Mom sent me a picture of dad, at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast, which is one of my favorite places in the world. Dad looked really happy which in turn made me happy and jealous.
There are no complaints allowed from people who live in beautiful cities with a rich culture around them everyday, a personal motto that is actually hard to live by sometimes. However, my jealousy of mom and dad's trip stems from the fact that I have worked two weeks straight, with hardly a visit to my favorite spots in Prague.
A new place I went however (work related of course) was the Galerie Butovice, a mall in the Prague suburbs where the model airplane convention was held in the well-let parking garage. My job is mainly marketing and writing for an Internet security start up, however my other tasks revolve around the procuring, marketing and selling of custom built model airplanes. (www.dogfighter.com) So not only was I required to go to this model convention on a beautiful Saturday, but Sunday as well. The whole situation looked a bit like this:
A moderately well dressed American girl in her 20's goes to meet her Chinese American boss at a Metro stop in the Czech suburbs, who of course is late.
When said boss finally arrives, American employee guides them both to the convention because of her well honed directional skills passed down genetically from her mother. Thank god. American employee was trying to see and learn all about model airplanes in the least amount of time possible. It was a weekend after all.
Boss and employee walk into the parking garage under the mall to be met by the fumes of some sulfuric something or other which later was found out to be coming from the temporary pool or ocean that was set up to display the speed and agility on the model war boats that were also being shown off at the convention.
Boss guides employee to meet all of his favorite model builders, who are shocked to see a WOMAN at the convention and simply flabbergasted that said woman was AMERICAN. The first that dispensed of his medal winning planes to Chinese American boss was in a model airplane club, "one of the most prestigious," boss said.
The second was an Air-Conditioning installation man who in his free time specializes in building Japanese planes from WWII and who's 18 year old son had to act as a translator.
The third, Santa Claus, was a Polish man who spoke no English and who we spent all weekend with and who sold us two of his planes. To communicate with Santa we stole the wife of the Polish man who ran the model airplane supply table (selling model kits and paints etc.). Said wife who was all of 4'10" followed Santa, Chinese American Boss, and American Employee around all afternoon translating.
This all continued on Sunday.
Sunday evening American employee had to take two model helicopters from the convention to the office on the metro and then tram. A hour and a half excursion with the helicopters on prominent display for all to judge and wonder about.
