notinKansasanymore

Shipper, are you working in the same field? Are there any differences in the work environments, rules, dress, etc., between the USA and Australia? Good on ya, yerself, mate.

Can't dive with noseclips; they'd make it impossible to equalize or clear the mask. I just have to learn the skill. I'm medically prohibited from diving for a week, and then must go and practise. I'm trying for the standard open-water certification; when we go and visit Down Under, I surely want to get a gander at that little old reef they have down there!

What a coincidence! That's exactly what the instructor, my husband, and the emergency room doctor all said! Hmmmmmmmmm.

Hello, this is a shout-out to my MAN the snowcone meister, and to Excie (how'd it go, anyway? you okay?) and Fellowshipper (g'day, mate!) and SimonRockyEverybodyElse. This has been quite a week; I'm finishing the home organization, writing syllabai which have to be implemented next week already (summer is quickly becoming a fading memory) and nearly drowning in Scuba class; spent half the night in the emergency room, coughing up water (had a major stupid attack, paid for it, 'nuff said). Hiiiiii! How Ya'll doin'?

85% now. Stuff is flyin' outta here like it had wings.

Here am I . . . Determined not to start the school year with a disorganized house; it's 65% done, and I'm hardly even checking e-mail right now. I'll call you when I get there! love, niKa

Maybe when Fellowshipper comes back from his apparently extended honeymoon, he can tell us what the weather's like down under! Cooler going full blast at the niKapad.

I met Mr. niKa (my first and only husband) when I was 38. We married three months later (to the day, though not intentionally). That's almost ten years ago, now. I had my first child two weeks before turning 40, and my second six weeks before turning 42. I agree with a lot of what Belle, Wayfer Not, and Vickles have said. Mr. niKa and I were big kids, old enough to know what we wanted, and wise enough to recognize it when it was right in front of us. It was a very, very good thing for me, because I had resolved to remain single, rather than marry the wrong person. That sounds cool, if it is decided at 22, but to stick to one's resolve at 35 is a horse of another color entirely. Research says that most women experience a marked decline in fertility after age 35. I really, really wanted children. It's also quite true that the older we are, the more set in our ways we have become, and the harder it can be to adjust to another person. But when it works, it's Paris in Springtime most days of the rest of your life. No matter what else is happening around us, the parent / teacher meetings, the hundred little troubles which beset us every day, they are all nothing. I had no right to expect to be this happy; I'm very, very thankful. :o-->

Tom, I'm sorry about your Dad. love, niKa Excathedra, if you're reading this, know that I'm thinking about you. Looking forward to your return. Hoping that the skies are clearing up, and that the troubles are easing. Maybe someday, it will all seem so distant.

wow, that WAS awesome weather. It was only about 85 today; this is supposed to be 100+. Instead of the dog-day doldrums of summer, we ended up with a cool, almost shady day, with a refreshing breeze that's the closest thing I've ever felt in Oklahoma to a sea breeze. Wassup with that? On another note, did a hard but necessary thing today. Sweet Grampa Tump, farmer, hard worker, generous soul, and cancer survivor, learned about a month ago that the doctors were wrong when they'd sworn that he was cancer-free. Prostate cancer had metastized (sp?) so completely into most of his spine and many other bones that it was too late to do anything but get right with the Lord. He worked up until the day that his legs stopped walking, which was the day that he learned his cancer had not really gone away, which was the day that he became paralyzed from the waist down. That was in very late June. This past week, he called his tiny-town minister, and asked to pray for forgiveness for his sins. This was a guy who never met anyone (human or animal) with a need, whom he didn't try to help. He made his peace with God, and then he prayed that God would not let him linger much longer in such intense pain. We buried Grampa Tump today, in such a tiny little country cemetery, out in the middle of farm fields, that if you were driving the speed limit, you'd likely never even catch a glimpse of the place. He was a true-hearted sweetie-pie. He was only 66 years old. I almost didn't write about Tump on this site, but I did, because I wanted to say the following: Men, please, please get a physical exam every single year, and make sure that it includes a prostate check! If this sweet soul had just done that, he'd probably still be with us today. Here's a questionnaire to inspire us all to take better care of ourselves; it's a lifespan calculator, based on lifestyle and health habits. http://www.pacificlife.com/Channel/Educati...on/Calculators/ I love you folks. niKa

Thanks, Tom. You make the best snowcones in all of summer.

Thinking about you, Ex, and your family. Love you. Pawtucket, this must not be very easy for you, either. Love you, too. Tom, got any rainbow snowcones?

((((((((Ex and Little EX))))))))

Oh, Excathedra! I'm so sorry. This is a very, very hard thing. Lots of layers. I am thinking of you and your son, and praying for you very much. (((((((((Ex and LittleEx)))))))))

I think that it ought to be a "9th Corps and Friends" reunion. Maybe some of our senior Corps would come to give us instruction, and the Junior Corps could string the chairs! Thoughts?

By the way, Happy Anniversary to all of you married couples who were in the Corps Weddings when we graduated!

Excathedra: Very Good Question. It's anybody's guess where my family will be next year, because Mr. niKa has a Sabbatical coming up. Where will everybody else be? Who's got suggestions? Do we want a campground (inexpensive; sorta like the Rock) or a resort or hotel (high price, but all the comforts of home). What area of the country would be most accessible for the most folks? Beats me! But it's worth thinking about, because the more accessible it is, the more folks will attend. love, niKa

Congratulations! This is very happy news!!!! :)-->

A 25-year reunion sounds like fun. By the way, I heard from Simon. He's fine; just spending some time catching up on things un-cyber. I think that our brother Simon is setting us (read: me) a good example in that regard. I think I'll fold some un-cyber laundry now.

Which pit? You're losing me. Is this some kind of guy thing?

Ssssssaaaaaay, Fellowshipper: Did you and the newly minted Missuss ever get to go on your hot-air balloon ride over the vineyards, and have your honeymoon? I've sent Simon the Zealot an e-mail, but haven't heard from him; now I'm asking if anyone has a SimonUpdate, because inquiring minds want to know. Mr. niKa was using my computer to surf the internet; now I find that he's changed my wallpaper to a picture of a candy-apple-red Harley Sportster, 2005. Whatcha think's on that boy's mind?

Wa-hoooooey. I just got 23 aerobics points on an exercise bike. Where is Rob The 7th Corps Exercise Guru with his chart, when I need him?

Oh, Tommicus Tuttleicus: Maybe our Simon is on a wilderness walk. But I always thought you rocked, anyway, Tomthe Tuttle.

Fellowshipper: I will indeed have a Shiner in your Honor. You may be an expatriot, but you're still a Patriot! We will be celebrating the 4th with a rather international crowd, ourselves: there will be folks from Brazil, China, Texas, and other interesting points around the globe. Do you have a red, white, and blue shirt? love, niKa

By the way, Karmic: Congratulations on the no-smoking thing! You rock victoriously! :)--> :D--> :)--> :D--> :)--> :D--> :)--> :D-->