me talking out loud

hey everyone,
kayla here. anyway chapter 8 is finally here. it may not have felt long for you but it did for me. well here ya go

hey,
chapter 7 is here, so here you are sorry it took so long to write such a short chapter. i’ve been messing around and playing on the internet (you know teen stuff). any way i am open for comments.

hey,
my name is kayla. i’ved added chapter 6 for all those who want to continue reading my story. and if you haven’t the closest idea what i’m talking about, i’ll explain. i’m ligaya’s daughter. i’m writing a story called “The Ultimate Warrior”. if you would like to read it scroll down to links and click on kayla’s story. it will take you to my story. oh and just so you know i would be thankful for coments.

From the 20th to the 25th we were in Cairns, Australia. For those that don’t know, Jason won us the foundation of this trip in a raffle. The original trip he won was for 3 days, including round trip airfare for 2 people as well as a hotel room. We added 2 days, 1 round trip ticket, upgraded the hotel room to a one bedroom apartment, and included a 2 tank dive trip and a 4X4 eco trip through the rain forest for all for and additional ~$2000USD. How is that for a deal!

We got there late on the 20th with me forgetting to bring my sneakers (no one was really surprised by that for some reason ).. so we just went to sleep. On the 21st we went sightseeing of the tourist area eating our way up and down the streets (excellant backeries and pastry shops along the way). Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best - rainy and kinda cool but since we were just shopping it was no big deal. We then walked to a large shopping mall on the edge of the tourist section where Jason and I both bought some new sneakers as well as a few other things. Basically we shopped until we dropped.

On the 22nd we dove the great barrier reef. Again the weather wasn’t the best - but it was warmer and drier then the day before. We rode the boat (there were ~15 people on the boat) for about 2 hours to get to Hastings Reef. I had problems sinking - probably because of the wetsuit’s extra bouyency (we normally dive in just our swim suits and a rash guard shirt). I added 6 more pounds and still had to swim down and control my breathing to stay down. We unfortunately didn’t stay down as long as we would have liked… I was sucking air hard and my tank seemed to be a short fill - Kayla did way better then me. After that the boat took us to our second dive site (Turtle haven) . There we had lunch and our second dive. I forgot to grab another weight so I again had to swim down and control my breathing but I did much better with my air consumption - so we stayed down quite a bit longer then the last one. We have plenty of pictures from the dives and I will be posting them later. Anyway - after the dive we rode the boat back in to Cairns, ate dinner and passed out. It was a good day.

On the 23rd we originally were scheduled to go on the 4X4 Eco tour of the rain forest. Unfortunately the tour guide became sick and rescheduled the trip for the 24th. So since we found ourselves with a free day we explored some more of the area. It was cool since we managed to find a number of smaller shopping areas tucked away that we missed the first time as well as a farmer’s market that was really cool to walk through. Jason found a wonderful bakery in it. Wondering and exploring took up the morning and early afternoon and we all managed to find souveniors for ourselves. The later afternoon was spent in the hotel swimming pool and taking a nap. Nice and relaxing.

The 24th we spent the whole day on the 4X4 tour of the rain forest. We went up and down and all around in the rain forest. Our tour included driving on restricted access roads that the tour company is the only one to have access to. It was really cool seeing the white cockatoos in the wild, climbing around a creek worrying about leaches, seeing how big the termite mounds really are, checking out animal tracks on the road and trails, and seeing the shear cliffs and overlooks on the side of the road. Kayla saw a kangaroo but was so overwhelmed by it - it took her a while to articulate it… and by then it was gone for the rest of us. Again we have lots of pictures that will be posted later - though our battery started yelling at us 3/4 of the way through and ran out before we made it all the way back. Got back to the hotel room ~6PM. Which was nice since our flight was scheduled to leave at ten after midnight. So we had time for dinner and organization of our stuff.

We go back to Guam at ~5AM on the 25th, went out to grab some breakfast since we were starving, and then back home. And just to make sure we never forget our trip - we came home to find that someone had stolen the tailgate from Jason’s Jeep while we were gone. So we spent our first hours home making a police report for it.

All I can say is that it was well worth it. The whole trip was incredable and allowed us to take off a couple of items in our “life’s TODO list”.

Kayla (my daughter) has been writing a story over the summer. She recently asked me to post it on the web (even though it isn’t complete) - so here it is. She wants feedback on what people think of it. So let us know what you think.

Went to Siapan over the weekend on my husband’s ship. Wasn’t too eventful other then my getting bitten by a rock in the Grotto when we went snorkeling. Tried to hook up with the coders while I was there - but since it was a Sat. no love.

Oh well. all in all it wasn’t a bad trip. To bad we forgot the memory card for the camera - standing at the top of the mountain - you could see the whole island as well as Tinian.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, Kayla is now a certified Junior Open Water Scuba Diver. Isn’t that fantastic?!

The only problem is that she is technically only supposed to go to a max depth of 40ft. Honestly thought she could go 60 -100 ft but guess not. Need to make sure the Australia dives aren’t to deep.

Kayla
Kayla started her dive lessons this Sunday. She is enrolled in a 3 day - all day - Kids Scuba Diving Class. So far she says she likes it though it is kinda “freaky” since she had to take off her mask, breathe through the resperator, swim, put back on her mask and clear it. She hates getting water in her eyes.

Anyway, yesterday was most of the confined dives, today they are doing a few of the open water dives and tomarrow is the last of the dives as well as learning about beach habitat and how important it is to protect it.

Jason
Jason managed to give us all a scare this weekend when we all thought he had lost his wallet. Both his and my dive cards are in there, so if it was lost - we wouldn’t have been able to get replacements in time for the Australia trip. I would have had to kill him then. Luckily the wallet was found. A friend came over to visit and on his way out saw it , thought it was his, picked it up and left with it.

Family
We had a good time at the husband’s divisional picnic (though Jason was gone the whole time on a dive to western shoals) on Friday afternoon. Kayla may have found someone to hire her for occasional babysitting there. It will give her some money to do with as she pleases. I met a number of Jason’s co-workers and bosses and they all seemed very nice.

Saturday we again went to picnic. This time at Sean’s house (friend of Jason’s) and had a wonderful time. Sean made a mean marinade for the beef steaks.

Sunday I searched the house for the wallet, dropped off and picked up the kid at her class, did some cleaning and laundry, picked up dinner for Jason, delivered it (he had duty and was on the ship) and visited for a bit and later that night attempted again to build php6 from source. Didn’t get it done completely yet - but definately getting closer (I actually knew how to do a buch of parts on my own - shocking). I’ll be blogging about that when I finally get it finished.

Well the kid is finally back home. We have definately missed her. Picked her up at the airport last night, went home, grabbed something to eat - and she was out like a light.

For those that don’t know the story - Kayla wanted to go live with her dad for a while in California. Though I personally wasn’t too keen on the idea (go figure) - she really wanted to go. So off she goes and yeah - she still wants to stay there again next year.

Unfortunately that means that Kayla will only be out for the summer for a visit. Really sucks hard core - but she is now a teenager with a mind of her own.

Anyway - while she out this summer we plan to get her scuba diving certified and will be taking her to Australia with us so we can all dive the Great Barrier Reef together. Needless to say we are very excited about it.

Oh and one last note - you can see Kayla’s 8th grade graduation pictures in California. I’ve posted them in the gallery.

Got my Harry Potter book in so I didn’t do very much reading for PHP… Sorry - A good story will beat out a PHP book any day. After I’m done - I will be sending it on to Kayla. She’s “dying” to read it.

and I hurt.

Was talking to Kayla about what she would like to do before she goes to her dad’s house. I figured a sleepover party or a trip to one of the local water parks for her and a few friends or something along those lines. She says she wants to have a girls night out - just her and I. Now as much as I loved the idea since I get to have some fun time with her (not at home where it is too easy to slip into the normal routine) I wasn’t sure if she was just saying that for my benefit. Ask if she is sure and - yep she is.

So off we go to have a girls night out. Start with dinner at the restaurant of her choice - Tony Romas. Talk, joke, play, catch up and eat good ribs and yes she had dessert. Off to the movies. She wants to see “Spygirl and Sharkboy”. Now I am pretty open to various movies - but I just couldn’t do it. So we see what else is showing and decide on “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. The movie starts in 45 minutes - so off to the concession stand.

I swear we must have gotten the slowest person because a half hour later we are just getting to the counter to put in our order. Large soda and a bag of Skittles it is. Finally we can go get our seats in a theatre that is quickly filling up.

I have to admit - I didn’t have high hopes for this film but it actually was very funny. Maybe it is because of all the realities of marriage it hit on in such bizarre circumstances, double innuendos, and smack flying around between the 2 main characters - but I laughed my butt off. Kayla also had a kick out of it with all the action adventure and being able to understand some of the smack being thrown around. The only I didn’t like was that the sex scenes where a little to too racy for PG13. They could have toned it down a bit.

Movie ended at ~21:45 and we finally got home at ~22:30. Kayla and I had a wonderful time - I just wish Jason could have been there. Saying goodbye to her will be so hard.

Kayla had a sleep over this past weekend at her best friends house. She had a blast from what I could get out of her about it (the whole “nothing much” thing). I got to spend the day and night alone. I had forgotten what it was like to be in a house that was completely quiet. It was kinda nice for a while - but as the day progressed I started to dislike it. It was too quiet and I was all alone (Jason is in Japan with the Navy).

This got me to thinking about when Kayla goes out to live with her dad… how the house will again be empty and quiet. Then it really hit me that she was leaving - and soon. That really hurt me deep inside so I cried for a little.

Kayla of course doesn’t know about that - she really has no need to. Yes I have told her how much we will miss her but to her - Jason and I are the strong ones. To her - her dad is the one who needs help. After all we have the nice cars, a house and good jobs. We are the ones she goes to when she needs or just wants something. We fix things. I don’t think I’m ready for her to see us differently yet. But god - I will miss her when she goes.

Went to Siapan again this past weekend. Actually remembered to bring the camera too. Can’t post pictures right now though - husband has it for when he goes to his next stop (Navy). When he gets back I’ll make sure to upload the pictures.

Anyway - we saw just about everything else on island that we missed last time. Saw the Lourdes Shrine, Forbidden Island, Ladder Beach, Obylan Beach, Capital Hill, Navy Road, went to the of Mount Tapotchau, and Kalabera Cave. Managed to see a bird that looks like a KingFisher like 6 times. (It was blue - not the red ones that are extinct on Guam). Again have pictures of it that I will post later.

This time we stayed in one of the hotels cottages. We had a 2 bedroom with a private pool - it was pretty cool. All in all we had a good time - though I think we did just about everything on island without getting wet. Next time I think will be devoted to the water. Want to go diving in a couple of places. Just have to talk my husband into it - sometimes he doesn’t like to go in the water.

Well it is official. Kayla will be moving to California this summer to live with her Dad. Obviously we aren’t particularly happy about this but she wants to go. I have a million worries but since she is getting older, won’t fight this for now.

We will miss her every day.

Went to Kayla’s science fair yesterday. I helped judge the Pre-K and Kindergarden classes. It was a lot of fun. Once the kids settled down most of them were willing to talk to us. Unfortunately 2 of the children (twins) in the Pre-K class became so upset - the parents took them home.

Kayla’s project did very well. Unfortunately not well enough to win a prize but then first prize went to a kid who did superconductors. From what Kayla tells us - she is in the cream now with her science teacher. My being a judge and the family coming to see the projects that night = major extra credit for her. Plus since she competed in the science fair she will not have to do any homework for the rest of the year. She is quite pleased with herself.

The most interesting project that I saw was the disection of the snake. If I remember correctly the child was in the second grade and thought a snakes heart and lungs would look like a person’s. He found out he was wrong. . Another kid mummified a chicken by using similar techiques to the Egyptions (you know salt and stuff). According to the Mom - she was just happy to have it out of the house finally.

Happy Easter everyone. Due to a long and complicated story (which I will save you from) we missed sunrise service. Kayla also didn’t want to go to the Easter egg hunt - says she is too old for things like that. So basically we stayed home and cleaned. Not what I would call a nice way to spend Easter, but it did need to be done.

Kayla didn’t receive an Easter basket this year - instead we got her an ipod shuffle. She is getting into the whole music thing. We told her that it is her Easter and birthday present so not to go looking at us in November .

All in all - it has been a quiet day. Kinda cool.

Well it has been a pretty industrius weekend for us. Jason finished installing/fixing the gates for our new fence around the backyard while Kayla and I (and later Jason) did yard work (mowing, trimming, pruning, weedwacking, ect.). With a half to 3/4 acre lot it takes a while and we all work up a sweat. After that Jason and Kayla completed her science fair project (it dealt with electricity) with different results then everyone was expecting. Now Jason needs to take all the wires, batteries and stuff and put it onto a board for Kayla to bring in.

Sunday - we went to the kite festival. Kayla has been bugging us to go. And what happens on the day of it - she wants to stay home instead. Go figure. So Jason and I with the 2 dogs went and left Kayla home to do her own thing (she is getting to that age). We don’t normally let her stay home alone but the past 2 weekends we have. She absolutely did not want to go out with us when we played golf and for the kite festival. Guess it is time to start letting go.

Anyway - for the kite festival - we of course forgot the camera so there are no pictures. Next weekend is Easter (wonder if Kayla will stil want to do the easter egg hunt) and the weekend after is the dog show. Hopefully I will remember the camera so we can add a few pictures to the gallery.

Well 4 of our bags have finally shown up (1 month, 2 completely different climates, and formal and casual clothes required - in case anyone is wondering why so many bags). It only took 5 days for them to finally get to Guam. Unfortuanely Kayla’s suitcase is still MIA so she will still be living on a greatly reduced wardrobe as she starts school again. If it takes much longer I guess I will be taking her shopping for new cloths (which is a waste since she got a lot of new cloths while we were stateside), but she needs cloths. I guess we should be thankful this all happened when we came home instead of when we flew out - but for right now I am too irritated.

Well we finally made it home. It only took 3 - 4 days (depending on how you count the International date line) to do it. We unfortunately got caught in the blizzard in Boston, Mass. So 3 cancelled flights later and a complete rerouting we made it home. Now we just have to wait for the luggage to catch up to us. The airlines says maybe today it will show up, but then they said that yesterday .

A couple of things I had noticed/learned during our trip.

1. ALWAYS have some extra money available for the trip back. Sleeping in an airport will not help you maintain perspective on the current situation. We ended up overnighting it in 2 different cities. Without the extra cash to cover the hotels (which I personally think the airlines should reimburse) we would have been stuck on the floor.
2. staying in a better hotel maybe more expensive but being able to call down to the front desk for toothbrush, toothpaste, deodarant, and shampoo for 3 people - as well as shaving cream and razor for my husband was nice (remember the luggage is lost). Oh and let us not forget the wonderful, free shuttles back to the airport 24 hours a day.
3. if your flight is cancelled - call the airlines. DO NOT wait in line to talk to a ticketting agent! Since I called the airline immediately after the flight was cancelled I was booked on to the next flight out (Granted that too was later cancelled) but at least I didn’t wait in line for 3 hours to have it cancelled. In the time it took other poeple to talk to the agent - I had already been rescheduled to later flights 3 times, booked a hotel room, and had dinner.
4. trying to track down your luggage is totally useless while you are in the middle of the whole mess. After the 3rd person (used multiple airlines) telling me that they can not do anything until I reach my final destination (even though my luggage is still at the same airport as I am) - was frustrating and a pain in the butt. Why do they tell you to call a number if they can’t do anything - and they know they can’t.

At least we are home now - so I can sleep in my own bed. All the rest of it will eventually take care of itself - with a little bit of humor and a lot of patience.