bethany725

Oh ha ha, very ha! At least I think you CAN entertain me and cure my boredom.. That's plenty nice, I think! I certainly can't call anyone Missy No-Life.. I'm calling out to invisible friends to play with me! ;)

Cannot believe how busy you are! At least you're not bored like me! Good luck getting all of this stuff done -- if I was there I'd run around with you and slow you down by distracting you. Ahem.. I mean "help you."

As for me, I'm just twiddling my thumbs while waiting on our confirmed date for flight to Hong Kong.. I think I will go NUTS if I have to wait more than 1 more week. I'm so ready to get there!

Oh, goodness! I was worried about that! I'll go back and pick up "The Skin Gods" and read that before "Broken Angel".. as long as it's really okay about not being able to get "The Rosary Girls."

Thanks for letting me know!

Oh, goody! I love messages.. I will happily go look.

I'm good.. Raja actually had to go into work today at 3pm for a few hours, so I'm catching up on the boards while he's gone. Moving to HK Thursday.. very exciting! Had a fun weekend... All in all, we are good.

How was yours?

Oh, I feel your pain... My dad is NOT a traveler, and my mom looooves touring around and seeing new places. She just goes with me instead.

The journey is about 2 hours by flight.. not super long, and the rest of the traveling will be by train or car and will take a bit longer as we go from stop to stop. I'm a bit excited.. but also a bit nervous, as this isn't really my idea of the perfect holiday -- Lots of early mornings spent on bumpy trains, staring at old buildings, and "light packing" isn't really my favorite way to spend time, but I'm hoping for the best! We'll see how it goes...

Oh, I'm fine.. We got the news today that Raja's boss would love for him to stay in Singapore the entire 6 months, rather than move to Hong Kong as planned in 10 days. So that's a little bit of a tumble, and we're not sure what decision to make, but other than that it was a great day. Laid out.. Finished a book.. started a new one.. Really can't complain too much.

How is your day going so far? Anything good, bad, funny, sad, etc going on?

Oh, you're fine.. I only kid about the hockey talk. Besides, it generally leads to some funny stories.

Nope, Mom didn't visit while in India -- she wasn't able to take off enough time from work to make it worth the long, expensive trip over. I got to go back over Thanksgiving/Christmas, but this is the first time I'll see her since then! I think Raja's brother is coming for a cple of weeks in July, too.. we should have quite a few visitors.

You keep stitching away.. if it brings you online so I can chatter away, stitch stitch stitch! Is this the gift for your friend you've been talking about? You need to send me some pics so I can see what you're doing-- once you get your camera back of course.

Oh... My. You certainly picked a challenge of a job this time around, didn't ya? Very admirable that A) someone picked out specifically to recruit for the job and B) that's a job you're able to handle and look forward to. I'd be hopeless at it. Does "challenging" mean mostly behaviour problems?

Things are still good out here.. We're having a great time in Hong Kong. We have a little over 2 more months here, and then we settle on a permanent placement and have more of a "home" setting. So far, we're applying to 2 jobs in California and 1 in Australia. Hopefully some more options will come along also, so we'll see what happens.

Ohh just fine I spent the day at the pool, and I finished Jane Eyre ! Really liked the book ! .. So proud of myself for diving into the classics since I'd never read one outside of classes and college.

How'd it go w/Abbie, and how was your kidney scan?

omg.. how did i end up posting on my own wall? seriously..

so it tells me i need to search by email address. what's your email address?

Oooh this one looks great, Charm! It looks all scandalous and spooky.. I'm definitely putting it on my list right now. Thanks for letting me know about it! :hugs:

I hope you're well! I can't wait to catch up with everyone once all our company gets home safely and I'm not so busy. I love your new avatar too.. from the same line you like, yes?

Oooh you took your mom to some wonderful places!! I am DYING to visit several parts of Italy, and would also love to go to Paris. And other than that, would love to see the English countryside, and also Sydney! I'm going to stuff myself in your mom's suitcase the next time she goes to visit you so I can see where all she gets to go next.

And yes -- I am sure this trip will be fun -- I'm just a bit nervous as I haven't ever done this type of "rural traveling." I've hardly traveled at all until recently, and it's mostly been travel to nice, modern places. This should be a throwback.

Oooh your daughter is in Germany! What part?! How old is she exactly? That is so exciting.. I bet she is having a great time. But I do bet you miss her madly. And soon you'll have them all to yourselves for summer.. I bet you are so looking fwd to that!

No problem about Raja's job.. He works in banking, and he's doing a rotational program that rotates him through a different aspect of the business (and location) every 6 months. This is our final rotation (Hong Kong) so the next job will be permanent. We hope to go back to the US for the permanent job, but the financial markets are rough right now, which means we can't afford to be as picky. So far he's applying to jobs in Australia and California, and hopefully more options will come along soon. We'll see what happens...

Routine isn't bad... I happen to love routine I just have to take a break from it right now, but I'll get back there one day...

I'll definitely bring back pictures. Thanks for your Periyar suggestion!

So glad to hear your vacation was relaxing and stress-free. I usually opt for the relaxation vacations as opposed to the hectic touring.. I like both and they both have their pros, but there's nothing for me like relaxing, taking it easy, and reading while on vaca.

Ooh.. you're over halfway done with the prep for the French reception! Yey! What kind of appetizers did you guys pick to do? I'm sure there were lots of yummy ones.

Raja is hopefully on the mend.. thinks it could just be some neck pain from staring at a computer so much at work. We're trying heat and new monitor height and all that stuff, so we'll see how it goes.

So how was it?? You are back now, yes? I hope you enjoyed!

We just went out with friends one night and spent a lot of time on the roof at the hot tub and pool.. Raja not feeling 100% so we took it pretty easy. Nothing as exciting going on here as your vacation, I'm sure!

So how was the weekend ? I haven't been on in a few days due to being so busy, but I hope it was good and you got to read lots

Hong Kong it is.. we've been moving every 6 months for the past year and a half -- 4 rotations (2 domestic, 2 int'l), so we've done NYC, St. Louis, Bombay, Singapore/HK.. this is our last rotation then we're done with the moving. My husband works with Citigroup and we accepted this job so I'd have a chance to travel and he'd get to take advantage of the networking opps.. been great so far; kinda hate to see it ending soon. Back to normal, everyday life... *sigh*....

What do you teach exactly?

And what's the rest of the story?

So I'm back from trip and catching up on the boards. Also noticed a visitor message from you, so wanted to reply! I'm glad your OH picks and chooses his travel destinations based on what he thinks is right.. I haven't traveled near enough to have a good knowledge base of where tourism money goes in which countries, but hopefully as I travel more I'll learn these things.

On the other front, I did GREAT with the light packing traveling! I took a shower from a bucket and pail.. not kidding you.. and wore every single thing I packed except for one t-shirt and one pair of socks! I'm amazed at how different India is for traveling, even when you're in a large city, across all levels of wealth. It's fascinating to see.

Hope you had a great weekend!

So sorry for my prolonged response.. I haven't been near the computer if what feels like days! I have 3,007 unread posts !! Eek!! I'm determined to get caught up today though.. I miss all my book (and non-book) chatter!

Just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't ignoring you.. just been everywhere but at home!

I hope your weekend was good.. back to school/work/real life now, eh?

Sorry for my delay! Have been out at the pool all day today.

Raja and I have been moving for the last year -- 6 months in St. Louis, Missouri, now 6 months in India, and we'll do one more 6 month rotation next. Then we're done with the rotating part. It's been such an experience so far, and we've really grown to love each place we've been in. It's also giving me the opp to travel, which I didn't have as much before!

That's too bad about your friend that hated Asia. I went through a similar thing here in India when we first arrived... It was dusty, and hot, and no one could understand me, and nothing made sense. After about 2 months, I started falling for the place though, and I've heard this is a pretty typical pattern for people that are living in India-- 2-3 months you hate it, then it really grows on you. Was your friend in Asia long enough to give it a fair shake, you think?

Sorry for my delayed response.. My husband needed the computer as I'd been on it for hours, it was only fair to hand it over eventually

I wanted to ask about your brother's fiancee though.. Are he and she of the same religious backgrounds? If not, that's what makes the wedding planning so unique.. trying to balance or incorporate so many elements from each culture & religion. We decided to do two weddings, but both scaled back a bit in the religious elements, to avoid stepping on peoples' toes. Do you know yet how your brother and his fiancee are going to do theirs?

I hope to visit somewhere in the south before we leave.. I know we HAVE to go to the north because Raja has family there that we'll go visit. He'd never lived in India, really.. his parents moved to the US when he was 11 months old, so he had quite an adjustment period also. The being able to understand and speak some Hindi has helped him and us a LOT!

Sounds interesting.. I'll definitely check those out! I've never read a rom-comeby a male author, so this could be good.

Yey for your slew of books .. which ones did you get?

Thanks for the "report," Scarlette! I'm so glad you liked the book! I'll have to remember and pick it up sometime. "The ABC Murders" is only the 2nd AC book I've read, the first being 10 years ago when I was in high school, and I think this reading, along w/your recommendation, is going to be the cause of many more of her books to enter my home.

I'm only 2/3 of the way through this one, but unless something major changes, I'd highly recommend it. I THINK I have an idea of who could be behind this, but I'm way more certain that I'm incorrect and it's going to be someone I never thought of. From what I remember, that's how it happened with "And then there were none..."

What's up next for you as far as books?

Thanks, C! We are here and doing well.. It seems like a really fun city and should be lots to do. Today we're going to the tailor and looking for new cell phones, and tomorrow we're handbag and clothing shopping. All the usual moving to a new place stuff.. ordered groceries today, got subway passes yesterday, etc. So far, so good

Thanks for asking!

How are you doing??

Thanks, Echo! Since my husband's Indian, we had TWO weddings -- both in America of course, but one traditional Indian and one traditional American. This shot was from our Indian reception.

And BTW.. love your name.. was reading yesterday about how it's your middle name and is passed down from generation to generation. It's so lovely and lady-like!

Thanks, Sarah! I'm having a great time here so far.. it's so nice and pretty! Lots to do around where we live, so it's really fun so far.

Anything exciting going on with you??