bored

you know that with a title like that, this is going to be good.

feeling a bit under the weather today, so i've been doing pretty much nothing. i've done laundry and read a quarter of the count of monte cristo. the end. what a lump.

in order to remind myself that i'm still awesome--i'd hate for my ego to shrink to the size of a healthy person's--i guess i'll enumerate some of our recent "tiny triumphs." i'll even include some photos. restrain your enthusiasm, if at all possible.

1) i gave my talk on sunday in thai. bam. it was under 10 minutes and quite bad, but it achieved what i'd hoped: everyone spoke nothin' but thai to nick and me for the rest of the day, which was definitely a first. awesome possum.

2) paw decided that, floods or no, our house will not wait another day, and there's actually been some substantial progress this week due to a handy submergeable pump that is constantly in use. it's now conceivable that this dirtpile will one day mature into a dwelling, and there aren't even any holes anymore. see?



nick's upset that this is the one day he didn't wear his farmer outfit. he usually looks just like these two buddies, just twice as pale. oh, yeah, and he makes them look like midgets. but that's still true in this photo.

3) we've both managed to avoid collisions on our motos thus far. hopefully we can keep it up for the next few years. mostly i just wanted somewhere to stick this photo, at the behest of the masses:


what a cute little praying mantis. it even starts 9 out of 10 times, and it dies only at the first street corner of the day. no complaints here; at least it's consistent!

4) nick managed to build a model catapult for his 8th graders in one evening out of string and chopsticks. notice how his rippling muscles are able to tame the thrashing beast. apparently, the students will be building a life-size version in order to illustrate that math can be relevant and cool. because catapults are relevant to the life of the modern urban teenager, no matter what you might think. and they are cool. but no one's disputing that point.


5) i finally discovered what MSG looks like in its virginal state. yes, friends, a nice plump bag of MSG is a staple in any self-respecting thai woman's kitchen, and ours is no exception. long live chemically-enhanced nourishment.


allow me to draw your attention to the yellow speck at top right. behold the carcass referenced in the previous post; i'd saved it for nick, but the wind blew it to the floor, where it was probably eaten by one of the dogs, whose penchant for devouring insects is unmatched.

6) read alma 32 in thai. and it only took me, oh, 5 hours... maybe not that long, but it was pretty ridiculous. still, i did it, and i'm proud. i think we might actually get the hang of this language someday!

7) i remembered [that's where the pride comes in] that i said i'd post pictures of the laotian sandwiches that elicited such delight. this one is from breakfast. i can tell because it comes directly in front of the lunch picture. that's pretty much the only indicator, though.


oh, and lindsay, may you enjoy looking at this photo. i dedicate my outfit to you.

i'm afraid i'll just descend into pure sarcasm if i continue, so allow these to suffice. we're thrilled with how things are going and with this incredible place, even though we miss all you beautiful people who may or may not be reading our [okay, my] ramblings. health and blessings to ever'body. l'chaim!