If you like Japanese food, you might not want to look at this.

[DFW]

My daughters just sent this from the elder one's bachelorette party. This attains a level of cruelty unknown in them up to this point. We love Japanese food, and seeing this pic was pure torture. The scenery doesn't seem too shabby, either.
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[flotsam]

1. Okay

Which ones are bacon cheeseburger flavored and where are the BBQ chicken ranch?

[DFW]

4. No idea

I asked, of course.........

[irisblue]

2. Wow

::swallows hard::

[DFW]

5. Pretty much mirrors our reaction, too! n/t

[smirkymonkey]

3. Looks delicious!

Where is the location? It's beautiful!

[DFW]

6. I know! And they didn't even invite us!

It's in the Turks & Caicos Islands, north of Hispaniola, a place we've never been. When my elder daughter said she wanted to have her bachelorette party, the younger one said OK, let me take care of this (she's the one that made partner in her big law firm at age 31, makes a bloody fortune, and is incredibly generous with her money). She asked her sister in New York where she'd like to have the party. When our elder one said "Caribbean," she said OK, got it, and the search was on. She found this one unbelievable place in the Turks & Caicos, big enough to accommodate all 13 women invited, hired their own chef, had its own cinema, and was, as you could see, right on the water.

She called me from Frankfurt airport early last week to say she was about to get on a plane for Miami. I said what in the world are you going to do in Miami? Change planes, she said. For where? The Turks & Caicos Islands. You have work to do in the Turks & Caicos Islands? No, it's for [her sister's] bachelorette party.

Now I know what her sister makes, and while she might have been able to afford the flight from New York, I don't think she would have had enough left over for the first marguerita. I said, you're paying for all this, aren't you? She said, well, sure. "Well, sure." But she's no idiot. She knows no one outside of People Magazine personalities can afford to do things like that for their siblings. Except her, of course. And if you were to ask her if she wanted to be on the cover of People Magazine, she'd ask back, what in the world for?

Just to make SURE we were insane with jealousy. they sent these pics, first of the two of them:
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And of the whole group:
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Funny, I don't recall having any siblings that did (let alone COULD do) things like that for me. On the other hand, it's not such a bad feeling having had a daughter that not only CAN do things like this for her sister (and friends!), but loves doing it, too.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Wow! Nice sister!

What a great bachelorette party! Your daughter will never forget it!

[DFW]

8. Yes, despite the 4000 mile distance, they're very close

They fought like cats and dogs when they were little. Then, when the elder one went overseas to school for a semester of high school abroad (German schools encourage this), and the little one suddenly became the ONLY one, she calmed down a lot.

After that, she was the one who went overseas for a year of high school, and, contrary to her sister, stayed there. After that, whenever they were together, they were inseparable. For a while, when the big one was living in New York City and the little one was in law school in White Plains, they saw each other every weekend.

After graduation, the Bush recession forced the little one to look outside the USA for work. She put a lot of time and effort into her job search, and ended up with the Frankfurt arm of a British international law firm. She did well there, but complained about the rigid structure of the firm, saying she could accomplish a lot more if she and her team were allowed a little flexibility. She wasn't the only one who noticed. A big New York firm had noticed, and head-hunted the head of their team, but said he only got the job if he brought my daughter along with him (they did their homework). My daughter said, look, I'm 28 and making more than most men twice my age. You're going to have to throw a lot of money at me to get me to switch. They did, and she did.

In Germany, there is a list of the 17 top attorneys in every field. In hers, she is not only the youngest on the list, but the only woman. She pays her dues, works like a fiend, but knows how to shut down and party, too. She thinks nothing of spreading her financial good fortune around to family and friends, knowing perfectly well that most people will never make what she does, including me. We're not talking a million a year, or anything like that (yet, anyway!), and German taxes take out 50%, but for a 34 year old woman with a non-famous family background, she's doing exceptionally well, and she knows it. I'm glad she's smart enough to enjoy it while she's young. My wife and I are still trying to figure out how we suddenly went from 47 to 67.