Wander Life

Feels Like Here: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Well, I've arrived at the place that I'll be calling home for the next three weeks.  I'm still jetlagging a bit (though I was able to sleep till 5am this morning...which is better than the 4:30am-wide-awake thing I had going on yesterday), but I really can't complain - the journey was without incident, & I'm getting pretty settled. 

There's lots I could report on (like Tony - the Thai shop owner who lived in LA for 10 years; or George - the Irish bookstore owner), but I'm afraid it'll have to wait 'cause I only have about 30 seconds left of my time at this internet cafe. 

Mostly, just wanted to let you know that I made it...and I've seen N & K, so all is well.  : ) 

More soon....

Hurry, hurry...here comes the curry

Well, I just thought I better drop a note before I take off.  In a few hours, I'll be on that looooong flight back to Asia, so I might be out of touch for a while.  But when I do reconnect (and dare I say, manage a post or two?), I'll be once again in the land of mangoes and sticky rice.  That's right: Thailand. 

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures, too.  Should be good times (even if it is for work).  And I get to see some of my old pals, teammates, citymates, provincemates...and all those other peeps who make themselves scarce here in the States. 

Ok, Thailand for 30 days starts...now. 

One Last Christmas Picture Hoorah

Well, first of all, I have three more pictures from Christmas that my dad sent, so I thought I'd put those up.  Good times with family....

And other than that, not too much is new.  I've got to use this weekend to do some preparing (and shopping) for my upcoming trip to Thailand.  I'll be gone for a month, so efficiency in packing is a must.  It's a science really.

Also, you may have seen in the news that SoCal is being hit by a "storm."  I don't know about other parts of the area, but from what I'm seeing here in Pasadena, I've not been too impressed.  Sure, it was coming down pretty hard last night, but by NW standards, we'd just call that "rain."  And during summer time in Florida, we just called it "2 o'clock."  Now that's a place that gets some storms....

Anyway, that's it for now.  I may post one more time before taking off on my trip, but hopefully, I can do some posting from other there, as well.  Internet cafes are our friends.  : )      

Parading into a New Year

Well...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

My Christmas up in the Northwest was everything the holiday should be: filled with family, friends and food (turkey, ham AND prime rib - now that's the way to do it!  Although last year's duck was mighty tasty, too...).  Plus, we even had snow...on Christmas Day!  (Usually in the NW, it doesn't snow until after Christmas.  And even then, not much.)  Sure, it didn't really stick (unless slush qualifies as sticking), but still, I'm counting it.  I mean, compared to SoCal, it  was practically a blizzard.

But I can't really complain about SoCal - it certainly has its moments.  And actually today was one of them.  Knowing that this would most likely be my only chance of seeing the Rose Parade in person and considering that I live within walking distance of the route, I figured it wouldn't hurt to drag myself out of bed at 7am (ok, it hurt a little...but not too bad) and jog down to join the ranks of the million-plus people clamoring for a view of random flower-covered paper-machete type things on wheels.  Oh, the things we do for entertainment.

But actually, it was kind of cool.  Basically, the floats were as diverse as the area itself.  And that's saying something.  Just walking along the sidewalk, I saw families preparing all kinds of ethnic breakfasts and heard at least five different languages being spoken.  Even in the small little area where I had found a spot to watch from, I noticed that I was surrounded by Indians, Chinese and Latinos.  And (judging by the flag-waving) a proud group of Canadians were across the street.  Yes, indeed, I think I'm really starting to like  Pasadena.  : )

So, 'twas a pretty good way to start the year.  Tomorrow, it's back to work...for a nice three-day week.  Then I'll have just one more week of work before heading off to Thailand for a month.  Of course, that still counts as work, but...somehow it feels different.  Must be the food.  : )

      

And here area a few pictures from Christmas at home.  The one of my little bro with Boo and the one of me with my older bro and niece Clover were taken by my sis-in-law, and I liked 'em.  : )