Tim_Dec - Jan (Home For Holidays)

Dec-Jan (Recap home for the holiday’s)
Arriving home on that plane from China was spectacular. It was better than feeling you get when you finally let out gas that has been trapped in your stomach for way too long. Man it was wonderful to have my feet on American soil again and to know that only minutes away from right where I stood was a 7-11 and a Taco Bell. I can’t explain how good knowing that made me feel. I tried to hold back the tears but it had been so long. Sorry I need a moment alone.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Ok I’m back. Yes it was wonderful to be home and see organization and hear everyone talking English and not some annoying Ching Chung Choy Chow How Bang Mang language. It was even more wonderful to walk into 7-11 and see the slurpee machine with the coke flavor was running strong and the mix wasn’t too watery. I can remember pulling the handle on the slurpee machine and watching those thirty two ounces of mixed heaven come rushing out and fill the cup. It was beautiful and I can’t imagine having my first child could be any better.

For the next few days I tried to enjoy my old life and take in all that I had missed. Every night was American English shot um up movie night with corn nuts and a tall cold Slurpee by my side. It was heaven and I only had three days to enjoy it before I headed back to work. URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCCCRRRRAAAAASSSSHHHHHHH. Yes that’s what I said work. It had been a year and sure enough I was headed back to the trenches on Monday to make some more money for the trip. It was heart breaking but I knew that day would come eventually. For some reason that ATM machine will stop working after a while. I’m serious it’s happened to me in the past.

So sure enough I headed back to the trenches that Monday next Monday morning. I only had a couple days to enjoy life back in the homeland and to readjust my biological clock to the exact opposite schedule. Fortunately thought things went pretty well and I adjusted back to the time and the working environment really quickly. Actually so quickly I was sad to know that I hadn’t really forgot anything. There were a couple key commands on the computer I forgot but pretty much I was able to sit down and bang out concepts and produce banners like I hadn’t even left.

I worked hard for two weeks and made as much money as I could for the last part of our trip. I was lucky to find work and I wanted to take full advantage of it when I had it. In the end I put about one hundred and ten hours in the two weeks I was there before I headed to Panama for the holidays. I was tired and it my heart problems started coming back toward the end. A sure sign I could go from completely relaxed to fully stressed in a matter of two weeks. That sucks and I hope I can learn to balance my life better in the upcoming years. So far my body has been keeping me in balance rather than my mind.

We spent three weeks in Panama and had a wonderful time. We saw family and spent a ton of time with them. We had Christmas there and this was the first time I’ve been away from home for that holiday. I had been thirty consecutive years at my parent’s house the morning of Christmas and this was the first time I broke that tradition. But I married a crazy Latina from Panama and this was the price I had to pay. It wasn’t a tough price since my family is Panama is great but it was a price. I’m sure in time this will become the norm for me but for the first time it was a little different. We opened present the night before Christmas and it was hot and muggy. There weren’t a ton of kids and chaos which also felt weird to me. But I was happy to be with my Ana and this was only the second Christmas we spent together. That was really nice.

New Years was also great in Panama and I was able to buy some pretty cool third world Chinese firecrackers. They were really huge and the best thing about them was they were about twenty percent defective. That made lighting them even more fun. You never really knew what to expect.

With both my eyes, ears, and all ten fingers still intact we headed back to America. Ana was there only for a couple days before I shipped her out to meet up with her sister in Bangkok and to travel for two weeks alone. I stayed back in the States and was able to work another one hundred and thirty three hours in two weeks. It was pretty rough but in the end great on the bank account. With the money I was able to make we could travel better in Southeast Asia and I was excited about that. I was getting road tired and the extra two to three dollars a night for a room was really going to be great. This meant we were able to get the room with only a few cockroaches and semi nasty bed sheets and pillows.

My parents dropped me off at the airport to catch the seventeen hour plane ride to Bangkok. It was sad to say goodbye to them once again and I felt really worn by the idea of leaving America again. It was back to the road again and this time I was alone. Ahead of me was more crappy bus rides, lying cheating people, and shitty hotels. This time those things about traveling seemed to blur my ability to see the amazing experiences that were in store for me. But there I was again and I felt like I needed to do as much as I can because in a few years I’ll dream about being on that same plane headed to that same place. Funny how much time can change things.