Father's Day Mechanic

 We were traveling from PA to VA on Sunday, Father's Day.  It was to meet with most of the rest of our family for our vacation together. I95 was hot and crowded with slow downs most of the way.  A motorcyclist drove up to the passenger side window and yelled, "Your brakes are on fire!"  And when we looked, yes, there was smoke pouring out of the wheel well.  I got it to the side of the road and let it cool down and then got off at an exit, pumping the brakes and trying not to go too fast. Finally we had to get off the road and pulled into the first available turn off. It was a Spanish church, and it was just letting out the service!  Paul, our eldest, was somewhere behind us on the road and I got on the phone to see if he could come rescue us, but I did not even know what town we were in.  I stopped a lady and she said we were in Fredericksburg, which led to a pastor who got a huge jug of water and started dousing our sizzling tires. He introduced us t...

Jet Lag

 Any of you who have travled long distances know one of the absolutely worst parts in jet lag.  I slept less than 2 hours last night....but had a 2 hour nap this afternoon.  The only good part was that I could plan my activities for today.  In the middle of the night, I knocked my glasses off from beside the bed.  Horrors: the ear piece broke!! We were all ready scheduled to try to solve Rick's glasses problem, because a lens popped out the last night in Indonesia and we could not find it. So just one more glasses issue.  I was surprised checking on my phone to see that Planet Fitness and Walmart are not open all Sunday night long, as I was used to.  If they had been I would have started on that part of my list. Instead I spent from 11:30 to 12:30 on the phone figuring out my United Airlines Mileage Plus account, but I had the time. We were up and away this morning by 6:30.  By 10 we had bought 2 new tires (we could see the metal threads on the fr...

Traveling.....as usual

 We left our apartment at 7 this morning and it is now 14 hours later and we have only taken the first leg of our 4 stops.  It is a long, hot layover in Jakarta from Sentani.  Indonesia is as wide as the US, but it is mostly water. It means that our first leg is kind of like flying from the East Coast of the US to the West Coast. That is just the first short piece. It took close to 5 hours. And then an 8 hour layover. Now we will soon board the plane to go to Japan, a 7 hour trip with a 3 hour layover. After that it is a 12 hour trip to Houston with a 3 or so hour layover and then on to SC where Peter will meet us. We will be about 40+ hours from the time we leave our apartment until we are done.  It would be easier if it were not so hot, with very cold airplanes in between. For the first time in 6 months I put on blue jeans, socks, and regular shoes.  By the time I was in the airport half an hour later I was dripping sweat, but was cold on the airplane.  I...

INTERNET

 After about 6 weeks without very available internet it is finally turned back on.  Although it was very difficult at first, having to get up in the middle of the night to find availalbe time slots,  walking the 1/3 or so mile to school every time I wanted to use internet, and finding one of about 4 computers that were connected to the ASAT line,  it did become routine after while.  Our lives definitely changed without internet being instantly available in our home.  Of particular difficulty, of course, was keeping up with our online Peking University courses, but ultimately we were able to conquor that mountain and keep up.  We missed times of being easily able to communicate with family probably the most.  Paying our credit cards and keeping track of finances was also confusing.  Now, as we are ready to fly out to the US in 3 days, we finally are back online.  God, as always, made a way for us to continue.  We will remember this t...