Aiwen & Jim

The good thing is my new job doesn't work me as much as the one I had last year. This time last year (we were 13/14 hours apart then) I would work til 8 or 9pm (and every other weekend) and often was too tired to even cook dinner and just went to bed without eating. Despite it all it is always so relaxing to hear my baby's voice after a day like that. My new job is so different and I get every other Friday off My wife didn't renew her work contract last year because we were of the impression that she would be here by now (the reason we paid for the I-129F) We later found out that they processed it with the I-130 and our approved date is the same for both. Oh well ... She doesn't have a computer at home so webcam and online chat is out. I use Talkloop and prefer hearing her voice anyway but it would be nice to see each other when we talk. Well maybe, it still hurst to look at her photos sometimes and hearing her cry about being apart is bad enough without having to watch it. We have developed a better understanding of the time difference and it's impact on each of our moods. Both being morning people it's always better to discuss business items when it is morning for her

This is problem me & my SO experience occasionally. Since we are 12 hours apart it seems that our moods or mind sets get out of sync from time to time. What I mean by this is when I call her in the morning it is near bedtime for her and conversely when I call her before going to bed her day has just begun. We both are very similar in our habits, one of these is being "morning people" where morning (or mid-day) is the time our minds are the most active and thinking about things that need to be taken care of. So when I call at night before going to bed, I¡¯m tired and just want to hear my baby¡¯s sweet voice and relax to go to sleep but she may think of something that needs to be discussed and my anticipated relaxing conversation turns into a business discussion. The same happens when I call in the morning and my mind is going 100 mph and she just wants to hear light things before going to bed. Of course I have been the one to give in these situations but I have also explained to her on occasion that I¡¯m tired and want to discuss it after I have rested. This used to cause us some occassional friction but we have become aware of this phenomenon and adjusted by trying to be more patient. Ooohhh how wonderful life will be when we can wake to the same morning sun!!! So, I was wondering if anyone here has had similar experiences and how you handled this?

We have been there twice now (the last two Decembers). The previous posts are right on, especially about the taxi drivers. Ya Long Bay has the best beach and the 1st time we went we found a package where we went scuba diving and then a boat ride to an island. There is also a hot spring there that I highly recommend. It is probably our favorite place there. There is a seafood market in town with a huge selection. I think it's best to take the bus into town if you can but beware of the rush hour because the buses can get packed! the hotels will have a bus schedule. As for hotels I liked the Sanya Shanhaitian Hotel best for the price and convenience to downtown. It was more quite for the location. Get a Ctrip account and look for packages there. I think that will be the cheapest. Good luck!

Contgratulations! It's encouraging to here news like this. Good luck on your future life TOGETHER

I'm really not much of a computer person when I get home. I work on computers all day and when I get home I really hate to get on one. My wife is exactly the same. We have no online chat records and very few emails because we always call each other. I do have HUGE phone records though. I switched over to talkloop back in September of last year which allows me to print a history. I have been calling her and texting her since we 1st met. I wish I had known about talkloop because I used calling cards before that. All I can show is the dial out number on my cell phone record when using the calling card. Will they accept this? Has anybody used calling cards before and was able to get the records? Last summer I tried calling the customer service number on the calling card but was not able to get through. I hope there will not be an issue because the best eveidence I can show is after I switched to talkloop. Our calling habits didn't change after switching but how can I prove that?