Thailand Pics

My Sawngthaew to Mae Sariang

Me at Big Buddha Beach-Koh Samui

Base of the Pagoda of Wat U Mong-Chiang Mai

Doi Pui Summit-Chiang Mai

Tiger Temple-Kanchanaburi

Elephant feeding-Kanchanaburi

Floating Market-??? West of Bangkok somewhere

Wat Ji-Mae Sot, Burma in the background

Quick update (especially for overconcerned parental units)

Ok, real quick. I know I said I would try and update often, but all the places I have been don't let you plug in your camera. I have received some concerned emails, ok, one in particular. Mom, dad, I am ok. I almost wish I wouldn't have gone all that time in France without contacting you. It causes you to over-react now. Uuugggghhhh.

So, after work I went to Kanchanaburi to see a floating market and go pet some tigers (yes I have pictures, look forward to them). Then I went to Mae Sot and Mae Sariang which is along the border with Burma. I didn't cross despite still being sad about not being able to go. It was laid back, nice and mountainous. I then had one of the craziest bus rides of my life. Did you know that Thai drivers are very good? Never before had I ever been on a road in the mountains, during a turn and have a bus, 2 cars and motorcycle in 2 lanes at the same time. Very talented. Of course, my main concern was not to fall out of my seat and eventually out of the door (I thought the extra leg room was a good idea). But, I ended up with me, my luggage and my life in Chiang Mai. I took a Thai cooking class and just kind of went here and there.

I am now in Samui, which is an island. I got in, went and laid on the beach and became bored. So, I am getting certified in scuba diving. So, another thing I am up for if anyone wants to go, just let me know. I fly to Bangkok on Sunday night and then the big 24 hour travel period home the following day. I'll be home in New Orleans at 11:50 pm on Monday, November 19th.

Things I am looking forward to:

• Not hitting my head on just about everything
• Not having to use a squatter
• Being able to flush TP
• Not almost killing myself every time I cross the street (Thai's drive on the left)
• My big SOFT bed with big SOFT pillows
• Hot showers

Mom, dad, I hope this puts your mind at ease.

Bangkok

My main reason for being here in Bangkok is for work. And work has been a bummer. But today, they provided us with a "fun" day and I elected to go on a city tour. It started with a boat ride, where we rode up the river and through a klong (canal). That was pretty cool. We got to travel in tuk-tuk's to the emperor's palace. I saw the emerald buddha, which was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. But, cool, none the less. I had to kneel so I wouldn't mistakenly point my feet at buddha, which is a sign of disrespect apparently. Brenna, I know how you feel, kneeling is no fun.


After that I went shopping. It is something very new to me, I know. I haven't been in a long time and I kind of went overboard. First, we dropped this lady off at a jewelry shop. I didn't really want anything...but while walking through, they convinced me to get something for my mother, and I did. So mom, happy birthday and merry Christmas. They kept trying to push me to buy more and I kept explaining that I didn't have a girlfriend. The lady said something in Thai to the girl helping her out and then said, "she's married, otherwise you could have her." I guess it isn't too hard to find a girl here in Bangkok. But, I finally made it to the tailor shop. I really only wanted to get some white shirts. But, 9 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and $600 later...well, that sums up what happened to me. I figure I haven't been shopping in over a year and I am getting good quality, tailored clothing, it's ok.


Other things I have learned. Thai people are crazy drivers. Thai food is really good. Go-Go dancers in Thailand are not what I saw on MTV's the Real World Las Vegas. Big cities smell. Fox news is the only channel I like to watch in Thailand. It is really sad to see a 15 year old Thai girl walking around with a 50 year old fat guy. Thai is really hard to speak. As you can see, I have learned a lot.

Me and a guy named Mike in a Tuk-Tuk. I look almost happy.

A little Thai girl paying alms to buddha

The emerald buddha

A roof at the palace. Look at all the porcelain detail

Me with some cheidi

I went to bed on Friday and woke up on Sunday

So, there are a lot of things that could have happened to create this little situation. One, I could have fallen back into one of my little high school sleeping spells. Two, I could have been abducted by aliens. Three, I was on a flight that crossed the international date line and slept a lot on the flight. I have it narrowed down to either two or three. But, what I do know is, I AM IN THAILAND!!! Woo-woo!!

The flight was long, I think I spent over 24 hours travelling. I am really tired right now, but I only need to stay up for another 8 hours or so. I have some things I need to go do, so that will get me out and about. I decided that I love business class, it's going to be hard to go back to those tiny little seats. They feed you so much on international flights.

So, I will try to update my blog as much as possible. I will try to keep the writing to a minimum, because I know it can be hard to read everything. So, look forward to posts with a lot pictures. I have attached a picture of the airport garden in Singapore and a picture from my hotel room window.

My bed in Bangkok...it's nice they put that flower there

Bangkok from my window

Singapore Airport

Tennessee

I went to the Smoky Mountains again. I wanted to go in the fall time to see all the leaves change color. While driving up, I was nervous that the leaves wouldn't be changing color because everything was so green going through Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. But, it all worked out, as you can see from the picture above.

We did the same short 17 mile loop that I did in June. It was me, Dave (my roommate), Autumn, Kip and Sarah. It was just so beautiful going through all that. I am continually reminded how much I like to backpack and camp. Dave introduced Autumn and myself to some new camping techniques (see our tent).

It was a great time!! So beautiful, so great.

Utah Bonanza

After my wild and crazy time in Colorado interviewing people who think they will become the next CEO of Chevron, I headed off to Utah. It was pretty nifty. Elisabeth was there to meet at the airport, and she even had a little sign for me. But there were a ton of military people and two missionaries coming home, so her little sign seemed like a good effort. It's the thought that counts...

I've always had this weird dream of taking a girl to the sizzler. I know, I know. I really know how to treat women. So, Elisabeth was kind enough to help me make that dream come true. It's about what you would expect the sizzler to be...ok. Nothing that I would rant and rave about. Nothing to write home about, but something to write about on a blog that no one really reads.

I got to go to the Salt Lake temple. Don't worry mom, no repeats of the last time we went to the SL temple. I did you proud, and I didn't even bargain with the clothes people to give me a free clothes rental.

Somehow we ended up playing Rummikub at Alicia's. Elisabeth and Alicia wouldn't let me read the rules, but if they have ever played games with the Carroll family, they would understand my want to know and read the rules. Simply put, if you need to ask the Carroll's how to play, you're going to loose. So, we ended up playing some cheesy, unsanctioned, non-rule abiding way. And I dominated!!! I rule!!

The next day was conference, and it was pretty nifty also. We got these "way" embarrassing pictrures of Alicia trying to scalp a ticket. I posted my favorite picture of her. Elle a eu un probleme avec sa parapluie. How embarrassing!! But, it was all good. Alicia got her ticket, we all got to sit together and we had a splendid time.

I'm tired of writing, so here is the rest of the trip in a nutshell. We ate after the Saturday afternoon session and the Lion's House, delicious. I went to the preisthood session at the conference center. Elisabeth bought more clothes in a two day span than I have in the last 3 years. Elisabeth and I watched the Ultimate Gift. We got up the next day, watched general conference and I flew to Houston. Ta-dah!! C'est tout.

Home Sweet Home!!! Part Deux...

I always say that my heart resides in Colorado. And it does. I am fortunate enough to have my company send me back to my alma matter twice a year. There is nothing like traveling on the company--well, sometimes, it can get really old (I'm pretty much 2 weeks on the road today, with one more to go!!). But, this was the second of my two trips this year and we did interviews with prospective hirees (I don't know if that is a word, but if it isn't, it should be).
A little bit about my school. It is called the Colorado School of Mines (not mimes or minds). It is only the best school on the face of the earth. It is located in the best place in the whole wide world...Colorado!! And yes, the mascot is a donkey. They can be really intimidating.

But, I pretty much spent most of my time inside looking out at the beautiful weather. It pretty much stunk. Interviewing kids can be really fun...unless they are an international PhD student who is pretty much fresh off the boat trying to explain some technical thing I don't understand because A) I'm not a big technical nerd and B) their accent creates a huge language barrier. We finished with all the interviews on Wednesday. Today we spent half the day complaining about how much the hiring system stinks and how we could save the world if they would just let us run things. The other half of the day I took a walk up to castle rock. Look for the pictures of castle rock and pictures from castle rock below. It was nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

It's off to Utah tomorrow to see Elisabeth and conference. Then I leave for Houston Sunday for some more boring work stuff. I may make it home sometime.

Home Sweet Home!!!

So, my mom is always saying, "Why don't you come see us? What are you doing with all your time off?" Blah, Blah, Blah. So, I feel pseudo-moderately guilty for having all this time off and not making a trip back to my home state. And with the rental car that was given to me because of my car accident I said to myself, "Self, let's go Iowa!" There is nothing like being reminded how much you hate to drive, especially by yourself.

But, it was relaxing to stay at my parents "mini-mansion." It's a lot different than NOLA, I will give them that. And the break in heat was just what I needed. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like it hot?? I guess it has something to do with growing up in Minnesota most of my life.

I hung out in the middle of nowhere (where my parents literally live) and that was nice, for awhile. I learned a lot about Britney Spears by watching E!. Such an interesting life. Anywho, the picture of the deer is from my parents back deck looking over their backyard. Pretty nifty huh?

I also decided that since I was so close to Minnesota and didn't really have anything to do, that I wanted to go. It was nice to be back and see how much the city has changed. It isn't really the small city that I grew up in. But, I met up with my old childhood friend, Trish, who lived a block away and was the coolest kid in the neighborhood (they had a swimming pool). We went and saw the bridge and found this nifty little arcade game in the place where we ate.

My mom (she's so short!!) and I then went to the temple. I had never been there, so that was pretty interesting. They took away the hill by the Stake center that I used to run wild on. So sad!! I guess having the temple is better than having the hill. I also got to see my piano teacher, but she didn't really remember me--which is probably a good thing because I'm not really a good example of what 8 years of piano lessons should be.

The drive home was lame.

Accident

So, I can't say I'm not surprised, but I was hopeful that I could bide my time in New Orleans and not be involved in a "motor vehicle incident" (that's what Chevron calls them). I call it what it is, an accident. I'm not at fault...but it is still a PAIN in my butt. I'll let the pictures do the talking, but I feel sorry for my poor little car, la bala de plata (that's "the silver bullet" for those of you who, like myself, don't speak Spanish). Oh, and there were no injuries, so I'm alright too. Worry more about my car than me.

RAGBRAI XXXV

WARNING!!! The following contains graphic pictures of people of all shapes and sizes in spandex. Proceed at your own will.

I remember oh so well the first year of RAGBRAI. I was 11 and riding a bike 500 miles across the state of Iowa. For those of you who think Iowa is flat, I would suggest riding a bike across it and then giving your opinion of it's topography.

So, some of the legacy members of Team Blarney (our biking team) rode this year--Pat and Dave Schulte, JoEllen, mom, dad and myself. Lance Armstrong also rode this year, but he's not fast enough to join our team.

I had a special request from my sister to eat the following in honor of her: a porkchop, a smoothie and homemade ice cream. Check, check and check. I was kind of glad that I went this year because it was Mr. Porkchop's last year (I got a picture with him thank goodness).

As usual, we met some amazing people. We are impressed year after year, as people we have never met allow us to stay with them in their home. And we got to see some of the beautiful scenery Iowa has to offer. "Is this heaven?" "No this is Iowa." Name that movie!! Well, a picture below should give you a bit of a hint.

My lack of training did prove to be a bit of a problem, I was glad to see Saturday and to finally finish. Let's just say...I was sore. Enjoy the photo's (as much as you can)!!

YSA, Florida and a Lavalava. 2007.

After last year's huge ordeal with the YSA conference and swearing them off for the rest of my life, I went to another one. Something about Florida...it's this state and it is known for it's beaches and...well, I don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you who haven't been. Oddly enough, we didn't spend a lot of time at the beach, and by that, I mean no time at all.

The conference was held at this adventure camp by Pensacola. To be honest, I knew there wouldn't be much beach time, but the idea of an adventure camp and tubing did sound enticing. I won't bore you with the details and there are no real exciting stories to tell like the "Gold Digger" and "Creed air guitar" incidents of yesteryear.

Peter had just returned from Hawaii. And he came hailing gifts of lavalavas. If you don't know what a lavalava is, see the picture above. I guess there is a first time for everything.