Here and There Blog

Only a couple hours away from real food! The second Hardee's in Pakistan opened today in Lahore. We had paparazzi to cover the opening ceremony. Karen, Carmella (US Consulate), Sohail, Usman Waiting for the first order to arrive.

The apples sellers set-up their carts all along the road so if you're hungry, you can always get a bag of apples. I thought about buying one just to do it but then I watched this guy knock over the scale below that had apples in it and they went all over the place and then back into the cart. So no apples for me.

Directions, traffic rules. Who needs them when you've got to get to the other side of the road? Our driver took a right instead of a left and bumper cars are off! The donkey seems the least bothered by the situation. The Tuk - Tuk drivers are going with the attitude of if they don't look, you don't exist.

This post was going to be about fun shopping Lahore until I looked at one of the work related photos. When I took the picture of this building, I was on the roof of a building and taking shots of the surrounding area. This structure caught my eye and I wanted to show something different. This morning I realized I had the man in the picture, looking at me as I took the photo. Yesterday I didn't even notice him. Fast forward to a few hours later when I went to spend my airline money on new clothes so I wouldn't have to wear the same outfit every day. We went to StoneAge so I could get some basic jean/shirts and now I'm settled in. I have to say I was surprised that the first pair of jeans I tried on fit and finding work shirts was somewhat of a limited choice but that made it easier since I really wasn't up for wearing long flowing clothes at work. I put my clothes out to show you that fashion in Lahore could fit into fashion in California. Then I looked at the man in ...

Looks pretty much the same as last time! Back again! Kuwait Airways cancelled my ticket but then reissued it with no problem but failed to send my luggage onward. So PIA is going to forward it to me and and some point on Saturday I should be reunited with my bag. I even received $77 in Pakistani Rupee as compensation. Impressive because I've never flown PIA and it wasn't even their fault. We were lucky to get in because the fog has been so dense (but not at the time of this photo) that all night flights were cancelled. I'm off for coffee now.

48 hours or so of travel begins! I leave San Diego at 7:00 am since every time I'm on the later flight to DC, the flight is delayed and I hear my name being paged for last call as I run from the D to C concourse and hope for the best. After transit to Kuwait, I have a 8 hour layover (staying in the airport) and I hope I wake up for the flight to Lahore at 02:20 am. Luckily, I think someone is meeting up with me in Kuwait and he can wake me up. So here I go for round 2 at last! At least this time I will get to have a different drive to/from work to photograph and enjoy. Almost every sweater I own is packed. Lahore is cold! I won't be updating GPS location as much. The roaming bill from last time was more than sky high!

Barley and Hops - the local Temecula spot for great burgers and drinks! Too much time had passed since we last gathered so this weekend was perfect for getting caught up. The crew: Roy, Jennifer, Rae, Jessica, Margaret, Rhonda Me and Jennifer, and below, with Roy

Yesterday I bought a ticket to go to Pakistan this Tuesday but I'm not 100% sure I'm going. I could end up with a stop in Kuwait, not get on the plane, or go to Pakistan as planned. 4 days and counting. I don't think I have hotel rooms anywhere yet but I'm sure it will all work out. If this happens, my travel life is looking like two weeks in Pakistan, a few days home, a few days in St. Louis, Kenya trip for 10 days, home for a few days, and finish off Feb. in Pago Pago . Stay tuned!

First a Windows 7 vent. Facebook aps freeze up all the time. AOL 9 doesn't load. Forgot my Digsby password (well, that was me, not Windows), and the new browser feature is nothing that couldn't be modified from previous versions. I worked and stuff got done. Yay me. I found a website that shows the cabin for this year's Cruise Trek is on the Giotto deck and I was happy to see that no cinema, dining room or other is above or below that deck. I refrained from shopping for flights since I have to wait until after the Feb trips to have the miles. The miles to fly in style that is...no coach for this trip! A simple but great start to the week. Not counting Facebook / Windows 7 current spat.

Didn't blog all week but nothing much to report. Was feeling sick so my beverage of choice all week was Nyquil and that did the trick to get me to sleep way more than normal! So today is going by fast as I catch up to the weeds that overtook the yard, the FedEx boxes that seem to be everywhere and reminding the spiders who is boss of the house. I'm also tackling the Windows 7 upgrade from Vista. It looks nearly done and I can restore files and then install Photoshop since it's about time I learn to use that program and do cool stuff with my pictures. In the meantime I'm amusing myself for hunting for great airfare bargains and looking for mileage awards. Nothing yet but I'm hopeful that in March the bargains will open up. Well the Windows set-up box has appeared so I'm switching focus now to the other computer. Have a great weekend!

The yummy Brazilian steakhouse in downtown San Diego! You can eat and eat and the food still tastes good.

I have 2010 CruiseTrek fever. Had to look up the Costa shore excursions for our ports today. I love it when the year turns and I can begin the countdown.

As a frequent flying traveler, I was happy that Up in the Air is less about miles and points and places the focus on people and relationships. Work takes a toll on all personal relationships and this is heightened by travel that places people in a bubble world and out of touch with everyday life. This disconnect and how important the personal connection can be is the theme of Up in the Air. The core cast is 3 people: the business traveler, his unwilling/unwanted apprentice, and the sometimes fling. These three each approach relationships in a different way and through their life on and off the road we're confronted by their realities. Sometimes what we're given makes sense, other times it seems a bit exaggerated for the point of story telling. Up in the Air is nominated for all sorts of awards and I'm sure this will continue. I wouldn't put this as a best picture or best actor but then again, this has been a weak year for strong movies. I enjoyed the movie and the pa...