Here and There Blog

There are surprises around every corner and building. It's easy to miss the small sights when most of your attention is captured by either the buildings or the traffic. But look around and looking back is a snail queen. And these balancing men.  Taking a selfie in the globe! Street entrance to the mosque. The Sultan mosque.

Haji Lane in Singapore is a mix of shops, restaurants, and street art that is fun to walk around. As a bonus it's near other areas of interests to tourists and takes your mind off the heat for a short time. I wish there were artist explanations. The golden C3PO early bird gets the worm? Look up at the tops of the buildings in this area. Art is not confined to walls. Cafes and shops all have their own unique art

A group of us went to dinner in PB last week and decided to walk along the boardwalk for post meal exercise. The timing was great as we arrived at the beach just in time for this great sunset!

After a day on the hunt we started at the Kennedy School for breakfast and coffee (stamp) before continuing on. Pinball was a fun and easy experience to complete. It had been a long time since I did this. Sadly, I am not a pinball wizard. Kennedy School Complete!

McMenaminS Brewpubs are one of my favorite things about Portland. The beer is good, the food is reliable, and the uniqueness of some of the historic restorations makes for a fun outing. I've been to a few of their locations and when a friend asked if I'd join her for a weekend to work on the McMenaminS Passport , it was an easy yes! Stamps in the passport are earned by visiting the hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. When doing the location stamps no purchase is needed but there are things to do, such as using a clue to find a photo.  When you do an Experience, there's usually a cost involved such a buying a beer flight, playing pinball or staying at one of the hotels. Fill up a section, get a free gift. Complete four experiences, get a $20 McMenaminS gift card. Below - I've got my flight and my passport in hand. The flat iron building is the Crystal Hotel where we stayed.

A recent trip took me to Merida, located on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. This isn't a beach resort town and it's not touristy. There are many jungle areas around and work had time for one trip out to the  Hacienda Sotuta de Peon . The buffet lunch was the best food I had in Merida so if you end up there for an event you can look forward to eating. Other than that, your interest will depend on if you like farms, heat, Hacienda history, or want to swim in a Cenote.  My picture taking was not at it's best that day so here's a little of what you'll see. Old Carriages Mules. Sightseeing is in a cart pulled by a mule. Lots of greenery. Then you climb down stairs and go underground and can swim if you like. And old cars.

What's been going on? A month without even a lazy post. Well work has been psycho.  The Anaheim office is closing down and most of the jobs are getting outsourced. The other jobs are relocating to Tennessee. My job moved and I declined the relocation offer and had a layoff notice of December 31, 2018. Then everyone panicked and started loading me up with extra work to get done before I left. Then everything changed and my job went back to "field, work from home" status and the roller coaster ride has spun into something else. So I don't know what to think but another project came my way so I'm just waiting for October when both projects should wrap. Then  I'll take life at a slower, tortoise pace. I hope! I'm off on another trip and will do some posting catch ups.