First update from home!

How about an update from the Jetsetset? Finally, huh? We're still living in Yerevan, Armenia and when we lived in the Philippines I was always fond of saying that Armenia would have its own problems, but air pollution, over population, and lousy food wouldn't be three of them. Well guess what... I was right! The air pollution is pretty bad here, but in no way can fewer than three million people generate the amount of smog, exhaust fumes and general human waste that 15 million can in Metro Manila. Yerevan is tiny in comparision to Manila, but it's also much nicer for Misty and I. We already have a handful of favorite restaurants (and the food rarely, if ever, makes us sick -- yipee!). Misty was a tad illin' when we first got here in October (wow, has it already been five months!), but nothing that a little Cipro couldn't whack. We've pretty much been fine ever since.

I just went to twenty hours a week at work and was bit bummed about it at first, but now that I'm sitting here in my home office working on images and writing a blog post the light has broken through the clouds and I'm coming to the realization that I swore I wouldn't waste time working full time when we were at this post. Besides, my four months of full time work has placed us in a nice, comfortable spot for flying to China at the end of the summer. This adoption is going to be paid in full with cash all the way!

Housing here isn't so hot. The place that the powers that be have placed us in is isolated and surrounded on all sides by active construction. This winter that meant that you couldn't go walking around for fear of falling in a snow-covered hole, and now that the snow has melted we're Mudsville, USA.. erm I guess Mudsville, Republic of Armenia. :) We're playing pioneer, which I guess might be in our blood a bit anyway. The house itself is wonderful. A three-bedroom, two and a half bath, brand new, hardwood floored McMansion. It'll be nice once we get the baby(ies?). We already have her bedroom laid out and the rubber ducky that Misty's Mom gave us is on the ledge of her tub, and her Cheerios bowl that my Mom sent us is in her bedroom. Our new little girl already has her own room. I sure hope that she likes it. We decorated with stuff that we bought in Hong Kong. Check out her door!

We're off here in a few minutes to run downtown and see if we can secure a couple of tickets to Istanbul! We're planning a long weekend there in the next few weeks to do some shopping, eating and walking (that, and it's TIME to get out of here a while). I guess the Turks can be pretty aggressive and rude, but that's par for the course in this neck of the woods anyway. I've never met an Azeri, but Georgians seem to be turds (at least the ones that hang out in Yerevan are), and Armenians are genuinly friendly, but many times I think they wish they were still Russian.