Mail Call

Yesterday Chris and I had a tiny insight in to what it must be like for soldiers in the military: we received our weekly mail shipment from the U.S.

Now, I say tiny insight because we really have no idea what it's like to actually be in the military. I mean, we've never been to boot camp, never had someone barking orders at us 24-7 and definitely never had anyone trying to actively kill us. But we do know what it's like to get "mail call" which I know is always a big deal to the soldiers who are serving overseas.

The great thing about having your mail forwarded from the U.S. is that they filter out all of the junk mail so we just get the stuff you actually want to see. Everyone likes getting "good" mail and it feels even more exciting when you're across a large pond. Yesterday was quite the mail call for us. We got TONS of cards in the mail and I was so excited. I'm not sure how Chris didn't open them up on his way home; I would have for sure. I guess that's one of the reasons it goes to him at work. And, according to Chris, every Monday a Chinese guy (please note that I have no idea why we continue to feel like we have to refer to people as Chinese since we never referred to a guy as an American guy when we lived in the U.S....but I digress)...every Monday a Chinese guy drops off the DHL package at his desk and says: "Package."

What is a big bummer right now is that this story isn't nearly as funny in print as it is when Chris tells it. His accent really makes the story but I'm sure he'll share it with you next time he sees you.

Moving on. We got lots of mail yesterday and it was a bit like a small version of Christmas really. For those of you who don't know, it's my birthday on Friday (#30, hard to believe) and our anniversary on Sunday. I was half expecting birthday cards but I really wasn't expecting anniversary cards. It was very nice to know that all of these people were sweet enough to think ahead and send cards.

We got some really great cards. One of the b-day cards that I got said: "Don't think of yourself as 30...Think of yourself as $29.95 plus tax." That was from my Aunt Kim & her fam. The greatest thing about this card is that in HK, there is no sales tax so I'd still be <30! Erin Bilot also sent me a very funny one about hamsters snacking and napping but I think you actually have to read it to get why it's laugh-out-loud funny.

We also got a very nice anniversary card in our local HK mail from Chris's Uncle Tim and his family in D.C.! That was so fun! We never get anything good in our mail here so it was a real treat, and all in one day. Ah, it's the little things, isn't it?

That's all for now. Chris and I are off to a beach in the Philippines from Thursday morning to Monday night for a birthday / anniversary celebration. We're looking forward to our first trip out of HK and are hoping that the weather holds up since it is the rainy season around here. Either way, it'll be nice to see a new place and even more nice for Chris to have some time off from work.

I'll post pictures when we get back but if you're looking for something to do over the weekend because there aren't any blog entries to catch up on :), feel free to swing on over to Doylestown, WI for the 8th Annual Dustin Raley Memorial Kickball Tournament (or KBT as it's better known) at Raley's Green Frog bar. Not only are there some of the best kickballers around, there are raffle prizes, great food and plenty of beverages.

I am very sad that this is the first year that I won't be with Team Tryers since the tournament started but I am sure they are going to win it all! Team Sabotage likely won't make it to Sunday but Camp Sabotage is definitely worth a visit. (I had to get a little smack talk in)

In all seriousness though, KBT is a phenomenal fundraiser put on by the Raley family to raise money to fight meningitis. It's hard to imagine that there is anything else quite like it in the U.S. To date, they've raised $96,771.16 and are looking forward to breaking the $100K marker this year. Congrats to the Raleys and everyone who supports KBT. http://www.dustinkickball.com/ Check out the website for the KBT story and entertaining pictures.