to get Kayla there on time to put on her costume and makeup, but I did see a video of Mariska singing, and it was REALLY cute. Our kids are growing up fast!!
Butch's daughter, Mariska sang a solo, and was the very first act. I missed it as we were rushing to school to get Kayla there on time to put on her costume and makeup, but I did see a video of Mariska singing, and it was REALLY cute. Our kids are growing up fast!!
Kayla's dancing group with all the gore...
The grand finale featured the teachers singing as the "Village People", then all the kids came on stage where balloons were dropped from the ceiling...
Our little star received some flowers for her performance...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Getting Ready For Turkey Day
It's been a very busy week...I am hosting a big thanksgiving feast next Tuesday...over 90 people will be here. We are going to have tents set up in front of the house and down the side of the house to put all the tables...it will be quite the undertaking...I have lots of help from 5 good friends who are all chipping in doing different jobs...
The tradition was started by my good friend, Wayne Kaler. He hosted every year, and it was always the "event of the year"...his shoes will be difficult to fill. When Wayne visited this past summer, I promised him we would keep the tradition alive, and I would host the dinner at my house...so, wish us luck!!
In other news...
The traffic has been a nightmare (nothing new there). Yesterday, it was like two storms merging to form the perfect storm. I pulled out of our driveway into a jam on our little street. There was a road closure near our house, so all traffic was diverted to our little street in front of our house....then, there was a metro mini stuck in the street blocking all traffic. I waited 45 minutes in front of our house before we finally were able to get around the stupid bus...then closer to school, in another perfect storm, we got stuck again....it took us a record TWO hours to get to school....we left at 6:00, and got to school at 8:00. Luckily, I didn't have a class first period...but Kayla was late for her class...
We had an outburst of those termite bugs last night...they come out once a year to breed, then die. They are harmless, but there were millions of them. To make things worse, there was shooting at our house last night, and the big studio lights attracted millions of the things and they all seem to die in our pool...it was like a horror movie. The film crews decided to just turn out ALL the lights, and we waited an hour, and then the bugs disappeared....really weird. I just hope they don't decide to breed again next Tuesday when people are chowing down on Turkey.
The tradition was started by my good friend, Wayne Kaler. He hosted every year, and it was always the "event of the year"...his shoes will be difficult to fill. When Wayne visited this past summer, I promised him we would keep the tradition alive, and I would host the dinner at my house...so, wish us luck!!
In other news...
The traffic has been a nightmare (nothing new there). Yesterday, it was like two storms merging to form the perfect storm. I pulled out of our driveway into a jam on our little street. There was a road closure near our house, so all traffic was diverted to our little street in front of our house....then, there was a metro mini stuck in the street blocking all traffic. I waited 45 minutes in front of our house before we finally were able to get around the stupid bus...then closer to school, in another perfect storm, we got stuck again....it took us a record TWO hours to get to school....we left at 6:00, and got to school at 8:00. Luckily, I didn't have a class first period...but Kayla was late for her class...
We had an outburst of those termite bugs last night...they come out once a year to breed, then die. They are harmless, but there were millions of them. To make things worse, there was shooting at our house last night, and the big studio lights attracted millions of the things and they all seem to die in our pool...it was like a horror movie. The film crews decided to just turn out ALL the lights, and we waited an hour, and then the bugs disappeared....really weird. I just hope they don't decide to breed again next Tuesday when people are chowing down on Turkey.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Kayla's School Photo
I have been meaning to put Kayla's new school photo on the blog for a few days, but we misplaced the DVD that came with the photos. We found it, so here is Kayla's Kindergarten class photo, and her class...
Very cute, I think....
Very cute, I think....
Sunday, November 15, 2009
IASAS Golf At Jagorawi Golf and Country Club
It was JIS's turn to host IASAS Golf...and we couldn't have had a better place to play the tournament than my favorite course, Jagorawi Golf and Country Club. All six schools brought teams of boys and girls to play in the tournament. There were some very high caliber golfers...a freshman girl from International School of Bangkok, only 14 years old, shot a 69 with 8 birdies. This on a VERY challenging golf course!! The boy's champion, from International School of Manila, shot even par on both days. The JIS boys blew the field away with 2nd through 6th place finishes. The teams all played the old course on Friday, and then played the Z-9 yesterday for their first nine holes (A VERY tough course), and then the first nine holes of the new course (also very challenging). It was amazing to watch these young golfers play...they have such pretty swings and they can knock the ball close to 300 yards...unreal!! Tiger, look out!!
My job was to take photos....here are a couple I took...
A golfer tees off at the first hole of the Z-9...
My job was to take photos....here are a couple I took...
A golfer tees off at the first hole of the Z-9...
A female golfer plans her shot on the first hole off the Z-9...
All six schools brought full teams of girls and boys...we are hoping to make golf a Varsity Sport...
Friday, November 13, 2009
Kevin Comes To Town
We have a poker game usually once a month. It is a great group of guys. One guy hosts the game and is responsible for supplying dinner. Each of us contributes to the dinner, and then we play. The most that can be lost in one night is a million rupiah (about 100 bucks)...we always have big laughs, tell stories, and just have a great time playing cards. Even when I lose, I still think it is worth the money for a good night out with the boys...
One of our players (Kevin Callahan..second from left) left us last year to move to Bangkok, and we have had a tough time finding a player to replace him. Kevin was in town this weekend for the IASAS Golf Tournament that JIS is hosting this year (see tomorrow's post for more info on the golf...). The first thing Kevin asked before he came back into town was whether or not we could get a game together while he was here. We usually play on Thursday nights, but we arranged a special game just for Kevin on a Friday night, and Lance (pictured bottom right) cooked up his specialty, BBQ'd Lamb for dinner.
As for the poker....I had an up and down night...I started off strong, but ended down for the night about 20 bucks...well worth the price of a great night out.
One of our players (Kevin Callahan..second from left) left us last year to move to Bangkok, and we have had a tough time finding a player to replace him. Kevin was in town this weekend for the IASAS Golf Tournament that JIS is hosting this year (see tomorrow's post for more info on the golf...). The first thing Kevin asked before he came back into town was whether or not we could get a game together while he was here. We usually play on Thursday nights, but we arranged a special game just for Kevin on a Friday night, and Lance (pictured bottom right) cooked up his specialty, BBQ'd Lamb for dinner.
As for the poker....I had an up and down night...I started off strong, but ended down for the night about 20 bucks...well worth the price of a great night out.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Reny and Chim Visit From Sweden
Tika's best friend, Reny, has been in Sweden the past two years with her husband Chim. They finally made it back to Jakarta for a visit. They will be in Indonesia for a month or so before returning to Sweden. They leave tomorrow for Flores and Komodo to do some diving, then they will be in Bali for awhile before returning to Jakarta again...then back to Sweden. It was great catching up with them tonight. We had dinner at our house where we BBQ'd some steaks and sausages, and corn on the cobb....a typical American meal for the Swedes...
It is pouring rain while I write this....it is nice...it is almost cold outside...
It is pouring rain while I write this....it is nice...it is almost cold outside...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I'd Rather Be There...
Don't get me wrong, it is great to be back home...BUT, I am so behind on my work at school, it is driving me crazy...on top of that, the traffic has just been unbearable the past two days!
When I left for Lombok last Saturday, I could not turn the key in my lock on my classroom door. I turned my key into the facilities office telling them I could not lock my door. Yesterday, I knew the traffic would be really bad, so Kayla got up earlier than usual, and we left the house a good half hour before we usually do (6:00 am). The traffic was unreal....I didn't move faster than 10 kilometers per hour the entire way to school...and when we got to the road that leads to school, it was closed for construction...I had to take a detour that added an additional half hour to the trip. I got to school just as the bell was ringing, and had 30 kids (the project week kids) waiting outside my door. The door was locked, and I had no key.....arrrrgh....that is pretty much how the past two days has been.
Also, before I left, I tried to pay for our ticket home this Christmas, and my credit card was denied...I thought it was just USAA trying to protect me from a large charge overseas...I told the travel agent I would check with USAA and then pay for the ticket when I got back from Lombok. I went back yesterday after school to try again. The trip to the travel agent takes me through horrific traffic, and out of the way of our route home. As soon as I entered the travel agent office, their electricity goes out...can't pay with my credit card...wasted trip...and a 2 hour traffic jam to get home...
So, today, we try again....I make the long trip to the travel agent. Their electricity is on....charge denied!! WHAT?? What is going on with my credit card?? I want to scream!! I remain calm, however, and tell Tika, "well, we are in the area, lets go by the frame place and pick up our photos that we just had framed"....we drive to the frame shop....CLOSED. ARGGGGGH!! Another two hours of traffic to get home, and a totally wasted trip....
When I left for Lombok last Saturday, I could not turn the key in my lock on my classroom door. I turned my key into the facilities office telling them I could not lock my door. Yesterday, I knew the traffic would be really bad, so Kayla got up earlier than usual, and we left the house a good half hour before we usually do (6:00 am). The traffic was unreal....I didn't move faster than 10 kilometers per hour the entire way to school...and when we got to the road that leads to school, it was closed for construction...I had to take a detour that added an additional half hour to the trip. I got to school just as the bell was ringing, and had 30 kids (the project week kids) waiting outside my door. The door was locked, and I had no key.....arrrrgh....that is pretty much how the past two days has been.
Also, before I left, I tried to pay for our ticket home this Christmas, and my credit card was denied...I thought it was just USAA trying to protect me from a large charge overseas...I told the travel agent I would check with USAA and then pay for the ticket when I got back from Lombok. I went back yesterday after school to try again. The trip to the travel agent takes me through horrific traffic, and out of the way of our route home. As soon as I entered the travel agent office, their electricity goes out...can't pay with my credit card...wasted trip...and a 2 hour traffic jam to get home...
So, today, we try again....I make the long trip to the travel agent. Their electricity is on....charge denied!! WHAT?? What is going on with my credit card?? I want to scream!! I remain calm, however, and tell Tika, "well, we are in the area, lets go by the frame place and pick up our photos that we just had framed"....we drive to the frame shop....CLOSED. ARGGGGGH!! Another two hours of traffic to get home, and a totally wasted trip....
Ok, I would rather be HERE....(pictured below)...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Great Week, But Glad To Be Home
Wow, lots happened while I was isolated in the Gili Islands off of Lombok for a week.
First off, the YANKEES are now the World Series Champions!! I was able to check scores on my iphone, but it took almost 30 minutes to get a peek of the score in the morning...and it was usually in the 6th inning when I checked, and it would take too long to refresh, so I just gave up, and checked the scores the next morning. I thought it was going to go to seven games, but the Yanks pulled it off!! A great season!!
Then, I read Dad's blog, and found out about Fort Hood....Glad to know that Matthew was OK!!
Anyway, the trip was great. All 30 kids were certified in SCUBA, and it was a really great group of kids!! As you can see from the photo below, we had great visibility and calm waters to dive in...well, at least the first couple of days. We had two days where there were high winds in the afternoon kicking up the surf....which made for a few hairy dives, but the kids did not complain one bit, and were real troopers in the rough conditions. We only had high winds for two afternoons, then the seas calmed down again, and we had really nice diving weather.
I have not had a cold in over two years, but put me on a dive trip, and somehow colds attack me. I started sneezing and blowing my nose the second day in Lombok. On our last day, I had real trouble equalizing my right ear, but was able to get down very slowly...then on my last ascent, I got a reverse block which means the pressure inside my ear was greater than the pressure outside, and the pressure was not being released....I could not rise past 20 feet or extreme pain...I was low on air too....so, I dove down to 30 feet to re-apply the pressure on my right ear, but then couldn't clear my left ear to get down to 30 feet. It was one of the worst ascents I have ever experienced. I thought for sure I would rupture my ear drum as none of the tricks I tried worked...and when I got down to my last few breaths of air, I had no choice but to go up, and just try to ignore the agony of pain...but miraculously, as I slowly went up foot by foot, I heard the high squeak in my ear as the pressure broke through...all is fine now, but it was not a pleasant experience, and I should know better to not dive with a cold...
Last night after I arrived, the girls wanted to go out for dinner, so we decided to go to the mall. BIG MISTAKE...the mall was having a huge sale, and I could not believe the number of people that were there. I drove around the parking garage for over an hour looking for a parking spot. Every conceivable space was taken....parking here in Indonesia is VERY different than what you find in the states...there is no such thing as illegal parking. If people could pull their car into the lobby of the mall, they would do it. They park EVERYWHERE...so, when I say there was no parking spots, there were NO parking spots. I finally gave up....and it took me over 30 minutes to just get out of the garage....as I drove to the exit to pay for parking (ha ha), a guy was pulling out of a spot....I grabbed it, and we went into the mall to eat....what a ZOO!! We fought the crowds, ate our food, and all I wanted was to get out of there....BUT, Tika being the bargain hunter she is, wanted to go to ACE Hardware as they were having a big sale there....OK....we went, we bought, Tika got good deals, we conquered....then I got my wish, and we went home.
First off, the YANKEES are now the World Series Champions!! I was able to check scores on my iphone, but it took almost 30 minutes to get a peek of the score in the morning...and it was usually in the 6th inning when I checked, and it would take too long to refresh, so I just gave up, and checked the scores the next morning. I thought it was going to go to seven games, but the Yanks pulled it off!! A great season!!
Then, I read Dad's blog, and found out about Fort Hood....Glad to know that Matthew was OK!!
Anyway, the trip was great. All 30 kids were certified in SCUBA, and it was a really great group of kids!! As you can see from the photo below, we had great visibility and calm waters to dive in...well, at least the first couple of days. We had two days where there were high winds in the afternoon kicking up the surf....which made for a few hairy dives, but the kids did not complain one bit, and were real troopers in the rough conditions. We only had high winds for two afternoons, then the seas calmed down again, and we had really nice diving weather.
I have not had a cold in over two years, but put me on a dive trip, and somehow colds attack me. I started sneezing and blowing my nose the second day in Lombok. On our last day, I had real trouble equalizing my right ear, but was able to get down very slowly...then on my last ascent, I got a reverse block which means the pressure inside my ear was greater than the pressure outside, and the pressure was not being released....I could not rise past 20 feet or extreme pain...I was low on air too....so, I dove down to 30 feet to re-apply the pressure on my right ear, but then couldn't clear my left ear to get down to 30 feet. It was one of the worst ascents I have ever experienced. I thought for sure I would rupture my ear drum as none of the tricks I tried worked...and when I got down to my last few breaths of air, I had no choice but to go up, and just try to ignore the agony of pain...but miraculously, as I slowly went up foot by foot, I heard the high squeak in my ear as the pressure broke through...all is fine now, but it was not a pleasant experience, and I should know better to not dive with a cold...
Last night after I arrived, the girls wanted to go out for dinner, so we decided to go to the mall. BIG MISTAKE...the mall was having a huge sale, and I could not believe the number of people that were there. I drove around the parking garage for over an hour looking for a parking spot. Every conceivable space was taken....parking here in Indonesia is VERY different than what you find in the states...there is no such thing as illegal parking. If people could pull their car into the lobby of the mall, they would do it. They park EVERYWHERE...so, when I say there was no parking spots, there were NO parking spots. I finally gave up....and it took me over 30 minutes to just get out of the garage....as I drove to the exit to pay for parking (ha ha), a guy was pulling out of a spot....I grabbed it, and we went into the mall to eat....what a ZOO!! We fought the crowds, ate our food, and all I wanted was to get out of there....BUT, Tika being the bargain hunter she is, wanted to go to ACE Hardware as they were having a big sale there....OK....we went, we bought, Tika got good deals, we conquered....then I got my wish, and we went home.
Check out this visibility on the kids' very first dive...
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