2 Great Hikes 1-23-09

We went out 2 days for hikes last weekend. They were both very cool hikes and I have some pictures to go along with them. But first the weather here is horrid. I was down to 46 the other morning!! At least it got back up to 72 today.

We finally got back into the grove on the Emirates Natural History Group. It turns out that during winter the group meets at 9 am on the weekends! YUCK!! But it seems that we have adjusted to the time change.

The first hike was here in Al Ain. It was great to go out to the desert and see NOTHING as far as the horizon. The drive out was along the power pylons then you turn left at one of the cross roads and before you know it you can see nothing. It was awe inspiring. The one thing I was surprised was how hard packed the sand was I had expected it to be really lose sand like when I took my mom out camping in the desert in December. But as I was told the lose sand in this area is blown into the dunes and as long as you do not drive on the dunes it is almost easy enough for a normal car. Well almost as one of the cars in our caravan did get stuck and we had to spend some time digging them out.

The reason we went on the hike and drive in the desert was to spot a prehistoric lizard. I guess these 2 foot long lizards have been around since the dinosaurs but they are dying out as the desert region is being over taken by Dubai etc. The problem is that once you try to move a species to a new part of the desert it puts too much stress on the system and someone loses out. As it was explained to us the desert is at full capacity.

Any way we did not see many animals but we did find tracks for quite a few. We saw gerbil trails and homes, and some fox tracks. We also found a lot of taped up and killed birds (duck, pigeons, seagulls) we were told that the boys do this. They use these birds as live bait for their haws when they are training them.

The best part of the day was Andrew and Ashley’s close encounter with wild camel. A camel herd was wandering though the area and Ashley and Ashley followed anther adult really close to the camels. The camels stopped but did not retreat. The woman they were with went down to a prone position and the kids did as well. Then the camels came up and smelt the woman (she was in front of the kids by a pace or two. It was a really cool experience for the kids.


After this we did some dune driving it was great as it was so wide open I did not have to hold the steering wheel to drive – nothing to run into for 100 miles. Then we ended up in a spring in the middle of the desert only it was too salty. It was so salty the whole place was covered in thick salt crystals. Then it was a short stop on the way back to sight a newborn camel. We also stopped to clean up some trash that was left by the people training the falcons. Sad that they leave their trash in the pristine desert like this.

Day 2 To the Bat Cave!!!

We took a lovely drive out to the mountains of Oman on Saturday. We parked at the rim of a huge Wadi (gorge- dry river bed) then we walked down the entrance of a falaj (water canal-aqueduct) that led right into the mountain. The way the falaj works is that it follows a spring to its source. Over the 4 thousand years (these structures are older than the pyramids) of the running of the system they have had to dig the falaj deeper and deeper as the water table has lowered. The falaj is a basically a dug out cave / canal for the water to flow down. They end up digging right into the mountain and down to 60 to 100 feet deep.

So we went into one of these cave/ canals to go look at bats, geckos and bugs! I was very surprised that the water was long. It was very cold that day and the cave / canal was geo thermally warm but I expected the water to be cold. Sadly I did not bring my camera. Anyway the cave/canal is lighted by shafts up to the ceiling- to the surface. The shafts allow workers on the surface to pull the dirt that is dug out of the bottom of the falaj. Well at some places the shafts are very far apart and it gets absolutely dark I have never been in a darker place in my life. Ashley was a real trooper and did not freak out. Well the cave/canal is only about shoulder with but at some places you had to turn sideways to get by. After about 200 feet we started to see some geckos and bats. The kids loved seeing them. I was worried they would freak out but they were really cute bats. And some of them started to fly around it was really cool to see. After about 300 feet into the mountain we turned around. Now it was so narrow that we had to literally turn around the first person became the last and last person the first. The water got so deep in spots that in the end Ashleys pants were soaking wet. When we got out of the cave she was freezing cold in the 50 weather, so we had to take here to the car to warm up. This meant that she missed the rest of the hike in the Wadi and she was bummed about that.

Andrew and I did some exploring of another falaj in the area that hung to the side of the mountain it was a nice hike and we saw some cool parts of the mountains. We then departed down the mountain to the Wadi (gorge) floor. A nice walk then we followed a stairway up to the mosque. At the mosque we looked at the sun dial and then headed into the oasis itself. It is amazing that they grow dates (you got to have dates), oranges, bananas, mangoes and many other fruits in these oases.

It was a good weekend with 2 trips out to different parts of the area we live in. I have to say living in Al Ain is great as in 30 minutes we can be in a totally vacant area with no signs of human existence.

David Rumptz

Decline of Western Civ

Monday, March 27, 2006 5:35 PM
I guess my 9 years of reading the economist has crept into my every day life.

But it is sad to see how fucked up me made the whole situation over there. It was fine before we suck our fucking noses in there. Sure they were not great but Saddam was not that bad to his people. I mean when money was tight he sure was but when it was not it was not a horrid place to live. I know Christian Arabs (Chaldeens in Deerborn) who had said it was fine they just came to America for the money. now it is a kill fest everyone is killing each other because of religion.

Welcome to the modern Vietnam. I am torn about the whole thing. Do you honestly think it is winnable? If it is winnable is it winnable at any cost? Because it would cost a lot more lives to win the war. We would literally have to put in a police state. We should see how Saddam ran the country and do the same. Really, he ran the country without the strife how did he do it? All we have to do is the same then slowly very very slowly back off. Let the people slowly take over responsibility.

Dude the weekend was a wash! Well the start of it was at least. We had Friday off work so I got totally stinking drunk on Wed. was sick all day on Thursday. Tita had bought me some wine and I found out how cheap it was on Thursday, puking my guts out to stay alive. That was Thursday afternoon. Then the allergies kicked in hard core on Friday.

We ended up meeting up with a friend from work Friday (holiday) at lunch. Went over to his house and hit the kiddie pool. It was a blast. Saturday the kids and I went on a jungle hike with a group of other kids. Had a blast the jungle here is awesome. It was a great time. After that took the kids to the beach for a hour. Had a good time. Tita stayed at home the whole time. She is studying for the teachers test. I hope she passes it is worth about $15,000 if she does. Then on Sunday we went to a birthday party. It was kind of lame but the kids love being around other kids so they had fun.

The one real advantage living here is you can have fun any day of the week for free. You just have to be a bit adventurous. You got the beach, the jungle, the mountains, all types of free things you can go and do. It is really easy but you do have to be adventurous. I am not alway that person. But when I do get out and see the island I am amazed by the place. You can end up just going to work and home as well. So you do have to get out of that mentality of at home doing nothing.


Rumptz

Did I tell you about the abandoned car?

2=-12-08

And you wonder Why I have to do a visa run every 2 months and one of my PDIs' kids do not have visas after 6 months.. Well read this and you might understand.

____________To the US Embassy in the UAE___________

P.S. I never got a response I had to go in and ask this question... Respond to e-mail with in 24 hours my ass!!!!
___________________On to the letter_________________

I am a little confused about the last step of the authentication of my daughter’s birth certificate. I do not want to have the document come here and then be told it has to go back to the USA (as that would cost us another visa run out of the country) so I need to be sure that that after it has the US State Department seal on it my daughter’s birth certificate can be sent her for the last authentication by the US Embassy in the UAE.

David Rumptz

Mom:

I got the word from the US Embassy that you can send it here next no need to send it to the UAE embassy in the Washington DC-BUT do me a favor and check with me BEFORE you send it. Just to be 100% sure I wrote the US Embassy here, so I will know more in a day or two.

Did I tell you about the abandoned car?

So this American woman I am driving with stops for us to get some coffee. She gets out of the car as if she did not leave it running!!! WTF? I have seen people do this for like 15 minutes just leave the car running no thoughts at all about it!

Rumptz

More Ramblings sorry not in order

About the no car theft- One of my buddies puts it this way "We live in a Police State." I do not see police presence but I think most people who come here do come from countries where they do live in a real police state- Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia - that they just keep that mentality going. I really do not think this is a police stat as I have said it is all very laid back here but the people who work here also know they could get bounced out in 30 minutes no matter if they have lived and worked here for 30 years. It is all combines to the mentality here of be a good guest.

Oh and that will bounce you out applies to me as well. This is where I get confused about how much I should get used to my new salary. I have a great salary but I am worried I might be bounced at any moment. I know I am a bit paranoid but I do know of people who have lost their jobs this year- we hired one in fact. So it dose happen to western “professionals” just as it happens to Arabic professionals and migrant workers alike. That being said I enjoy that we all share a common bond. It is going to sound weird but I am glad that my job is not protected by positive discrimination. It makes it a lot easier working with the Arabic professionals knowing (hopefully they know) that we both could be bounced. It means they cannot pull the “Well, you are white and are protected” crap on me in meetings. We are in the same boat and we both sink or float together.

Picture of kids and cat attached finally.

Trust me you have only begun to know how much paper work is involved. I have to say it amazed me the amount we had to fill out over the 12 years. It will boggle your mind as well. Just to be safe KEEP EVERYTHING! I am serious you will want to keep any evidence that you build up over the years. It should be easier for you as you will not live out of the US like. I think it will be a lot easier as your home – home is in the USA.

Anyway I would like to go to both weddings the one in the states and the one in China. I am not that far from China so it is possible. I also get 44 days of vacation a year so it should not be too hard to get the time off. But the family will have a harder time getting there as they are constricted by school schedules. Let me know as far in advance as you ca as we need to figure out school schedules.

Rumptz

Update on the 2-14-Post

Some time after 2-14-08

I have not been accepted yet into the PhD yet. It is a pretty serious application you have to do a bit of a research paper to get into the program. But the signs look good as far as all of that is concerned I have a topic and I know what to research I have to sit down and do the actual research so I am only informally in the PhD but my PhD Advisor is talking about coming out to sit with the one guy who is in the program and the other guy like me who is working on the application.

Yeah they do that all over the Southwest of the US they farm crops in CA and grow grass in Arizona and New Mexico it is all kind of strange but in the US they do not have to take the water from the ocean. That is the strangest part to me. The cost must be phenomenal. I could understand if it was just drinking water but to water plants in the desert that is a bit much for me.

The cats I had left have decided to go on an extend vacation in the jungle. I am pretty sad about it because I wanted them to be happy and healthy in their new home but they ran away I guess the person even went to my old apartment looking for them. If they went back there they will be well taken care of as i ti is a nice area for them. But still I had hoped to settle them into the new place.

Happy VD?

Feb 14, 2008

I saw my first camels (one hump not two) on my last trip back from Dubai. I almost stopped the taxi and had him let me get a ride but it was the middle of the desert.

Did I tell you that the pollution in Dubai can kill you?

What about the abandoned car?

So this American woman I am driving with stops for us to get some coffee. She gets out of the car as if she did not leave it running!!! WTF? I have seen people do this for like 15 minutes just leave the car running no thoughts at all about it!

Had my first meeting with my PDIs, It was strange as I am their supervisor. I have not had employees for a long time. It went much better than I had thought. Granted one of the employees is on my hit list. Not that I will act on it and not that I am trying to impose my will but they were way too full of themselves. The other one I thought I would have problems with was very cool. I know tell someone who cares. But still it is weird for me to have employees- very strange.

My boss has been VERY COOL of late. I have started to communicate with my boss by e-mail so that we are constantly communicating and it seems to work. It not that she wants to micro manage she just want to know what I am up to- as she knows what I am doing she is pretty cool about it. I still have some bugs to work out in the whole deal but it is much cooler for me now.

Speaking of working things out I am traveling a few days a week and that is oddly ok with my and the family. I finally broke down and rented a car, well I had work rent me a car. It is a nice car but it STINKS of cigarettes I will need to talk to the rental car company about this when I get back from my latest trip.

Did I tell you about Prince Abu Bu Ali Ahk Ababawa? He is our Persian cat, supposed to cost like a few thousand dollars if not $10,000. We got him because the people who bought him abandoned him at the vet. We got him for $200 my wife is still amazed she paid for a pet. Tita has never in her life paid for one so it was a bit of culture shock when the British lady asked her to cough up the money. No worries he is a blast. I used to live with a really BITCHY Persian so I was prepared for it but it is still strange. I mean our last cats were real easy always wanting affection, did not have time for games, or toys – typical street cats. Now the Prince, he is very different lot of personality- like a typical Persian, very unique. He also sleeps like a human- he stretches out on the bed. The first night we let him sleep with us but he kept licking Tita’s face and then farting to kill- made me proud to be his father. Now we keep him in the kid bedroom. Also he slept between us like one of the kids.

Well I am sorry to send this to you before I have responded to your e-mail individually but it has been a busy week

David

Got to work

OK that is all I can post right now I got a lot of catching up to do I know but I actually get paid to work and I got a real fancy title and all now check out my sig file,,,

--------------------------------------------
David Wayne Rumptz
CEPA Professional Development Supervisor
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
PO Box 45372
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Mobile +971-50-411-7306

White Boyz in the City

Friday, March 10, 2006 11:16 PM

I was listening to Dave Chappelle (downloaded) and his take was the
white boyz in the city were the craziest cuz you never know what they
had to do to get their ghetto pass. Well that was not exactly what he
said BUT it is true to the sentiment of his true message. We both used
to go places and do things that our children will never know or realize
(at least both you and I hope) so going to the "Big City" is a good
idea. It shows the kidz (ok Ashley is throwing the measuring tape on
me while I write this so it might be incoherent) that you have some
special traits that they can talk about to thier friends. I am sure that
you still have the necessary skills to live on the mean Detroit streets
BUT with the kidz in tow you cannot exactly look as menacing as you used
to.

I think I was trying to say that I am sure you will be fine and that it
will show the kids that you are still cool. As far as getting your ass
whooped I doubt that you will have any disturbances. White people
actually go to the city to part now a days . Well That is what I hear
anyway. Tell me it is true. I mean they have the tigers and lions and
red wings all in downtown about a mile or two from each other so I am
guessing that that place is looking up. Actually I read on a web site
that a lot of old mansions are being rebuilt.

Talk to you soon. We are going to go to the beach and play in the sun,
sand and water - not to be a dick but that is the cheap thing to do on
island go hang at the beach.

Rumptz

Border - Bribe(?) - Bird

Feb 28, 2008

The border and Why

On Thursday I took the whole family with me up to Al Ain the Oasis town. I had scheduled a meeting with the Zone English supervisors in Al Ain. I took everyone as Ashley needed to do a run for the border like the beaner wet back she (and I) is. You see if you do not have a resident visa you have to leave the country every 59 days. Why does Ashley have to cross the border but no one else in the family have to? Well you see Ashley had the unfortunate luck to be born in the USA while Andrew was born overseas. To get a residence visa a birth / marriage certificate has to be notarized by the issuing agency then the notarization has to be verified by the county it resides in then the State has to certify that this is in fact true before the (US) State Department / Department of Foreign Affairs will authenticate it and then you need to take it to the Embassy in the country to attest to that it is in fact an authentic (US) State Department/ Department of State seal. In the case of our marriage license we had done all of that while we lived in the Philippines because we were not sure if and when we would be back and I was certain that the US would require this for Tita to become a citizen. So it was as easy as taking it to the Philippine embassy in the UAE. Andrew has a US Citizen Birth abroad certificate - issued by the US state Department - so the Embassy had no problem attesting to it. So we have to do a border run every 60 days or Ashley will get kicked out of the country. This being our first border run I was nervous and anxious about the whole process. I know that people do this on a regular basis I have heard tales of people doing to for years! But still I was nervous about it.

After a horrid meeting with the zone English supervisors I headed home to find the kids just getting ready to go to the pool. It was early and I was tired so I figured it was worth it to try to rest before we made the run for the border. Later in the day about 3:30 pm I decided it was time to go Ashley and I get all gussied up and head for the car. I wore my work suit as I figure it sets a good impression. The drive to the border is easy, but the first issue is I do not have Omani insurance on my rental car ($100 / week no chance I am going to pay that) so it becomes a literal run for the border at this point. I was prepared for this but I am wearing a suit. Next we park the car at the parking lot - I figure we are not the only people doing it this way- and walk back through the car lines!!! Next we hit our first snag "the bribe." You see I was not sure how much it would cost to do all of this so I brought a big bill (about $140 in US Dollars) with me. Turns out that the guy doing the exit stamps does not have change. I look at him in incredulous amazement as the line to cross the border is parked and I figure he gets twice this in a given hour in change. Then he shows me his drawer- and I mean literally it is a drawer of a table with the exit cards through in with the money. I am stunned but then he tells me to go "there." I go to the entry side and ask the man for change. He acts like he does not understand and goes on with his lame attempt at humor- "You want small money?" Then I turn to walk to the office building and he follows me, and then leads me into his office. Turns out he is in charge of the border entry; he opens his safe and pulls out two bags full of money - Omani and UAE money. Then he proceeds to ask how much change I want. I want change for 500 AED- You want 400? I want change for 500 - You want 450? - at this point I give up and walk away with the 500 AED left on the table I need to cool off before I scream at this guy. I really should not care but this guy is asking for a $27 tip in effect. He looks like he is wearing Emirati official dress and he is the boss so he should be making a lot more than me, and he is asking how much change I want! What ever as I am cooling down Ashley walks out with the full 500 AED in change! I was willing to let him give her what he felt was good enough!

We go back and pay our exit visa fee 20 AED - $5.5 each. Then we walk about 100 yards to cross the border into the no-mans land (I think). As we are walking past the gate a man coming form the UAE stops and gives us a ride! Turns out he speaks NO English but I understand and thank him! He points us in the right direction for walking and we do the Omani stamp. No big event here except it takes about 30 minutes to do what I think is done in 30 seconds in a car! No worries he stamps Ashley in and out of the country and does not even charge me- saving $20 US dollars- thanks.

Well we have to revert to our wet back nature as no one stops to give us a ride and most people are going to Oman anyway. As we are walking back to the UAE - I carry Ashley for about 1/2 the way- we see this amazing bird!!! I t was such a bright green at first I though it was a leaf! I was so amazing I want to go and take a closer look but was worried about being in no-man's land and all.

So all and all a very surreal trip across the border in the end it cost me a total of about $27 but what an experience it was.

David

WoW

i looked and saw that the last time I posed was June of 2007 maybe that is why no one would read this I have a lot of catching up to do I will trust me I will

Rumptz

Been a While

OK I have been lame posting as I have been lame! well i doubt anyone reads this ! I have no idea if there is any response to this at all but I will be better about centralizing my writing on this blog.

We are n a new country and I have a bunch of post i have sent out as e-mail and need to post so I will post them

David

Just a bit of whining or kveching

Things should calm down in 3 weeks but the next three weeks will be going from one class to the next I start at 8 am then get a break at 2:30 pm !!!

I gotta find a job that pays more than this for all the work I am doing. Not that I am complaining I got a good job and out here what I make goes far but still....I was looking at annual average incomes based on Education ad I saw that an average salary for someone with a MA is $84,000 ! Drag makes me feel poor. Then again my sister cannot find a place to rent in MI for under $750 and the place when has has DEA drug raids ! Yeah she was saying for $750 / month she gets the privilege of dealing with being in the Projects! And I get to live in an exclusive apartment for $625! So I do have to say that my salary is a bit more considering the purchase power. Sure food cost are higher but I really do not spend that much more on food here than I do in the states. I wonder... Anyway this is all academic as I doubt I would ever move back tot eh states plain and simple I doubt we could live as well as we do on 2 teachers salary.

M knee still hurts but I am going to try to do the hash tonight. It is funny my knee hurts a lot when I start to move from a resting position but once moving it feels fine. I am not sure. I know I should go to the Dr. but I got no time I might go down to the PI for a complete Physical over Thanksgiving. What do you think should I hash tonight or not? When I went on the cat hash my knee felt great while I was doing it.

Update on the Saipan Rumptz house

We are in Saipan and it is nice but I do not know how long I want to live in any one place anymore. I like my life of travel and the kids seem to enjoy it if we do not move to much too often. Granted we have just moved to the new apartment complex and living on Saipan is nice once again! We had lived at a very small place for most of the last 4 years. The resent was $375 and we had an AMAZING view from our place. Also we were right next to the ocean so we had a constant ocean breeze through the house. But as the rent was low our neighbors were far from the most concerned about their children and it became a VERY bad influence on Andrew. He came home hurt a few too many times doing too many stupid things to be "cool" and it was time to move. Oddly he had no problems moving and the new apartment complex has two families with kids around his age. The kids of one family are (sometimes not so sensible) home schooled Christians (white parents to mixed like my kids) and they all get along great. In fact I think my kids are the more well adjusted of the lot. We also have another set of white kids (I am not hating on my race I'm just telling it like it is) who are a bit spastic but they are good around our kids. All in all it is a nice place. It has a huge yard, I am talking a 5 acre yard, and the kids are having a blast. Andrew, and Ashley next year, goes to the local public school and is doing well in his grades and on his national test. Ashley went to a private kindergarten that was good but way to religious for my taste, they subjugated science for religion. But she did learn a lot about phonics and writing. So the kids have it good. The problem is that there is no way in heck I am sending Andrew to the local Jr. High (that would be in Fall of 2008) it is nicknamed Hopeless (by the kids and teachers)~ and teachers who work there tell me not to send my child there! So it is tempting to move off island after next year.And here is that bit....

As you know I just applied for a PhD in Special Ed. The only problem is that the program is at the University of Hawaii. But it is for a scholarship that pays for the entire program and pays for housing too. But I have not lookied into any other PhD program and am not sure that I would do a PhD in even if it were free. I mean I am not sure I want a PhD but if I did go for one do I really wnat to do it in Special Education? So itr is truly up in the air. Too bad I will have to put it off until the next year (Fall of 2008) as Tita's grad school (her MA) and her citizenship- we have to wait until she gets sworn in.I am hoping two things first that I get into the program and second that they let me put it off for a year...I did mention that I forced Tita into a MA in Education ? Yeah it is a program where the professors come out for a week or two and do the entire class in that time it is crazy for her but she gets done and does not have to move. It is not that hard and I am doing a lot of research to help her out. I do a lot of research for the classes i teach so I just help her out the best I can.

Well like I said I have the travel bug so it would be nice to move in about a year but I really do not like Hawaii, well Oahu anymore. Oahu is not as nice as people say. It is way to touristy and boring for me. I hate Waikiki and the rest of that Pearl Harbor area. The rest of the island is pretty lame as well. After living in some real island nations I have to say I would not want to live there. But I hear that the PhD program sends you to live on the smaller islands to help train the teachers in Special Education teaching methods. If that is the case it might be cool. Who knows. I might just say toss it all and go to Africa or China.

But sadly I doubt we can afford to leave Saipan. We have it good hear you can live middle on a teachers salary- I know unheard of in the mainland. Heck with Tita and I teaching we can live at the upper middle class. So I do not know if we will be leaving island anytime soon. But things are changing here - federal takeover seems imminent - the federal government just raised the minimum wage - everyone is scared that the economy which has been in the doldrums for years is going to collapse when the minimum wage increases - it is currently $3.05/hour. And then we worry that the federal government is going to get rid of all these overseas contract workers- basically dirt cheap labor. SO it is a big toss up as to what will happen in the next few ears for us if we can ride out the storm we might stay here - the pay is good. But part of me would like to see more of the world. I mean live in other parts of the world. It might have to wait until the kids are done with college. Then I Can afford to have a job that does not pay well. Right now I think of Andrew and Ashley's college education.



I am SO bad I have classes to prepare for - lots of them- and here I babel on and on

Rumptz

Great Cat Hunt

It was the textbook cartoon morning at my house. One of our cats, Mr. Paws, had been missing of the past few days and we did not know what to do. Our other cat Mr. Tuffs, was acting very strangely this morning and so I decided to ask him where his brother was~ we had watched a movie about fairies last night. So Mr. Tuffs proceeded to meow and look at me so I figured this was worth investigating. So I did! Again I asked him if he knew where his brother was and as he started to lead pausing to look back and meow I figured it was the "Timmy is in the well with a broken leg" meow that they give in Lassie. So I followed the cat Into the jungle behind my house. He ran fast and did not take into account my size in his journeys so I was much slower than him. When I was lost I would meow and wait for his response and then follow the sound. This went on for a while and I get to see parts OT the jungle behind my house like a great bamboo forest. It was truly amazing and it look very ancient but I am sure it is not that old. Alas I had lost my lead so I needed to back track to find my leader Mr. Tuffs. After backtracking for a bit I caught the sound of his voice sure that he was leading me on a trail to his brother. I headed up his and got caught by surprise when a small coconut crab came out of a coconut I was about to step on. Well I had the sound of the cat in the distance and had even caught a glimpse of him a few time when I swore I had heard the sound of our other cat. In a fever I foll wed that distant call ~ the cat has been missing for days. I was worried and so I followed with reckless abandon until I ended up in the middle of a bush surrounded by no easy or passable exits save the entrance I can in. At this point I tried futilely to find another exit before giving up and calling it the mission off. I finally found my way back near hoe when I see note placed on the eh ground by my son. He wanted me to come home to eat breakfast. Cute. So I traipse home and clean my very dirty close and body. But I had a clue as to where Mr. Paws was. So after a shower and some water I take the kids on the explore I figure he is in the grass by the road as that is my best guess to where I was in the forest. Well we traipse a long for a bit then we hear IT! But it turns out he is not in the grass or in a well with a broken leg no he is up a huge tree, which is more of his style. This is the 3 time he has gone up a tree for safety. The last two times it was up a 26 foot coconut tree in our old apartment. Those times I almost killed myself getting him down. This time I found a ladder and tried getting up the tree but was hit by a bunch of paper wasp. It is funny the sting is bad but as the stinger does not stay in like a bee it only last a few minutes and then it is back to normal. I tried the ladder on another part of the tree but never could get it high enough. And the cat would not come down to me. Right now my wife says let him learn his lesson. I am surprised as it seems like it is a much easier tree to get down from and if my knee did not hurt so much I would be able to climb a bit more to get the silly cat. As far as the journey Mr. Tuffs had taken me on ... I guess I am a sucker to listen to a cat, he just wanted to get me out in the woods so he could take advantage of me and he did!

Oddly enough summer is busy for me all the classes I sighed up for have gone! It is weird as most classes did not go this summer. but I had some good luck. I will be busy this summer but luckily the classes are short so they will be done soon.

I also had to write the following to the Saipan H3....

My son Andrew (10 be 11 in July) has been asking me to go on a hash! I am all for it the adult content is right up his alley but I need to ask you. He is pretty good. I would say he is almost at my level. He went on the Laderan-Tangke Trail and did fine he had no problems with it and I would like to take him whit me but I do not know what the rules are about kids. I do not know if he is permitted to go on the hash trust me the "adult material" is nothing new for him and I would like to encourage him to get out and exercise more. he has a bit of a belly on him ~ like me.

Well let me know the rules an what it would cost to take him along if he is permitted. He would love to go and he would be fun to have a long. he is a very sharp witted kid~ again like me. And he has a pretty good sense of things too.

naturalization (almost) and stuff

*Check out my photos*
*Photos old and new*
lick on link above to view


Tita FINALLY got got approved for naturalization!!!

We were in Guam for the tests but since we live in Saipan we have to wait until they come up to Saipan to swear her in. Usually they do it the same or next day but we have to wait. that means we are stuck on Saipan for a while,no worries after 10 years Tita has finally (almost) gotten her US citizenship!


Just think in December Tita will be a US citizen and have a Masters Degree in Education- let the divorce proceedings begin! Just joking lucky for me that is just too strange of a Filipino to do that- says she will divorce me when I am rich and famous which is going to be NEVER!!!

Summer reregistration is dead I think this is a bad sign for the fall semester and beyond. On the good news Tita did get a job for next year teaching first grade so we will be fine in that respect.

I just applied for a PhD in Special Ed but I will have to put it off until the next year (fall of 2008 if the let me) as Tita's grad school (her MA) and her citizenship- we have to wait until she gets all done before I can think of moving we have worked too long and too hard to play with either of these things.


--- Summer numbers are down butI happened to chose the right classes so I am busy as heck

I am busy

Will be running from class to class for the next 6 weeks

Will barley be able to see my own kids so busy with work.

Good news will have brand new cars paid off in less than a year. Not bragging but happy we can do it.

Got to go RELAX i.e. get off the computer and try to play Sudoko thanks to my nephew Ben I know how to play (easy ones) and am in love with it.

David

Saipan the past few weeks

In the four years we have lived on Saipan the past few weeks have been the best. I went on my first hash (more on that in a bit), and the kids have finally found what neighbors are. There are 5 kids who live next to us and 2 more across the grass yard. There are supposedly two Taiwanese kids but i have never seen them though I have seen their mom. I also met a girl from Mongolia but she does not speak much English. Anyway I ramble the point is that Andrew and Ashley have found kids their won age who like to play outside. In our old neighbor hood the kids mostly sat inside playing video games. There was really not much of a group that hung out together. Now at the new place the kids are looking for each other hanging out and playing doing things kids should do. i really am loving the new place we live in. I am glad Tita has a job and I am thinking we will be here for at least another two years. god forbid we end up staying here. But that was the subject of my last email On to the Hash...


The Hash House Harriers (the "Hash") is an international group of runners (hashers) whose primary goal is to have "fun". see note at end of e-mail explaining more. My first hash was amazing. I saw parts of the island I had never know existed and they were literally in my backyard. It inspired my to start treaking around the jungle. I went, with Steve Vance, on a trip up an over one of the local ridges. The trip started on my old walk in front of Andrew's school and I figured we would hit the jungle once the road ended instead of coming back like we had done previously. Well we hit the jungle and had a great journey and after about an hour of jungle treaking we came to a road passing through a valley in the jungle and we eventually decided to follow it until it hit a paved road. Well as we started to come into the clearing low and behold we were literally in my backyard. So we stopped off at my apartment and refreshed before we walked back to our cars in front of Andrew's school.

The next day Steve had a conference call until 8:30 am so I went out exploring. It turns out that there is a Japanese / Buddhist temple in my backyard as well. I am guessing that it was built when during the Japanese occupation around WWII. Anyway I climbed up to the temple and it was built inside a cave and much more impressive than I had though. But it was early still so I decided to follow the trail and climb the face of the ridge that made the cave the temple was in. I had no problem climbing it was well overgrown so there were lots of plants with sturdy roots and trunks to use for climbing. At the top of th ridge I did some exploring but all roads seam to lead to the high switch grass. It is about 5 to 8 feet tall and it gets hard to walk through as vies grow in it and they tangle you up. But I was having fun exploring until I found my sell on the ground. It turns out that the grass had covered up a hole. But all of the grass was the same hight so I could not tell the hole was there. I fell in and hit my left knee on the side of the hole with my arms holding me up on either side, while my right leg dangled down not touch the bottom of the hole. Well I got home and Steve showed up, sure my knee was sore but it did not hurt that much, so off we went on the next hike. This hike was OK it was a lot more treaking through the grass so it was just OK. The next day my knee was killing me and I could barley move it so I have been hobbled ever since then. I was upset as I could not do the Cinco de Mayo hash which sounded great- I guess they went by one of the B29's that crashed on island during WWII. I am sad I missed it but I hope to be up and into the mix by next Saturday. I am hoping to be up and moving before so I want be a total dead weight on the next hash.

David

Grandma, Tita & news

Turnss out my maternal Grand mother was Italian after all. Here is the e-mail from my mom...

I found grandma and grandpa's Marriage certificate and it said she was born in Italy, will keep looking and let you know.

Passport date April 1907, said he travled with wife and 7 minor children, Grandma was born in 1906 or 1907, she died in Nov of 1979, and her birthday was in April of that year she turned 73.

Don't know anything about boat, ect.

You know I had asked dad about that several times well before he got sick and nothing came of it. Now you find it in less than a week. Thanks again.

We go down to Guam on May 17th for Tita citizenship interview. God willing she will be done with all of this paperwork then. After that we have to wait for her swearing in, which is on Siapan- it could be in June but it could be later as well. Not quite there yet as the passport will take a while to get so I doubt we will be able to go anywhere this summer. Unless we decided to come to visit the states.

On the good news Tita has found a job for next year- she will be working the streets in Garapan. Err I mean she got a transfer to the Kagaman Elementary School as a 1st grade teacher. So we will be on island for a few more years. I do not think we will be here for too long see news article below.

Well I got to get ready for church.... enjoy the posted stories

David

+++++++++++++This guy happens to live in the apartment just above me +++++++++++
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=68121
A dancer at the Chicago Club in Garapan testified yesterday how a public school teacher beat her up when she refused to have sex with him. The dancer said Peter Edward Gannon slapped her twice and then punched her in the face in the early morning of Jan. 28, 2007. Gannon had denied the charges. The alleged assault happened after their first date, according to the dancer in her testimony in the ongoing bench trial of the 52-year-old Gannon who is being charged with two counts of assault and battery.

+++++++++As I said I doubt we will be here too much longer++++++
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=68175&cat=1
Since 2005, the CNMI's economic situation has worsened owing to the lifting of the worldwide trade quota. This has adversely affected the local garment manufacturers, with many of them downsizing operations or closing down altogether. Last December, the island's largest apparel factory, Concorde Garment Manufacturing Inc., shut down, resulting in a huge loss of revenues for the government.

The tourism industry, meantime, which has not fully recovered from a series of international events such as the 2001 terror attack, Asian crisis, and SARS scare, was further crippled in October 2005 with the departure of Japan Airlines. This was followed by a number of unfortunate events such as the termination of Taiwan and Hong Kong direct flights in late 2005, and recently, the suspension of Osaka flight as well as the termination of evening flights from Narita.

Japan, the CNMI's main tourism market, is now served only by Northwest Airlines, which suspended the Osaka flight and reduced the Narita flights. This has resulted in a downtrend in tourist arrivals from Japan. From over 500,000 tourist arrivals in 2004, Japan arrivals are expected to drop to a little over 200,000 this year.

My Space account

I have finally gotten my act together and gotten a My Space account http://www.myspace.com/185140538 with more of my photos. I am in the process of getting a Yahoo Photos site with tons of pictures too- I do not think you need an account to see those photos, I will let you know. Of course if you want to see the photos My Space makes you create an account- sorry but they all do this. Creating an account should only take a few minutes , unless you are my mom with the old dial up connection. No one lets you share photos without creating an account. Now you have to click on the tiny link below my picture to see the photos.

Some of the photos I have you can only see at my other web site www.geocities.com/rumptz_sh8kr (I cannot find them on my hard drive to put up to the new site)

Well I hope this is easiest for everyone.



David

The Passing of Don Rumptz (my Dad)

I regret to inform you that my Dad (Donald Rumptz) passed away at home at 1:10 pm on 4-11-07.

My dad was sick and his health and mind had been declining so I am glad he is out of pain and I am glad my mom does not have to see him get worse.

There will be no funeral and if there is going to be a service it will be with the immediate family. Mom is talking of placing some of his remains (he was cremated) in his mother and fathers graves.

As far as coming back to Michigan it is really a question of do I want to bear with the 24 hour flight 10 hours of time difference and the cold in Michigan to hang out for a week. Then spend another 24 hours on a plane and deal with another 10 time change when I get back.

OK, well I have decided to come to Detroit for the week see details below. I hope to be a help to my mother. As far as I know there is not going to be a service for my farther but a private family (fight over who he loved the most - gave the most money too) err I mean family service - my mother had said this would be held in the summer but this is the only time I can make it back to the Detroit Area for a year.

It would be nice to see as many people as I can in the time I am there between helping her out. This is the first trip I have made back to the area in 4 years and I am guess it will be as long before we return - unless I get a good job.

Sadly Tita and the kids will not be able to make the flight (cost too much).

David

The Laderan-Tangke Trail

++ The Laderan-Tangke Trail+++++ this message was written by Steve Vance but I stole it to share+++

Steve and I took the kids on a hike this morning on The Laderan-Tangke Trail a 1.8 mile loop around the area of a cliff face on the northern part of the island. It's really a great hike. Lots of up and down, some of it pretty steep and rocky. Ashley got tired before the end so I carried her on his back part of the time- but she made most of the hike on her own- very impressive for a 6-year-old.

We heard lots of birds, and saw a few very up close - could almost touch a few. We heard Kingfishers. We saw these white birds (Fridgite Terns I think) flying around together with this weird call sort of like a muted sonar. We also saw another bird with some really pretty tail feathers that it fanned out whenever it landed. Whether it was trying to intimidate us or attract a mate, I really don't know.

There were also some very cool swarms of insects. I know. You're asking, "Cool swarms of insects?" They seemed to be two types, sometimes swarming in the same area, and sometimes distinctly separate. One was a type of moth that, when they landed, were on the branches so thickly that they visibly weighed them down. Both types were swarming so thickly that you could hear the sounds of them hitting the leaves in the foliage so much that it sounded like a light rain storm. The other was something very gnat-like. You definitely needed to keep your mouth shut when going through the areas. You wanted to keep your eyes shut, but you wouldn't be able to go through very fast then. They also sensed our passing, and got very active and agitated. Since Steve was taking up the rear, they were especially thick.

Steve managed to get stung on the ear by a wasp while we were passing some nests on the trail. No big deal. A red mark, but not even any swelling. Just a little bit of an irritating prick and a burn for a short time.

The trail went through a serious rain forest. Lots of cool trees. Many of them were growing with buttressed roots, large root clusters, and in some cases, roots that fanned out like legs to keep the tree trunk out of the rot of the soil. Also, there were the occasional mango, noni, and pandanas trees. There were also scarlet ivy gourd plants and some cool looking hard red seeds with black caps. I've now exhausted the limits of both mine and Dave's knowledge of rain forest foliage.

All in all, it's a great trail. Steve and I will probably tackle it by ourselves next Friday.

David