Indoneedsya

The brother is going to Indonesia on his 40th birthday.

He's part of a group called Build Change (http://www.buildchange.org/), which rebuilds homes hit by earthquakes. (The brother's professional gig is engineering and he's done a lot of work on earthquake safety.)

I can't even begin to get around how totally floored I am by this. It's really, really wonderful, and I'm absolutely jealous, because I would never have the opportunity or the nerve to do it. Jaysis, I thought doing the Aids Walk was a big deal, but it's pretty pale by comparison. (Although walking through Los Angeles may, in fact, compare with walking through Indonesia -- apart , maybe, from an absence of strip malls.)

I'm also worried, sure. Indonesia is a little shaky, but not like Pakistan, where Build Change is going next. If he was going to Pakistan, I'd be a less inclined to jump around for it, because fear would tip the scales a little more the other way. Although Angelina Jolie can visit Pakistan ... but apparently so can Osama Bin Laden. Anyway, Indonesia has it's problems, but it also has vacation resorts, so I'm not as worried as I am excited and proud to have Tim for a brother.