"It's the summer months, and your children will be outdoors playing more often and could seriously hurt themselves." This announcement remains ingrained in my mind; it was made on the BBC during their prime-time news …
March 22, 2007
Go Abroad!
Helen Leggatt In Canterbury, New Zealand: May Contain Nuts
Helen Leggatt In Canterbury, New Zealand: There's no place like home
I remember pressing my nose against the window as we flew over the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand for the first time. "Ah, yes, this is just as I imagined it …
March 15, 2007
The best pool players in the San Diego and the world: Filipinos
When he broke, it was hammerlike. It almost hurt my ears: a terrific crack! The colorful balls caromed and danced and spun everywhere.Nothing went in, though, lucky for me. So I lined up my first …
March 1, 2007
Helen Leggatt In Canterbury, New Zealand: Food for Thought
New Zealand supermarkets are devoid of the range of TV dinners and pasta sauces that are the staples of their British counterparts. I didn't know this until my husband Warren and I sold everything and …
March 1, 2007
Medicine Soldier In Iraq
Sleep Monster As a traditional guardsman, I have to live a dual life and with the consequences of doing so. Going from a normal work week to drill weekend is not so bad, but coming …
February 22, 2007
Medicine Soldier In Iraq
The Long war Times are frustrating. We are trying to work with the Iraqi people. My position affords me opportunities to see this on various levels. I often ride or walk through the streets in …
February 15, 2007
Medicine Soldier In Iraq
Play Nice We are staying in a quad of ten-man tents. There are four rows of ten tents. Between each tent is either a concrete barrier wall or a concrete mortar bunker. The ground outside …
February 8, 2007
Medicine Soldier in Iraq
We had a long flight and went right into training to confirm the sight alignment on our weapons; we watched two mandatory training videos and then waited on logistics -- all after two hours' sleep …
February 1, 2007
Lost boys of Sudan safe in Coronado
The Ethiopian Army caught up with the boys at the Gilo River. "Most of us couldn't swim," says Isaac. "It was really very deep and swollen because of rains. The currents were very, very fast. …
January 25, 2007
Kendra Wiseman in Beijing
Death of a cynic I'm happy. And it makes me feel pathetic on a very fundamental level. I'm a cynic, okay? I don't know what emotional or accessorized state you base your self-image on, but …
January 25, 2007
Kendra Wiseman in Beijing
Add To Cart As I clicked on the "Place Your Order" button, having once again spent more money on Amazon than I make in a week, I realized I didn't care. Because I am getting …
January 18, 2007
Kendra Wiseman in Beijing
Wet Dragon Cloudblaster If you'll just take a minute to read over my brief profile on the left-hand side of my online blog, you'll discover that "malfunctioning technology" is listed under "Peeves." That's because my …
January 11, 2007
Kendra Wiseman in Beijing
Manga-Eyed Terror My boss is a crime lord. I don't want to talk about why it is that a couple of weeks ago I was online at 5:20 in the morning, except to make myself …
January 4, 2007
Gekkolick in Egypt: Ten Camels and Two Ferraris
Although I was inclined to frantic groin grabbing, inarticulate moaning, and random curling into balls, the last day of the holiday was a good one by any standards. The itinerary had me trying a body-conditioning …
December 28, 2006
Gekkolick in Egypt: Tutted In Egypt
Misery, thy name is the two-headed serpent of cystitis and thrush. Ill in a foreign country — curses! I'd been awake for hours, drinking water and moaning softly in the loo as lava wee escaped …
December 21, 2006