Feeling Behind

Wow!  I am feeling behind on all my updating.  It's been a whirlwind here.

First of all...stuff happened.  Namely, my boss telling me out of the blue, "if you feel lonely or scared by living out in the woods by yourself, then you can get a dog."  I promptly told him that I did not want a dog, because those things live longer than goldfish, and I already hit my commitment quota by joining a gym.

Later, someone else teased me about getting a puppy.  And then I promptly told God, "People keep bringing up this topic, but you know I am not going and getting a dog.  If you want me to have one, you just have to drop it in my lap."  One Saturday morning, I was rushing out the door and, yep you guessed it.  A puppy...a little 4 month old hound/lab mix was just looking miserable at my doorstep.

She was so covered in fleas that as she scratched, she would whine because it hurt.  I just cried.  I knew I couldn't take care of a puppy, but I just couldn't leave her in that state...so I said, one step...I will just take one step.  So I washed all her fleas off.  Then I called my friend who owned a kennel and told her I didn't know the next step.  I wasn't keeping her but I needed help.

Well my kennel friend showed up with puppy supplies, and that dog ran right to my side for protection...apparently she already adopted me.  So now, I can't imagine life without her.  It's been a full month and I love my baby Jade so much.  We are doing all the right things with the vet and I am reading more about puppy training online than I am school work.  But she does make my heart smile.

This is Jade playing with her husky friend who likes to visit.

Other than puppy and school, the most recent excitement was a trip to the mountains.  My mother has a birthday this week, and it being labor day weekend, we had a longer one than normal.  My mother said in passing, "oh I wish I could come down and see you...."  And between the two of us, within 48 hours we had her plane ticket booked and a cabin in the woods rented.  We spent an awesome weekend grilling out, visiting the small mountain town of Blue Ridge, sampling chocolate, visiting a winery, and hiking to a waterfall.  I had a great deal of rest and enjoyment with her, and brought her back to the airport.

Unfortunately, my car broke down about an hour away from home, so I am even more behind on the many things I should have done this weekend...but I wouldn't change it for the world!

One topic that keeps coming up in my Quiet Time is the need to breathe.  To just rest, to not have to do all the time, despite the fact that doing gives me a semblance of control...but just to be.  To rest, to breathe...to truly trust that all my needs will be met, that not every single thing has to be in order for me to move forward, and to rest.  So I think in lieu of giving myself an ulcer...I should breathe and rest.  SELAH!  :-)

Aren't we tired of the B-word......?

I know I am tired of it.  It controls my life sometimes... you know the one; B-U-S-Y.

Yep, that one.  I am so tired of losing the only resource we cannot gain back in our lives.  Especially when I am losing it in a season where I am spending the majority of time doing things I don't even want to do.

BUT, (my favorite B-word), but I am coming up on a time that I will enjoy, very soon.  I have my field study for graduate school coming up.  This field study just happens to be in Mongolia, and I just so happen to get a few days before hand in Korea (yes the Asian nation that stole my heart).

So I will enjoy great food, lounge in jjimjilbangs, meet up with friends, and get to enjoy two services with my church. I haven't planned a lot about it, but I am going to be in Seoul and Busan.  And I am going to be so happy.

Other updates:

• The woodpeckers have fledged and after much chasing with lenses we were able to spot one of our banded ones in the wild.
• Burn season will close in the next few weeks, bringing our increasingly smaller team down to 2 people which means more fun scienc-y land management will be in my workdays.
• I am hoping to meet my dad, stepmom, and dog down in Savannah just before heading off to my field study.  I am beyond joyful about that too!

Coming to You from Vietnam!

I got to Skype my friend Jill last night, and she asked me where in the world I was, because she said that she couldn't keep up with me.  I told her, I couldn't even keep up with me.  During this "down time" in Vietnam, I am so busy trying to plan out Belize and not get scammed here that I don't really think I am resting much.

I did enjoy a cruise through Halong Bay which was magnificent.  And met a couple on the boat that let me practice my Spanish with them before I have to get to using it again in Belize.  The wife was from Iowa and the husband, Colombia.  They were so kind and even suggested a better Hotel for my last couple nights.  And believe me, the switch was well worth the stress of switching.  I was upgraded to a deluxe room free of charge and they even have a real shower with hot water.

The trying not to get scammed thing is hard though.  Already I have had my card scanned multiple times for a single purchase and I also had an incident with a shoe-man.  I was walking down the street and the man comes running after me yelling for me to stop and pointing at my feet.  I thought, "OH dear me! I stepped on something important".  And I stopped.  At that point, he pulls off my shoe and begins gluing the loose parts back on.  I told him to stop.  He said "don't worry."  I said, "Stop it.  NO!  I will not pay you money.  Stop."  And he keeps saying, "don't worry."  I protest for about 2 more minutes as he sews up the sole.  I keep saying, "No!  I will not pay."  Finally, he gives it back and demands the equivalent of $10USD.  And I told him very firmly that I never wanted my shoes sown and that I told him no, but he just wasn't listening.  He began to argue with me again.  I said NO! Then I ran away....haha.

After running off, I dipped into massage parlor to lose the guy and relieve some stress.  I just need to wear nicer shoes and maybe he won't recognize me when I go back out tonight to the walking food tour and water puppet show.  Until then, I think I will just rest in my very very comfy bed.  Thank you Hanoi Holiday Gold!  :-)

Halong Bay:  View from my Cabin Window early morning.