#005 Thailand Update: Houston, We Have a Problem…

I expected we would have problems. I knew it was only a matter of time. What I didn’t expect is for the problems to occur so quickly. Here we are, less than one week into the trip, and my wife’s laptop crashes. But let’s not dwell on that. Oh, I plan to write about this more, but not right now. Let’s talk about school.

First Day of School
The kids had their first day of school, and were very excited to tell me about it when I got home. Tangent: getting home was looong. I left the plant at 5:15PM and got to my apartment at 7:00PM. Not fun, especially considering that I’m used to the trip only taking an hour when I stayed at the Sheraton. Mental Note: must pick up a pillow for the ride home.

Christian did something where he was waving his hands all around, telling me how he loved himself, loved me, and loved others, and it all ended with “Sawasdee Krup” (Thai greeting). I’m really not sure what it all meant, but hey, it’s still worth smiling over. He told me they went outside to play and someone found a toad. Not a fake toad, Dad, but a real one. I asked him if he chased after it, and his eyes got really wide as he firmly said “No.” He said he would have gotten into trouble if he did, so only watched as the other kids played with the toad. I’m not sure if he realizes I’m not from planet stupidity, but I’ll let him keep thinking that. He also reported back that he was a complete angel in class, even though the other kids were getting several warnings to quiet down. Kind of reminds me of that 70s TV show “Ripley’s Believe it… Or Not?” I love my kid, but I also know my kid. I’m gonna have to go with “… Or not.”

Esaiah had to complete a test that identifies how he likes to learn. He answered about fifty questions that dealt with how we would respond to certain situations, and then each response was categorized. People familiar with the Kiersey Temperament Sorter, the DiSC profiler, or some other personality test can associate with this test. In the end, it said Esaiah needs to be in an environment where he does a lot of public speaking, reads all the time, and focuses on comprehension. Seeing as how all of these are the exact opposite of Esaiah, maybe what they’re trying to say is that Esaiah needs this to grow. We both looked at each as we read the results. I don’t think he was too happy with that one.

One nice thing to know about Esaiah; he is a kid of consistency. In the US, he was the king of the last minute assignment. He always waited until the last day or last minute before taking something to Livonia and I to sign, or get our help. I worked with Esaiah last night on his homework, and then this morning he comes into my room and shows me something to sign… and more homework. I’m leaving at 6:30AM to head into work. He shows up at around 6:18AM. Okay, so it’s not the last minute… it’s the last 12 minutes.

Nathan seemed to have a good day. He spent most of the night showing me that he could remember his teacher’s name. I think I got it figured out now. It’s Ms. Naheed, only you need to REALLy stress the “heed” part. Ms. NaHEEEEEED. Yeah, I think that’s how he said it.

So anyway, about that laptop…

Crash and Burn
Livonia wakes up at about 4AM and decides to get onto her computer. When she opens it up, she has a gray screen. She reboots it, and the hard drives starts making a skipping sound (boy, that’s not good). She wakes me up (great), and I take a look at it.

Yep, it’s skipping all right.

The screen is locked up and you can’t do anything. Using my superhuman computer skills, and crack deductive reasoning techniques. I shut it down and try to reboot, and now it won’t reboot.

Uh oh. This could be a problem. Hmm… I’ve done all the high tech things I can think of. Maybe I should try banging on the keyboard, or shaking the laptop all around? Nah, that’s something for the techies to figure out.

Turns out, her hard drive has gone bad, or at least I think it has. Lucky for us, we have all the installation disks… back in the US. Okay, maybe not so luck after all. Now, we have a problem, and when I say “we,” what I really mean is “me,” because I need to fix this thing.

I’m taking it into work to see if I can’t get some guys there to help me out. Even though I didn’t think ahead to bring the installation CDs, I did think ahead to bring a spare hard drive. Now I have “Field of Dreams” running through my head. “If you build it, they will come” is translating into “If you rebuild it, it will run.” Note to self: You use too many quotes involving pop culture.

I hope I will have some good news about the laptop the next time I write to all of you.

Sorry, but this is day two without pictures. But, I don’t have to be too sorry, considering that I haven’t received pictures from any of you (hint, hint). We would also appreciate it greatly if you can write to us occasionally. When we get responses, Livonia and I read them together. It’s like a drug, where you just can’t get enough.

My friend Matt told me I should be “blogging” this. If you’re just as confused as I am about that statement, say “I.” I’ll see what he means by that. I’m assuming it has something to do with posting this on the net, but I’m not sure where to go from there. Matt also reads this update, so maybe he can provide more info (hint, hint).

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Shipment Gone...
Right now, I'm thinking about my shipment, which arrived in customs at 4:05AM on August 15. More specifically, I'm thinking about the contents of that shipment. Even more specific, the chocolate in the shipment. It has been sitting in customs for several days now, in a country with 99% humidity, and a whole lot of heat. I think when we finally do get our shipment, we'll be using the chocolate as topping on our ice cream. I'll have to keep you updated on that one as well.

That’s all for now. Typing in a moving vehicles has it’s downsides… and it’s downsides. Even worse than typing is trying to read what you’ve typed. Ugh! I think I’m gonna be sick…

Until next time...