I'll be away for awhile

[owenkrout]

I may or may not have time to drop in and check on the board tomorrow. Monday (China's Monday) I will be leaving for the US, so I will be out of touch for a few days.

 

Everybody play nice while I am gone. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I have five children, so I've used that line alot.)

 

I just heard on the news that there were 100,000 demonstrators out on the streets of Seoul today. Hope they are gone by Monday when we stop over there.

[sarah36]

Hi, Owen, may you have a safe and sound trip back to u.s. On Monday, Dave will be here in Qingdao with me, right now he is flying over high above the sky toward me. Also wish my Dave a safe and sound trip!

 

 

Btw, pls be careful at transfering stop. Wish those people have gone.

 

 

Sarah

[Guest enight]

hi Owen,

 

have a nice and safe trip, we are waiting for you here!

[tonado]

Owen,

 

Have a pleasant trip to USA. You will be here before my fiancee.

[Mick]

Have a safe trip, Owen. Give a holler when you get here and let us know how things went.

Give a holler?????? And I thought you were from Oregon.

 

Must have been all that time you spent at Ft. Rucker.

[Mick]

Have a great and safe trip Owen. Look forward to hearing from you when you arrive in Kansas.

[owenkrout]

We are in Kansas now. Rose's first comment on stepping outside at Kansas City was, "Eya mia! It's like an oven!" Someone walking alongside at the moment cynicly replied, "Welcome to Kansas City!" We got caught in a raging thunderstorm yesterday while out shopping to further complete her education to the weather in this area. She was asking if there was going to be a tornado and I was assuring her, "No, it will be fine" while scanning the sky and thinking, "I don't like the looks of this one!"

 

Rose is loving it in the US. She declared that American towns are like gardens. She is getting along great with my parents. She was utterly amazed that the house sits on ten acres and that it all belongs to them.

 

Taking her to a Blues festival in Kansas City Kansas this week-end. And I am taking in a baseball game.

 

LAX was an easy entry point. They stamped her passport and made sure that I understood that the stamp was her tempory proof of permanent residency and work permit. Now we see about the Social Security office.

[Mick]

Glad you made it home safe and sound Owen. Good to have you back in the States. I know your wife must be enjoying herself. Be sure to show her all the sights around Kansas. When you folks going to Dodge City?

[Guest blsqueaky]

Good to have you and Rose bacck in the states. Also looking forward to more of how things are going.

[tonado]

Owen,

 

Welcome back.

[owenkrout]

More first impressions:

 

We went by Pittsburg State University, where her brother and I were in graduate school together. It was difficult to convince her that it was a government run school as "everything is so clean and nice". Of course it further amazed her that I just walked into labs and classrooms to show everything off to her, but that was partially because I used to teach there and people still recognize me, so I don't get shooed out of places the general public would.

 

The drive to Pittsburg really brought home how much open space and how few people there are in Kansas. The huge fields of perfect looking corn and the wheat harvest were impressive.

 

Impressed her that I have a car. Never mind that it is only a '94 Tiempo. Really impressed her that my brother has two SUVs. He is a police officer, so she was assuming that they were police vehicles and not his personal. I hadn't thought about it, but they do look like what the PSB tool around in.

 

I stopped at the Farm and Ranch supply store to look at boots. She really liked the cowboy boots (now labeled "trucker boots" I see). But she was shocked as we walked out and went by the very large and extensive gun sales counter.

"Why?" - "People buy them."

"Really!?" - "Yes, really."

"Are they real?" - "Yes, they are real."

"Eya miya!"

 

We stopped at the best and most popular Chinese food place in Pittsburg and she was not impressed with the food, but decided that having a buffet restaraunt like that was an easy way to make money. (Oh, my aching head!)

 

Off to Social Security office this morning. At LAX they put her name in the computer real time and showed me the info on the screen, so hopefully there will be no difficulty with SSN.

[Mick]

Glad you guys are having a good time Owen. I would imagine that Rose is both surprised and impressed by many of the things she has discovered. Also glad to hear they entered her name into the computer at the airport but be advised that they entered Li's as we went through as well. Yet her name does not appear in whatever data base SSA brings up on their screen. At any rate, I wish you luck with SSN. Shoud be easier with your type of visa.

 

You mentioned you were going to catch a baseball game. Would that be the Royals (doing very well this year) or that Wichita team you once mentioned?

[owenkrout]

The trip to the Social Security office went very smoothly. Rose was very impressed that they did not allow other people to be pushing their way past while she was being waited on and that there was no demand for a bribe before they would do their job. Simply looked at the stamp in the passport, looked up her case number on the computer and told her the card would arrive in the mail in about two weeks. They were very friendly and cooperative.

 

She had her first driving lesson today. Several laps around the five acres. She managed to miss the oak tree every time past. :-)

 

I will probably take in the Kansas City T-Bones game. They are a Northern League team (an independent league). The one I used to go to was the Wichita Wranglers a Texas League team (AA Royals affiliate). I just like the game. I'm not a sports hero worshiper. Don't know names records all that nonsense.

[tonado]

Owen,

 

You need to change your signature now "Now in Kansas". Driving in Kansas should be a piece of cake (no traffic).