Skinny

"Skinny" is a boonie dog that likes to hang out at our place. We've been spoiling her with human food, and our neighbor has been feeding her as well. I wish I had a 'before' picture so you could see the contrast between then and now. She was just skin and bones, but she's a happy pup now.

More Saipodities

I'm not in much of a writing mood right now, but I think these photos will speak for themselves.

Local Cemetery

Legal Cock Fighting (photo taken by a friend).

Old abandoned shopping mall (LOTS of abandoned buildings here...what a waste)

Poker joints at every turn

Saipodities

After being here a year, I'm starting to get used to all of the quirks. In fact, I don't even notice them much any more. But I realized the other day that we haven't done a very good job of describing our bizarre little island to those of you back in the states.

So, why not blog about those funny little details?

Here are a few "Saipodities" for the day:

In the states, as you check out at the grocery store, you can reach for a magazine or a pack of gum. Here, you can buy an assortment of little treats including sushi rolls, tuna fish sandwiches, hot dogs with ketchup, mayo (w/jalapenos pictured below) squished in plastic wrap, some weird unidentified items, and, of course, betel nut. I'd never heard of betel nut before moving to Saipan...it was better that way; what a nasty little habit. Yet, everyone here loves the stuff. They mix it with lime made from burnt coral that's ground into a powder. Apparently, it 'jangles' your nerves. All I know is that it makes for some disgusting teeth (those poor dentists!) Not only that, but we constantly see people spitting the stuff all over the place. As you drive down the road you'll see car doors flying open left and right so folks can spit without spraying it on their cars. And did I mention that it's red? With the red stains covering the ground, it looks like mass murders are taking place all over Saipan.

Almost Arizona

In a matter of about 3 days Eric learned about, applied for, interviewed for, and was offered a job as a clerk for the Arizona Court of Appeals (in Phoenix). And, we almost said yes. He found out about the job opening through a former law professor, Prof. Mangrum. What a fantastic guy! In the end, however, Eric decided to turn the job down in hopes to maybe step out of the clerkship arena. Eric seems to think our next job destination will either be Singapore or England, but it'll probably be Bismarck, North Dakota...Who knows where we'll be come August of next year!

Lovely Laurels

Ok, so it's not every mutual that you get to do a photoshoot, but despite all of the teasing we've been getting, this actually was a "planned" activity. Not planned as in meticulously choreographed, but planned as in the girls chose to do it a couple weeks in advance. But it's true, the only preparation it required was bringing our smiles and a camera. I thought the girls were pretty creative with the shots they came up with actually, and I think they had fun. We'll call it a "bonding exercise".