Got our first care package from Mrs. Stockdale’s folks today.  Really, this is stuff we should have bought before we left, but oh well.  

The little Stockdales love parmesan.  Each one of those containers would cost over $40 here, if you could even find that much ‘cheese’  in one store.

The sad part is that it cost $125 to ship all this over and it was still cheaper to do it this way, rather than buying all this junk locally.  If your kids want to watch either of the ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movies, send ’em over!

Played golf yesterday.  It was nice to get out and talk to another adult that wasn’t Mrs. Stockdale.

Also, my old boss from the valve days was in Singapore on business.  Met him for dinner.  His expense account bought me a big cheeseburger, onion rings, and a couple good beers.  Thank you Karl!

After a couple hiccups getting her out of the Philipines, the Assistant Stockdale is finally here.  

The initial impression?  

How ever amazing you think it would be to have someone do virtually all your daily household chores, you couldn’t even come close to how amazing it really is!   This morning our bed was made 5 minutes after I woke up.  You ask for a cup of coffee and guess what magically appears?  What little food that is in our pantry, is organized and straight.  If she runs of out stuff to do, she dusts or plays with the kids.  She is still getting up to speed on cooking, but even if her food is terrible, it’s still better than letting Mrs. Stockdale cook.

There are downsides.  We lose some privacy.  Also, it skews the expectations of the little Stockdales for when we eventually head back to the States.  Plus, it’s just plain odd to have someone living in a closet in our kitchen.  But, all kidding aside, she is really nice, works super hard,  and we are happy to have her in our home.

In the United States, you  have basements and garages.   In Singapore, we have unused guest bathroom showers.

Because it’s smart to bring five sets of golf clubs 10,000 miles.  If you look closely, it also makes sense to bring four lacrosse sticks, a fly fishing rod, and a duffle bag full of long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and sweatshirts.

I’m paying our American Expres bill for last month.  Between May 4 and May 28, I went to the grocery store 19 times.   Every trip was on foot.  If anyone has a spare right hand drive minivan, feel free to ship it over.   The Stockdales will gladly take it off your hands.

Good luck to Sean and Brian in the Ironman 70.3 Kansas on Sunday.  Stay safe and have fun.   I’ll see you in Phoenix in November.   If I hadn’t moved 10,000 miles away, you know I’d be right there with you.   Instead, I’ll do 90 minutes on the trainer in  your honor.

Here’s one of the cheapest beers I’ve found so far.  Only $12 a six pack.

Happy birthday to the middle little Stockdale.  6 is a big number when you convert it to the metric system.  I think you multiply by 9/5 and and add 32.  I never could convert these things without a Trapper.

WOW, every once in a while Mrs. Stockdale truly earns her keep.   Today she brought home a dishrack.  Now, there are various jokes we could make, so feel free to use the comments to vote for your favorite or make your own.

1.   This is about as close to housework Mrs. Stockdale has been in years.
2.   It’s the best gift Dale has received since Mrs. Stockdale forgot his birthday three years ago.
3.   How did Mrs. Stockdale even know what a dishrack looks like?
4.   If Mrs. Stockdale only occasionally ‘earns her keep’ how do we refer to her paycheck, since Dale hasn’t earned 45 cents on his own in almost seven years.

Not sure I really trust piling plates on Level 2, but it will work.

Also, I met the mailman today.  Not sure what his truck looked like, but he was here at 7:30 pm.   Perhaps they are nocturnal.

In Singapore, they both come with those silica packets inside the package.

At first, when I reached in, I thought it was a prize.  Fake tatoos, a whistle, NOPE – POISON!