Sweet Home Alabama

Mosquito

sweethomealabama — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:14:48 +0000

Our flights back to the US were relatively uneventful and smooth, to which I am grateful. Ben was good for the first 6 hour flight to Narita, sleeping much of the way. For the remaining 12 hour flight to Chicago, that was another story. Ben slept early on, but was awake and wanting to play video games (and change to another one after a minute), look outside the closed windows, and about anything else that required much attention. We were sitting in the side seats on our ANA flights, which had poor air circulation and were about 10 degrees warmer than the middle seats on the flight. With about two hours to go on the flight, I started to feel a bit uneasy and a bit air sick. It never got out of hand, fortunately, and once we stepped off the flight and into “fresh” air (is Chicago air fresh?), I felt 100% better. Having only limited experience returning from an international flight into Chicago (once, from London in the fall of 1993), I did not know what to expect. Having gone through the international routine in Atlanta several times, you could almost set your watch to getting out of the airport in about 50 minutes, barring no technology snafu’s like our trip returning last year. Since it was a holiday (Independence day) and a Sunday morning, I don’t think you can count this as typical circumstances. There was a hefty line for non-US citizens and no line at all for US citizens at the customs station. The man that checked all 4 of our passports (including Jet’s Mom’s Thai passport) was super nice. He was in his 20′s and commented on Ben’s passport photo, which was taken when Ben was only about 1 or 2 months old. He said that he just had his child’s passport photo taken (2 years old), which led to a little banter and him sending us on our way with no trouble at all. The next hurdle, baggage check. We had 8 suitcases, 2 carry-ons, and 2 purses stuffed on three roll-away carts. I held Ben as Jet and her Mom followed, each of us pushing a cart of luggage to the person at the check-point for determining whether baggage screening was necessary. Again, there was no wait to reach this point. The first question that she asked me was how long Jet’s Mom was going to be staying (30 days), which I wasn’t sure was half-joking by the sheer volume of luggage. She next asked if we were bringing back any fruits, vegetables, or meats, to which I responded on the cuff that we only had snacks for Ben. ”Chips” was all I could muster up, though we surely had no chips and didn’t eat any while in Thailand … I drew a blank which Jet did not let go unnoticed afterwards, but we were happy to make it through. Perhaps looking sympathetic managing all of this luggage while holding Ben, she gave us the pass-through and we were outside waiting for Dad to pick us up. The whole process from exiting the plane to standing outside was about 20 minutes. Remarkable. Dad’s van looked brand new (father’s day gift of car cleaning was inspired) and fit all of our luggage and passengers like a glove. After 1 hour and 40 minutes of driving some back roads, we were home in Mukwonago. We had looked forward to spending the afternoon at Sandy’s house for some dinner, but we all kicked our feet up for a rest at 11:30am and woke up in what seemed like only an instant 7 hours later. Plans scrapped. We stopped by Pick ‘n Save to pick up some groceries at 8:00pm, which when we finished, was just in time to see some firework displays off in the distance from the parking lot. Welcome home.

It is now Thursday and I think we have all just about recovered from jet lag. Jet had to start back up to work on Tuesday, so her recovery time had to be a little bit quicker than the rest of us. Ben has been tough getting adjusted to the time changes. The fact that Ben was coddled so much over the last month has not helped at all either. I have not been able to get Ben to sleep in his room by himself yet. I probably could, but Jet and her Mom just don’t have the same nerve to hear him scream and cry and continuously put him back into his bed. As a compromise, I have allowed Ben to sleep with Jet’s Mom. This has allowed Ben to finally bond with her and has a date certain point (August 5) when this behavior must end – when Jet’s Mom returns back to Thailand.

Those have not been the only setbacks since we have returned. Our basement smells like cat, which may be the result of heat and humidity for the first time exposing cat pee that wasn’t entirely cleaned when we first moved in. We had fun on Tuesday taking Ben and Jet’s Mom to a local driving range and mini-golf course. To match that fun, I took them to the Kettle Moraine walking trails in Eagle for a nice, healthy hike. We were about 20 yards into the path when I turned around and saw literally 100 mosquitoes hovering on and around Ben. I shouted to Jet’s Mom to return to the car as I picked-up Ben and ran. And this was after we spent 5 minutes applying mosquito spray on us all. We settled for a 30 minute stay at the play set in the park less than a mile from our house. On the way back, I took 67 through Eagle and passed through the path of the recent tornado that went through so that we could all see the damage.

I will spend a little time back at UW-Whitewater today to pick up some things that will help get me ready for the fall semester. Jet’s Mom has been making food for us since we have been back, so tonight I will make baby-back ribs. Tomorrow is the ceremony for Kristin for her promotion at the fire department while Saturday is the family “father’s day” get-together at Pike Lake that has been planned for months. A busy few days, but lots to look forward to.

Last Days

sweethomealabama — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:46:51 +0000

Though this is not nearly my longest stay in Thailand, this does feel like the longest. Perhaps that is because the recency of this trip biases myself against earlier visits, but the constant work and absence from Jet and Ben has made the time go by much slower. I am fortunate to have stayed at the Hua Mak campus this visit because it has allowed me to connect with old friends and make new ones as well. I doubt the same would have been possible had I lived at City Campus, which was planned until the crisis in Bangkok in April-May. At least I do have many accomplishments to claim for the sacrifices.

I have (nearly) finished teaching another two sections of MBA classes. I have made progress towards international partnerships that I hope will stick. I have two manuscripts out for review with another three in the works. I have attended church every day, with the exception of the 4 days that I was not in Bangkok. I have even done the first readings in over half of those services. I have lost anywhere from 15-20 pounds. And I am ready to return back to the US, energized to do so much more.

When we arrived, we spent the first two days in Hua Hin and enjoyed the beach. Last weekend, Jet, Ben, and several other family members went to Pattaya for two days to enjoy the beach. I doubt that I will forget the moment I saw Ben late on Friday night when I met up with everyone after my last class. Ben gave me such a strong hug around my neck and held me for literally two minutes. Though Ben was a naughty boy at times, for which I had to discipline him (timeouts), we had such a great time together. He hugged me and kissed me unprompted several times that felt so strange, but so needed. Maybe it was awkward because it had been so long (nearly 3 weeks) since I had seen him last. After all, we had spent hours in each others’ company every day since returning to Milwaukee.

When I arrived, the feeling I had was that I could almost sense a timer going off around me. Since I was only going to be here 30 days this time, I felt as if I would be always fighting against time and that I would not nearly have enough to do all I wanted to accomplish. Probably brought on by being away from Jet and Ben so long and not having the chance to visit Phitsanulok, that sense of time slipped away. I never did feel a countdown-like feeling (e.g., 2 weeks left, 1 week left, 4 days left, etc.) that I remember having the previous two years. In fact, it is hard to believe that I have only 2 days left. Perhaps it is because I have been so engaged with work that this has felt more like a business trip than a vacation, but it is an experience that I will learn from for my future visits returning to Thailand.

Our flight leaves at 11:55pm on Saturday night (11:55am Saturday in Milwaukee) and will arrive in Chicago (after a 2 hour layover in Narita) at 8:00am Sunday morning. Independence Day. Hopefully we will have plenty of time to rest and sleep on the flight over. We are bringing Jet’s mother back for one month with us, so that should ease the burden of keeping Ben entertained on the long flights. Then it is getting back to business and life-as-usual. Dad will pick us up from the airport. Sandy has a party scheduled later that day that I hope we will not be too exhausted to attend. Jet has Monday off from work to recover from jet-lag. Things will return back to normal again.

Tough Weekend

sweethomealabama — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:32:36 +0000

We are at the halfway point in our brief stay in Thailand and these are the toughest days by far. I have not been to Phitsanulok since we arrived, which stinks because that is where Ben is. I was originally planning to go this weekend, but that fell through because I had an important meeting to attend to on Friday (yesterday). The plan was to go next weekend instead. Unfortunately, my meeting yesterday was cancelled, which I only found out about at the last minute. This makes it tough knowing that I could have spent Father’s Day with Ben all along. Jet stopped in town yesterday evening and we did lots of shopping at MBK. Unfortunately, the visit was all too brief as she had to leave at 4:00am for the airport as she was spending a few days with her friends in Hong Kong. I give her my full blessing to take this trip because this is something that she deserves after all of the hard work she does back home without much of a break. Being here all alone does make it tough, though, and I really wish I was with Ben. I guess a few more days won’t be too bad to wait. For those of you not on facebook, I have been posting a few more videos of my time here in Thailand. I wish that I could use the flip HD video camera I got Jet for Mother’s Day, but it is her toy and she has taken a few clips of her own while she has been away. She also has been taken a few pictures, which I have included a sampling below. Enjoy!

Family and Friends

sweethomealabama — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:53:03 +0000

The one thing that can be said after spending time away from family and friends is how much more you appreciate their company when they are in your presence. To have this scenario play out for us on two separate continents makes it a difficult burden to bear as we have to sacrifice the pleasure of being with some to the joy of being with others at any given time. This first week back in Thailand has gone by quickly, but not without wanting to know how things are going on back home. This first week also has been a constant reminder of the many family and friends that we have returned to, some in unexpected ways.

I have spent my entire time in Bangkok away from Jet’s family in Phitsanulok (a 4 hour drive north) so I have only had hours with Jet, Ben, and Jet’s mother since our arrival. I had hoped to visit Phitsanulok this weekend to be with them all, but I received a unique invitation to serve on a panel discussion here in Bangkok on Friday afternoon which will prevent me from travelling. This is compounded by the fact that Jet will not be there as she is leaving with friends for a few days in Hong Kong, so spending just over a day in Phitsanulok would not be worth the work I could get done staying around here. Instead, I will travel to Phitsanulok the following weekend and enjoy the few days we have left. I speak to Jet on the phone several times a day and surprisingly with Ben too. Ben never liked to talk on the phone back in the US (though no matter how hard I tried), but Ben will talk on the phone with me more than he talks when I see him in person. Jet said that Ben still insists speaking only in English, though we know that he can speak and understand Thai, so many people cannot understand him. Jet also said that the warm weather has been bad for Ben and that he has broken out in a rash. That and the mosquito bites he has gotten make it sound like Ben is in rough shape, but he sounds like he is having a blast when I speak to him on the phone.

Since I am without family, I can reflect on the friends that I have here in Bangkok. In what was a surprise to me earlier last week, my good friend Father Bipin is still here. When I taught at the Hua Mak campus two years ago I first met Father Bipin as he was just starting his master’s thesis. This week he defends his thesis and on July 6, two days after we leave, Father Bipin will return home to India. There is a certain symmetry to this relationship and I consider him a dear friend. I have also spent an extended amount of time with Sup, my friend from back when I first started the Ph.D. program at UW-Milwaukee. We have gone running several times together and have had dinner together twice. I did my first evening run with Sup last night and what a difference it is running in the evening than the early morning. There is not much life happening at 5:00am and only a handful of people working out. At 6:00pm, there were tons of people jogging, playing soccer, playing badminton, doing aerobics, and just walking around. There were literally thousands of people everywhere and was a side of Thailand that I had never seen before. With the World Cup going on, there were several cinema-sized TV screens set-up and live TV broadcasts and telecasts. It was truly a wonderful experience being around so many people, it reminded me of Summerfest back in Milwaukee which I will be missing again this summer. As for other friends, there have been a few familiar faces that have approached me, from faculty members to former students, and it is always a surprise to wonder who will be the next familiar face I see. To illustrate this point, there are dozens of security people around the university (and all universities in Thailand) that are there primarily to direct traffic. Even though I can’t speak Thai and they can’t speak English, I have gotten to know several of the security guards. They will stop and give me a formal salute and greeting, which they often do for faculty that pass by, but they always do it with tremendous vigor and professionalism when I pass – probably because they know I appreciate it so much. Anyways, last week I ran into a female security guard that was stationed at the building I stayed at two years ago. She almost jumped out of her boots when she saw me and greeted me with an excessive amount of excitement. She started speaking Thai very quickly to me, but only realized after about 20 seconds that I still could not speak Thai. With that, she asked about Ben and I showed her a recent picture, and we went our separate ways. I have forgotten about some of the simple relationships like that I have made while over here, but meeting her then and thinking about that exchange now brought a smile to my face. It is difficult to leave family and friends back home, but returning to some familiar faces in Thailand makes the sacrifice worthwhile.

Punctuated Equilibrium

sweethomealabama — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:15:30 +0000

Punctuated equilibrium is a method of understanding change, particularly how change and the development of conflicts seem to progress in extended periods of stasis, punctuated by sudden shifts in radical change.

Though the novelty of living in Thailand has diminished, there is something to be said about taking periodic abrupt departures from the routine. Pursing these manufactured visits of change, now for three years running, forces me to re-evaluate all my assumptions and presents an opportunity to instill new practices and behaviors. Extended exercise, renewed focus on research, attending church daily, always making progress. It is interesting how these trips to and returning from Thailand has always eased the transition for so many significant changes.

My first classes ended yesterday and I can assure you that I was entirely exhausted at the end of the day. I woke up early (5:30am) to go running at Rajamangala stadium, which is about a half mile from my room. This is something that I would regularly do when I lived at the Hua Mak campus two years ago, but for the first time, my good friend Sup joined me. We ran for about an hour until we were both at the brink of dehydration, which set on quickly once the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.

After spending some time recovering and making final preparations for my first class, I stopped by to see the City Campus staff that both Jet and I became friends with last year. It is typically Thai custom upon return visits to share gifts of appreciation, no matter how small and trite they are. Jet packed a plastic bag full of Easter chocolates and candy as well as several bottles of lotion from Bath and Body, which they all loved. It’s amazing how things that seem so trivial can make such a difference.

My first class was at 10:30am and it was so warm and humid that morning, I was thankful to be in an air conditioned classroom to cool me down before class began and dry up the sweat that soaked through the arms of my shirt. I don’t know if it is because of the extra weight on me than my previous trips, but I don’t remember sweating this much just walking from my room to my classroom. We’ll just see how much weight I can sweat off before I return back home.

The first class went smoothly with 26 students. Students began showing up about 1 minute before class and most had arrived by 10:40am, which was a good sign for the first day of class. I asked students if they had wanted to start class earlier at 9:00am so that we could end class by around lunchtime for the rest of the semester, but the students rejected this because having class so early would have them fighting the terrible morning traffic. I always found it interesting how faculty over here have control of changing class so freely. Class ended at 3:30pm, which gave me some time to return back to my room and resolve the air conditioning issues I had. Luckily for me, the solution they had for me was to change rooms to a location with a working air conditioner. I couldn’t have been more appreciative to the ABAC staff for resolving this issue so quickly.

Before my second class, I attended the daily 5:00pm church service. This was a practice I followed two years ago and was something that I missed while away at the City Campus last year. My second class started at 6:00pm, but most of the class did not arrive until around 6:30pm. There are 24 students in this class and they were a good contrast to the morning class. The majority of the morning class students (day MBA program) had limited work experience while the majority of the evening class (evening MBA program) had several years of work experience. Consequently, I was able to get a lot of participation from the evening group, which was awesome as it kept me awake, active, and engaged with the students. Class ended at 10:00pm and I left straight to my air conditioned room to sleep. It was a very good sleep last night.

Today I met with the director of the international office to discuss partnership opportunities with UW-Whitewater. The discussion was productive and I now have several other meetings scheduled with the deans of the school of business and school of management in the coming week. My goal is to have some tangible results in hand before I leave at the end of the month. I am both hopeful and optimistic, but I do recall the disappointment I had with my efforts two years ago when I failed to accomplish any lasting partnership with JSU. I hope that experience will be an advantage for me this time around. After my meeting, I walked out for lunch at my favorite location to eat across the street. They are my favorite because they serve my favorite dish, “ka mon gui” (chicken with rice). I could literally eat there every day for the rest of my time here in Thailand. Delicious.

After lunch, I took my first load of laundry to be washed. This entails packing all of my dirty clothes into a carry-on bag, walking it over to one of the street coin-operated washing machines, and waiting until it finishes. For some reason this is one of the most humbling experiences for me that I experience while in Thailand, probably because the experience is so public. I could pay ABAC to do my laundry, but doing it myself is so much cheaper and it allows me time to walk around and explore the area around me. While waiting for my laundry to finish today, I noticed that there were several different stores along the walk than two years ago. The most interesting one was a Muay Thai instruction school. I also passed by some very tempting street vendors. One was selling fried chicken drumsticks, which I love. Another was selling whole grilled chicken with minced garlic that smelled delicious. And to my surprise, there was a vendor that was selling my favorite dessert, which is a type of wafer sandwich filled with a marshmallow-type cream. Since an objective of mine is to lose weight while here, I will try to stay away from those desserts. It may be tough.

Small World

sweethomealabama — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:12:55 +0000

Our flights to Thailand were rather uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing. We flew on Nippon Airlines (ANA) for the first time and it was a stark contrast to the flights we took the past two years with Cathay Pacific and Korean Airlines, respectively. The airplanes appeared to be half the size of flights we previously took and then nearly half of the seats were business class. Another difference was the service – barely any kids movies for Ben to watch the entire flight and getting anything from the flight attendants (e.g., snacks, desserts, toys for Ben, etc.) was challenging. The big surprise was during our layover at Narita airport. I met up with Jet as she sat down for a meal at a table in an airport restaurant with a new Thai friend that she just met. As I approached her, I recognized the two people that just happened to be sitting next to them; Robert Setaputra and his wife Julie. Robert was a fellow Ph.D. student and his wife a masters student at UW-Milwaukee. Small world.

So what has happened so far since we arrived? Well, we picked up our bags and headed out of the airport by around 12:30am. Jet and Ben left with her Mom and friend (“Wow”) to her Mother’s condo while Sup drove me to the ABAC (Assumption University) Hua Mak campus so that I could get my room. The room is on the 14th floor of the same building I stayed at 2 years ago and the layout, look-and-feel is exactly the same. I have Internet access as I did two years ago and is the one thing I wished I had staying at the condo I lived in last year. The accommodations are just fine with me even though it is a huge contrast from the luxury of last year’s condo, but the big issue I am facing now is that the air conditioner is not working. With very hot days and evenings ahead of me, this must be resolved soon. It has been difficult getting into a new sleeping routine tonight with the room being so warm.

At 7:00am, I left on a chartered van to the MBA freshman orientation at the Hilton resort in Hua Hin, which is about a 2.5 hour drive south from Bangkok. The events for the orientation were similar to those from last year, with the highlight being the Bai-Sri (“Bi See”) ceremony. I met several other ABAC faculty before the ceremony, which was appreciated because I have always found it to be difficult to connect with faculty over here because they are always on the move or schedules just don’t match up. Instead of “hitting the town” during the break we had before dinner, I stayed behind and slept in the hotel room while Jet, Ben, Jet’s Mom, and “Wow” ventured out. After dinner, we visited the local bazaar for a little shopping and then called it a day. I woke up early the next morning (Sunday) and watched the sunrise and enjoyed the lovely weather on the beach. Once everyone else woke up, we spent the morning playing at the beach, swimming in the hotel pools, and eating breakfast until we left. On the way back to Bangkok, we stopped at Maruekkhathaiyawan Palace in Hua Hin, which was the summer palace of the former king of Thailand in the 1920′s. Not long after we arrived at Jet’s Mom’s condo, I headed off via taxi to my room at the ABAC Hua Mak campus. Since I needed some living essentials (e.g., toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.), I walked over to the Big-C (like a Wal-Mart) for some shopping. There was a Big-C almost right next to the condo I stayed at last year, but is about a 30 minute walk from my accommodations this year, so this gave me time to relax and enjoy the bustling end of the weekend.

With this trip, I will have lived or visited Thailand for the fifth time and a cumulative total of around 10 months. There have been a few changes I have noted in my short time here so far during my current visit. First, I almost feel as if I am on a timer. Since I will only be here until July 4 (1 month), I know with everything I have scheduled, this will be a very quick visit. This is the first time also that the flight to Thailand (about 19-20 hours in the air) seemed to go by as if it were a 4 hour flight to Vegas. In addition, now being in Bangkok, eating the food, riding in taxi’s, and walking around, the experience is really not foreign to me this trip as it has been in previous trips. It is almost as if it is like taking a day trip to Chicago – not everything is as familiar as home, but there are no surprises or at least anything happening around me that has surprised me. This really is becoming a small world.

Getting Ready

sweethomealabama — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:21:57 +0000

Had a busy holiday weekend to open the summer. There was a get-together at cousin Renee’s house on Saturday. The weather has been warm these past few days, so it was a pleasure to be outdoors and a surprise to see some family that we haven’t seen in some time. My sister Jenny was in town from up north just days after her third child and brother Chris was visiting for a few days from Nebraska. Being at Renee’s house brought back memories of the only other time that I visited before, back in 2007 during a break from Alabama while Jet and Ben were away in Thailand. Not sure if it is coincidence or just repetition since we will be returning to Thailand in just a couple of days. Sunday was the baptism of sister Sandy’s boy, Bohdi. We had planned for Dad to come over for dinner on Monday, but as these things happen with our family, it swelled to over 10 guests and was a blast. It is these spontaneous gatherings that I enjoy most.

As mentioned before, we will be on a plane bound for Bangkok in less than 2 days, so today was a good time to start packing. Jet has been getting things packed for several weeks. It is not as bad as it sounds because Jet has 5 bags to pack while I only have 1 … well, I may be lucky just to get one full bag for myself. I don’t have much to bring, however, because I have left clothes in Thailand last year for future trips and Jet has tons of gifts (as usual) to bring to family and friends back home. It won’t be long.

Changes

sweethomealabama — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:15:39 +0000

This is a time of transition and change as my first full academic year has come to an end. I am watching Ben full-time now that his spring day-care has ended, and believe me, watching him is a ‘full-time’ job. Every day this week we have played with trains and blocks building things in the basement since we have not figured out how to cool our house yet. With the heat wave that we have had, our only breaks have been trips to the Pick ‘n Save and Wal-Mart for some air conditioning. Taking walks in the evening has reminded us of our time down in Alabama, but getting relief from the heat by going to the store is something commonly done in Thailand. One week from today we will be back on a flight to Thailand and all sorts of busyness will return. We expect to arrive in Bangkok sometime very early (just after midnight) on Saturday morning (June 5) and then I will have a freshman retreat to attend at the Hilton Hua Hin resort just a few hours later. We will return on Sunday afternoon, but my first classes to teach will be on Monday, when I will teach basically from 10:00am – 10:00pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the whole month. I am looking forward to the work, but certainly not the tight schedule upon arrival.

Thailand itself is in a bit of a transition period from the recent ending of protests and all other sorts of news that have had the country in the news over the past month or so. It has already affected our trip since I will be teaching at the ABAC Hua Mak campus instead of the City campus, but we hope that any further changes will not be substantial. I will publish a bit more frequently as I did the past two summers in Thailand to update everyone on the things I encounter and the work that gets done.

Unfortunately there has been another transition that we are facing at home with the loss of Joanne, Dad’s fiance’. It was sudden and a shock to hear the news, while the funeral will be held later today. We do feel fortunate to have had the extensive time spent with her over countless dinners we shared together since our time back in Wisconsin and that it happened before we left for Thailand. Though it is always difficult to get a bead on Dad’s emotions, we hope that he pulls through this tough time as best he can.

Perspective

sweethomealabama — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:31:32 +0000

Now reaching the end of April, and oh how much has changed in that year. One year ago I had just finished running the Nashville Marathon, now I am lucky to find the time (or weather) to get a run in. One year ago we were getting ready to leave for a few months in Thailand. We will be there again in another month (June 3 – July 4), but the situation politically is much different. From the reports I have heard, the shopping district where we stayed last year has been taken over by protesters and classes have been moved to the Hua Mak graduate campus, which is where I taught two years ago. Who knows what will happen in the coming weeks, but I do hope everything is resolved. One year ago we started packing things into storage to prepare for our move back to Wisconsin. Now I am wrapping up my first academic year at UW-Whitewater and we are settled into our new home in Mukwonago. It really can be stunning to think of the differences from one year to the next (or one day to the next for that matter), no matter how insignificant those changes may seem to be, and wonder what will happen next.

Friends

sweethomealabama — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:20:45 +0000

We have been getting the same group of five deer stopping by to eat from our backyard at around 5:00pm every evening. Since we have been home during the day this weekend, we noticed that we have been attracting herds of squirrels as well – 12 at one time was one count. Ben has been getting a thrill when I surprise the squirrels and scare them off, scuttling them in every direction towards the woods. After I did it this morning, I was over in the kitchen and Ben was in the living room. Ben shouted out to me, “Daddy, you are my friend”. Jet thought that this was cute.

We have reached a milestone of some sort as well. The month of March makes it around 9 months that Ben has either lived and/or visited Wisconsin, which roughly equals the amount of time that Ben has lived/visited Thailand. So that makes about 25% of the time having lived in Wisconsin, 25% in Thailand, and about 50% in Alabama. These are the things I think about in my spare time.