Tropical Storm Kong-Rey Preparations

They've issued a tropical storm warning for Kong Rey which is centered over Chuuk right now.

I despise storm preparation. The charge nurse called me at home to say the physicians were admitting patients in preparation for the storm, which means the patient census will be increasing, probably to our maximum of 23. If I were working, we'd be closing all the shutters, making it feel like eternal night on the ward and admitting patients left and right while discharging all the healthy and near-healthy, which creates so much churn from the paperwork. I know stuff gets overlooked and back-burnered.

At home, it means waiting in line for gasoline to fill the car and the additional tanks, testing the generator to make sure it works, filling the propane tanks just in case we have to grill every meal, doing the laundry one last time, checking the supply of water and paper plates, policing the yard...

I was supposed to start leave tomorrow. The kids are supposed to start spring break Tuesday. We are supposed to fly to Hong Kong for a week on Friday...

Typhoon preparation is just an additional burden when all I want to do is enjoy my Sunday, read the paper, and drink Chai. I take the Sabbath seriously.

Pain Before Breakfast - The Sequel

We ran our second family 5K this morning. Joy.













Running a race on Guam usually means getting out of bed before 5:00am. Races usually start at 6:00am so the runners can finish long before the heat of the day sets in.

Drew ran the race from start to finish without ever slowing down or walking. He did the same thing in his first 5K. Mary usually runs with him while I run-walk with Anna. She has been a little sick lately, but is a great sport and does her best anyway. Her goal is to make it all the way through the race without walking once. Maybe next time.

Final time results:
Drew/Mary - 35:30
Anna/Gregg - 45:00

Hafa Adai!

Drew's First Pinewood Derby

Drew entered his first Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby today, against a field of 32 other cars. Guess who won?

There were some pretty interesting designs. Check out the submarine in this photo.

Judo Chop

Drew has finished a 10-week course in how to throw other people around a gymnasium. Great.

Seriously, he was awarded a Yellow Belt today. We are enrolling him in the next class, which starts after Easter. Hopefully this class will teach "How not to practice on your sister."

Pain Before Breakfast - The Original

Well, we ran our first in a series of hopefully one 5K races this morning. The actual race itself is not that bad. Getting out of bed at 5:00am to get there on time is the real pain.

Drew and Anna were excellent. He ran the entire way without stopping, and she came pretty close.

Anna's Class Celebrates St Patrick's Day

Here's a great photo of Anna's class at Southern Christian Academy. She loves to get dressed up, and for some reason, really likes that goofy hat. Oh, and check out her friend on the far left. She is the same age as Anna, 8 years old, but is already over a foot taller than her.