Wow, I can't believe how long ago I wrote here and what I'm about to do!! Renalda and I are about to embark on an adventure I've been threatening since before the SARS outbreak in 2003. How do I know? Because I used the outbreak to justify not going back then. Life happened after that and I started an engineering career which I finally put on hold early last year. What are we about to do? Go spend a year or more in Taiwan!!
I spent most of last year getting to know my dad better and helping him throw away piles of junk he really didn't need. I did some maintenance on his house, though not nearly enough and I helped him organise his home and his workshop better. I also managed to convince him to eat differently which had great consequences for his weight and his...ummm... regularity. I think I can come away from that experience feeling good about myself, even though I know he will now miss my company, help and cooking. I have gathered a lot of anecdotes about him which I plan to record very soon for posterity.
I also managed to get to know my niece, nephew, sister and brother in-law better in this year and I hope that I helped them in some way. My niece is the sweetest little child who unfortunately has Cystic Fibrosis, a horrible disease. I hope my sister can learn to manage it well so that she will live a long time. I remember when I was first diagnosed with a heart condition, I was terrified. I asked my doctor how long he believed I would live. I can remember his response clearly, "with the right care, you can live a long time." I think the same probably applies to my niece.
I also got engaged this year to a wonderful woman who is perfect for me. She is a sexy, fun, adventurous outdoorsy woman and she has agreed to come with me on my latest adventure to Taiwan and the longer adventure into life. I'm really excited.
We are currently in Pretoria at our "forward launchpad" with her family. We were actually planning to leave a month ago, but were offered English teaching positions by Hess. Their training only starts on the 14th of February so we postponed, and what a good thing we did! In this time I managed to sell my bakkie, and my bike (sob sob). I also managed to organise a trip to the UK for my father, which will be a trial run for a trip which he will make to Taiwan later in the year to visit us. We also managed to get hold of most of our paperwork which would have been a nightmare for someone else had we already been there.
We are currently doing the final few things that must be done, cancelling policies, visiting family and friends etc. I don't suppose this post will do much to bring across the excitement, but it's definitely there. I can't wait for Monday!
I spent most of last year getting to know my dad better and helping him throw away piles of junk he really didn't need. I did some maintenance on his house, though not nearly enough and I helped him organise his home and his workshop better. I also managed to convince him to eat differently which had great consequences for his weight and his...ummm... regularity. I think I can come away from that experience feeling good about myself, even though I know he will now miss my company, help and cooking. I have gathered a lot of anecdotes about him which I plan to record very soon for posterity.
I also managed to get to know my niece, nephew, sister and brother in-law better in this year and I hope that I helped them in some way. My niece is the sweetest little child who unfortunately has Cystic Fibrosis, a horrible disease. I hope my sister can learn to manage it well so that she will live a long time. I remember when I was first diagnosed with a heart condition, I was terrified. I asked my doctor how long he believed I would live. I can remember his response clearly, "with the right care, you can live a long time." I think the same probably applies to my niece.
I also got engaged this year to a wonderful woman who is perfect for me. She is a sexy, fun, adventurous outdoorsy woman and she has agreed to come with me on my latest adventure to Taiwan and the longer adventure into life. I'm really excited.
We are currently in Pretoria at our "forward launchpad" with her family. We were actually planning to leave a month ago, but were offered English teaching positions by Hess. Their training only starts on the 14th of February so we postponed, and what a good thing we did! In this time I managed to sell my bakkie, and my bike (sob sob). I also managed to organise a trip to the UK for my father, which will be a trial run for a trip which he will make to Taiwan later in the year to visit us. We also managed to get hold of most of our paperwork which would have been a nightmare for someone else had we already been there.
We are currently doing the final few things that must be done, cancelling policies, visiting family and friends etc. I don't suppose this post will do much to bring across the excitement, but it's definitely there. I can't wait for Monday!
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