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Comments
To call her beautiful would be a vast understatement. She is perfect! At 11 months old she is lively, animated, walks, etc. After the initial separation cries, we had an hour of giggles, faces, hand clapping, even some kisses. She was attracted to Emily and some to Beth, but only a bit to me. But then as the hour approached bed time, she suddenly realized that she wasn't going home to familiar surroundings tonight, and the soulful wails began. Eventually she wore herself out and fell asleep.
Monday began with her discovery of Daddy, and she latched on tight. For two days she shrieked if Beth even came into sight. I have become sole provider; changing, dressing, bottles, a variety of table food from the dining room fed by (of course) chop sticks. She is finally letting Beth do some if I am out of sight, but it is funny how she avoids eye contact. While this might sound strange, it is the same situation with about half the families traveling with us. Some of the moms have been reduced to tears. We suspect that as most of the kids have been in foster care outside of the orphanage, getting used to a new mom will be extremely difficult.
A number of the other families decided to bring kids along also, so it is a non-stop party. And while we have to watch out for Em's well-being, she is doing a great job as a new 'big sister'.
Tuesday was consumed with court and legal matters, and today we traveled without the rest of the group to the outlying village where Annelise was found. An emotional day.
Some more legal stuff this week, then on to Guanghzou for work on the US re-entry side at the American Consulate.
Cars? NanChang is an industrial & agricultural town with little tourism. Ford & Isuzu have a joint venture here with Jiang Ling motor company that employs about 20k people. Lots of three wheeled motorcycle hybrids on the roads. Sort of the modernized form of the rickshaw. We passed a Honda, Toyota & VW dealer. Some high end European cars running around. Driving is extremely dangerous given a general sense of lawlessness when it comes to obeying lights, signs or pavement markings. A 'free for all' attitude prevails. Yet somehow it works. Kids dodge busses that pass trucks across double yellow lines. But we passed a serious accident this morning, so it does catch up with some.
Well, I need to get some rest. I will try and catch the chat on Thursday (Friday at 10am Eastern China / HK time) if the schedule allows. The local ISP is a bit shaky, so we will see if I can stay connected).
Steve
Bob
Loosh: I'm glad to know you're alright. You certainly displayed lots of self-control there. By not following an eye for an eye, you avoided stooping to his level. Kudos and bonus karma points to you.
Steve: What an incredible heart warming story -- I read your post over several times just trying to picture your last few days. Congratulations!
Ken
Mark
Forester for mom: $25k
Impreza for daughter #1: $20k
Impreza for daughter #2: $20k
stereo etc. for STi $5k
Bob
04 Baja Turbo 5MT in Silver w/Bed extender (~$25K)
04 Porsche Boxster S 6MT (~$53K) - My mid-life vehicle:-)
~$6K to get my 64 Triumph Spitfire I inherited fully restored (probably costs less, but just in case)
I would use the remaining $16K to use on road trips with the cars, touring the country.
Mark
Craig
-Colin
Loosh - You really showed a lot of restraint and class. Glad you weren't seriously hurt.
Kens - What an ordeal. Hope your return flight is more efficient!
Dream garage...A co-worker just got a '99 BMW M3 convertible. What a beautiful car for around $27K. But it's not AWD!!!
Jim
I think the bond to mom will come with time. It's a tighter bond and may take longer to develop. Tell her to hang in there.
-juice
* 2004 Subaru Forester XT MT, $24k
* 2003 Porsche Boxster, $44k
* 2004 Sienna LE AWD 8 pass w/DVD, $34k
The XT would be for general use. The Boxster my toy. The Sienna as a trip car. Wife and I would both be happy alternating the XT and Boxster for commuting daily.
The latter two are overpriced but on Santa's dime that's what I'd get.
Interestingly, if the Legacy and 7 passenger crossover were availble, my list would change substantially. I'd get:
2005 Legacy GT sedan (H6 or turbo) for my wife
2005 7 seater H6
2010 Subaru B9 Scrambler Hybrid
Ok, that last one is *way* dreamy! Maybe a Mazdaspeed Miata Turbo.
-juice
XTMT: 26K
Chevy Crew Cab pick-em-up truck: 40K
"Toy hauler" travel trailer, with generator: 25K
9K left... hmmm.... remodel the garage! (new bench, toolboxes, etc.)
The right Lotto ticket: priceless!
Cheers!
Paul
-juice
Accidents, fights, babies. Holy cow!
Glad everyone is OK, Bob, Lucien. Lucien, very noble of you. That's just bizarre. Not sure I'd have been that noble, but it's good to have a role model to look up to...
Steve, congrats and best wishes for your little one.
Wish list? Hoo boy, don't have time to do that justice...
An XT to replace our '01 S+
Eaton supercharger for our MPV
(always wanted a sleeper)
Associated upgrades to MPV to keep it on the road with all the added power
Driving lessons for yours truly and wife
Hoby Cat
Someplace to park the Hoby Cat...
Sailing lessons for yours truly and wife
Plane tickets for family to Australia and NZ
Spending money for family vacation
Small piece of land in the mountains west of Denver
Am I up to 100k yet?
-brianV
-juice
Subaru Impreza WRX loaded 24K
Subaru Forester X 2005 loaded 21K (for my daughter)
Subaru Baja Turbo (going to Home Depot in style!) 28K
2K for accessories
now, if only someone told me where to get those $100K...
-c
TNSX
We toured some of the better parts of the city today, and the class of automobile rises with the property values. What is one of the more common big cars? The Buick Century, mfg'ed by Shanghai-GM. We passed several dealerships as well as seeing many on the road.
So where do you go when you need baby stuff cheap? WalMart, of course! And not just a plain-jane WalMart, but a WM Supercenter in downtown Nanchang! It is a shrinking world. Cell phones in every hand, and wi-fi laptops on the streets.
Juice - did you get the photo I sent you for posting?
Thanks to everyone who wished us well. Believe me, we can use all the spiritual help we can get.
Steve
Check the usual suspects - front and rear seals, gaskets, and wheel bearings. If it rides quietly and there are no signs of oil leaks, it's still got a little powertrain warranty left on it, so I'd call it a bargain.
Steve: will check my e-mail now...
-juice
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/pb5d7a9cb709d9f2f2371- 5cd17148f513/fa62d7a1.jpg
-juice
-juice
What a cutie!
If we ever have kids, chances are that our newborn's will have more hair than me, right from the get-go!
Craig
-Brian
She's a cutie! Congrats again to the entire family!
Mark
I Don't Like Santa's SUV Do YOU?
Patti
Patti
Cheers Pat.
isn't that the name of your team
Steve-
Congratulations! She's a beauty.
Oh, the milk, Premium or Regular ;-)
-Dave
Patti
Bob
Cheers Pat.
Bring it on!
Chat in 20 minutes...
-juice
Congratulations Steve she is quite cute!
No snow here, just rain and wind (and more rain)!
-Ian
Patti: 3-5" forecast here too, and I have a company meeting to attend in the PM. Fortunately I may have the option to teleconference in to it.
Our little one has calmed down - was fussier than usual just an hour ago - so I am off to join my first chat in a while. See you there.
Ed
Cool chat. At one point I almost fell out of my seat, the whole Cayenne Red Forester XT with the Premium Package (red PP) thing!
The Fence (the one from the On The Fence Club) is thriving, more and more folks are hopping on!
-juice
Snow?? It's gonna be fun in an '85 318. :-D
I bought 100 pounds of sand for the trunk tonight.
-Dennis
Seriously, out back behind the police station is an old red brick & concrete building being taken down. The workers? A chain gang doing it with sledge hammers! Perhaps a lifetime project for some of those folks....
We got talking about the upcoming 'Noreaster, and it turns out that two of the other families are Subaru Outback owners - family in CT & VT. See, there is a connection between good cars and a strong sense of adventure (trust me - 'adventure' is the right word for this trip...).
More later... Steve