ASU staff softball game
On Saturday the school had an open house event and afterward many of the teachers stayed for a staff softball game. We played for four hours. Pepper pitched a lot for her team. All three of us had some good hits and made runs. Jordan is clearly a natural at the game. Look at his stance in the picture below.
A few funny things happened. I sprinted through home and slid in some mud and fell on the asphalt track. I managed to only scrape up one palm because I did a roll once I went down. At another point I was warning about one of the kids throwing the bat after they hit and seconds later Jordan was pegged by the flying bat.
No Idea bar in Bangkok
Not more than a ten minute walk from the place we were staying is a strangely named “gastropub” called No Idea. The exterior is nice and the interior just as pleasant. We wandered in because of the creative sign urging women to leave their men there so they didn’t interrupt shopping.
We were greeted with a great list off beer and a very nice list of foods on their menu. At least three times while there on a Saturday afternoon the owner popped by our table to ask how things were. He was a very pleasant man and clearly is running a great business.
They had a large number and wide variety of beers on tap. We tried some of the more obscure ones they had such as the Erdinger Dark, Erdinger White, Warsteiner, and Irish Pale Ale.
We watched a Rugby game on the television while there. I am not sure that I have ever watched a full rugby game before and we learned a lot about it by paying attention to the screens. To top it off, they had very nice and clean restrooms!
Playing the Game On diet again
We have just a few weeks left in Mongolia and we somehow managed to talk ourselves and 9 other teachers into doing a three week Game On diet. Things are a little more difficult here than they were in Alaska. For one, finding whole brain products and lean protein is a little more difficult. We brought some whole grain pasta back from Thailand which helped out. Fruits and vegetables are pretty expensive and not very good quality. Another problem is that now I can not just wander to the bathroom to get rid of some of the liters and liters of water that you have to consume. Sometimes I have twenty kids under my supervision running around outside so peeing isn’t possible. Fortunately our schedule has a morning break that really helps with cramming in the five meals into even the busiest days. I am also lucky that I can sometimes squeeze in a little exercise for myself when I have a class doing some activities.
We started on Monday and my scale said I was at 195 pounds. By Thursday morning I was already down to 189.
We have modified the game a little bit to make it a little less difficult because of being in Mongolia. It is largely “do your best” which does make scoring a little tricky.
Read the post that my peer and opponent Graeme wrote about the diet to get some more details and a humorous recap of his first day experience.
Photos of airplanes taking off at sunset
During our long layover in the Beijing airport we watched the sun begin to set and then create the perfect backdrop for pictures of airplanes taking off. Here are some of the pictures I captured.
This is very typical of the sky in Beijing – except you can see the sun. There is a constant foggy pollution (the term “smog” just seems so dated) that is everywhere. It is a different kind of pollution than the choking smokiness of Ulaanbaatar. Sometimes it is so bad that flights are grounded because of the reduced visibility.
It took a few takes to get this one of a jet right in line with the sun. Notice the reflections – the white areas – that could be touched up.
I shot a little video too but they would have come out much better with a tripod.
Tawandang Brewery in Bangkok, Thailand
What did Pepper want to do before spending four days in the hospital during a medical trip to Thailand? Go to a brewery. I’m awfully lucky. She did her research and found the Tawandang brewery. 
They have two locations. We went to the one on Rama 3. They have seating for a good 700 or more people but we were ther on a Monday night so the place wasn’t packed. They open at 5 PM and close around midnight so no early afternoon or lunch time drinks from them. We arrived just after they opened and stayed a few hours. We passed the time tasting their beer, having dinner, killing a cockroach, and enjoying the live music.
They have three beers on tap. Their lager was very nice. It was smooth and just a little hoppy. Their website says it runs at 5%. The Weizen had a very pleasant fruit taste. After the 90 degree weather outside it even seemed right to put a lemon in. We tried to order one but got a lime instead which wasn’t quite the right taste. It runs at 5.5% alcohol by volume. Finally they have a Dunkel which was perhaps one of the smoother dark beers I have had. It had a lower alcohol content at only 4.5% but I made up for it by ordering the glass as big as my head.
Speaking of big serving sizes, they also sell their beer in the towers so it is a nice place to go if you have friends that all like the same kind of beer. I like my beer cold though so one liter of beer is usually enough for starters.
Aside from the small cockroach we had a great time – the food was good, the beer excellent, and the entertainment definitely entertaining.
We have cats
A little over a week ago we picked up another cat. She’s a Siamese cat and just about two months old – she was born on St. Patrick’s Day. Jordan named her Cocoa. She has really started to get along well with Mitten. When the two first met there was no hissing or back-arching. The first few days they spent all of their time wrestling each other. Sometimes Mitten got a little too rough though. But Mitten just came back from a trip to the vet where she was “fixed” so she is acting extremely mellow now. Here are some pictures of the two of them.
Layovers and delays in Beijing
We have an eleven hour delay in Beijing on our way home to Mongolia. We were supposed to have a two hour connection. This happened on my last trip to China. It seems to be a regular thing. Today is Mother’s day and Pepper would really rather be home with Jordan father than trying to pass hours and hours in an airport. Fortunately there are not constant announcements about flights or not parking in green zones. Plus there are benches and lounge chairs that allow for sleeping. Sadly Facebook is blocked so we can’t pass time on there.
Happy Mother’s Day
My mom is the best.
Sure, for Mother’s day I could have ordered her a t-shirt or mug that says “World’s best mom!” But it is time I stopped acting 10. (Well, except for when I’m playing with Jordan.) No, this year I’ll write about what a great mom I have.
I remember in 1986 having a childhood Transformers action figures addiction. She kept track of which ones I had – I recall her going through the shelves of the boxed toys seeking any I didn’t already have. She made sure I had every single one she could find.
As an adult, she would drive most of the day to pick me up after meetings in Washington DC to get me “home.”
One time I must have been acting irritable while driving somewhere. She didn’t say anything and just pulled into a Burger King drive thru and ordered my favorite sandwiches. She knew what I needed.
Since I have lived far from home for so long she has sent me countless “care packages.” I remember them while at scout camp, while in Alaska, and certainly even this year. She knows to tuck in Twizzlers.
At Christmas this year everyone in the family commented about what a great job she did in choosing presents. She must have a tattered piece of paper in her purse where she jots down ideas for people as they comment on something.
She still manages to send cards for holidays and birthdays. In one year I probably get more cards from her than I have sent her in my life.
I know that raising the three of us wasn’t easy. And I’m sure we still do things that she wishes we didn’t. But she’s incredibly supportive of us. It is comforting to know mom will always be there for us.
I love you mom.
When a trip to Thailand isn’t going to be fun
Pepper needs medical treatment. It isn’t something available in Mongolia so we chose Thailand because of the high quality care compared to the cost. Cost? Oh yes, we are fairly certain that it won’t be covered at all by our insurance company. In my thirteen years of “adult” jobs where I have had medical insurance I have grown more and more cynical about the relationship between insurance and health care. They are nearly unrelated. This surgery will probably cost more than a quarter of one of our salaries. But we know that investing in our health is more important than our bank accounts.
I wasn’t going to join her but our boss urged me to be there for her. I may not have any leave available now and the airfare wasn’t cheap but if we can’t take care of each other when we really need it then we have our priorities wrong. Jordan is in the care of our friends and, I am sure, will have perhaps too many surrogate moms and dads looking out for him this week.
On Monday she will have blood tests done and then the surgery Tuesday. She will be in the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then she needs to have a follow-up later in the week. Hopefully we’re able to return on Sunday.
So if you pray keep her in mind. It is all a little scary.
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