HI all

Looks like our return to Thailand is going to be delayed. Again. We’ve run into unexpected issues. Again. And, again…

The house is coming along nicely, but there have been some complications. The walls and ceilings have finally been refurbished, textured and painted, but we’re having difficulty with the cabinet section. We’re not having trouble picking out what we like. We’re having trouble finding contractors that stay in business long enough to finish.

It’s actually scary here. Driving down the previously packed huge Las Vegas avenues finds you looking at more and more empty places of business. And, malls. Yes, entire strip malls, empty. Large anchor stores in these strip malls, empty. Large food, clothing, and drug stores, here one week, gone another. Casinos, empty. And even more surprising are the failures of the large, usually stable businesses. Like Macy’s. Mervyn’s. Sears, Circuit City and JC Penney. These places are either struggling, merging, or gone. We’re being reduced to dealing with the after midnight crazies that shop at Wal Mart. Looks like Circuit City and Best Buy are next; the places are usually deserted. Home Depot probably won’t be here much longer, but that’s no loss, as they seem to cater to the illegal Mexican contractor types that shop there, and most of their products are labeled in Spanish. Hard to shop there, can’t read a damn thing. Oh, talking about illegal Mexicans, they’re leaving too. Increased penalties on Americans who hire them, and not enough work. They’re leaving in droves. Our lawns look like shit.

Along with the economy, the stock market continues to slide. 1600 points down since the new Messiah got elected. I guess no one thought that the people who actually had money invested, would start to hide it in preparation for the new ComIntern on January 20th. But then again, expecting Americans to think is like expecting strippers to get law degrees.

Crime is going up. Republicans are heading to gun shows en masse in preparation for the chosen one’s “change” of our constitutional rights. Home invasions in Las Vegas are now commonplace, and are spread throughout the valley. Typical Obama supporters have found themselves evicted from their homes and unemployed, if they weren’t unemployed to start with. Theft, burglary, and overall crime rates are getting out of hand. One of the only business structures in Las Vegas that’s actually doing well are the home security companies. The other? Harley Davidson. Nothing like middle aged Republicans using big noisy machines to court young struggling Democrat single mom waitresses as a means to support the economy. Oh, and did I mention the Chinese massage parlors? Everywhere. The Chinese supported Obama too, but, since they don’t pay taxes, they don’t care. Oh, and for some reason, Baby’s R Us continues to do well. I find myself being dragged there on almost a weekly basis. Oh, the pain. To think, only last year I used to spend my free time in computer stores looking at games. Those beloved days are over; most of those stores are out of business too. Now instead of filling the back of my car with the latest and greatest in computer gear, I buy baby bottles and carriers. I can’t wait to start looking for disposable diapers.

The recent election has been an eye opener here. And quite the experience. The Obama supporters, now with nothing to do, sit on the streets with blank “what do I do now” looks on their faces, as they protect the refrigerator boxes they live in from vandalism. McCain supporters can be found at gun shows with tears in their eyes and pallor in their fright filled faces, trying to stock up on ammunition and weaponry, if they’re not at the local strip clubs watching the Democrats dance. My doctor colleagues, those who have not yet committed suicide, are trying to figure out if retiring early and working at McDonalds is better than practicing medicine for free. Most of them would have tried to rely upon the income of their wives, except for the fact that most of them are now divorced and paying alimony and child support. My attorney friends have frazzled looks on their faces, as they just don’t know who to sue. No sense filing lawsuits against insurance companies that won’t be there when they have to go to court. It’s really getting bad; I truly pity these guys. They have to reinvent themselves and find something useful to do.

The housing market is truly a mess, thanks mostly to the relaxed mortgage regulatory policies which were strongly encouraged by, oh Ed, what was his name, that other messiah type for the masses, yes, Clinton. My brother’s house, which he bought for 895K, is now on the market for 465K. If you have the cash, now’s the time to buy a house. Discounts abound. Multimillion dollar homes are selling for less than half the market value they had three months ago. Well, that’s if you can get a loan. Finding a mortgage broker can be exceedingly difficult, as most of them went out of business. They cook hamburgers during the day and dance at night. Busy places, those strip clubs be.

Speaking of strippers, we did a poll here, and found that ninety percent of them voted for Obama. The other ten percent only spoke Russian. All of them still claim that they are “going to law school”. Of the nineteen black strippers we polled, eighteen voted for Obama, having submitted a cumulative five hundred and thirty seven votes in his favor. The other one voted for McCain, but had decided to rename her seven children, "Barrack Hussein". All nineteen thought Obama and his "very cool" running mate, Sarah "now what's her last name", would bring change to society, and hopefully, more desperate middle aged men and their overflowing wallets to their establishments. Of the forty seven Asian strippers that we polled, only seventeen of them voted for Obama, but, we didn't care, because their tits really looked fake. For those of you who are concerned about these things, dances are still twenty bucks. These naked capitalists just don’t understand this new concept of redistributing the wealth.

So, we will be back in Thailand by December 30. Maybe. Well, January 26th, at the latest. Confirmed. I’m trying to get the appliances purchased, and the cabinets on auto pilot before we leave. The other parts of the house have mostly been taken care of. These things have to be done before we leave, and we’ve been working hard to get them done. I’m hoping that we won’t have too many more setbacks; this house flood has been an exhausting nightmare, and we want to get out of here.

We miss you all. Especially you Ed. You big lovable Democrat you.
Rich and Vanessa