Lindsay in Saipan

Well, hmmmm, where to start? Okay I guess I will start a month back… don’t be scared, I am going to try not to ramble too much. Glenn and I started talking seriously about getting married. We have been talking about it for about a year, just very casually though. So, about four weeks ago, Glenn and I were playing a little sunset golf at the spa/resort. The setting sun was casting a beautiful pink hue through the sky. Glenn turned to me and said, “You know, I didn’t bring you out here just to go golfing… I brought you here to ask you to marry me.” It was beautiful. We were out having fun, enjoying each other’s company, soaking in another picture perfect sunset. So, then he told me that he had made arrangements for us to stay at the resort. He had already checked in and had a cold six-pack waiting in the refrigerator. We sat on our private porch overlooking the ocean and the still setting sun and toasted to a life of happiness.

These are some pictures of the spa, including a view from our room at the resort looking toward the spa.
So, Glenn had already been to the mayor’s office and had taken care of all the paperwork needed (for those of you who know Glenn, you truly understand what an amazing feat it was for Glenn to be so organized). We submitted our application for a marriage license the following week and they told us they would contact us when the paperwork had gone through. So, two and a half weeks ago, the mayor’s office called (it was a Tuesday ) and said that we had an appointment the following day at 10:30. Say what!!!!!!! Woah, we need a little more notice than that!!! Glenn told them that that didn’t work for us and asked if it was possible to change. They told him we could do it that afternoon (meaning, Tuesday!) So, after work we went down to the mayor’s office and asked if we could please have the ceremony on Friday, thankfully he agreed. So the date was set, Friday at 4 pm. We let our families know what was happening and they were all very excited for us. So, I need to make a side note here… Glenn and I just took care of the license - the legally binding portion of marriage. If we didn’t take care of the license now he would have been forced to leave due to Saipan’s immigration laws. That being said, we fully plan to see you all in Montana (hopefully this summer) to join us in a wedding celebration. Okay, so, back to two weeks ago. We were discussing what we wanted to do Friday night. Glenn and I were thinking that dinner out with friends sounded nice. So, we started a list of everyone we wanted to invite. Well, the list was at 35 and we decided that dinner at a restaurant probably wasn’t feasible. So, we decided on a BBQ at our place. I sent out a mass email inviting all my Saipan friends. My dear friend Meghan called me on Thursday and asked if I wanted a wedding cake. I told her that that kind of fuss was really not necessary. She said that she and Rhonda really wanted to make one for us (Rhonda is a midwife whose former career was a wedding cake maker). Well, they didn’t make just one cake, they made three. They were chocolate cakes with a layer of raspberry puree. Delicious! The cake was so moist. We had a great party. Forty four people showed up! My roommate even planned a point in the night to play a song for Glenn and I to dance to. There was so much food, beer and wine for days, and plenty of laughter and merriment. Gypsy even found something really nasty and rank to roll in about five minutes before people started arriving at the house. I guess she felt like putting on some perfume for the special event. Damn that dog! So, Glenn and I got hitched. Now we are living the married life. It isn’t any different than before, except now I introduce him as “my husband” which always makes me giggle a little. I hope you all ared doing well; see you in Montana!

Well, it is report card time of year and I have 18 report cards due on Friday. Let me digress for a moment and explain that the report cards are essentially a five page essay on each child’s individual progress. I am not kidding, I have a crazy amount of narrative reports to do. Back to the subject…It is currently Tuesday night and I almost have two done (this is not a good thing). I won’t be working on any tomorrow night because I am meeting some friends for happy hour for a going away party. VERY IMPORTANT TO ATTEND THESE TYPES OF FUNCTIONS. So, that leaves me with the options of: get up early (not likely to happen); stay up late tonight and work on them (even less likely to happen); work on them after I get home from happy hour (probably wouldn’t be a good idea); cram as many of them in as I can on my lunch break (most likely will happen); beg my boss to give me the weekend to finish them (almost guaranteed to happen). Does this scenario sound familiar to anyone out there? I feel like I am trying to write a final’s essay in college…and I want it to be all sorts of wonderful thoughts, wrapped up in a tidy little ball that leaves the readers all warm and fuzzy (not to mention, proud of their child). Sooooo, PROCRASTINATORS UNITE!!!!!! I mastered the skill in college and I am hoping that I have a few brain cells left to crank out some reports. If anyone wants to crank out some great report card comments that I can just cut and paste, I will trade you for a back massage… but you are going to have to come here to get the back massage because I have reports to do and can’t take the time off work. But, I do have time to write on my blog (it helps with the procrastinating piece of the story). Over and out.
P.S. Trish, if you are reading, I am just kidding!

Kingfisher on my porchLeila and me in Guam Hanging out at Managaha

Well, I am officially 27 years old now. I was feeling a little glum the other day, thinking to myself “geez, Lins, you are 27, shouldn’t you be well established in a job? own a house?… something?” and then I realized, “wait a minute! I have it pretty good. I live on a tropical island, an amazing boyfriend who moved out here to be with me, a great dog, wonderful friends, a loving family…… what more could I possibly want?’ Okay, I guess I was being too hard on myself, but what’s new. So, I realize that I’ve been neglecting my blog and if you are reading this than you also probably realize that I’ve been neglecting my blog. I have all kinds of excuses for it… too busy with work, same shit different day, I am a lazy islander now, but my all time favorite excuse is NOBODY WRITES IN COMMENTS OR SENDS ME A FREAKIN EMAIL!!!! Come on people! I want to hear what you are doing and how you are doing, or that you are even reading this crappy blog at all.
Alright, I will stop complaining. Well, my birthday was an interesting day. It started out horrible. I woke up with cramps and had lost my voice from cough so much due to the fact that I have a cold right now. But, my students were so excited that it was my birthday. They sang me Happy Birthday in English, Sign Language and Mandrin. When I got home, Glenn surprised me with a bed frame. He made it out of mahogany. What a great gift, especially since it is millipede season right now (yes, I said millipede season) and they are everywhere. I woke up the other morning and there was one walking across my pillow right next to my cheek. I could feel it. Yuck!!! But, I digress. Then, my friends took me out to dinner at this Korean BBQ. You load up your plate with raw meat (ribs, belly meat, marinated chicken, squid, tongue, fish, steak bits etc.) and then there is a BBQ built right into the table and you cook it yourself. They also had all kinds of salads and kimchi and various other pickeled goods. And, of course, it was “all you can eat”. Then we went to the movies and saw Harry Potter. The movie theater is so cold. I wore pants, a long sleeve shirt and a jacket and I was freezing. It made me miss home. So did the snow in the movie. There was one snowy scene in particular that made me groan with envy. I miss the snow. I know I shouldn’t complain though. I have it really good. Well, just two more days of school and then I am on vacation for three weeks!!! I can’t wait. Originally, I was planning on going to the Philippines and getting laser surgery done but that plan fell through. If Glenn leaves CNMI he has to be gone for 30 days before he can come back. Long story. Immigration, visitor’s visa, visa extention, all kinds of crap. So, looks like I will be hanging around here. I think we will probably go to Rota for a couple of days and maybe one or two trips over to Tinian. We’ll see. There are so many beaches, caves, and otherwise unexplored territory on Saipan that I have yet to see.
Well, that is it for now.

Ahhhh, I finally have a moment to sit down at my computer and type. I feel like life has been really busy lately. Last week we had our second parent education night at school so I took some time to prepare that (math, my favorite!!!! seriously, it is….okay, so maybe not favorite favorite, but definitely cool).
Last weekend (October 15 & 16) was my roommate’s Birthday and we had a big bash at the house on Friday. Our staff came and then a bunch of friends as well. It was a lot of fun but involves a lot of clean-up that neither one of us has gotten to. Saturday, I woke up around 6:20 - I can’t seem to sleep in here, not even when I really need to. I went to the laudraumat, washed some clothes and read my book. I am still working on Blindness. I like it a lot but I find I need to devote some time if I want to read it; I can’t just read it for five minutes while I fall asleep. Anway, backt to the weekend. Around 11 am, I went fishing with Leila, Marc, his mom and a couple of her friends. We caught one mahi. Marc and Lei were bummed but I was pretty excited because I saw my first live mahi. I am used to seeing it only on my dinner plate. They are beautiful fish. Iridescent green that looks yellow and blue in places. Granted, it would have been a lot more fun to catch a bunch of mahi, but no complaints from me.
Then, as soon as we got off the boat, Leila and I scurried home and took showers, put on some nice clothes, I chowed down on a quick quesadilla left over from the birthday party, and we headed to the “Miss Marianas Universe” pageant (I am seein’ it all baby!!!!!) Leila’s friend Maile was one of the contestants. She was beautiful up there; they all were.
So, Sunday came and I went for a really long walk on a path that starts at Bonzai cliff and climbs up the mountain to Suicide cliff. Not sure where I am talking about? You can look on the virtual tour map on
www.cnmi-guide.com
We only had three days of school this week. Thursday and Friday we had off as a “fall holiday” It was definitely time for a break from my job. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but I was ready for some down time. Leila and I headed to Guam on Thursday evening. Her dad lives there so we stayed with him. We flew in this little 6 passenger plane. I got to be the co-pilot from Rota to Guam. There was no co-pilot so the pilot requested that someone sit in that seat. It was really cool. I also got to see the moon come up from the plane. That was beautiful, it was a big orange ball. Friday, Lei and I got up early, lounged around, then did a little sight-seeing in the southern part of the island. Guam is a very beautiful island. The outskirts of town are like Saipan, but the down-town area is just a lot of concrete like any other city. Well, Leila and I shopped until we dropped. I haven’t done that kind of shopping since middle school shopping sprees. It was a successful mission. I bought functional items such as sheets that actually fit my mattress size, towels, and vitamins…. I also splurged and bought two new pairs of zoris (aka flip-flops, thongs, slippers). You may or may not already know this about me but I am a closet shoe-junkie. Does a person really need 6 pairs of zoris? Probably not, but I figure it is better to be safe than sorry! Haaa haaa, laugh people, laugh. We went to K-mart and I felt like a kid in a candy shop…. so many choices, so little money. It was nice to be able to get some things like emergen-c and the kind of lotion I wanted. Saipan doesn’t have the best selection of stuff sometimes. That’s okay, k-mart was nice/convenient but I really don’t miss being surrounded by constant consumerism.
We also hit up Ross and Macy’s - new swim suite, pants, shirt, bras and underwear. Leila’s cousin, Liza, lives in Guam, so we hung out with her in the evening. We went and heard this reggae band called Kaya. It was really good. When the show was over we went to a couple other bars then head home. Guam is a single girl’s heaven. Everywhere we went there were guys guys guys in every shape and size. I couldn’t believe it.
Today is Saturday - we woke up, Lei’s dad made us eggs for breakfast then we headed out, did a little more shopping, ate at a jamaican restaurant, then Leila and I checked in at 2pm for our flight.
And now I am back at home, listening to Norah Jones and writing on my blog. Well, if you have made it this far then you are truly a dear friend to read all my nonsense about island life. Thank you. I hope life is well for all of you. I miss you all.
PICTURES COMING SOON!!!!

Last weekend I went to Tinian with my dear friend Leila. The second annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival was going on. Lei, her boyfriend Mark, and I took Mark’s boat over to Tinian - I think it took about an hour - we arrived around sunset on Saturday and went straight to the festival. Within ten minutes of being there it started to pour down rain and didn’t let up the entire night. I still had a great time… ate good food, met a lot of Leila’s family (they are amazing people) and just absorbed all the new things around me. Sunday, we got up, ate breakfast at her family’s restaurant - they own a small hotel, restaurant and grocery store - then Lei gave me a tour of the island and took me to all the old WWII sites. I saw the loading pit where the first atomic bomb was ever loaded onto a jet for use in combat. Yes, I am talking about Hiroshima. It is crazy to think that I stood next to the bomb pit that loaded the bomb that landed on Hiroshima, and saw the runway it took off from, and walked on the beaches that the US attacked the Japanese on, and stood in the Japanese miliatary post looking up at where there was once a ceiling but now it is a gaping hole where a bomb landed. All very interesting stuff and I feel very fortunate to get to see it all, yet sad that it is there to see. War is sad.

This was such a fun boat ride back. Waves splashing on my legs, flying fish whizzing over the surface of the water, spectacular views all around.

These people were crazy for eating this. People here swear that Tinian Hot Peppers are the hottest and I believe it. They are hotter than any scotch bonnet or habanero I’ve ever tried.

It was so fascinating to go to Tinian and see all the remnants from the war. This was the old Japanese military post.

This is the runway that the jets used to go bomb Hiroshima

This is the largest standing latte (pronounced lattie) stone in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Chamorros built homes and other structures using these massive stones. I know I am pretty short, but this stone is massive compared to me.

This is a photo from the Saipan Fishing Derby that happened a couple weekends ago. I went with my friend Leila; her boyfriend and some of his friends were part of the derby but only caught three little baracuda. This marlin was the winner for Saturday. It weighed 334 pounds!!! There was a marlin that weighed over 400 caught on Sunday but I didn’t go. It was really cool seeing all the different fish that the fishermen and women caught. Lei was helping me learn to identify them all… yellow-fin tuna, ahi, marlin, baracuda…. In a couple of weeks there is a big festival in Rota - one of the islands south of Saipan - and they have a fishing derby as well. I am thinking about looking into flights to Rota for that weekend. It would be fun to see the festival and check out some big fish as well.

phone number 670-322-2449
address:
PMB 51 PO Box 1001
Saipan, MP 96950

Well, Susan and I officially moved to our new house this last weekend. I finally feel like I am getting settled in. The place we were staying before felt like the hotel you get when you first move to a place. Our new place is so much cheaper but much more beautiful, and AND I got a dog!!!!!! She is the sweetest thing ever. I named her Gypsy and she is a snuggle-bug. Some friends of mine rescue boonie dogs (all the homeless dogs around here) and find good homes for them. Well, Susan and I were very fortunate to take in Pipi (now known as Gypsy) and Doby. Susan and I each claimed one as our own and it worked out perfectly because Gypsy and I bonded and Sue bonded with Doby. So, that is a picture of my new dog. I also posted a picture of my bedroom. It is small - I lost the coin toss - but I don’t spend much time in there anyway.
The typhoon was cool but lost its luster after about 12 hours. There were a lot of fallen trees and huge pools of water in the roads. Other than that, life just picked up where it left off after the typhoon. I missed two days of school because of it - I kinda like that we get typhoon days instead of snow days here.
Well, I suppose that is all for now.