Happy Fourth of July to everyone, especially the Americans in the crowd. Here in Bangkok it isn’t a holiday, of course, but the American Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual celebration, which was on Saturday. I was there for about four hours, volunteering to sell raffle tickets. We had cloudy weather with the threat of rain, which kept the Bangkok temperatures much lower than full-on sunshine.
I have three posts in the queue, written but not ready for posting since I need Tawn to clarify the Thai names of things. They are all food posts, so your wait for food porn will not be long!
My recent post on Gay Pride ended up on the front page – thanks to all of you who recommended it. The result is that there are many new subscribers to my blog. Welcome everyone! When I first start reading a blog, I’m always curious who the person is, what their back-story is, etc. A while back I wrote a post that addresses that, kind of a “Getting to Know Me” post. If you’d like to check it out, the link is here.
This Wednesday I’ll be traveling to the United States for two weeks. This will be a combination of a business trip and a family reunion, as my maternal grandparents are celebrating their 90th birthdays and their 67th wedding anniversary. What’s really amazing is not that they’ve made it to 90, but how active they both are. I guess age has a harder time catching up with you if you keep moving!
Tawn, unfortunately, will not be traveling back with me. This week has transitions to a part-time role at his job, something he has been wanting to do for more than a year. His work, in public relations, is both very rewarding for him and very stressful. Hopefully, part time will give him more time to explore other interests and also to see his parents. As their only child, I know they don’t see enough of him.
Reducing work will mean reducing salary, and we’re going to have to see how that impacts our life. That’s one of the main reasons I’m traveling to the US solo on this trip. We’ve done our planning and put a lot into savings, so I think we’ll be able to make the transition without too much trouble. But there’s always a little bit of stress knowing that the paychecks will be smaller in the future.
One geeky thing I’m looking forward to on the flight over is that I’m flying EVA Air through Los Angeles. The particular days I’m flying, they are operating their B747-400 aircraft. Unlike most airlines, which put business class or first class in the upper deck, EVA actually has economy class, and the seats there have about four extra inches of legroom compared with downstairs economy. Normally I fly their premium economy but when I saw which aircraft was being operated, I realized I could save several hundred dollars and still get much of the extra legroom. Let’s hope they don’t change planes on me!
Okay, aviation geek moment over…
Enjoy your weekend. I’ll get the first of those food posts up today.
christao408 
Have a great trip, Chris. Each visit is more important now, as your grandparents age — it’s good that you can make the trip!
I”m glad that your post on Pride made it to the Featured section. I hope it’ll help brighten up the front pages of Xanga. 67 years of marriage and 90 years old – that is just amazing! I had to pause and think about how their relationship must have grown over the years. I wish Tawn all the best as he transitions to his new hours. It’s great that the 2 of you did a fair bit of planning for this. Have a safe trip Chris.
@ElusiveWords – The question is, does a “fair bit” equal “enough”? =D@slmret – That’s very true. Most of our overseas travel is to spend time with family. While there are many other places we’d like to go, these are the people who are most important to us, so we’re making visiting them the priority.
Happy Independence Day to you. I seem to have missed your pride post, will have to go and check! Congratulations to your grandparents on their 90th birthday and their 67th wedding anniversary.
Money is important but not the most important thing. Suppose you have money but do not have the time to spend the money, what is the point of making so much money?
Happy July 4th to you! Enjoy your trip back to the US. I’ll need to scroll back and read that post on Gay Pride! 🙂
Happy Independence Day to you as well. I suspect that I’m slipping in just under the wire!Sixty-seven years of marriage is an outstanding accomplishment. IMHO it is even more than their ages. May they enjoy many more with the sun shining brightly down on them all the rest of their days.
I’m sure your grandparents will be glad to see you. Hope their celebration is a good one! The Pride post deserved the featured spot on the front page, yes it did!
I am glad your Pride post made it to the front page. You are an amzing writer, and do any topic with such expertise. What a wonderful and happy occasion to be visiting your grandparents on their anniversary and birthdays. All of you are so blessed to have them in your lives. Have great trip home Chris. If Tawn doesn’t like the shortened hours, can he go back to his original hours? I wish him much luck.I wish we could see you. If at all you can, please call me. Much love.
@ZSA_MD – Thanks for your nice words. Yes, Tawn will have the option of returning to full time if he wishes to.@murisopsis – Thanks, I’m glad you thought it was such a good post. Coming from you and Zakiah, such talented writers, that means a lot.@marc11864 – Isn’t that True Marc? 67 years of marriage is amazing, more so than staying alive for 90 years!@brooklyn2028 – @Dezinerdreams – Let me know what you think of it, please.@choyshinglin – That’s very true. Just need to make sure you have enough money to do the things you want to do in your free time.
enjoy your trip home. and don’t worry, you’ll be just find with eva air. i think it’s a good airline.
@rudyhou – Thanks Rudy. I fly EVA almost exclusively so I’m sure I’ll have a good trip.
Travel safely and see you soon! 🙂
@yang1815 – Will do.