Monday, December 29, 2008
West Java Hills
The day after Christmas the family headed up to the West Java hills (Puncak) with friends. Zee and his buddies Aidan (also 3+ years old) and Colin (5) headed off for a hike.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Our room at the Rimba Lounge
Apparently Julia Roberts stayed in this very room. Zee has no idea who she is but based on the reaction we get when we tell the story he's quite sure he would like to invite her to come swimming tomorrow.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Borneo
We just got back from a four-day trip to Kalimantan (aka Borneo). It was a quick 1hour10minute flight from Jakarta followed by a 2 hour boat ride up river but it was out of this world! After a short trek into the bush we came across a feeding station where orangutans came down from the trees to get some bananas.
The orangutans we saw had been reintroduced into the wild after being cared for by researchers. Many of their not so lucky kin lost their lives when loggers or miners cleared land in the area.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
MERDEKA!
On August 17th, the Dickey family and friends celebrated Indonesia's independence by participating in the Kemang Club Villas party complete with sack races and a bicycle parade.
Daddy represented in the sack race.
READY!
Monday, September 01, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Barney and Friends
On Sunday we went to see Barney....I know I know. We went with some friends whose son is the same age as Zee. The boys dug it and I have to say I almost broke into song singing "I love you, you love me". I now understand why the song is used at GITMO and other torture sights. The song is still in my head. Zee has asked if we can go back again....always a positive sign.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday Taekwondo, A burger, and a birthday
Hiiiii Yaaaaa! Shouted one of the boys in Zee's Taekwondo class. It was Zee's first day and I was not quite sure how it would go.
There were six very young students in total in the class and the teacher was a young girl with the Korean garb, a black belt, and an a Muslim head covering. She wore a smile but I approached her with caution. I stayed in the class much of the time and was pleased to see that Zee was performing the moves and hitting and kicking the bags. There were two older brothers of 9 and 10 who beat on each other most of the time and I could see Zee forming a small grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye as the older brother kicked the younger one in the stomach and made him bend over gasping for breath. I wondered if Teo will become Zee's new punching and kicking bag....Hiiiii Yaaaaa!
After Zee's lesson V and I met some friends for lunch. I realized how hungry I was as the sauce and fixin's in the hamburger ran down my fast and hands. I looked up and found Vanessa eyeing me? How uncouth and uncultured I am I thought as I forgot my manners as I wolfed down the cow...but then I looked over and saw my buddy's face full of grease and cheese. I had forgotten how good a burger tasted...especially doused with melted Blue Cheese..............yummy for my tummy.
After lunch we hopped a bajai to our friend's son's 3rd birthday party. It was nice and included a water balloon fight, food, and pinata; however, a closer look revealed a sense of PTSD among all the parents present - yep, us too. At times, when you took the time to pause and look around I noticed the thousand yard stare, the sleep deprivation noted in the baggy droopy eyes, the aging taking place right in front of your face as one of the children slipped and fell or took a water balloon in the face......and then the cry and the immediate shock of wondering if it is your child that wakes you up for your slight stupor or if it isn't your child whose child is it and what is the situation and was it your child creating the crying....the trauma of parenting was evident upon further analysis. I must note that most of the crying was caused by the fathers tossing the balloons at each other which ended up missing and plastering the kids......boys will be boys.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sleepless in Big Smoke
Do you notice how the majority of the posts on here are about sleep, the boys, and lack of sleep. I just received an email from my brother-in-law stating he has now gone 23 hours without sleep. It reminds me of Peace Corps when all the conversations revolved around feces and whether or not your stools were solid. Solid days were good days and far and few between....like sleeping is for parents with young kids. It is a right of passage and your sleep patterns will never be the same. It is a given that you will be sleep deprived and when you get sleep it is a good day.
"How are you buddy?"
"Hey, thanks for asking! I'm solid man!"
Last night was not SOLID and I would have rather had diarrhea to be honest. More so for Vanessa because she took one for the team and allowed me to sleep because I had stayed up the previous night. Poor V walked around with little man and stayed up until 0300 with Teo who has a nasty cough and just couldn't go down. She is now in bed with mastitis confusing night with day and day with night and forgetting to feed after a dazed day at the job. She'll have to miss open house.
School was full on today but good. It's always good though. I have to video tape my classes and critique them which is always fun and interesting and I am trying to find engaging ways to have the students analyze articles for bias, facts, and opinions. Today we focused on the not so good looking Chinese singer who was replaced by a better looking girl who lip synced and was chosen by the Politburo to put a positive image on China (but don't tell the Chinese this). The kids dug it and I had them choose which girl they thought was prettier and which one they would select before reading the article......guess which one the chose?
You can check out the CNN piece on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLkuijBGaI
Of course the next article is about Chinese journalists at the Olympics told to avoid sensitive issues. Golly gee? Seriously?
I am about to go to Open House (it really should be called open school for parents) to meet Zee's teachers. Vanessa has just texted me to make sure I ask if Zee is being polite. She is bummed that she can't make it. I will have to represent the family and get the skinny on Zee man. Apparently he does think one of the girls in his class is pretty. He even told me her name. Scandalous.
I am on tonight with Teo and you can rest assured that it will be a long one. It has been awhile since I have ran in the morning and I may have to forego blogging to go for runs in the afternoon.
Sleep tight.
"How are you buddy?"
"Hey, thanks for asking! I'm solid man!"
Last night was not SOLID and I would have rather had diarrhea to be honest. More so for Vanessa because she took one for the team and allowed me to sleep because I had stayed up the previous night. Poor V walked around with little man and stayed up until 0300 with Teo who has a nasty cough and just couldn't go down. She is now in bed with mastitis confusing night with day and day with night and forgetting to feed after a dazed day at the job. She'll have to miss open house.
School was full on today but good. It's always good though. I have to video tape my classes and critique them which is always fun and interesting and I am trying to find engaging ways to have the students analyze articles for bias, facts, and opinions. Today we focused on the not so good looking Chinese singer who was replaced by a better looking girl who lip synced and was chosen by the Politburo to put a positive image on China (but don't tell the Chinese this). The kids dug it and I had them choose which girl they thought was prettier and which one they would select before reading the article......guess which one the chose?
You can check out the CNN piece on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLkuijBGaI
Of course the next article is about Chinese journalists at the Olympics told to avoid sensitive issues. Golly gee? Seriously?
I am about to go to Open House (it really should be called open school for parents) to meet Zee's teachers. Vanessa has just texted me to make sure I ask if Zee is being polite. She is bummed that she can't make it. I will have to represent the family and get the skinny on Zee man. Apparently he does think one of the girls in his class is pretty. He even told me her name. Scandalous.
I am on tonight with Teo and you can rest assured that it will be a long one. It has been awhile since I have ran in the morning and I may have to forego blogging to go for runs in the afternoon.
Sleep tight.
Warriors Unite
Here is a follow up to the the conversation yesterday with more detail about being inducted into the hall of fame. If any of you have information about any "Lost Warriors" please direct them below.
Warriors,
Its time to unite and celebrate our 1988 State Football Championship. We
will be inducted into the Mesa's Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
The ceremony will take place November 24 at 6:30pm at Westwood High School.
Please contact Brent Weinberg at bpweinbe@mpsaz.org for more details.
I am trying to organize a team get together before the ceremony.
War Eagle - Tear it up Westwood!!!
Weinberg#88
*Please forward this email to all 1988 Westwood Warriors State
Championship Football Team Members.
Warriors,
Its time to unite and celebrate our 1988 State Football Championship. We
will be inducted into the Mesa's Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
The ceremony will take place November 24 at 6:30pm at Westwood High School.
Please contact Brent Weinberg at bpweinbe@mpsaz.org for more details.
I am trying to organize a team get together before the ceremony.
War Eagle - Tear it up Westwood!!!
Weinberg#88
*Please forward this email to all 1988 Westwood Warriors State
Championship Football Team Members.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Not so fast
So I actually received an email from my Dad today which was a great sign. The email was chock full of humor and it was evident he was happy about getting a 'get out of hospital free' card. He seems happy to be back at the Eagle's nest and Mom was apparently fast asleep due to exhaustion and stress. My Dad, get this, even signed up to be on FaceBook. Whoooa!
Last night was another joyful parent moment. I finally put the training wheels on a piece of junk bike my friend loaned me so that Zee could ride like the wind. Indeed he did. It just so happens the chain didn't want to stay on so I had to continually put it back on. Zee went in and got a wrench and handed it to me so that I could fix it. Thanks buddy.
After our ride and snack I put Zee to sleep and decided to work on my computer to see if I could get it to work again. A virus has rendered it useless. Suddenly I realize it is already 11:00 PM. I go down to find Vanessa typing still typing away on her computer. You can say that being a superhero pretty much sucks in Vanessa's case because she rarely gets to sleep anymore. I go up to bed and listen to my podcast but can't sleep. I realize it is 1:30 AM and I hear noises downstairs. Vanessa is still going strong. Saving the world is a 24/7 gig and you get no overtime. I cannot sleep because I know Teo is due to wake up any time and I my body won't relax....yep 1:58 AM, as if on cue, little man let's out cry. I walk in, give a rub, and.....rub....rub...Teo stands up and continues to not want to sleep. Last night he was down for the count. I walk away and lay down....the crying continues. Vanessa has finally come to bed and reminds me that Teo has been crying for 20 minutes. It is actually 18 minutes according to my stopwatch...ughh. Zee has joined us after being woken by Teo's screams. He actually went into Teo's room trying to help his little bro out while still in a daze....those boys are going to be inseparable. It is 2:30 AM...and I give Teo a rub. He appears to go down and five minutes later he is up again. It is going to be a long night. I figure I should do some lesson planning so I setup at the computer and at 0300 I go back and rub Teo. Five minutes later he appears to be sleeping. I tip-toe out but to no avail. He is screaming again. I continue to work on school until 3:30 AM and give Teo more rubs....until 0400. I have to send a message to my running pals not to wait for me...I am skipping the run again. My reputation is in a sullied state. Vanessa finally picks Teo up to feed him at 04:30 AM and I finish my lesson. I grab a shower at 5:15 AM and then hop a taxi at 5 past six. While in the taxi I rememberVanessa has fallen asleep with the boys. I try to ring her but there is no answer. Zee will need to catch the bus soon. ...fortunately he just does as I found out later.
I received an email today from an old high school friend. He was actually the quarterback of my state football championship team. He found me through FaceBook. In his message he tells me that our high school football team is being inducted into the hall of fame and he wanted to know if I could make the induction ceremony. It was funny. Just one line but it conjured up some pretty amazing times....I am wondering if my parents might be able to go in my place instead. Anyway, if you know of anyone or have any contacts from the football team let me know. Apparently the ceremony will take place November 24th but I don't have the specifics as of yet.
We are putting on a school dance on Friday and then V and I are expected to be at an adult soirée afterward....I'm spent already looking forward to the weekend. We have teacher open house for Zee man tomorrow....yippeee.
Last night was another joyful parent moment. I finally put the training wheels on a piece of junk bike my friend loaned me so that Zee could ride like the wind. Indeed he did. It just so happens the chain didn't want to stay on so I had to continually put it back on. Zee went in and got a wrench and handed it to me so that I could fix it. Thanks buddy.
After our ride and snack I put Zee to sleep and decided to work on my computer to see if I could get it to work again. A virus has rendered it useless. Suddenly I realize it is already 11:00 PM. I go down to find Vanessa typing still typing away on her computer. You can say that being a superhero pretty much sucks in Vanessa's case because she rarely gets to sleep anymore. I go up to bed and listen to my podcast but can't sleep. I realize it is 1:30 AM and I hear noises downstairs. Vanessa is still going strong. Saving the world is a 24/7 gig and you get no overtime. I cannot sleep because I know Teo is due to wake up any time and I my body won't relax....yep 1:58 AM, as if on cue, little man let's out cry. I walk in, give a rub, and.....rub....rub...Teo stands up and continues to not want to sleep. Last night he was down for the count. I walk away and lay down....the crying continues. Vanessa has finally come to bed and reminds me that Teo has been crying for 20 minutes. It is actually 18 minutes according to my stopwatch...ughh. Zee has joined us after being woken by Teo's screams. He actually went into Teo's room trying to help his little bro out while still in a daze....those boys are going to be inseparable. It is 2:30 AM...and I give Teo a rub. He appears to go down and five minutes later he is up again. It is going to be a long night. I figure I should do some lesson planning so I setup at the computer and at 0300 I go back and rub Teo. Five minutes later he appears to be sleeping. I tip-toe out but to no avail. He is screaming again. I continue to work on school until 3:30 AM and give Teo more rubs....until 0400. I have to send a message to my running pals not to wait for me...I am skipping the run again. My reputation is in a sullied state. Vanessa finally picks Teo up to feed him at 04:30 AM and I finish my lesson. I grab a shower at 5:15 AM and then hop a taxi at 5 past six. While in the taxi I rememberVanessa has fallen asleep with the boys. I try to ring her but there is no answer. Zee will need to catch the bus soon. ...fortunately he just does as I found out later.
I received an email today from an old high school friend. He was actually the quarterback of my state football championship team. He found me through FaceBook. In his message he tells me that our high school football team is being inducted into the hall of fame and he wanted to know if I could make the induction ceremony. It was funny. Just one line but it conjured up some pretty amazing times....I am wondering if my parents might be able to go in my place instead. Anyway, if you know of anyone or have any contacts from the football team let me know. Apparently the ceremony will take place November 24th but I don't have the specifics as of yet.
We are putting on a school dance on Friday and then V and I are expected to be at an adult soirée afterward....I'm spent already looking forward to the weekend. We have teacher open house for Zee man tomorrow....yippeee.
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