Meet Rudy Alvarado, LMT, the Magical Masseur
Meet Rudy Alvarado, Master Masseur of La Misión and the newest member of my (very short) Very Best Of list.
Shawn Blake, Facial Queen
I just had my first facial, and boy am I a convert! Ladies and gentlemen, meet Shawn Blake, aesthetician extraordinaire!
Charlatans in Baja
Charlatans are selling "cures" for COVID-19. Maybe now we can have an honest conversation about alternative medicine.
NASA women at it again!
Unabashed NASA groupie celebrating women in space!
Meet Rudy Alvarado, LMT, the Magical Masseur
Meet Rudy Alvarado, Master Masseur of La Misión and the newest member of my (very short) Very Best Of list.
Shawn Blake, Facial Queen
I just had my first facial, and boy am I a convert! Ladies and gentlemen, meet Shawn Blake, aesthetician extraordinaire!
Charlatans in Baja
Charlatans are selling "cures" for COVID-19. Maybe now we can have an honest conversation about alternative medicine.
NASA women at it again!
Unabashed NASA groupie celebrating women in space!
We don’t need no stinking tickets!
IndieGoGo messes up tickets to World Cup 2019, but then comes through!
World Cup 2019-Lyon: Wouldn’t it be cool if?
After a very last-minute decision and some seriously scrambled packing, we are in France for the World Cup 2019.
Moving to Mexico
I started this blog to chronicle my first opportunity to re-visit three of my former expat homes (Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Liberia, Zaire, France, England). Life got in the way after I returned to America, but this seems like as good a time as any to re-start. Grab your passport and join the party!
Sweat memories
I’ve traveled a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve said that before, but let's be clear: I’ve lived in a lot of places. So I’ve had the good fortune to get to know something of the people amongst whom I’ve [...]
Thép Thavonsouk
Thép Thavonsouk’s work takes me home to Laos: its serene and gentle surroundings, saffron-robed monks, and delicious, warm rain. M Thavonsouk was born in Vientiane and educated at the Lycée de Vientiane. He was the first Fulbright Scholar from Laos, and he studied at St. Lawrence University in New York State.
Mom’s Infamous Expat Eggnog
My father was in the Foreign Service (pronounced with a knowing wink), and his job took us to a lot of very interesting places. Vientiane, Laos was our first posting. This was an extreme third-world war-zone experience that came [...]
Smuggling grass from Mexico
"I got busted at the border for smuggling grass." It’s never good when your partner comes home, and his first words are “I got busted.” Especially when you’re flat on your back with the flu and your partner has [...]
San Diego Wildfires–how you can help
Last winter saw a lot of welcome rain in drought-parched Southern California. The result was lots of lush, green growth in the spring, with gorgeous wildflowers and rejuvenated trees coming out of a years-long slumber. That's the downside, too. The [...]
Grandma’s Marinara
Ingredients Onions Garlic Canned tomatoes Tomato paste--1 small can Italian seasoning (marjoram, basil, rosemary, thyme) Wine, red--1 bottle Red pepper flakes Onions [...]
The Notorious Green Latrine Nightclub, Vientiane
It was Paris and we were sitting outside a café, blissfully sipping wine and studying the backside of Notre Dame de Paris. A friend had just returned from the bathroom. “Ah,” she sighed, settling into her chair. “The French are [...]
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos, after an absence of more than 40 years.
Leaked NRA memo: boilerplate mass-shooting press response
Sources at Kaffeeklatsch News(ish) have today obtained a copy of a memo circulating from the headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to conservative news sources. In the aftermath of the United States' most recent mass shooting, the NRA sought to remind these news sources of their prime directive of obfuscation. Below is the text of the original memo, dated July 23, 1998, and updated in January 2014.
Tweens in charge of Defense
Sources inside both the United States' Pentagon and the Russian Ministry of Defence today confirmed that two 12-year old #TwitterKind have been in charge of foreign and military policy for the past eleven months. Both officials spoke on condition of [...]
The Onion abandoning satire
The Onion announced today that, effective immediately, it will cease publishing satirical news for the foreseeable future. Jane Fischer, Associate Editor in Chief, said in a telephone interview yesterday, "We just can not make up sh*t that's better than reality! [...]
Thanksgiving, revisited
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! I see from my Facebook feed that I am a member of a large group of people who consider Thanksgiving to be their favourite holiday! I enjoy it for so many reasons, not least of which [...]
New York City with M et Mme Ghazi
This is a post that I actually wrote a year ago. In the madness of getting back from NY and dealing with a recalcitrant client, I lost track of it and thought that I'd posted it. I had [...]
Our Gift from Laos
Most siblings get a few months head’s up about impending newcomers, but we’ve always done things a little differently in our family, so Sean just kind of popped in one day: ten days old and the cutest baby in the universe!
Saigon Reunification Party!
Saigon. Shiiiiit. I’m back in Saigon. There’s a personal history to Saigon that brings out the drama queen in me. I get here and I start channeling Sheen and Hopper in some really tripping ways, maaaannn! (See what I [...]
Great Pumpkin in Buddha Park
Vientiane is special to me and many of my schoolmates because, well, we lived there. But let’s face it: most tourists hit Vientiane solely as a jump-off point to Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, or other more touristy spots in Laos. [...]
Six useful travel phrases
It's always helpful to have some useful phrases down pat when you're traveling. When people ask me how many languages I speak, I usually 'fess up to "market language" in a number of languages. This usually involves helpful phrases like: One through [...]
Six tips for surviving Lao bathrooms
If you’ve read my mom’s piece on the toilet at the Green Latrine, you’ll know that Lao bathrooms can be, um, challenging. Note: I’m not really speaking to the men, here. I'll use whichever toilet is most expedient—men, women, or unisex—so I have [...]
Four weather survival tips for Southeast Asia
How do you say “Holy crap, it’s hot out!” in Lao? So! New Orleans summers too warm for you? Think DC is nothing but a hot-air swamp? Find Minnesota summers insufferable? Heh! Welcome to Southeast Asia. Two seasons I took this [...]
Lao kindness
I’ve traveled a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I’ve said that before, but to be clear: I’ve lived in a lot of places. So I’ve had the good fortune to get to know at least a little of the people amongst [...]
1966 Embassy Post Report–Vientiane, Laos
As I get my stuff together (and studiously avoid having to deal with iMovie this evening!), I thought I would start out our trip back to Laos with the 1966 U.S. Embassy Post Report for Vientiane, Laos. The times they [...]
You say Ho Chi Minh City; I say Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon…
My first trip back to Saigon since 1975 revived old memories (phở, xe ôm) and created new ones (Cu Chi tunnels being the most obvious). Here are five things to note for your first or return visit.
Sneak preview
Alan Craig, my schoolmate from Laos and Taiwan, has started a video project about our recent reunion trip. With his permission, I share the teaser that he sent to us--it's a blast, and I can't wait to see what comes next! Thanks, [...]
If it’s Tuesday…
I am so behind on my writing, but I do have a great excuse: I spent the last month breathing Southeast Asia back into my blood. Man, what a trip. I’m back now. Back in “the world,” that is. I’m [...]
A quiet thought for Community
A random thought as we meander our way through Lao history. More in-depth stories and photos will have to wait until I get back to constant WiFi and a break from having so many wonderful things to see and do. [...]
Third-Culture Kids: a Folie à Plusieurs
For reasons probably dictated by watching too many movies about the war in Southeast Asia and having lived here during the 60s and 70s, I have a continuous stream of Credence, Stones, and Hendrix running through my head. Fortunate Son, [...]
Kilroy just landed: Saigon, Day 4
I awoke on Friday in Manila with a sort of joyful anticipation akin to that little kid in A Christmas Story—today’s the big day. Then it hit me: today’s the big day! Yikes!!! I’m going back. That’s when my throat [...]
Re-visiting old friends in Manila
This trip back to Asia offered the most delightful perk: finally, I got to see two old friends I have not seen in 23 years. Sylvia Tay and her husband, His Excellency Roland van Remoortele, the Ambassador Extraordinary and [...]
Disengagement disorder
(I’m prone to alliteration. I won’t apologise—it’s a mindless form of entertainment and relatively harmless if taken in limited doses). My first full day in Manila finds me fully rested and up at a relatively normal time. Trips flying west [...]
Returning to Saigon
I’m wide awake at 03:30. After bragging yesterday about how I’d beat jet-lag through careful planning and some really expensive socks, I’m wide awake at 03:30. That said, I know it's not jet-lag. I woke up thinking about Saigon. And [...]
A $50 pair of socks?!
Your first thought on seeing this post is probably: Really? The first photo she posts from this magnificent journey into her Southeast Asian past is a pair of freaking SOCKS?! To which I must respond: Why, yes. Yes, it is. [...]
Getting there
I just arrived in Taipei, my transit point for the first leg. Tomorrow morning (at ohhhhh, dark-thirty), I fly to Manila to visit friends. China Airlines, LAX to Taipei Pleasantly, China Airlines did not live up to the negative comments on the [...]
Going “home”
Going home to Laos At some point in one's I-Shall-Write-A-Blog madness, it will occur to the discerning author that one must actually start writing. I have hit that point. This evening, I received part of my itinerary for a trip I [...]
Mumps and crème caramel at the Hong Kong Peninsula
Then there was the time I got the mumps. Yes, I know, everyone gets the mumps, but not everyone gets them while staying at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.The Peninsula was the Plaza Hotel to my Eloise. Picture of [...]
August 2021
Meet Rudy Alvarado, LMT, the Magical Masseur
Meet Rudy Alvarado, Master Masseur of La Misión and the newest member of my (very short) Very Best Of list.
November 2020
Shawn Blake, Facial Queen
I just had my first facial, and boy am I a convert! Ladies and gentlemen, meet Shawn Blake, aesthetician extraordinaire!
April 2020
Charlatans in Baja
Charlatans are selling "cures" for COVID-19. Maybe now we can have an honest conversation about alternative medicine.
October 2019
NASA women at it again!
Unabashed NASA groupie celebrating women in space!
July 2019
We don’t need no stinking tickets!
IndieGoGo messes up tickets to World Cup 2019, but then comes through!
World Cup 2019-Lyon: Wouldn’t it be cool if?
After a very last-minute decision and some seriously scrambled packing, we are in France for the World Cup 2019.
November 2018
Moving to Mexico
I started this blog to chronicle my first opportunity to re-visit three of my former expat homes (Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Liberia, Zaire, France, England). Life got in the way after I returned to America, but this seems like as good a time as any to re-start. Grab your passport and join the party!
February 2018
Sweat memories
I’ve traveled a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve said that before, but let's be clear: I’ve lived in a lot of places. So I’ve had the good fortune to get to know something of the people amongst whom I’ve [...]
Thép Thavonsouk
Thép Thavonsouk’s work takes me home to Laos: its serene and gentle surroundings, saffron-robed monks, and delicious, warm rain. M Thavonsouk was born in Vientiane and educated at the Lycée de Vientiane. He was the first Fulbright Scholar from Laos, and he studied at St. Lawrence University in New York State.
January 2018
Mom’s Infamous Expat Eggnog
My father was in the Foreign Service (pronounced with a knowing wink), and his job took us to a lot of very interesting places. Vientiane, Laos was our first posting. This was an extreme third-world war-zone experience that came [...]
Smuggling grass from Mexico
"I got busted at the border for smuggling grass." It’s never good when your partner comes home, and his first words are “I got busted.” Especially when you’re flat on your back with the flu and your partner has [...]
December 2017
San Diego Wildfires–how you can help
Last winter saw a lot of welcome rain in drought-parched Southern California. The result was lots of lush, green growth in the spring, with gorgeous wildflowers and rejuvenated trees coming out of a years-long slumber. That's the downside, too. The [...]
October 2017
Grandma’s Marinara
Ingredients Onions Garlic Canned tomatoes Tomato paste--1 small can Italian seasoning (marjoram, basil, rosemary, thyme) Wine, red--1 bottle Red pepper flakes Onions [...]
The Notorious Green Latrine Nightclub, Vientiane
It was Paris and we were sitting outside a café, blissfully sipping wine and studying the backside of Notre Dame de Paris. A friend had just returned from the bathroom. “Ah,” she sighed, settling into her chair. “The French are [...]
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos, after an absence of more than 40 years.
February 2016
Leaked NRA memo: boilerplate mass-shooting press response
Sources at Kaffeeklatsch News(ish) have today obtained a copy of a memo circulating from the headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to conservative news sources. In the aftermath of the United States' most recent mass shooting, the NRA sought to remind these news sources of their prime directive of obfuscation. Below is the text of the original memo, dated July 23, 1998, and updated in January 2014.
Tweens in charge of Defense
Sources inside both the United States' Pentagon and the Russian Ministry of Defence today confirmed that two 12-year old #TwitterKind have been in charge of foreign and military policy for the past eleven months. Both officials spoke on condition of [...]
December 2015
The Onion abandoning satire
The Onion announced today that, effective immediately, it will cease publishing satirical news for the foreseeable future. Jane Fischer, Associate Editor in Chief, said in a telephone interview yesterday, "We just can not make up sh*t that's better than reality! [...]
November 2015
Thanksgiving, revisited
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! I see from my Facebook feed that I am a member of a large group of people who consider Thanksgiving to be their favourite holiday! I enjoy it for so many reasons, not least of which [...]
August 2015
New York City with M et Mme Ghazi
This is a post that I actually wrote a year ago. In the madness of getting back from NY and dealing with a recalcitrant client, I lost track of it and thought that I'd posted it. I had [...]
June 2015
Our Gift from Laos
Most siblings get a few months head’s up about impending newcomers, but we’ve always done things a little differently in our family, so Sean just kind of popped in one day: ten days old and the cutest baby in the universe!
May 2015
Saigon Reunification Party!
Saigon. Shiiiiit. I’m back in Saigon. There’s a personal history to Saigon that brings out the drama queen in me. I get here and I start channeling Sheen and Hopper in some really tripping ways, maaaannn! (See what I [...]
April 2015
Great Pumpkin in Buddha Park
Vientiane is special to me and many of my schoolmates because, well, we lived there. But let’s face it: most tourists hit Vientiane solely as a jump-off point to Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, or other more touristy spots in Laos. [...]
March 2015
Six useful travel phrases
It's always helpful to have some useful phrases down pat when you're traveling. When people ask me how many languages I speak, I usually 'fess up to "market language" in a number of languages. This usually involves helpful phrases like: One through [...]
Six tips for surviving Lao bathrooms
If you’ve read my mom’s piece on the toilet at the Green Latrine, you’ll know that Lao bathrooms can be, um, challenging. Note: I’m not really speaking to the men, here. I'll use whichever toilet is most expedient—men, women, or unisex—so I have [...]
Four weather survival tips for Southeast Asia
How do you say “Holy crap, it’s hot out!” in Lao? So! New Orleans summers too warm for you? Think DC is nothing but a hot-air swamp? Find Minnesota summers insufferable? Heh! Welcome to Southeast Asia. Two seasons I took this [...]
Lao kindness
I’ve traveled a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I’ve said that before, but to be clear: I’ve lived in a lot of places. So I’ve had the good fortune to get to know at least a little of the people amongst [...]
1966 Embassy Post Report–Vientiane, Laos
As I get my stuff together (and studiously avoid having to deal with iMovie this evening!), I thought I would start out our trip back to Laos with the 1966 U.S. Embassy Post Report for Vientiane, Laos. The times they [...]
February 2015
You say Ho Chi Minh City; I say Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon…
My first trip back to Saigon since 1975 revived old memories (phở, xe ôm) and created new ones (Cu Chi tunnels being the most obvious). Here are five things to note for your first or return visit.
Sneak preview
Alan Craig, my schoolmate from Laos and Taiwan, has started a video project about our recent reunion trip. With his permission, I share the teaser that he sent to us--it's a blast, and I can't wait to see what comes next! Thanks, [...]
If it’s Tuesday…
I am so behind on my writing, but I do have a great excuse: I spent the last month breathing Southeast Asia back into my blood. Man, what a trip. I’m back now. Back in “the world,” that is. I’m [...]
A quiet thought for Community
A random thought as we meander our way through Lao history. More in-depth stories and photos will have to wait until I get back to constant WiFi and a break from having so many wonderful things to see and do. [...]
January 2015
Third-Culture Kids: a Folie à Plusieurs
For reasons probably dictated by watching too many movies about the war in Southeast Asia and having lived here during the 60s and 70s, I have a continuous stream of Credence, Stones, and Hendrix running through my head. Fortunate Son, [...]
Kilroy just landed: Saigon, Day 4
I awoke on Friday in Manila with a sort of joyful anticipation akin to that little kid in A Christmas Story—today’s the big day. Then it hit me: today’s the big day! Yikes!!! I’m going back. That’s when my throat [...]
Re-visiting old friends in Manila
This trip back to Asia offered the most delightful perk: finally, I got to see two old friends I have not seen in 23 years. Sylvia Tay and her husband, His Excellency Roland van Remoortele, the Ambassador Extraordinary and [...]
Disengagement disorder
(I’m prone to alliteration. I won’t apologise—it’s a mindless form of entertainment and relatively harmless if taken in limited doses). My first full day in Manila finds me fully rested and up at a relatively normal time. Trips flying west [...]
Returning to Saigon
I’m wide awake at 03:30. After bragging yesterday about how I’d beat jet-lag through careful planning and some really expensive socks, I’m wide awake at 03:30. That said, I know it's not jet-lag. I woke up thinking about Saigon. And [...]
A $50 pair of socks?!
Your first thought on seeing this post is probably: Really? The first photo she posts from this magnificent journey into her Southeast Asian past is a pair of freaking SOCKS?! To which I must respond: Why, yes. Yes, it is. [...]
Getting there
I just arrived in Taipei, my transit point for the first leg. Tomorrow morning (at ohhhhh, dark-thirty), I fly to Manila to visit friends. China Airlines, LAX to Taipei Pleasantly, China Airlines did not live up to the negative comments on the [...]
Going “home”
Going home to Laos At some point in one's I-Shall-Write-A-Blog madness, it will occur to the discerning author that one must actually start writing. I have hit that point. This evening, I received part of my itinerary for a trip I [...]
Mumps and crème caramel at the Hong Kong Peninsula
Then there was the time I got the mumps. Yes, I know, everyone gets the mumps, but not everyone gets them while staying at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.The Peninsula was the Plaza Hotel to my Eloise. Picture of [...]
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