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.