oh no! well i will be ready for the snow i suppose. i will miss the hot weather but oh well. last night emma jj and i went to a sushi restaurant! i know, i was a little skeptical at first but it was really good, aside from the fact i have yet to see an asian person in chile much less a japanese person. after that we had a few drinks at this other restaurant/bar place which was cool. there is this one kind of beer down here that is mixed with honey called, kunstman, its by a german guy but it is manufactured down here in chile. its delicious. this morning we woke up around noon and went a little bit further down the coast via bus to valpraiso. i dont know how its spelled but it was another fun place to go because it has a lot of historical significance in chile. dont worry i have been taking pictures. after that we came back to renaca ate lunch and laid on the beach. it was so nice out once again, however off in the hills behind vina we saw huge clouds of smoke which looked like they were being produced by a massive fire. so we left and came to the safety of the internet store/cafe. im not sure what our plan is for tonight but oh well. hopefull the snowstorm isnt too bad. love you, - noah
So once again me and jj were up to our old tricks. we woke up around noon and took the bus to Vina walked around downtown, checked out some shops and the mall then came back to Renaca and hung out on the beach until now. it is incredible down here, and i think the redness in my skin is starting to go away! Because its friday i think we are going to try and go to a bar or something somewhere. i have no idea where, im just along for the ride. the food down here is expectedly delicious. while it is obviously different from mexican food it still uses a lot of cheese and melted cheese in the dishes which is great. last night me emma and jj went to an italian restaurant where i ordered some of the best lasagna ive ever had. i was thinking that maybe im going to forgoe the remainder of my college career and move down here...haha joking. ill wait until i graduate...haha. anyways, we are thinking about making the trip to santiago on sunday or something which should be a new scenery because i guess it is the size of new york! well, i must be moving on, i hope the weather clears up in seattle and i will talk to you guys tomorrow. love you. -noah
Other news:
Sid came to our house late yesterday afternoon. We ate and chatted and went to bed before 10 p.m. This morning we headed to the North End of the Island and had coffee at Starbucks with Jessica and Gavin. Then we came back and Sid left for Corvallis at 1 p.m. He taught me a song on the guitar in between our other activities.
The massive snowfall kept us from having the celebration lunch we had planned. Oh well.
Today we woke up around 2ish our time which is something like 8am in Seattle. We hopped a bus to the nearby city of Vina where the beach was really really crowded and laid out in the sand. I am sorry to say I got a little burnt yesterday so it looks like I may remain as the 2nd darkest person in the family. We are headed back to the apartment now to probably take a nap, go in the pool or maybe even workout a little. It is so cool here because dinner isn't usually until after 9pm which is my usual dinner time anyways. Other than that we have not done anything too crazy, but I have really been enjoying the food and I guess the adventurous thing we did do was go to a Casino last night. It was a lot of fun especially because JJ speaks Spanish and is a casino veteran seeing as he is from Reno. I hope the weather lightens up a little bit or you just get a foot of snow so that you guys can relax inside and not have to worry about going anywhere. love you guys and I will talk to you tomorrow.
Snow in Vegas!! Humph! Who would of thought. I am getting ready to catch the shuttle to the airport and try again. US air, Flight 75. Leaves Phoenix at 2:39. See you all soon.
Hey everybody! Sorry about the delay with my first email. So I arrived at the airport with Emma, paid my entry fee and met up with a long haired/beard jj. We drove for about an hour from the Santiago airport and arrived at their "apartment" in Renaca. Their place belongs on MTV cribs. I have pictures don't worry. We immediately went to the beach, ate, took a nap in the sand and walked back to their place. I may already be darker than you dad...sorry... Last night we went to this nice seafood restaurant where I had a crab/pie dish; delicious. Today we woke up and immediately went to a different beach in Vina Del Mar. This city is quite a bit bigger so the beach was a little bit more crowded which was cool. We just met up with Emma and had lunch and I think the plan now is to go back to the beach...Hope all is well in Seattle. I will go buy some postcards as soon as I get done here. Well, until tomorrow, love you guys and I will try and stay out of trouble, seeing as I think we are going to hit the town a little bit tonight. Talk to you tomorrow.
I loved your wit "member of the complaint cafe." That is great. Well from the sound of things, it sounds like you have every right to complain. Who wouldn't in that case? I mean fumes and noise.
Yukkie! Well I would encourage you to keep complaining so that you can try to keep the fumes and the noise as far away from your house as possible.
It sounds like you are getting some awfully cold weather there in the Northwest. Just in time for Sid's visit.
During the cold, cold days the railroad likes to keep the engine running all night. The engine would be parked across from my house. The rumble of the engine would wake me, but worse yet, the fumes from the engine would drift into my bedroom window. I complained and for months thereafter the engine was shut off for the night. Of course it was warmer weather, also.
Last night, with my complaint in mind I am sure, the engine was parked under the overpass. I can still hear it rumbling in the distance, but there is no trace of fumes to drift in my house. The night was below freezing hence the need to keep the engine running.
Noah is about an hour from landing in Santiago, Chile. It is really cold here. It is in the high seventies and low eighties there. They are 5 hours ahead of us. So, it is 5:30 a.m. here, and 10:30 a.m. there.
We are looking forward to Sid's visit.
"Stay warm. Stay steady on your feet. Stay firm on the road."
Isn't that a cool statement? It was at the end of our pastor's email about what she and her husband did to protect the pipes in the church.
I think that I may become part of a new enterprise that should be called the "Complaint Cafe."
But seriously, they have decided to set up a cafe that will, in effect, be one of those cafe stands that you see in corporate buildings, hospitals, etc... RIGHT OUTSIDE MY OFFICE, and I mean right in front of it. Currently, my office is in a very private location where employees can come to see me without the entire organization knowing about it. Well everybody will know now when you have a problem and need to talk to me. So one of two things could happen: No one will ever want to meet me in my office because they will have the cafe audience observing that there must be an "issue" since they are coming to talk to me; or, I could have a constant flow of people coming to see me about every little thing, figuring that since they are here grabbing a coffee, they might as well come and complain.
The cafe is intended to provide the students, faculty and staff a place to grab coffee and food, and will even be accessible to hospital clients. It is a lovely idea but why does it have to be outside my office. By the way I am not complaining to the administration because what is the point. I assume that the needs of the entire institution are more important than my wishes. Do you think that is an accurate assertion to make???
The only thing I might do to drown out the constant chatter outside my office is play really loud music, I was thinking something along the lines of hard core punk music. Doesn't that sound like a rational plan? Just kidding!
Kay, by the way, I would never expect it to be any different than what you describe for the Social Security Office. There are just some offices that you know are going to be a nightmare to deal with. For me, I have dreaded experiences with the Philadelphia Parking Office. Holding for 20 minutes and then getting cut off is the sort of experience I've had with them. And it doesn't end there.
Okay it is official, I am about ready to curse at the whole Social Security Administration. I have been trying for a week and a half to return a call to the SS Office in Tacoma. I always get her voicemail which says the call will be returned in the order received. I have left many, many messages with no call back. So I went to the 800 number on two separate days and today after jumping through many hoops finally got a person. She said she would fax me the forms so they could complete my application for benefits but I needed to go stand by the fax machine to receive them because they had personal information on them. That was two hours ago. So, I tried the 800 number again - jumped through all the hoops and was finally in the long waiting line to talk to the next available person. Well after 20 minutes of holding I was cutoff.
So what now folks. I am going to try and talk to a real person in the Seattle office which is down on S Lane Street which is only about a mile away HOWEVER from my view on the 46th floor it appears to be raining. Diana is it raining from where you sit. If so, I guess I can take a cab. GRR Did I mention that I am really really agitated.
Gosh, I go without reading the blog a couple days and I miss all kinds of news. Of course, Sandra, I think we sibs know exactly how articulate Dee is. It's a rare day that I'll take the opposite view--I hate to lose! When we were little punkers, Bop figured I'd be in the military, I think her predictions were also pretty accurate about Dee and Sid (Dee would be a lawyer, Sid a financial wizard, and Kay a physical therapist is what I remember). Is that remarkable understanding of one's children or what? Where will life take Nina and Alex I wonder? And of course, I can see why the guy complimented Bop -- my camera loves her look. So do I.
Well all I can say Bopcha is if I ever make it to 89 and look as bright-eyed and pretty as you look, I will be quite pleased. And furthermore all your children are really nice looking, and they undoubtedly got the beautiful eyes from you. Not to embarass you or anything but it is really true.
And of course I have no problem believing you Diana that folks like to listen to you talk. Not to brag about my observation skills but I have noticed your thoughtful, articulate pattern of speaking, and I have even commented to Sid about it in the past. So when do you start your teaching appointment? But seriously, isn't it nice when people that you encounter in the course of work/life actually take the time to notice and actually complement you? It happens so infrequently.
By the way, Diana we received the Christmas card and the little tree which I love. I placed it on the firelpace mantle. It looks really cute. The photo card is really nice. What a photogenic family. Diana, you always look so nice in photos.
I mean you look very attractive in real life, but often times photos don't do justice to people. Well at least the photos I take. I'm learning though.
I was so pleased to hear Nina's little confession to me today. She said that she is knitting a scarf for my sister as a Christmas gift. How sweet is that?! Who even cares what the scarf looks like, it's going to be special no matter what.
The other day, Alex was at a store and saw a toy that he liked and asked his mommy if he could get it. She replied with, "let's wait for Santa Claus to bring it to you on Christmas Day." Alex then responded by saying that Santa will probably bring it to the wrong house. Last year Alex asked for a toy and said that Santa's elves will not be able to make it because it is too complicated. They won't know how to do it. So George, the other day, said, "Wow Alex has no faith in poor Santa."
By the way, Alex has been really sweet and civilized with their dog. He absolutely loves "Storm." I guess he isn't competing with the dog for attention anymore.
but I have noticed your thoughtful, articulate pattern of speaking, and I have even commented to Sid about it in the past. So when do you start your teaching appointment? But seriously, isn't it nice when people that you encounter in the course of work/life actually take the time to notice and actually complement you? It happens so infrequently. 
I'm learning though.