Here and There Blog

Still here, just busy. Life is back to the host business visitor lifestyle. This week - Vietnam. Instead of doing the map of places where I have been, I need to find one that marks the countries from where my visitors come from. While I may never see most of these people again, each new visitor gives me something new to think about in terms of the world. Until yesterday, I didn't realize how much the Vietnamese distrust & fear China. It's like living life always watching over your shoulder. I had never even heard of the book "The Coming China Wars" but they told me it's a best seller in Vietnam so I've ordered it from Amazon.

Comic-Con exclusive for LJ. This was the only thing I did or bought at the Con. Couldn't get into any panels, dealers room so crowded it was impossible to see. Only found this CC exclusive because a friend was looking for the CC Star Wars exclusive and somehow, missions accomplished! Going back today after seeing Harry Potter. Comic Con is so jam packed with people that spending more than 2 hours there is overload.

Now that you've seen photos of Western Samoa, you'll have to watch Survivor when it returns. This time around they're filming in Samoa, not on the main island but on the outer island which is supposed to be even more beautiful. All the locals were telling me that the hotels are booked up and the flights due to the mass quantities of film crew. Who knew that Survivor had that much support staff? Everyone is going to watch to see how Samoan culture is portrayed.

I left LA 9 days ago and it feels like yesterday! I have never had a work trip go by so fast! Every day has been busy and the 3 DVD's I bought to keep me occupied in the hotel have gone unwatched. As soon as I get home life gets even busier with Comic-Con, catching up on 10 days of mail and bills, getting caught up on all the work that I didn't get done this week and seeing if the garden survived the gophers and squirrels!

10 minutes a day outside is what I've experienced for the last 6 days and today will be more of the same. It's been so busy with work that my only time outside is going outside the hotel a few minutes before the pickup. Yesterday, I didn't even realize it had been raining all day until late evening. So no new pictures for now. I've used up the Western Samoa photos and all I have left are chickens.

The Cave Pool has two entrances so you can swim inside the cave from one entrance to the other. The water is clear and cool (comparatively) and the place gets packed on weekends with families. I didn't feel like unpacking just to swim and then repacking for the next flight, so I passed but it was neat to see.

Western Samoa is what you'd expect when you think of tropical lagoons. The locals told me that the other island is the beautiful one! If I ever go back, I'll have to stay the night and check it out.

After the long flight, the airport coffee, and sitting in the dark for a couple hours, this was the payoff in Western Samoa at 7:00 am. And a little later, around 7:30 am.

Western Samoa

The Cave Pool

Sitting on a log & sipping coffee in Western Samoa waiting 4 sunrise

This is my newest addition to nature backyard - he's on watch almost every day, eating my plants almost every day, and digging new holes. What to do? Go to StoneBrew and have lunch!

Got down all the weed plastic, followed by a shade screen for the table. More stepping stones to hold everything in place until such time as I am motivated to do a nice rock rim border. 2020 maybe? 3 more bags of bark, 2 more bags of weeks, and I finally gave up and planted the remaining iceplant in the dirt pile. 3 new gopher holes this morning. I wonder what it will look like when I return after 2 weeks of travel?

Stepping stones, bark in the corner. Table & chairs purchased Iceplant, purple flowers, stepping stones, and more bark. I need to step back from this for the next few days and re-evaluate progress on Saturday morning. For sure, more cactus is needed!

The Mission: Fix up this poor gopher/rabbit/squirrel/round-up destroyed back-yard. The Tools: Bark, Cactus, IcePlant, Pots, Hoe & Trowel Two Hours Later: Doesn't look like much but it's a start! Hope they all survive my lack of gardening skills and more important - the squirrel that's about to be very mad!

India Pale Lager

In the last few days, 4 people I know have lost their jobs. Only one had notice and is still working but the other 3 got the c-ya! That sucks. So in the midst of my wanting to start the 3 day weekend early, I decided to be good and actually work. I hope all goes well for everyone and the job market improves. At the same time, 1 friend got extra work and someone else picked up a great job so I guess you never know. Since it is a 3 day weekend I'll do my part to stimulate the economy - movies, (after all, I need to finish seeing Moon ) beer, and food. Not much but the DMV registration came in for the Subaru and I now must write a check to keep my car legal and support the state.