Just what I needed

This is six minutes long, and only watchable if you love kitties, have a fondness for engineers, and have a skewed sense of humor.

Mildred Loving

Mildred Loving died on Monday. She married her husband, Richard Loving, almost 50 years ago. Such a long/short time!
This is a statement she prepared last year for the 40th anniversary of the court case which legalized her marriage and overturned laws in 17 states.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loving for All

By Mildred Loving*

Prepared for Delivery on June 12, 2007,
The 40th Anniversary of the Loving vs. Virginia Announcement

When my late husband, Richard, and I got married in Washington, DC in 1958, it wasn’t to make a political statement or start a fight. We were in love, and we wanted to be married.

We didn’t get married in Washington because we wanted to marry there. We did it there because the government wouldn’t allow us to marry back home in Virginia where we grew up, where we met, where we fell in love, and where we wanted to be together and build our family. You see, I am a woman of color and Richard was white, and at that time people believed it was okay to keep us from marrying because of their ideas of who should marry whom.

When Richard and I came back to our home in Virginia, happily married, we had no intention of battling over the law. We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn’t that what marriage is?

Not long after our wedding, we were awakened in the middle of the night in our own bedroom by deputy sheriffs and actually arrested for the “crime” of marrying the wrong kind of person. Our marriage certificate was hanging on the wall above the bed. The state prosecuted Richard and me, and after we were found guilty, the judge declared: “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” He sentenced us to a year in prison, but offered to suspend the sentence if we left our home in Virginia for 25 years exile.

We left, and got a lawyer. Richard and I had to fight, but still were not fighting for a cause. We were fighting for our love.

Though it turned out we had to fight, happily Richard and I didn’t have to fight alone. Thanks to groups like the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and so many good people around the country willing to speak up, we took our case for the freedom to marry all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that, “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men,” a “basic civil right.”

My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wendall and I married on the 27th anniversary of the decision. It was a happy accident that it fell on a weekend day in 1994. While we would not have changed plans in order to be married on the 12th, we were both very pleased to be able to honor the day.

Thank you, Mrs. Loving.

Hectic, but fine

I will post an actual something later today. I have photos to upload and things to say, but no time to actually do much more than think them towards the computer.

Life is fine. Really.

How steep was it?

100_2283, originally uploaded by TargetCat.

These were the steps we climbed on the Great Wall. The boy took this photo. Click through to see other photos from him.

We spent the day doing simple, good things. We had a good breakfast of rice and fish and eggs. We took a walk by the river. We wrote letters to a few friends. All in all a perfect Saturday.

The freaking out will come soon, so I am savoring this day.

I miss Dr. Demento

"Wet Dream" by Kip Adotta



"Existential Blues" by Tom "T-Bone" Stankus

The Dr. is still in, but unfortunately he does not allow downloads of his show. Though I do sit in front of the computer long enough to listen to the show, my best memories of the show are the times that I was able to listen while in the car or while doing other things. There's nothing like trying to hold in laughter while on the bus.

Seven years ago today I awoke to some wonderful news. Wendall had been accepted to the Basic Course at the JAG school in Charlottesville Virginia. It meant that he would be heading back to the States after many long months in Korea. It meant that we would be together again after almost two years of being mostly apart. It meant that he had been accepted as an officer in the JAG Corps. It was one of the best days of my life, and every year I smile on this day.

This year I have more reasons to smile.

Last week we received word that Wendall has been accepted to the Graduate Course in Charlottesville. This means that we will be heading back to the States after many long months in Korea. It means tat we will be near family again after six years of being mostly apart. It means he is one step closer to being promoted.

We have no details yet, and when we have them they will not be posted here. If you need to know them, you will hear more. If you want to know them just let me know. I will be sending emails begging some of you for help and/or advice. All we know now is that we should be leaving Seoul sometime this summer.

Now for a bit of truth. We have not lived in the US for three years. We have not lived on the Mainland for over six years. While I am very excited to be near our families and friends for the next year, I am also worried about living on the East Coast again. I am honestly looking at this move in the same way I looked at moving to Germany or Korea. This will be a completely new experience for the three of us. I am looking forward to introducing the boy to a slice of American culture. I’m hoping that we are as adaptable there as we have been in the other places we have lived.

More later.

Bargument

Last night, while sitting in a restaurant in Beijing, Wendall explained that he had had a "bargument" with a shopkeeper in a nearby market. I think it is the perfect word to describe the shopping experience in China. I'd heard that bargaining was expected, but I did not realize how vicious it would be. Sadly there were things that I did not buy because I was not mean enough to get the seller down to a reasonable price. Wendall was much better.

We just returned from a 4 day trip to Beijing. We went with 17 other people and had a whirlwind tour of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and so many other things that it will be hard to remember them all.

The food was great and cheap enough that we could sample everything. The wall really was great, and the city was amazing. Almost everyone on the trip is planning to return. Check out Flickr tomorrow and there should be a few photos up. Wendall has a few up now, including one of the boy at the Great Wall.

Off to pet the kitties and sleep in my own bed!

Day off

We have a day off today. The boy has started Spring Break, so we are off to the War Museum. I'm hoping that we will be able to stay long enough to see everything. Two adults and four first graders. Should be interesting!

MAD magazine fold-ins are 40 years old

I remember sitting on the floor in the kid's section of the Lewisburg public library and folding madly. I tried so hard to see the picture before I folded it, and though I was to young to understand all of the jokes, I knew that the concept was brilliant. Occasionally the magazines were folded badly the first time, and the pictures did not quite line up. How frustrating it was to not see the seemles transformation!

The New York Times has a gift in store if you click the links. Al Jaffee's Fold-Ins in an interactive format. A perfect fold every time, along with an explanation for those of us still too young to get some of the jokes.

There is also a very nice feature article on Mr Jaffee. Enjoy!

What is stuck in my head today

Though this isn't how my life is here, there are many things in this video which are very familiar to me. It will be fun to look back at this gem.

Purple to brown belt

Purple to brown belt, originally uploaded by allysther.

Hey!

"Mom--how do you spell "hay"?"

"Sound it out. You can do this one!"

"Hmmmm..H...A...Y?"

"You got it. Good job."

"Do you know there is another way to spell hay?"

"Oh? How else would you spell it?"

"AH! I have to go to the bathroom! I'll be right back!"



Ok, it's not as if I could argue with that!

Thank you, USPS. It's about time!

I t looks like the Post Office might finally have noticed that they make a huge amount of money collecting boxes for APO addresses. I say collecting rather than shipping, because they honestly only do half of the work (if that much!) and do not provide all of the services available for Stateside addresses. I'm not complaining about what they do, I'm just saying that I'm glad for the price cut.

So this is the special Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate Box. It is 12x12x5 and will cost only $10.95. The same sized box will be available for non APO addresses but it will cost $12.95.

Let me explain why I say that the postal service does only half of the work when you send a box to an APO or FPO address. I'll explain it step by step.
1 You take the box to the post office, fill out the customs form and pay the postage. It costs the same (or less with this new box) as sending the box anywhere in the States.
2 The USPS takes the box as far as New York or California.
3 The box is handed to the Military Postal Service (MPS). This is a service which is run by all branches of the military and is dedicated to getting the mail to those of us who live overseas.
4 the MPS takes the box the rest of the way. Once it has left the USPS it can not be tracked in any way. Insurance still works, and I suppose you could ask for a return receipt, but don't bother with delivery confirmation or Express Mail. Especially Express Mail! Priority mail makes sense, because it will get to the MPS a bit faster, and because it is usually almost the same price as First Class mail, but I've had Express Mail take the same two weeks as a standard letter.

So that's the news. The boxes will be available as of 3 March, but it is possible that you will have to request them. The link above will let you order them and have them shipped directly to your door, for free. Did you know that you can request USPS shipping products for free and that they will be delivered with your normal mail? And that the postal carrier will also pick up you boxes once they are all packed up and ready to go? The flat rate boxes are great for this, because you know the price. Happy shipping!

Every once in a while we need to be apart.
It is the best way to remember why we are together.

Sunday

Today was a lovely day. We spent it as we love to spend our Sundays, completely at rest. We had brunch on base and then went to the grocery store. After a stop at the hair salon we came home, worked on homework, read, ate dinner, and watched a movie. The boy went to bed and now we are playing online for a bit before we head to bed as well.

Other than the trip to the salon, this is all we could ever ask from a Sunday, at least until the world warms up a bit. Once that happens we will add a nice walk to our day. We spend so much of our week running about that it is nice to have a day of down time.

Love

Love, originally uploaded by allysther.

Love is a wonderful thing, and I am happy to still be so in love with my husband. 17 years is a long time.

Yesterday a friend commented that we act like we have been married for just a short time. She asked me when our honeymoon would end. told her "Never, I hope." and I wondered again how other people act with their spouses.

We don't act the same way we did when we were first married. We do act as if we are two people who love one another very much.

Long hard week

It's been a long hard week, but we are making our way through the rough patch now, and we should be back to normal soon.

First Book

First Book, originally uploaded by allysther.

YAY! The Boy read me a book from cover to cover. Thank you to Zanla for snapping the picture!

This was Friday, 8 February.

Lovely!

Ok, this is only going to make you laugh if you like cat macros. If you don't like them, lucky you! I find them insanely funny (now you know my dirty secret)!

Anyway--go HERE if you enjoy them. Iz funneh!


To stay in the mood of this silly post, Happy Birthday!


moar funny pictures

Yes We Can

I am still arguing with myself with the candidates, so please don't see this as my endorsement. I think that this was an amazing speech, though, and I am astounded by this video.

Political speech at its finest.



Thank you to my friend Gia for posting this. I know she didn't do it just for me, but I know that she knew it would make me smile.

Ohhhh, there's also THIS

Good for you, Montel Williams

Montel Williams gives a reasoned speech about the importance of reporting actual news instead of gossip. His show was canceled three days later.

More info here.

This is not a story I had heard, and honestly I don't know how it appeared before me, but I thought it was a good thing to post.

I spent quite a few years wrapped up in the cult of celebrity worship. I'm glad I am finished with that part of my life. Heath Ledger's death was a tragedy for his family, not for the rest of humanity. Thank you, Mr. Williams for reminding us of this fact.

In case you are wondering, there have been 40 US deaths so far this year. I found the information at icasualties.org.

Scooter fun

I tried to send this out to a few people, but the link failed. This is the boy on his new scooter.

Giant Gummi Bear

Tonight's discussion was about giant gummi bears. I have NO idea how we made it to this topic, but the boy and I had a very long talk about what we would do if a giant gummi bear ate our apartment building.

We agreed that the gummi bear picked up the building from the top, ripped it from the ground, and swallowed it whole, starting from the first floor. We both thought that being upright in the apartment would be better. We agreed that everyone inside the building would survive, but we argued over what would happen with the gummi innards.

He was pretty sure that the windows would be crushed, and that we would end up suspended in gummi. I disagreed, saying that gummi is actually very sturdy stuff, and the windows would feel pressure but would not break. I also said that if they broke it would be ok, as my escape plan was to open a window and eat my way to safety. He thought we would have too much to eat, and that we would have to tunnel out, but first we would have to break free.

After a long debate over the properties of gummi versus jelly or jello consistency we realized that we needed a tiebreaker. Luckily Wendall was relaxing in a warm bath, and had full use of his rational mind.

He asked us if the building had been pulled out of the ground and eaten immediately. We affirmed that it had. He then smiled and reminded us of all of the water in the pipes. It would run out of the pipes and into the gummi bear's belly. Gummi dissolves in water, so the building would simply slip through the hole that the water created.

I'm so glad we had a rational mind to look at the situation in a new light. I kept picturing the bear to be orange, my least favorite, and I was really unhappy that I would have to eat so much of it to escape!

On Friday we were able to see Bobby McFerrin at the Seoul Arts Center. We had an absolutely amazing time, and The Boy enjoyed every moment that he was awake to see and hear. Unfortunately he is six, and the concert started at eight pm, and it was warm and dark and filled with the music which plays as he heads to bed each night.

So when we got home at 10 we popped in the DVD of the concert from 1986. Most of the songs were different, but the idea was the same, and The Boy was transfixed. What a great way to end the evening.

Yeah, yeah, this is where someone says "Oh, the Don't Worry Be Happy guy." Please don't. Watch this instead.






This is closer to what we saw. He did not speak much, because he doesn't speak Korean, but this is one of the songs he performed. So is this-





It was an amazing show,and I'm so glad we were able to go. It was the third time I've seen him perform, but was out of the country the last time, so it was a first for him.

80's Hair!

80's Hair!, originally uploaded by allysther.

It seems I've turned into Martin Gore. Wendall says he never wanted to marry Martin. I say I wanted to marry him so badly that this is what happened. Wendall has asked me to please go comb my hair.

Can you guess the song?

In case you can't tell, I'm bored and just trying to keep myself awake.

This was pretty neat, though.

The author of "The Stinky Cheese Man" and a slew of other books written specifically for boys has just been named a "reading ambassador".

A 'Stinky' ambassador

Fri Jan 11, 12:20 AM ET

When the co-author of a book titled The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales wins a Library of Congress appointment as a "reading ambassador," you know there's more to the story. Indeed, there is.

For years, writer Jon Scieszka has been a lonely voice warning that young people, especially boys, are falling behind in literacy skills. His website, guysread.com, serves as a beacon of advice for teachers and parents desperate to keep boys reading.

His message: Don't think of reading as just the classics. Young boys celebrate the gross and the weird, so why not exploit that to get them hooked on reading? Books scoffed at by purists, such as Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series, have a place in classrooms.

What Scieszka saw coming for years — a growing gender divide in reading ability — others are only now discovering. In Illinois this fall, state reading tests revealed broad gender gaps in reading. At one Cook County elementary school, girls' scores topped boys' by up to 55 percentage points.

Once boys fall behind in reading skills, it carries through the rest of their academic careers. Diminished literacy makes it harder for them to earn college degrees or compete in today's economy.

Scieszka's two-year appointment this month by Librarian of Congress James Billington was intended to boost reading by both boys and girls. The Stinky Cheese co-author (the book pokes fun at traditional fairy tales) will visit schools and draw publicity to children's books. That's appropriate, but Billington would be wise to allow Scieszka to focus his efforts where they are most needed.

With Scieszka's encouragement, maybe more teachers will allow Captain Underpants and other fairly stupid stories to roam elementary school classrooms. Lots of boys will love it. And some girls, too.

link is here

Almost Home

Almost Home, originally uploaded by allysther.

Back from the trip

It was good to be in the US, and three weeks was just about right. Three weeks allowed me to see almost everyone and to give the boy a big dose of the culture. There were a few sad moments, as well as a bunch of tense long minutes, but all in all it was a positive visit.

A few wonderful memories:

The boy was able to see all but one of his six grandparents. We had not seen zanla's mother since 2002, so having her fly in for a weekend was truly amazing. She lives in the Virgin Islands, so this trip meant so much to her. She was able, for the first time ever, to have all four of her grandchildren in one place. Wonderful to see, and sadly not likely to happen again anytime soon.

Flying in to see my sister-in-law sing. She is a member of two groups, and she just happened to be performing with both of them in the same weekend. We arranged our flights so that we had a weekend layover in San Francisco, and we were able to attend both concerts. I felt oh so decadent when I told people that we ad flown in just for the concerts, but it was true! I have quite a collection of her music, and play it often for the boy, so he was familiar with a few of the songs he heard. Hanging out with the sibs was a fantastic side benefit. Next time we are in SF I plan to see some of the city, but this time it was all about the family time.

Watching the boy play with his cousins. He does not have many, but the few he has and knows he loves. The last time he saw them was in 2005, but he was able to spend New Year's Eve playing hard with them. He was a very happy boy that night, and was so tired the next day that he fell asleep at the table during lunch.

Commercials. We did not have commercials in Germany, and the only tv channel we watch here is the Disney Channel, which only advertises Disney products. The boy watched endless hours of the Cartoon Network and walked away being able to quote the commercials. At one point he told me that it was very important that we call the number and order Life Alert for ourselves. He was crushed when I explained that it would not work in Korea. He is also desperate for a Chia Pet, some Blendy Pens, and a set of Zoobooks.

The Liberty Bell. We were able to spend a few short hours in Philadelphia, so we ran to visit the bell. The new museum is beautiful, and was filled with people reading and talking about what they saw. The boy and I discussed the bell as an important national symbol, and he asked if it was as important as the Eiffel Tower. He told me that a tower was cooler than a bell, and showed me that we have to work a bit harder on giving him information about US History. Particularly amusing (for me) was trying to explain what a black person was. He was confused by the discussion of the bell as a symbol for freed slaves, which led to a discussion of slavery, which led to the question "What is a black person?" I still have not figured out the best way to answer those questions.

That's it for now. I hope to upload photos later today.

Photos

Trip to the States

We will be heading to the East Coast next week. Unfortunately we will not have a huge amount of time, but we will be in the States for a few weeks. Contact us directly if you want more info.

We are working out a very busy schedule right now.

State Poster

State Poster, originally uploaded by allysther.

So did you guess correctly?

The boy has a project to do today in class. He gets to present a poster of a state and give a bit of information regarding the state flower/bird/tree and so on. Any guesses as to the state he chose?

The song Issue is resolved

First Grader, originally uploaded by allysther.

We met with the school principal today. This meeting went very well, and the issue has been resolved. She was very receptive to our request to have the song removed. She promised that the song will never be sung in the school again and that she will have a long talk with the teacher about his actions.

She also apologized to us. She apologized for the song being sung in the first place and for the trouble we've had in getting it removed from the classroom.

It was a good talk. We all left feeling that we had accomplished something, and we were all happy with the outcome.

Scholastic Book Fair

Do you remember the excitement of the book fair? Did you beg your parents for a few dollars so you could go on your own and buy a new book? Did you have 25 or 50 cents left over and buy a silly pencil or a pack of stickers?

I loved the book fair. It was only for a day or so, set up in the cafeteria (the only room big enough) for an hour or two each day. I had plenty of books at home, but the thought of a new book was wonderful.

Even the Scholastic magazine was not as good as the fair. Flimsy pages showed a few options, but the fair let me hold them, touch them, and small them. I've always loved the feel of a book in my hands, and so many new ones in one spot....ahhhh, heaven.

Tomorrow I get to be behind the scenes at the book fair. The PTO meeting was awful, but it did allow me to connect with the parent in charge, who were kind enough to let me volunteer some of my time this week. I honestly can not wait.

I'm off to pick an outfit.

"Some of my best friends in High School were Jewish"

We met with the music teacher today. The meeting went as well as we thought it would, which was not well at all. The title of this post was something he said to me as an attempt to befriend me. He then tried to tell me about a Jewish song he had written based on some psalm or other. I explained nicely that I had no knowledge of the psalms and that the only Jewish people I'd known in High School were my family. This was at the end of the meeting, but the entire thing had been a disaster, so it only amused me when he pulled it out of his "diversity" hat. Earlier in the meeting he had called Wendall "brother" and told him that it was great to see an African American doing so well.

The only good thing that came of the meeting was that the teacher had a minder, and the minder was visibly surprised by what she saw and heard. She rolled her eyes repeatedly and was friendly towards us the entire time, even asking him questions before we could. I know that he will never understand that what he did was wrong, but she did, and I think that she will give a full report to the principal. She did promise to find an official complaint form for us to fill out, and seemed willing to work with us until we are satisfied.

I made sure to let them both know that this was the latest in a line of things that I see as problems with the school. I also let them know that I would be attending PTO meetings and any advisory meeting I could find regarding the school. We were also very clear tat we had shared this story with fellow parents, and that we were letting people know how unhappy we are with the situation.

So that's it for the time being. The form should be in our hands within the next week. I will get the chance to introduce myself to the principal at the PTO meeting tomorrow night, and the fight will get to continue. This is not how I wanted to spend the boy's first grade year, but it is keeping me busy.

We have a meeting with the teacher tomorrow.

Blogger has decided that Korea might not need to be connected, so I have not been able to update. Hopefully I will be able to connect tomorrow.

After School Snack

After School Snack, originally uploaded by allysther.

The boy and I pass this vendor on our way home from school. He sells waffles and a red bean filled pancake shaped like a fish. I've seen him in the afternoon with no customers, but yesterday was a nice day, and he was swamped with kids and their parents. He was falling behind on production as we left

Song from music class

The boy told us that they sing this song in his music class. It even has hand movements.

Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Oh I’ve got a home in Glory Land
That outshines the sun
Way beyond the blue


Here's the problem. I googled the song (because alarm bells were ringing in my head) and found the rest of the lyrics. Here's the part that Eva Cassidy had in her version:

Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Oh do Lord, oh do Lord
Oh do you remember me?
Way beyond the blue

And here's the part that is included in the full version of this traditional folk (gospel) song:

I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
I took Jesus as my savior, You take Him, too.
Look a way beyond the blue

Eva Cassidy's version is titled "Way Beyond the Blue", and is on the "Time After Time" album. The traditional version is called "Do Lord", and I found it on quite a few Christian albums and on a Johnny Cash album.

So...can I be done? Can I run away from this awful place? Is he too young for me to turn and fight this school?

I was good. I did not get upset when he sang the song for us. I did have him repeat it to be sure I was hearing him correctly. He says that they sing it at the beginning of every music class (once a week). The moment I heard the phrase "glory land" I knew it was a gospel song. I actually really like gospel music. I just don't think it has a place in a public school.

Any advice?

Who is Coming?

Who is coming?, originally uploaded by allysther.

The photo is a page from a story that the boy brought home as homework. It is possible that this might just be the thing I've liked best about his school so far.

I think the school photo thing was made ok. I talked to the photographer who took my check and promised to find the session. It should be fine.

I also stopped by the desk at the school library. The boy asked me to ask about a certain book which he thought he might like to read. He was not sure if he was allowed to check it out. I asked the librarian and was told that he would be encouraged to leave it for another student as it was beyond his reading level. First graders are only allowed one book at a time and the book should be at their reading level, because "why would they bring home a book that they could not read?" I replied "Because their parents could read it for them!"

The library did not open at all until late September, and until it was open the kids were not allowed to touch any of the books. It looks like most of the library is off limits to a large portion of the kids, and the boy is disappointed. So am I.

This week is the anti-drug week at school, which means it was the perfect time for the elder Wendall's latest project to be delivered. He is going to try his hand at home brewing. After sitting through a lecture from his son he will set up his Mr Beer kit in the spare room. It should be fun, and will be a good alternative to spending $10 for a German beer downtown.

School Issues

I still don't like the boy's teacher. I just don't think she is a good teacher, and I'm starting to wonder if she is a good person to be around young kids. Let me be specific about this. I do not think she is a bad person. Not dangerous or harmful in any way, just ill suited to her job. I could never be a first grade teacher, and I know it. I am too set in my ways, would want the kids to behave in ways that six year old children find difficult, and would really really just want to have a few moments to myself. I think she is the same.

Friday was popcorn day. The entire school was invited to purchase popcorn at 50 cents a bag. The sale was a fund raiser for the Parent Teacher Organization and it was run by the parent of one of her students. She told her students that they were not allowed to purchase popcorn. She did not want them to be distracted by the thought of popcorn in their bags. Most teachers have a rule in place where students must wait until they are at home before they are allowed to eat their popcorn. Instead, her students went home with no popcorn, but just as much distraction. It was the first thing the boy told me when I asked him about his day.

Today was picture day. Will any of you get pictures? I don't know. I sent the boy with money, but she did not collect the money from the students. She did not even ask about the money. Tomorrow I will walk to the school, find the photographer, and ask if it is still possible to order the prints. The form clearly states that no money on the day of the photo = no prints, but I will stay hopeful. But what kind of first grade teacher allows her students to go to the school photographer without at least reminding them that they should bring the money?

There are other issues. I will leave them for now. These are the two which are upsetting me today. Parent teacher meetings are in three weeks. I dread dealing with her, but I am very interested in what she has to say about the boy. In our eyes he is making great progress. I hope she sees it the same way.

Ancient Chinese Warrior

Ancient Chinese Warrior, originally uploaded by allysther.

Click on the photo for the whole story.

TargetCat and I spent a wonderful morning excavating this ancient Chinese warrior. He now stands proudly on the boy's dresser, and is one of his favorite things ever.

A huge thank you goes out to the clever Auntie who sent this to us.

Hooters concert, 3 October 1987

Hooters concert, 1987, originally uploaded by allysther.

Twenty years go fast, don't they?

Yellow Belt

Yellow Belt, originally uploaded by Zanla.

YAY!!!!!

The boy is looking dapper in his 도복 dobok (uniform) and his brand new yellow ti (belt). It was a wonderful surprise, but showed his dedication. He attends a one hour Taekwondo class five days a week, and is really enjoying himself. Look at the smile on his face!

Thanks to Wendall for getting such a great shot of the boy.

Update on the school situation

Things are better, but still not good. The teacher obviously dislikes me, and I believe she does as little as possible with the boy. He is bringing home 4 to 5 sheets of homework per day, and the work is getting harder, which is good, but it still isn't what we wish he was doing.

The really good news is that his reading has improved a great deal in the past two weeks. I do believe he is learning something with this teacher. I still wish there was an alternative t leaving him in her classroom, but I have not found one, so he will stay there for now.

Testing something new.

National Museum of Korea

Museum interior, originally uploaded by allysther.

The boy and I walked over to the museum and spent the day being wowed. It is a beautiful space.

School stuff

We met with the teacher on Friday. She will never like me but I think she and the boy will be fine together, and we have decided to keep him in the class. I talked to as many parents as I could before we made the decision, and also spoke with the boy. We think we have made the best decision possible.

I don't have time to go into it here, so if you want more detail, please go to my LiveJournal page. I tend to write more over there, so you can catch up on other things, too.

The main thing is that all is well, and that the boy is happy.


In other news, the boy is taking Taekwando. He has class five days a week, for an hour each day. He is really enjoying it, and it is great that he comes home tired. The class is not terribly structured, but he has learned a few things, and he will be able to take this knowledge further if he wants to. Of course it does not help thatthe class is in Korean, but he attends with a boy who is bilingual, and who translates for the handful of English only kids in the class.

We will be meeting with the boy's teacher tomorrow afternoon. I think this can be resolved and I hope it can be done without making him switch classes, but I have a feeling that I will never actually like this teacher.

I've talked to some of the other parents in the class. I am not the only one to have a reaction to her, but the others have had an easier time shaking it off and moving on. I will do my best to do the same. I have had parents tell me that they would love to have their child in her class, and I have not heard that bout any other teacher. I have not heard much about the other teachers, which has me wondering.

The boy has been complaining that he has no friends, and that no one wants to play with him. Today he asked me to write a letter to his teacher asking her to do something about it. It is hard to explain to him that his personality is much like mine, and that casual friendships are difficult for me (and I believe for him, as well.) His friendships have all been very intense, and have run deep. They have also all been with children either older than him or different in some way, or both. There is not much I can do for him until he finds "the one" here.

Blue Horse

Blue Horse, originally uploaded by allysther.

I am not in love with The Boy's new teacher

Flowers are Red
by Harry Chapin

The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man
I'm paintin' flowers he said
She said... It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one

And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one

Well the teacher said.. You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me.....

And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one

The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It's for your own good..
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And are responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen

Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin'
She said...Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one

But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.

Horses CAN be blue. They can. Why? Because he is six, and he has the most amazing imagination, and he has 24 crayons in his box. How DARE she try to stifle his creativity!?

A day out

What The Book?, originally uploaded by allysther.

Today the boy went to school, but Wendall had the day off, so we went out for lunch and a stroll. Our mission was to find an English bookstore called "What The Book?". I found the website before leaving Vilseck, but had not been able to track down any information on the exact location, so we decided that the best time to search would be while the boy was elsewhere.

Turns out that the store is almost at the top of a hill in Itaewon. I'm sure the street has an actual name, but it is called "Hooker Hill" by most people. It is surrounded by bars that are off limits to the soldiers. It is also just down the block from the only mosque in South Korea.

After spending an hour or so at the store, we took our bags of books and headed to a Thai restaurant nearby. The food was very good, and it completed our perfect afternoon.

For more of my pictures of Seoul, click on the Flickr thingy on the right.

Namdaemun Market

Namdaemun Market, originally uploaded by allysther.

Ready for a new adventure

Ready for a new adventure, originally uploaded by allysther.

School started today.

School tomorrow

I'll let everyone know how it went. He has to be on the bus at just about the time we've been stumbling out of bed, so the morning should be interesting.

The Judges were wrong

What a great performance!

Good day

The boy and I went to the mall today. We walked, we talked, we bought toys and made plans for tomorrow. The COEX mall is the largest underground shopping mall in all of Asia, and includes a multi screen movie theater (with an IMAX screen), a convention hall, and an aquarium. It is a big weekend destination, so the subway was very crowded today, but we made it with no problems.

Tomorrow we will head back to the same mall. We grabbed an aquarium brochure and found that the sharks are fed every day at 1:30, so we plan on spending our morning there and then heading back home for the evening. No matter how hard I try, I can't convince him that katsu is the same thing as shnitzle, so we will eat dinner at home. He says he wants Korean food for lunch, so we'll see. I'm packing some pb&j just in case.

We did discover that in just a few weeks one of my favorite restaurants will open in the mall. There is a Todai somewhere here, but now I won't have to search.

Congrats to the winner

I'll say that I think Shred Nugent should have won, but then I may be a teenie tiny bit biased!

I'm waiting for pictures from the family....and a report. Until then, please enjoy a short clip of the performance which won him the regional title:




Awful Announcing: For Those About To Rock........FIRE!

and a follow up interview:

Awful Announcing: An Interview With The Man, The Myth, The Legend.......Shred Nugent!

Photo from last week

On our own

We've had a busy day.

Wendall left today. He'll be on another base (but still in Korea) for the next few weeks. This leaves us on our own for a few days. I am not sure what we will do this weekend, but I'm hoping we will have fun. Next week is the build up to school, so the anxious tics are in full force.

If the weather holds I am hoping to hit the pool. The boy is begging for us to find the water park, but seeing as the ticket prices are sky high AND they have an indoor section, I think we will wait until winter drives us crazy. For now I'll push for the free pool. I also think we will try to find our way to a different section of the city. It would be nice to see something a bit more traditional. The apartment buildings which make up 80% of our view are very modern....but not very attractive.



On Wednesday my cousin arrives. The plan is to have him spend a year with us. We are all hoping that it will be a really good thing. We are all looking forward to him being with us.

New hairdo for the boy

Better photos tomorrow.

Pictures of the apartment are on Flickr. They will only be available to everyone for a week. After that you will need to be one of my contacts on Flickr to see them. Flickr is a great site, and it's free, and I post pictures there every few days.

So we have been in Seoul for almost two weeks now. We have recovered from our jet lag and have turned in most of our paperwork. Last weekend we were able to explore a neighborhood near the base, and this weekend we are planning to explore our own surroundings. The boy and I have wandered around our immediate area, but today should take us a bit farther. We plan to end the day with a bowl of Bi Bim Bop, and we will need to find a restaurant. I think we are all looking forward to the day.

So our thoughts of Korea? We like what we've seen so far, but that isn't much. I can tell you that the base here is really well put together but that it really is not set up for family members to do things on their own. I've received some awfully strange looks when I've walked in and asked questions.

The boy has been great through all of it. He spent all day Wednesday walking behind me, not complaining about the heat or how much his legs hurt. We did spend one full hour in the indoor playground at Burger King, but other than that it was all walking and asking boring questions, and he was fine.

So far he thinks the best things about Korea are the playgrounds and the food. He's also very fond of our new tv. Turns out that video games look really good on a 40 inch screen.

Seoulful family

We are all together, and in our new home. It is three am, so I should be in bed, but my body thinks it is invincible. Plus the kitties seem to have a bunch of things they need to tell me, so I'm petting them while they discuss life.

Moving fast!

Today is the boy's sixth birthday.

I'm Home

On the day I went away... goodbye...
Was all I had to say... now I...
I want to come again and stay... Oh my my...
Smile, and that will mean that I may

Cause I've seen blue skies, through the tears
In my eyes
And I realize.. I'm going home.

Everywhere it's been the same... feeling...
Like I'm outside in the rain... wheeling...
Free, to try and find a game... dealing...
Cards for sorrow, cards for pain

Cause I've seen blue skies through the tears
In my eyes
And I realize.. I'm going home.

I'm going home, I'm going home.

"I'm Going Home" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This song has been recorded by one of my favorite artists, Willie K. It is a great version, and the song is perfect for my mood right now.


No pictures yet. I've misplaced the connector for my camera. I'll have it sorted by this evening, though, so pictures will be here soon.

We are in Hawaii

Words and photos to follow.

Tchus!

That's it, we're done. The boy and I are in an overpriced hotel room at the airport. I'm about to shower and then slip in bed for a few wonderful hours before we head out.

I've slept for 5 mostly consecutive hours in the past two days. I have Clorox Cleanup seeping out of my pores. I am surviving on coffee and thoughts of Hawaii.

Hawaii

Hawaii.....

9 hours until we fly, then 23 hors of travel and I will breathe in the air of Hawaii. All of this will have been worthwhile. Hawaii

Ok, I'm off to slug down another cup of coffee so I don't fall asleep in the shower.

Earworm

This is stuck in my head at the moment.

Happy 4th, everyone

Here's looking forward to our day of Independence.

Have you seen the remote control?

I swear it was here a moment ago!

So two days ago I started to pack the coffee pot. I wanted to be sure that it would go all in one box, nice and clean. I put all of the small pieces through he dishwasher, placed them in the dishrack to dry, and gathered the coffee, cups, and other things that would all go in the box. Finally I placed the machine inside it's protective cardboard nest and sealed everything tight. I unrolled the kraft paper, gathered my tape, and lay the box on it's side so I could finish packing.

Then I picked up the box, got a towel, pulled everything apart and let it all dry for a day. I had managed to leave the water resevoir full.

That's just the state of my life right now. Careful planning is great, but only gets me so far. Eventually reality comes back and smacks mr around, daring me to toss my hands in the air and call it a night.

Not tonight! Not for another 10 days!! I can do this....really.

Reasons why I'm not so sad to leave Germany

Oh hey....let's go get some ice cream!

Wow, a bunch of great choices....which one should we pick?




Ooh, ooh, let's get THIS one! Look, it comes with sprinkles and gummi lips!




Yum, that was good. Ok, time to hit the road. We have some errands to run. Lets go to the hardware/home products store, shall we? Again, so many choices, but I have a favorite:



Just sayin'

Bet you can't guess who this might be!

He's in disguise!

Update

The days are packed with friends and chores, but we found time today to run to the annual luau on post. The boy and I chowed down on bulgogi and kalua pork, and threw in some pancit, as well. We stayed to see some of the dancing, and we left only when the rain truly started to fall. I was happy to be able to go the the luau for this final year. It is a event I truly looked forward to attending.

Wendall had a productive week in Seoul, and is now headed to the States for a few weeks. He managed to get ten days of work done in five days, all while dealing with horrible jet lag. He gets so muchmore done when he does not have to concern himself with our comfort. I'm glad we are doing the move in stages.

We will be in Germany for just three more weeks.

The advance party has landed

Wendall is in Korea, and all is well. Korea is 13 hours ahead of the East Coast.

Summer has arrived

Aloha!


As most of you know, it is time for our family to leave Germany. We are moving in waves, and the first wave has rolled into Honolulu. Wendall will spend two nights in Hawaii and will land in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday morning. The cats will go next, flying on their own. In mid July the boy and I will say goodbye to Germany as well, and we will arrive in Seoul in late July, after also spending a few days in Hawaii.


I've always wanted the chance to live in Europe, and I am so thankful to have had this time. Even better was the ability to share the experience with my two favorite people. I couldn't ask for better travel partners, and we have taken full advantage of our location. We have visited countless towns in six countries, shot thousands of photos, dined in castles and at roadside stands, and had an amazing run of adventures. We saw Europe the way we wanted to, and have some wonderful stories to tell.


But Asia awaits, and so off we fly.....



Wendall has no cell phone until next week, when he finds something in Korea. He does have his laptop with him and he will check email when he can. His skype is up and running, so if you see him online, say hi.

I'll be spending the next few weeks running around like a crazy person, Boy Wendall at my side. He has finished the school year and is now officially a First Grader. He is very excited about this, as are we.

The best way to keep track of us is through our various websites. I will list them out for everyone who might want an update.
http://simplemindedintellectualisms.blogspot.com/ (my blog, lots of pictures)
http://allysther.livejournal.com/ (my other blog, not as many pictures)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37137286@N00/ (my pictures)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13302145@N00/ (Wendall's pictures)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/targetcat/ (the boy's pictures)

Also, feel free to pass this info along if you think someone might have missed getting this. It's been a long week, and I know I will have missed a few people.

That's about it. If you will be in Hawaii in mid July, please let me know.

Auf Weidersein
Quijana

TargetCat takes pictures

You can find the boy's photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/targetcat/

Done

Everything is packed and ready. We have tickets, and the cat's flight is booked. Wendall flies on Friday and we will all be gone within a few short weeks.

Please don't send anything to us. Our mailbox is still ours, but not for much longer. Mail sent now will be held/returned/forwarded. Better to just wait until we have a new address.

Bratwurst and Bulgogi

We had a wonderful time yesterday. Our friends and neighbors threw a goodbye party for us. It started as a work party but spread to something else entirely. It was small and quiet, and everyone enjoyed the food, which included both Korean and German specialties. Daniel came over and spent the night, and he and the boy ran away from the party and spent most of the evening playing alone in our house. Then they tucked into Wendall's bed for the last time.

Today we run around like crazy people. The movers will be here in the morning, so we have to move anything that we do not want packed into one room. That will be Wendall's room, which means that the furniture in his room has to come out before everything else can go in. The boys are still asleep now, but in a few hours I will go in and empty the dresser and dismantle to bed. Tonight he will sleep on the matress on the floor. Tomorrow night he will have his sleeping bag and a pillow. I won't even have a sleeping bag. The Army will lend us furniture, but it will not be delivered until Tuesday, so we have one day to "rough it".

Ohhhh, I hear young boys....

That's it, then

Today is Wendall's last day of work in Vilseck. Monday the movers come for the rest of our things. Wednesday we race to Munich to say goodbye to that wonderful city. Friday the inspector comes to look at the house. Then Wendall runs to another base for a goodbye party (family members were NOT invited!) In two weeks the boy is out of school and the man flys. Two weeks later the cats fly. A few days after the cats go, the boy and I say our final goodbyes and head west.

It looks like we will leave Germany in mid July. Details are still being worked out.

Korea shipment is done

We spent yesterday with three movers. They were surprised at how small the shipment was, and were in and out in just a few hours. The main weight of the shipment was paper and clothing. What can I say...I have a bunch of clothes, Wendall is an attorney. We also had a bunch of artwork, of course, and a few books.

By a few books, I actually mean a few. The shipment will not arrive until the end of August. I will arrive in mid July. The next few days will be spent figuring out what I will mail to Korea before I leave Germany. Wendall will be there to collect the moxes, and oh yeah, it will be free for us to mail as much as we want, so the majority of our books and clothing and even some of our artwork will be mailed.

How is it free? Overseas shipping from one APO box to another is free. The boxes never leave the military postal system, so they are not charged by the USPS. Woohoo! each box has to be under 70 lbs, and they have to follow the USPS guidelines, but I will happily live with that.

This weekend is our official goodbye party. Monday and Tuesday will be the days for the main shipment, so we will say goodbye to most of our thngs for the next few years. Wendall's travel plans are set, and mine will be figured out early next week. I will let people know where I will be (and when) by email.

That's the news for now. I'm off to get the boy and to arrange for some borrowed furniture once ours leaves.

The move is almost here. The movers will be here in less than a week. Our lives are very full right now, and I'm finding it difficult to breathe. I'll be better in two weeks when the big part of this is done.

The Bambino

On the Island of Capri




We just got back from five days in Italy. It was truly filled with wonders. If you click on the photo you will go to flickr, where you will see other photos.

Mmmmm, Currychunks!

HEY!!!!

I DROVE A SMART CAR!

A friend's neighbor was walking out to his Smart Car this afternoon, and she told him how much I loved his car. So he handed me the keys. And I drove it to the next town. He came with me because I was afraid I would break something.

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It was fun. Really fun. I have recently accepted the fact that I probably won't get the chance t own one, but I had a wonderful time driving it.

It gets roughly 62 miles to the gallon. He said that 4 liters of gas will get him 100km. 100km is 62.5m. A gallon is 3.78 liters. Oh, and gas around here is 1,36 Euro per liter. So 5,44 Euro, or 7.41 dollars gets you 62 miles. Have I mentioned seeing more Smart Cars on the road recently?

Gas on base is currently just over 3 dollars per gallon. I honestly don't know the exact price. I'm paying less than half of what my neighbors pay, so you will hear no complaints from me!

But back to what I was saying.....I DROVE A SMART CAR! ME! WOOHOOO!!!

Artwork

From the boy, of course. He brought this home from school ad said that he wanted to share it with everyone. I told him that it was going on our wall (I'll pick up a frame today), but that I would be happy to put it online for everyone to see.

If you want to see the original, you have to come visit. Or you can click on the picture to see it bigger at flickr.

Pictures of a happy day

Dinner at my house

Yesterday we invited friends over for dinner and games. We ate pot roast and chicken and lots and lots of sugar. The boys played with toys, had an egg hunt, and battled one another with swords. The adults played Life and Carcassonne. All in all it was a wonderful day. We went to bed very tired. Luckily the boy has no school this week, so he was able to sleep in this morning. Pictures to follow.

Wings

Someone gave me wings (it's a Bookcrossing thing) for my birthday.

Thank you.

Medallion Reader Award

It's official! Wendall has been awarded his medal and came home really happy and proud of his hard work. His teacher awarded him the medal and the certificate at the end of the school day.





GOOD JOB, WENDALL!!!

Top Class Reader

Today the boy won a badge. He is the top reader in his class for the month of March. All of the work we have done for the past month has paid off well, and he came home filled with pride. We still have a few days to go in the month, but I havery little doubt that he will win the prize he has worked towards all month long--a new video game. He was challanged to read 2000 minutes in the month of March (minutes read to him count), and he is less than 200 minutes from that goal. He is also very motivated.

The best part? The past two weeks have included at least 100 minutes of time where he was reading to us.

No, I was wrong. The best part is seeing him filled with pride at doing something he really enjoyed. Congratulations are in order!

Who Will Win?

An exciting phonics book, read by the boy.

Books read this week

The boy's reading rquirements have us in a tizzy!

This week we have read:

A few chapters of the first Harry Potter
David Gets in Trouble
Captain Underpants
Scooby -Doo and the Mummy's Curse
Lion Boy (three chapters so far)
The Magic Treehouse books #'s 21, 22, 23, and 24
and the Sunday Comics.

Plus he listens to a book every night as he goes to bed, though we do not count those, because we have no idea how much he hears before he falls asleep. He also reads a short phonics based book to us every day.

It is wonderful, and we are all enjoying the books we are reading, but it leaves little time to read for myself!

Just to show how lucky we are....

"Currently, fewer than 3,000 of the 29,000 U.S. servicemembers in South Korea are on multi-year accompanied tours; the rest are there on a one-year rotation. But officials estimate that more than 17,000 of them are married."
From Stars and Stripes

Wendall Reading

The boy is quickly learning to read and write. He asked to write something today, so I asked him to read it aloud for everyone.



At school on Friday, there was a reading program in the library. Wendall read a few books to the kids who had gathered in front of his chair. A large portion of the school attended the evening read-a-long.

The wisdom of a five year old child

A few weeks ago I went on a wander with Wendall's class. While we walked, I spent some time talking with his classmates. One little boy really wanted my attention, so I just let him ramble. This is what he told me:

"My family has a bunch of money. My dad told me that. And wen you have a bunch of money you can go to the dentist and he will put a CROWN on your tooth! And I have one!"

Tonight we were in the middle of dinner wen Wendall looked down at his plate:

"Mama? In Germany we call french fries pommes, but it's a french word. Volcanos have it, too, but it's not french."

"Wait, what do volcanos have?"

"Pumice! It's rocks, not french fries."