BS: Settling in Guam

Subject: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 May 08 - 03:21 AM

At the request of many and the silence of others I have started a new thread. Once more we boldly go into the tropics for a look at life near the equator.

Here is the last thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 May 08 - 03:53 AM

I followed the link from the old thread in eager anticipation & there's nothing new here to read!

yet

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 May 08 - 09:14 AM

Well, Sandra, what do you expect when it's a whole new world?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 May 08 - 09:30 AM

tales of exploration

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 May 08 - 01:17 PM

I am wondering what will happen when Neko meets "Corridus" (reference to hamster adventure thread of that name).

And are there any chickens and chicklets in the neighboring bush?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 May 08 - 05:08 AM

There is one family of chickens here. They are nothing like the ones we had back in the old house. These are truly wild and we will not bother to start feeding them.

We have two weeks of classes and two days of finals and the school year is over at ND. Wakana gets out of school a few days earlier than I do.

My car is in the shop. The driver's seat fell through the floor boards a few months ago but I braced it back into place with a 2 by 4. I wasn't going to bother fixing it but then the transmission linkage jammed up and it had to go into the shop anyway. So they're fixing both problems and a few other minor bits too.

Our mountain apple tree has lots of fruit on it. I need to pick some and try them out. The fruit is very small (about 1 1/2 inches long) and shaped like a bell. Wakana gave a bunch of guavas to a friend of ours so I haven't tried them yet. Our mango tree has no blossoms so we do not expect any fruit this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 12 May 08 - 08:15 AM

Brett, that car sounds like Geo Washington's axe! Any original parts left?

ATB

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Riginslinger
Date: 12 May 08 - 10:38 PM

I was in Guam in the year 2000. We were supposed to be engaged in the environmental clean-up of an old Air Force Base. But pretty early on, we uncovered a WWII Japanese bunker that had been hastily built out of un-reinforced concrete. It was immediately delcared to have historic significance, and the job was put on hold for a matter of months.
                  The company sent me to Idaho before they'd determined what to do with the thing, then the company went broke and I never did find out what happened.
                  A bunch of guys I'd been working with got stranded there. But, being in Idaho, I figured I could walk back to California, if I had to. I never did find out what happened to the folks that got left there either.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 May 08 - 07:25 AM

Yeah, but Idaho is much colder.

My poor sophomore students are going to be disappointed. We had a field trip to Mount Carmel for their annual carnival on Friday. We learned today the carnival was canceled so they have to be in classes! Poor sad kids.

As a result I have 5 classes left with my Monday-Wednesday-Friday blocks and 3 classes with my Tuesday-Thursday blocks. Then two days of final exams and we are done. Last class is on the 23rd and exams are on the 26th and 27th. Grades have to be in by the 30th. Payday is tomorrow and then another on June 1 and then 2 months without pay!

Of course that will give us time to work on getting this house in order.

My car is almost ready. They had a junker they could use to cut parts off of. The linkage is fixed and tomorrow the rest of the car should be done. There is only a small portion of the original car that has been replaced so far. I expect a lot more will need replacing in the future. I could wind up with my grandfather's ax after all.

I went to the university to check on summer courses that I could take to add to my master degree program but they aren't giving any. I'll have to wait until fall. Now I need to find the gang who are working to certify former teachers. I need to take a few courses to get re-certified. Actually I don't NEED to but I want to. The school claims all its teachers are certified and I don't like making liars out of them.

Here's something interesting that happened in my composition class (Junior Class). The kids were begging to watch a movie but I told them I didn't know of any movie that related to composition. They did. Freedom Writers. We watched the movie and then I told them we had to have a project to make it a fully educational experience. They came up with the anonymous journal entry. They would email a journal entry to me about something that had a profound affect on them. I would distribute the entries without names, only numbers, and the students would read them out loud.

It worked pretty good and we got some truly interesting entries. I was amazed at how emotionally traumatized some of these kids are. One girl was a pretty difficult child she admitted. The height of her foolishness was when she pretended to be sick so she could stay home. Her mother came home at lunchtime and caught her in bed with her boyfriend. What followed was a terrible scene. Now a year has passed and the mother hasn't spoken to her since. The kid insisted on reading this one herself. She was in tears about halfway through it.

Later I met with her in the library. There I can have quiet talks with the kids and still be seen in public. I explained to her that many mothers and daughters have difficulties but that time can cure the wounds. I also told her not to connect having sex with what her mother is doing. I told her they were separate issues and she should not feel bad about having sex. I did try to reinforce the idea that she should not get pregnant or get an STD. I suggested that she check out the Midwest Teen Sex Show for age appropriate sex education and help. She seemed to be a little happier after that.

This job is very interesting... and challenging.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 May 08 - 07:29 AM

Oh! I forgot one of the more interesting thing that have happened lately on the island. A couple of weeks ago some workmen out at the Agana water treatment plant found a skunk wandering around. Guam does not have skunks. Apparently it got into a crate of equipment being shipped out to the island. It was captured, de-scented, and now has a home in the Guam zoo.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:05 PM

Brett and Wakana-

Have you made any fall visit plans to the States? I'll probably be going to Getaway this year. If you're in Maine and it's not freezing, you're welcome to stay at the family cottage for a week or so.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 May 08 - 06:51 AM

At this point I am planning to visit my parents in July. It will be my only chance to see Sabra as Kelli will be there too. Unfortunately I will have little or no money for fun jaunts around New England.

As for the Getaway, remember that we are teachers. We cannot leave the island in October.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 May 08 - 12:44 AM

Wakana is finished with school. I am so jealous. On Monday and Tuesday she has to proctor the final exams and she needs to get her grades in a few days later but she no longer has to stand in front of kids and try to control them.

Controlling the kids has become more difficult lately. We are at the end of the year and they are practically vibrating in place. I come home at the end of the day even more exhausted than usual. I have one more week of classes and then finals and grades and I am done too.

But this is the weekend and I am not going anywhere today. I have changed the locks on the front doors, changed the shower head in the smaller bathroom, replaced the aerator in the other bathroom sink, and cleaned some of the junk out of the living room. Now I will get busy on my finals.

The character of this place is very different from the house in Santa Rita. There we were surrounded by jungle. The ground was always damp and soft. The lot was small and the views from all the windows were limited by the growth though we could see the ocean from the bedroom window. I used to roll over in bed and raise my head to look at it.

Now our house stands on open ground. There is a lot of jungle growth but it isn't near the house. We have sunshine blazing down on us most of the day. Yet, with the carport we have shade and a breeze to help keep us cool. We love it here.

My computer is temporarily set up in the living room. Looking out the window I see the big mountain apple tree that hides half the house. It is vital shade in the closing hour of the day because the setting sun sweeps the carport and makes it too hot to handle. If the tree weren't there that sunlight would be flooding the living room too. Ugh. The plan is to trim underneath the tree so we can sit in its shade and see the back yard but not so much that the sun can get to the windows.

By the way, I recounted and we have three mango trees on our lot. The cousin of the previous owners stopped by today and left us a spare key. He told me the mango trees were carabao mangoes. That is a fruit native to the Philippines. It apparently has a great flavor.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 May 08 - 02:30 AM

Brett,

The need to take classes can easily be fulfilled these days through distance education. Many fine universities have such programs. We've had one for years at the University of Texas at Arlignton, where I work. Google search on "university distance education programs". Here is the UTA program.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 May 08 - 10:53 AM

Love that you are still painting mind pix for us, still, Brett. Your new place sounds really intriguing and lovely. Good for you for talking so kindly to your student about her mom and sex. I am sure she will always remember that and be grateful.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 May 08 - 11:05 AM

another day in paradise!

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 May 08 - 04:09 PM

Wow! That's all I can say. Well, maybe I could say more.

Yesterday we went to Wakana's favorite restaurant, Hoa Mai. It is a little dive in the Agat Shopping Center. They know us very well. We walk in, ask for our usual, and they bring us chicken penang and honey walnut shrimp with fresh lumpia on the side. And a quart of iced tea.

As we topped the hill on the Cross Island Road and the Philippine Sea appeared before us we saw a sight we've never seen before. It had been cloudy all day. Now as the sun sank low it lit up the clouds on the horizon. The air was dry and so very clear. The horizon was a straight line bisecting the gray sea and the neon sky. There were no obstructions except for a rain squall to the southwest. Through a miracle it seemed as if the horizon was higher than we were and that the sea would soon come washing over us. The sea was absolutely flat. We couldn't see the sun itself. It was lost behind a curtain of cloud but its light was all around us.

The clouds to the west of us were lit up from behind in a blaze of orange and pink and gold. To the south there were white clouds like mountains reaching up with their bases hidden from us. There were dark clouds behind them for a backdrop which made for a very dramatic display.

We drove to the beach and stood on the sand looking at the sunset. It was hard to speak in the face of such beauty. Off to the left of us were two or three boats way out. There outlines were so clear that it seemed as if we could make out every detail though they were but tiny toys on the face of the sea. One made its way north passing in front of the grand display. We could even see the rooster tail rising behind her. We spoke quietly in the face of such grandeur.

It was a sight I will not soon forget.

(I want to assure the public that two cats were pampered in the creation of this blog.)

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 May 08 - 08:51 PM

another magical description of Another Day in paradise.

sandra (keep pampering those cats)

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 May 08 - 10:43 PM

Happen to have a camera handy? What a grand and beautiful thing to witness!

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 May 08 - 05:08 AM

A camera in my hands could not have done the scene justice. In addition to its beauty it was too huge to fit into a camera. Besides, we didn't have one with us.

Today was the last day with my sixth and seventh block students. They were my favorite two classes. Tomorrow will be the last day of classes. On Tuesday and Wednesday we will administer the final exams. Then we finish up grades, strip out the classrooms and head home for the summer.

I spoke with the vice principal today about the end of the year. One thing I asked for was some of the resource materials so I can refine my lesson plans over the summer. She explained that I could not do that because next year I might not be teaching English Literature next year. My job will depend on where they need me based on the available skills. I might end up teaching history after all.

Well, I've got some serious grading to get through.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 May 08 - 05:14 AM

Oh, and the post script about the cats was a parody of the disclaimer at the end of movies and TV programs that no animals were injured. No animals are ever injured in the production of these posts but the cats are often pampered.

Speaking of cats, Mama Kitty has changed considerably since we moved to Talofofo. In Santa Rita she was a half wild boonie cat. She went out in the morning and didn't come back in until evening. It was difficult to keep her indoors during the day.

Now she is indifferent towards being outside. She enjoys lying around the house. She also enjoys being outdoors. When Wakana's home Mama follows her around. When Wakana sits on the couch Mama Kitty stations herself at the other end. This is new behavior. Mama never shared the couch with anyone in the old house.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 May 08 - 08:47 PM

Wakana has been very busy outdoors. She has been trimming the trees all around the house. Consequently our house is surrounded with large piles of tree branches and raked up leaves. We've got our work cut out for us moving all of that into the burning circle. But the trees look pretty good. And we have a lot more room around and under them.

We have the AC turned off today. Windows are open. Not too hot. Airing out the house and enjoying the outdoor smells makes a nice change.

It's been rainy all morning. There are lots of clouds up there and they occasionally leak on us. Earlier we had a lot of thunder but we saw no lightning. All in all a very nice day.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 May 08 - 10:55 PM

AC? Living in luxury, are we? Will we see you in July? August 2 is the Maritime Festival.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 08 - 12:56 AM

Are there any photos of all of this? I understand about the sunset, you're better off looking at it and remembering it than depending on a lens and film or a few pixels. But the house and yard and school and environs? I haven't kept up with all of the threads--once I get behind reading and they get long I usually give up. But maybe links have been posted that someone can point me to?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 May 08 - 02:38 AM

Did I ever tell you that Wakana used to live in the Sahara Forest? What's that? You say it's the Sahara Desert? Well, it is NOW!

We bought a house with lots of trees and ground. The trees needed trimming (in her opinion) and the ground needed mowing. I should have known what to expect. The first time she saw this place she looked like a dog eying a piece of steak. Since we moved in she has been looking at the trees and considering and then she started trimming, and trimming, and trimming...

This morning we burned three pickup loads of limbs and leaves. The pile of ashes is still smoldering out there. She is delighted. As we worked she was picking out other limbs to take down. Sigh.

I am all finished with classes. I just need to finish up some paperwork and clean the junk out of my room and I am done for the summer. I am going back in the fall but the school wouldn't commit to what I would be teaching. The world history teacher is cutting back to part time and the U. S. History and Government teacher is leaving. That would seem to open up an opportunity in the social studies department. Unfortunately the English Department is losing the department head so there will be an opening for some one in Literature and Composition. I have no idea what August will bring to me.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 May 08 - 05:13 AM

less trees

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 May 08 - 01:25 PM

Sandra, as a professional English teacher I am required to point out that you use the word 'less' when you cannot count the subject. Thus you would have less water, not fewer water. When you can count the subject then you use the word 'Fewer'.

Sorry to be a PITA.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: maeve
Date: 31 May 08 - 02:00 PM

Less Trees: Noun; now extinct. Once known as the native tree of the Saharan Forest Region, the Less Tree was the major source for fuel, fruit, and fertility medicinals. At the height of the Saharan Forest deforestation of the late 1990s, there were 20 Less Trees left standing...





















More or less.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 May 08 - 05:20 PM

I saw a flea heave a tree,
Fie, man, fie!
I saw a flea heave a tree,
Who's the fool now?
I saw a flea heave a tree,
Twenty leagues out to sea!
Thou has well drunken
And who's the fool now?

Ax me no questions
And I'll tell you no lies!

Is Wakana planning to trim off all the tree limbs?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 May 08 - 08:31 PM

As near as I can figure she will. It seems the only good tree in her view is a stick pointing at the clouds.

I did persuade her not to take off a branch that would have left a huge hole in the foliage. Others will not be so lucky.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 08:24 PM

In a little while I will be going out to buy the tickets for my trip to Maine. I will arrive at the Portland Jetport on July 4 at 3:32 PM. I leave from the Portland Jetport on July 29 at 7:50 AM.

This will be a minimal money trip. I will probably settle at my parents' house and stay there. I'd like to make a trip south at some point and meet with my friends there but that will need some careful scheduling.

Sins, are you planning a song circle for July?

Charlie, what's on the agenda for Roll & Go?

Any chance of a Mudcat Mini-gathering somewhere in Maine so I can meet some of the members I've never met?

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 10:01 PM

Is your new grandbaby coming across the pond to meet you?

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 09:04 AM

I understand traditional English gardens are never finished while you can still stuff something else in; Japanese gardens are never finished while you can still take sonething else out.

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 07:21 PM

The whole purpose of the trip is to meet the grandbaby. If not for her I'd stay in Guam rather than take that hellacious trip to the east coast. Besides, while Wakana is trapped here on the island I feel it is too selfish of me to take any trips. But I gotta meet that kid before she gets too old.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Amos
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 09:13 PM

Ya know, Brett, for little extra you could schedule it in Spetember and make the Getaway...probably get a free ride down and back with someone or other... THink about it.



A

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 10:20 PM

Brett:

Here's a link to Roll & Go's website with our current schedule: click here for website

There are a couple of concerts planned and the cottage may be vacant in part of July.

There's also the 3rd Saturday shanty sing at the Press Room, 3:30 to 7:30 PM.

I suppose we could all come up to Houlton instead.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 10:27 PM

Amos, teachers can't take off during the school year. At least not for that long of a trip!:-)

Good! I am glad you get to see her. Wish Wakana could go with you!

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jun 08 - 06:15 PM

Wakana and I took a walk this morning to get a better feel for the neighborhood... and to get some exercise. We wandered down San Nicolas Lane. There are some lovely homes in there. Lots of mango and coconut trees. And lots of dogs faithfully, and loudly, guarding their homes. When you walk here you have to be careful to carry a stick of some sort to protect yourself. I carried my cane. I needed it for myself by the time we started back. This damned knee...

We have been judicious in our use of electricity. Our bill this month was under $200. Unfortunately they tacked on a "fuel surcharge" of almost $400! Grumble, grumble, gripe, gripe.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Amos
Date: 07 Jun 08 - 07:40 PM

Oh, yeah, sorry. I keep thinking of you as retired! ;>)


A

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 10:58 AM

Today our previous neighbor, Dave, and the former landlord's son, Anthony, came by. They woke us out of our afternoon nap (vacations are wonderful). The previous owner of this place left behind a few things including a large chain link cage and a composter. I have no use for either of them (the materials, not the men). I had offered the cage and the composter to them. They brought with them a riding lawn mower that Dave had picked up somewhere and repaired for us. Unfortunately their timing was rather poor. By the time we got the mower unloaded from the trailer and put the mower deck back on it the sun was setting and they had no time to work freeing the cage from the vegetation. It has been there long enough for the trees to grow inside it. They needed a chainsaw to get it free.

Anthony and Dave want those two items because they want to make methane to run a generator and get themselves off the grid. Anthony wants the composter because it will help him with some project he has in mind. Anthony is still in college and has been studying agriculture. He worked on a compost project with one of his professors and is all worked up over composting as being the wave of the future. The composter has been sitting long enough that its support framework rotted away and it fell over sometime after we moved in.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: kendall
Date: 10 Jun 08 - 09:04 AM

Brett, the reason your students get jumpy this time of year is maybe because they don't get any snow days.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Amos
Date: 10 Jun 08 - 09:58 PM

"Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson - PM
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 08:41 PM

Well, Nick and Carmela's party was a big success. Lots of people, lots of food, laughter and beer. They were celebrating five birthdays. The festivities started at 1:00 and there were hula dancers to entertain at 3:00. When I came out of my half of the duplex I found my front yard full of people. I filled a plate and joined in the fun. I sat with the old men, the patriarchs, and talked of Guam and the world, solving all the problems, as I watched the rest of the people. there were little kids and their parents and grandparents. There was an inflated jumping pad out in the field next to the house. A few of the older kids were tossing a football in the street.

At 3:00 the hula entertainment began. It is a dance company located here on the island. Their instructor is from Hawaii but they do dances from all over the Pacific. It was odd seeing those little girls, the oldest couldn't have been more that 14, doing the sensual dances from Tahiti. It just didn't seem to fit. But they were graceful and beautiful and very good. There were some movements I didn't think possible for a human body.

After the entertainment I retreated into my house and left the party to the locals. It isn't good for me to be in the company of women these days. I start to think about the benefits of a relationship and I don't want to go there again.

I forgot to mention something funny that happened the other night when we were working on the cardboard canoe. we had stopped for supper and I was talking to the host's two kids, 7 and 9. I was obviously the oldest person in the room so I decided to have fun with them. I told them I was the oldest person on earth and had them try to guess my age. We got up to 100 and I was still saying "Nope, older!" Finally they began to ask for the anser so I told them I was older than their dad. That was easy to see. So I told them I was so old that when I was young I had only black and white TV. That didn't impress them. So I told them that I was so old that there were no computers when I was born. The older boy's eye got big and he said, "That's even before the pilgrims!""

---

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson - PM
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 06:44 AM

Wow! This place continues to amaze me. Last Saturday I met two amazing and interesting people. One is a racing sailboat captain. He works for a very rich man who has a deep and abiding interest in racing sailboats. His employer owns 5 boats, 40', 50', 75', 90', and a 115'. Al's job is to coordinate the 9 permanent crew members and keep them trained to a fine point for winning races. They are based in Hong Kong but he doesn't like living in Hong Kong so he lives in Guam and does most of his work by remote link. He is currently rebuilding a damaged catamaran and building a power trimaran to use to explore the Pacific islands and to carry mail and cargo between them.

The other person is a Japanese woman who is attending language classes (English) at UOG. She is a carpenter in Japan with a shop and all her own tools. Those of you familiar with the chauvinist society in Japan should realize how unusual this is. She was extremely interested in the carving on the canoe parts working her way in close to help as best she could. Unfortunately she had to leave before she could get her hands on an adze and do some cutting.

One funny thing happened. When I saw my middle sister two weeks ago she gave me a T-shirt she had decorated with Japanese characters. She told me it meant "wisdom". At the canoe Wakana saw the characters and asked me if it was the name of my girlfriend. While one reading of the kanji is "wisdom", or "smart head" as Wakana put it, the other interpretation is "pretty girl" and is used as a girl's name in Japan. My sister got quite a laugh out of that.

You know, adventures come in all shapes and sizes. ..."

---

Kinda pins down the before and beginnin', don't it?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 07:05 PM

Yep! Thanks for posting that.

This morning Wakana and I set up a breakfast nook in the carport. When we moved in there was a glass table out there. The base was wobbly and we didn't like it but we hadn't done anything with it yet. Today we cleaned it up and set it where we usually sit to drink our morning coffee.

I have an old desk that I got at a Government auction. The lot I bought included three desks and a wooden rolling stand. I took one of the desks and the stand into school and put them in my classroom. One desk could not be salvaged and the other had one end torn off. Yesterday I fixed that desk and this morning we set it up in the carport as an outdoor office. I doubt we'll use it much. The humidity makes the papers difficult to work with.

Today we are headed into town. We have a number of errands to run and Wakana has a doctor's appointment with a neurologist. Her neck is giving her trouble again. We also need to check the mail (I'm expecting ink for my printer) and get Wakana a new pair of glasses. She needs bifocals (or, as she calls them, bifocus).

I guess I better get to work. We acquired a canopy frame with this house and we want to set it up to give some shade to the office wall. I am also going to install the typhoon shutters on the room we use for storage in an effort to keep it cooler.

Oh! I forgot to mention something. The other day we took the cats to the vet. Neko has some kind of infection on her back feet. The vet's husband is an Australian named Brett. We had a bit of a chat about the difficulties of carrying that name. He4 commented that it was fairly common in Oz but here he gets all kinds of mispronunciations. This is something I've had to deal with all my life but it's new to him.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Jun 08 - 12:11 AM

It's been a busy couple of days. Wakana went to the neurologist who told her she has a pinched nerve. He sentenced her to do no work that would involve pushing or lifting more than 20 pounds. So today I had to mow the lawn... But we are getting some things done and that's OK because I don't have any money to do anything else.

Today is the 14th and in a little more than two weeks I'll be heading for Maine to meet the little squab my daughter done birthed.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 04:49 AM

Very busy in the last couple of days. I downloaded all the Guam threads and sorted through them leaving only my comments. That pared it down from 925 pages to 354. I also constructed a photo album showing the things we've done since we got married. I took both to Copy Express and for $40 I got them printed out. We stuffed them into the envelope and sent it off to the jerks, uh, idiots, uh, the, uh, fine upstanding citizens of the Department of Homeland Security. (Why do I remember the Soviet Union when I say the name of that department?)

Anyway, we sent it off by express mail and soon they will have proof that we are a married couple. If any of you would like to have the same proof I can email the album. It is a word document, about 48.3K. It looks pretty good if I do say so.

Last night I broke a tooth. Today I had to sit in the Dentist's office for a few hours as a walk-in patient. Finally got a temporary patch on it but I will need a crown ($1000!) That's got to wait a while.

We were in the mall yesterday for Wakana to buy new glasses. We wandered by a store that we've always enjoyed and found they were having a going out of business sale with everything going for up to 80% off! Some pretty cool stuff too. We spent $40 in there buying presents for me to take home.

Wakana has a little extra money so she wants to replace the window air conditioning unit here in the office with a brand new energy efficient split unit. They are supposed to install it on Friday. Once they do that we will be able to work in here without sweat bands and heat stroke.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 06:16 AM

lucky you - a crown for $1000, mine will cost 2-3 times that.

how long do you have to wait to get an answer from Homeland Security? or don't they say.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 11:08 AM

Well, back in May of 2007 they said we'd have an answer in 4 to 6 weeks... God only knows how long they'll take with this package.

We haven't had any trash removed for a month now. I finally called the Department of Public Works to ask why. The answer was that we had not registered with them for pickup. I've been on this island for over four years now and this is the first I've heard of registering with DPW.

Last night we discussed what we wanted to accomplish today. I woke at 5:00 AM and went out to the living room. I wasn't awake yet so I went back to bed. I woke up around 8:00 AM and found Wakana asleep on the couch. I made coffee and drank a cup and ate a bagel and an orange. I wandered around for a bit and then went back to bed. Woke up around noon. Wakana and I talked about how disinterested we were in any activity at all. I worked on a photo album I need to put together for my trip home and then found Wakana on the bed. I joined her and we spent the afternoon in blissful luxurious inactivity. We agreed that we like vacations.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 11:54 PM

Today they installed out new Carrier Alpha Plus 9,000 BTU split unit air conditioner in our office. However the day has been so cool that we have our windows open and do not need the A/C. But we will, I know it, we will.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 07:46 AM

cool air! what a treat in a hot humid place, I have enough trouble with Sydney's humidity, I couldn't cope with your equatorial humidity.

Subject: RE: BS: Settling in Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 07:00 PM

Well, cool is relative. I'm sure my family would consider themselves as suffering in these temperatures.