Stan the Man is BACK!!!

After the crappiest day ever at work Thursday, I got home and did my usual stuff - stripe fonky hospital clothes off, tell the family HI, make a bowl of Cheerios and hop online. The BEST ever email was waiting for my in my inbox. My heart soared and my smile couldn't have been bigger. It was from my friend Stan. I met Stan many years ago while going to Design School in Houston. He was this strange guy from Indonesia, but he quickly became one of my dearest friends. After graduating from school I began my career in Houston with a Top 10 firm in town and he moved back home. We tried staying in touch via email, but over the years and several "inactive account" on his end, we lost track of each other. You can imagine the terror I felt when his country was hit by the horrible Tsunami a few years ago. I cried for hours - I just knew he was gone & I would never be able to speak to him again. Rick, being the fabulous guy he is, bought me an international calling card for Valentine's Day with a note that said "I could get you nothing that would mean more than your peace of mind. Call him!" After crying more I got the courage to do just that! I dialed the gazillion digits it takes for an international call and prayed. I was freaked when a woman on the other end answered - I still to this day have no idea who she was, but in the several minutes of "talking" to her, I got that Stan was home and was sleeping. I couldn't have been happier except to get a random phone call on New Years for the punk. He was hung over from celebrating and called me just to say HI. We talked only briefly, but again it made me happy! I've always thought about Mr. Stan, the Monkeyman, from the island country that is home to the "Orange Man" orangutan. I always wondered if he was OK. How was his family - his two other brothers, parents, grandparents and puppy Besnie. How was his health? What was he up to? Much to my shock & surprise he's now married and has a daughter named Gail. I hope this is the beginning of a long time of communication between us - I miss him terribly and our friendship even more. He is a wonderful person. Very kind and extremely funny. We (my family & I) were so happy to have him in our lives. I hope one day to see him and his family again. Until then, I hope to do it through lots of pictures!