YES, it is true. I will only be in my home town for two days. Seriously, this is all happening so terribly fast, but I found a flight I couldn't resist and it was to get me out of SEA quickly....very quickly...too quickly? I flew to Malyasia yesterday from Indonesia, took a bus to Singapore this morning, I take a flight from Singapore to SF tomorrow (MY Thursday the 6th), arriving in SF Thursday local time in the early evening. I then stay with my folks until Saturday night when I have to head back to SF and take a really [View Full Entry]

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OK, as you are all I'm surely aware, a devastating earthquake hit southwestern Peru a few weeks ago, and without going into the the disaster details here, I wanted you all to know I have made the decision to go and volunteer with the most amazing and my personal favorite diaster-relief organization in the world, Hands On Disaster Response. The only thing keeping me from jumping on the bandwagon quicker (the decison to deloy was only made final 2 days ago) is financial reasons. I am traveling the world, yes, but to live in and stay in South East Asia for [View Full Entry]

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Damn it -- the Indonesian sun is getting to me. It doesn't make that much of a difference, but I meant to change the damn title to the blast I just sent to SEAT BELTS ARE OPTIONAL IN SUMATRAN VEHICLES...... .....and then I forgot to change the title. Anyway, the most important is that the blast has now been sent. Hope you all enjoyed it and it didn't put anyone to sleep... [View Full Entry]

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Welcome to a series of short (I promise! Yeah right....) stories from my Indonesian travels thus far. Just FYI, since I have been out of touch on a "mass scale" for quite awhile, I wanted you all to know I have been traveling in Indonesia now for the past two months. My 60 day visa expires in a few days, and even though I wrote this email a month ago, I haven't been able to send it until now. I think there will be a part 2. Despite what you might read, this country is full of lovely people, amazing scenery [View Full Entry]

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Beware: This is a long, drawn-out email blast. I suggest you read it all in one sitting, if you have the time. Enjoy! 06/19/07 I asked for adventure. I got adventure. Be careful what you ask for. I thought by getting there early I would have a good chance of leaving early. Wrong! Getting there early just gave me more time to sit and wait. And wonder. Wonder if this 4WD is really going to make the crossing today or am I just waiting for nothing, wasting my day away. These thoughts occur quite a bit with me, especially in a [View Full Entry]

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THE LOVERS OF BANANAS...... Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is one of the world's best- known rehabilitation centers for orphaned or abandoned orang utan. The aim of this center has always been to return orphaned, injured or displaced orang utan back into the wild. Young orang utans deprived of their mothers lack the ability to find food, build nests or even climb trees properly. At the rehabilitation center, they spend time learning the skills essential to living in the jungle. Once they are ready, they are moved to an "outdoor nursery" where their dependence on the food an [View Full Entry]

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Ann Taylor. Master of fashion. Fabulous designer. Clothes. Bags. Sunglasses. My sunglasses. My ex-sunglasses. You know how sometimes you get attached to an article of clothing or a piece of jewelery that just "becomes you" or "makes you complete?" Well, at the risk of sounding shallow, materialistic, or snobbish, I had one of those such items. My Ann Taylor sunglasses. Silly, indeed, I know, but these shades fit me. They fit my face, they framed my face, they looked good, and best of all, they were ON SALE when I bought them. Ah, the things that make a girl happy! How [View Full Entry]

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Ok, the long-awaited Hong Kong blast....here at last.. Only, sadly, not as exciting as the last one. Or any of the ones before that. But, I changed the font and the font size (can you see it or is it just on my end???) for your viewing pleasure. OH, that's right, and for my writing enjoyment. :-) So, here goes it, despite the length...... After leaving the Peens, I flew directly to Lantau Island, HK territory's biggest island, where, conveniently, a friend of mine I had met back in the tsunami-relief days (spring of 2005) lives part of the year and [View Full Entry]

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Thanks to everyone and all your wonderful commentary. I appreciate hearing from all of you, and enjoy the feedback as well. Glad I can keep you entertained! I last left you as I was getting set to leave Hands On and San Isidro behind. All 8 of us left at the project boarded a plane bound for Manila. We collected our baggage from the carousel, hugged farewell, and everyone went their separate ways. A fellow friend from the project, James, and I were setting out that evening on an overnight bus to the northern part of Luzon. We were heading to [View Full Entry]

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Hi all! No, I'm not home-home back in Cali, rather after 4 months volunteering in the Philippines and nearly 2 weeks in Hong Kong visiting a friend and enjoying the sights, I am finally back in my favorite country, Malaysia. I have been in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo for just over a week now. The past, what, month or two, I have been quite negligent in my writing and updates, and for that, I duly apologize. Now I have some time and energy to write and should let you know where I have been and what I [View Full Entry]

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