Summer

Thoughts of summer evoke different thoughts depending on where you live. You probably think it means that school is out, but here school doesn't end until July 16th this year! You think of fudgesicles, and here people eat green-bean-sicles. You think of baseball games, and here they just work, no time for games. You think of barbeques and the 4th of July (for my American friends, that is). Here they think of staying indoors out of the rain...it is rainy season here. One thing is certainly the same...HOT WEATHER! We get temperatures that are often hotter than those in tropical locations, and it is humid like Houston. The really hot, muggy weather in my city only lasts 6-10 weeks though, so it's not too bad compared to some places. This summer I'll travel around this country some, and I'll also make a trip to Thailand later in the summer. Take care!

Old Red Bit the Dust

My old red motorbike has died. I got it in March 1998. I was hoping to make it last until March 2008, when law mandates its' retirement, but it just couldn't make it that long. I took the motorbike to the vegetable market Saturday, and it was sputtering as it has for quite awhile, but it died at the market. I had to push the thing back home (which no doubt explains my backache and why I couldn't get out of bed the following morning). You may wonder about the law...after 10 years, cars, motorbikes, etc. have to go to the junk heap or sold for parts. They don't want a lot of bad vehicles on the road. There is not much of a used vehicle market around here as a result. Old red is gone. She and I have had quite a decade of memories together. I'm sure my neighbors will be glad not to see old red anymore, as the motorbike was becoming quite an eyesore and they were probably embarrassed--or afraid that I would lower their property values by riding it around here. :-)

Update

Hi! I think I would write on this blog more often if I didn't have to re-set my password every time I used it. I don't forget my password, but the blog program can't seem to remember it. Anyway, since I last wrote on this blog, I got my dog back! She had a hard, long trip in the dark underbelly of an airplane (24 hours with no pit stop) followed by a 7-day prison stay in quarantine in Shanghai. I think she got overheated and not given enough to drink in quarantine, because she was very dehydrated when I got her back. Otherwise, I think she was probably treated well. I was able to bring her from Shanghai in a car for an 8-hour ride. The poor doggy has been through the wringer! She quickly adjusted back to her life here...you would think she had never left. She seems a lot more tired (getting old maybe?) and sleeps a lot. She doesn't steal my shoes as often. She is starting to remind me of that dog on the Beverly Hillbillies that sleeps on the doorstep all day long. I never thought I'd live to see the day when my hyperactive dog slowed down. I'm just glad to have her back.