Here and There Blog

Tonight is the dreaded 2:50 am flight to the Middle East. I face another 15 hours of transit and then have to adapt to a new time zone again. I finally am on Singapore time and now I have to start all over again. The newspapers here are focused on Asia. You almost would think that the US is a tiny country of no consequence. Little about the US makes the news. Today it was page 26 before I found a real mention. There was a Korea-US story on page 19 but it related to Korea. Everything is Asia. China dominates the headlines because they have far more influence over the region than anyone else. The Middle East is mentioned rarely. Last night at dinner, most people had never even heard of most of my upcoming stops. It was strange to think that what has such an impact on my world isn't even a blip on someone else's radar. If it makes the blip, it's in terms of war and jihad. So I expect to be offline for a good 48 hours. I'm back to the usual travel life after a pleasant st...

Too busy to blog this morning, so I'll leave you to ponder how a snowman sculpture made it's way into a land that has never seen snow. This is just one of the many stylized scuptures around the ferry crossings.

12 hours of work, followed by 3 hours of dinner. I'm ready for bed! Tonight, all I really wanted was to do nothing. Instead, I found myself eating 100 year old egg, stuff that I don't know what it was, and 2 types of Curry Laksa so people could see which one I liked best. Then since everyone decided I was best suited to Satay, I'm in for some sort of a special Satay lunch tomorrow. Hope that works out for me.

Around town - Singapore is decorating for Chinese New Year, so the laterns have gone up all over town. Below, the ship sails by Sentosa Island, a vacation place for the day or a few. There are random sculpture around. This one is set up to have the man swing around a few times a day.

This was the lunch that took 4 passport stamps to eat. The day started out as planned – meeting 1 led into meeting 2, which was going to lead into meeting 3. Then something happened. The ringleader of the group decided that it was time for lunch. Well, I was hungry so lunch sounded good. Turns out we were going to JB. While I was trying to figure out what restaurant JB was, someone asked if my passport was with me. Well it was which made things easier, since JB turned out to be Johor Baru in Malaysia. Yes, we were crossing the border to eat lunch at the newest Super Mall in Malaysia. The border is only a 20 minute drive but it’s the usual 1 hour process once you’re there. First, you get stamped out of Singapore. Then you enter Malaysian customs zone and get stamped into Malaysia. Over an hour later, there we were at an Italian restaurant in the Super Mall, ready for lunch. I had been thinking yummy Malay food but faced with an unexpected turn of events, I opted for salmon in honor of ...

This probably would have made for a much tastier dinner! This is what greets you every morning at the Marriott. People are buying them. The shelves were almost empty when I returned to the hotel in the evening.

Asia. It's been 20 years since I've been here and nothing changes. As I walked out of the airport last night, the humidity in the air hit me right away. With it, was the faint scent of mildew that is ever-present at this climate. You get used to it after a day but that first whiff is always slightly toxic. As usual when I travel, it's been a non-stop day. I was up at 7:30 and did a hour of homework. From there, it was a quick shower and off to breakfast with my paper. What a difference the front line news is here as compared to the US or Mid-East. The lead photo, 5 hunky male strippers working it for women's parties. The secondary photo - Singapore Manga and comics. It turns out that in June, the Singapore comic-con takes place and all hotels are booked for weeks. After this insight, and who wouldn't want to read about strippers and comics, I headed back to my room to pack for the day. I had a morning meeting scheduled and I thought it would last 3 hours. 3 turned t...

Here's the view from the my hotel room. The camera battery died right after I uploaded the image so I couldn't take another shot. This view was from a rain spotted window looking out over apartment. It's probably the good side of the hotel because the other side is on Orchard Road, the busiest road in the city. I was able to get a great 4.5 hour first night of sleep so I'm glad I have a yucky view in exchange for quiet. Now that I'm here, I'm over my pre-flight "I don't wanna go" attitude and I can't wait to get outside.

2:00 am in Singapore. I've arrived. Turns out that after the first water bottle search in Tokyo, there was a second more aggressive water bottle search as you boarded the plane. Even if you bought a replacement bottle after the first security, you still couldn't bring water on the plane. Water bottles were getting tossed everywhere. Luckily I guess, I had already been stripped of my water and didn't have to get the second search.

It's 4:25 pm in Tokyo on Saturday. I have managed to knock off two days of the 21 day road trip without doing anything but sit on a plane. It's kind of nice to realize I'm down to 19 days now. The flight was long, boring, and the movie section needed updating. I did get to see The Departed and while it was a good movie and did everything a ganster/mob movie should do, I don't think it was great. But, it ended well and Martin Sheen and DiCaprio gave great performances. Jack's Oscar nod is over-rated. I guess if you swear enough in a movie, that's considered great acting. Now that the US lets you bring your lotions and such in the carry-on baggy, they don't tell you that other airports are still psycho about it. I had to go through screening again in Tokyo and there was a big sign about no liquids, gels, lotions allowed. My baggie was in my purse and I decided to chance it. Turns out that the water bottle in the backpack that I had forgotten about was the t...

So here it is, nearly 4:00 am and I'm almost ready to pack the laptop. I have a 6:00 am flight from Carlsbad to LAX, and from there it's on to Singapore via a plane change in Tokyo. It has been so long since I've done the Asia flight, it will seem strange to go west instead of east. The blog will be quiet until Sunday when I am at the hotel and trying to recover from the flight, jet lag, and the sheer shock of being back in Asia. As usual, my only hope is for a quiet, boring flight, and good movies that I haven't seen before.

As you wish! The grass swirls are a result of the dirt upheavals. The dead grass is because I sprayed it with weed killer. The upkept look is because, well, I don't keep it up. Still, that's no reason for gophers to think it's fair game!

No sign of gopher activity overnight. I don't know if that's good. The Solar Molar directions indicated that I would see increased activity as gophers fled from the power of the sonic waves. No cat yet this morning either. The birds aren't bothered at all and seem quite happy with the new arrangement.

This is the big test. The Solar Molars arrived two days ago and they've been charging in the sun for 48 hours. Once charged, and with sun, they will last a full year. The Solar Molar emits sonic waves that gophers and moles are supposed to hate. We shall see. The units chirp every 30 seconds and with 2 of them, that's a chirp every 15 seconds. Not too relaxing for anyone. Then I decided to go for strike two and took used kitty litter dirt and stuffed it down the holes. Hey, I'm gone for 3 weeks and it's sunny so the organic matter can decompose. Then, while I was on a roll and really sick of cleaning up after kitty-next-door, I posted hanging mothballs in all of her favorite garden potty spots. Sure enough, after this frenzy of activity, there was kitty looking totally annoyed with the new developments in her garden. She didn't last long, I think the Solar Molar chirps were getting to her too. We'll see what happens. I take off until Feb. 16, so there will e...

Today life went by in a bubble world. I had a disconnected day that was interupted by random work activities that somehow made the time go by fast. It's 5:08 pm and I'm giving myself the luxury of ending the workday at a reasonable hour like the rest of the world. I am going to turn around and start on homework so it's not really luxury but it's the thought that counts! 4 weeks and counting!

This baby giraffe was born on December 22, 2006 at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The Keepers named her Crystal, in memory of Keeper Crystal. We all think that this giraffe is something special and I can't wait to see her in person!

I thought the last class would be an intense 5 weeks but so far it's been almost an afterthought. Kind of nice after having so many classes that were almost militant in the approach to homework and activities. I'm not sure how it happened but I managed to catch the cold that's going around. For all those Airborne tablets, this cough slipped through the immune system's barriers. As usual, right before a big trip, I feel completely unprepared to hit the road. I have 6 more nights to spend in my own bed and then it's back to hotel life overseas. I only hope the cough is gone before I get on the airplane. Sunday should help. Tomorrow is the Carlsbad marathon and residents are trapped in their homes for the day. The roads are blocked and runners are everywhere. I'm going to stay in and relax.

Without any assistance from me, this plant has decided that it's time to make an entrance into the yard. So far, it's escaped the gopher radar and it's future seems to be secure. I'm not sure why the plants have made it to the blog. It's been a slow news week and work has kept me busy.

When potted plants meet gophers... Potted plants lose.

19 classes down and one to go! I am finally in the last class for school. This one looks to be routine and it focuses on ethics in business, school, and personal ethics. I'm not sure what the university thinks the students have learned about ethics, most of us have been desparate to meet the deadlines each week. I've learned to write to the grade requirement, not to what I really believe. Maybe that can be my topic on the value of being a student and applications in the workplace. Then again, I want the A, so I'll write what the instructor wants to hear. Sad, but true. In 6 weeks, I'll have forgotten it all. Who knows? I might even get to see movies in a movie theater again soon!

This is just the appetizer! LJ and I went out to Kemosabe courtesy of a Christmas gift from a friend. The food here is wonderful and this was baked brie, with jalapeno jelly sauce, and honey-smoked garlic. Drinks (no beer tonight) were a champagne cocktail on the left and a purple haze on the right. Dinner was equally huge so we ate about 20% each of our dinner and asked for doggie bags so we could move on to dessert. Really a great meal and a great splurge dinner. Yes, it's pricy but you get a great dining experience.

Another day down this week and a long day it has been. I woke up at 3:00 am and could not get back to sleep. At 3:45 am I just gave up and got out of bed. There's not much to do that early, answer a few e-mails, wait for something good on CNN, and drink lots of coffee. I did get to the beach for a pre-sunrise power walk and that helped wake me up. Then the day began and now it's time to relax. No more work or school for the night or my brain might not want to sleep again.

24 hours and no new attacks on my bank account. That's one good thing. WAMU sent a delayed 24 hour notice on my change of e-mail notification back to my own e-mail so I guess that means the hacker to be went in on Sunday night instead of Monday night. I realized today that no matter how good you think you are at changing addresses, it's never enough. Either the Post Office continues to deliver your mail to the former address even though the change form was filled out, or you just forget those once a year accounts. I think there are still two businesses to contact but I'll really find out come tax season. This is not something that I have had to deal with in a long time. It's incentive enough to stay put for a few years at least. The odds are with me that as soon as I completly unpack, it will be time to move again and start the whole cycle all over again.

Someone managed to partially get into my online Washington Mutual Account yesterday. I'm not sure how and WAMU can't assist but my e-mail was changed in the WAMU system. There were 3 e-mails this morning sent to my account stating that the e-mail had been changed. Sure enough, I logged on and there was a false e-mail there. I changed it back and changed my user name and password. 2 calls and 2 e-mails to WAMU yielded nothing. They just tell me what I already know, that my e-mail is correct. No one can look up the electronic records generated by WAMU and I just get the general be aware warning. No money was missing but I do consider the account at risk. I guess the only next steps are to monitor the account daily and keep all documentation with WAMU on file.

After 2 mishaps, I made it to see The Queen . The reason to see this movie is for the performance of Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth during the months before and the week of Diana's death. This isn't a great movie but Helen Mirren gives a great performance. The movie has been said to be impartial but it is fair to assess that while we get insights into Elizabeth and Tony Blair, Prince Philip comes off as a bully, Charles as inefficient and a reason to get rid of the monarchy, and Cherie Blair is not popular. The true story is in the relationship between the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the Queen's advisor. The three provide the enjoyable elements of the movie. While not cast, Princess Diana plays a prominent role in the film as shown in real life video clips and interviews. Diana is everywhere and this could overwhelm the story but luckily it is only mildly distracting. This is not to say I disliked the movie but after all the hype, I thought it would have been more w...

Every January, a friend and I go have our Tarot cards read to see what is in store for us. We have gone to the same person year after year and while she misses the reading on love and marriage, she's always right on about the other things. Last year, she predicted that I would travel more than I ever had (True) , I'd buy the perfect house but have to spend more than what I wanted (True), and that there would be changes at work. (Also True). She also predicted I would practically be living with a boyfriend which never materialized. I think that's wishful thinking on her part. This year's key predictions are: I will travel more in 2007 than in 2006. (It's already happening and I haven't left the ground yet) Work will get easier from March on. (It has to, I finish school Feb. 19th!) I'll decide to work more and take on new challenges. (I hate it when I do that!) I'll buy a new car. (That one is out there, in fact almost as out there as getting married.) ...

Yet another day has passed me by. It was sunny the last time I looked out the window and suddenly, it's gone dark. I can't even blame school because this has been an easy week so far. The routine of the job kept me busy all day. I have to say for as random as my job gets, today was out there. I don't think that anything that I planned to do today happened. A lot of new work came my way and luckily that also got wrapped up today. I'd almost rather be in the office. I'm tired of watching Saddam get hanged, and The Donald and Rosie both need to take behavior lessons. Small children are more well mannered than those two! At least it's a Firkin this week. Let us all hope for Oatmeal Stout. All you recent readers that were sent here by Mrs. H, well, I apologize if the blog goes on a lot about beer. Sometimes life is just meant to send good beer our way to make the Friday evenings fun. Well Jan. 4 has come and gone and I managed to book another Kuwait - Cairo trip in...

Part two of the Orlando trip involved Typhoon Lagoon at Walt Disney World. For a water park, this was was as well managed as what one would expect from Disney. Organized and fun. We lucked out and the park really wasn't full so the most we ever waited for a ride was 10 minutes. This water park features a salt water shark swim where you snorkel across a man-made lagoon. Had the water not been so cold it would have been really fantastic but at 68F I swam fast! We were sunburn free due to the lack of sun. As long as you kept moving it wasn't so bad but wet bathing suits in a cool wind isn't the best condition. At any rate, we made the best of the day and the kids went on every single water ride in the park. Adults passed on the monster slide!

Kennedy Space Center really was a fun day. We had to check out the Robots but the best part was Mission Control. The actual command center from the 60's has been left intact as an exhibit. A film goes with the exhibit that simulates the steps to launch for a mission. This was my favorite part of the day. The Space Garden had rockets, missles, and space craft of all types. We didn't make it back here until after dark but it was still impressive.

Happy New Year! My horoscope today said "use the day wisely since it will determine the theme of your 2007." (Paraphrased but close enough) If that's true, then 2007 looks to be a lot like 2006. I was at the airport at 5:30 am to catch a flight home and ended up in the slow security line. On the good side, the flight was on-time and my upgrade to first class cleared. So far, so good. Then the guy next to me kept coughing over my water glass, so that wasn't pleasant and I couldn't drink out of it and had to switch glasses. Next, the audio system went out so no music, no movie. This has happened a lot over the past few years. Then the flights to Carlsbad were delayed but I was able to get on an earlier flight so the score went back up to positive for the airlines. So if today set the tone, 2007 looks to be another up and down year of crazy flights. Next year, I'll sleep in.

First up this weekend was a trip to Kennedy Space Center. The tours here have changed since I was last there and it's now almost a full day event. The best part is getting into the giant hangers and seeing the spacecraft memorabilia and really getting the sense of what the astronaut team goes through to make space travel a reality.