Thoughts from the Copthorne hotel.

I woke up the other morning from a bad dream. I was in the hotel lobby in a panic b/c I had a pocket full of room keys and couldn't remember the room number. This is pretty much the past weeks in a nut shell. I know my blogs have been a bit "random" these days. 1 day Tennessee, the next Qingdao?? Not sure i even knew where that was before this trip. But none the less, it's been a heckuva trip! I'm exactly 1 month in and exactly 1 month to go.

So what am i doing? One theory is i'm a few months away from my 30th! So perhaps it's a feeling of seeing the world before then. =) Actually though, the job i took 10 months ago ended up being the jackpot! I'm 1 of 4 consultants in our company who has been tasked with implementing Process Improvement in our organization. This means lots of workshops, trainings, and guiding others in our organization to think a bit differently about what they do in their jobs. We're doing this globally, thus the reason for the hop scotch across the map. I love it. I'm meeting such interesting people, trying out foods I would have never considered, and seeing parts of the world that aren't typically on top of the "to-do" list. and when I return in April, it slows down quite alot. So now is my time and i'm taking advantage of it. For you never know how long the door will be open.

Having said that- I am quite tired, sometimes not sure where I am when I wake up, and feel that i'm sometimes running on full speed when others around are walking around. I miss my friends, my family, my Ricky, and my little Addie who is now talking more than I do!

And......I crave sweet tea.

Freezing!

You've probably seen this location before- but not with the man swimming in the ice by the boats! (see bottom left of 1st boat). That's a Copenhagen winter for you! We went from 95 degrees in Singapore to around 15 degrees in Copenhagen in apx 12 hours! Luckily the best part awaits us- South Africa here we come!

Singapore for the day

24 hours in Singapore on our way from Jakarta to Copenhagen for work. Just in time for Chinese New Year's Eve...... the Peach Blossoms at the Quay..... and a taste of the Singapore Sling at the famous Raffles Hotel. We stayed at the Hilton on Orchard Street, right in the heart of the shopping district or Asia's 5th Avenue. After a long walk thru the city, managed to relax by the pool before flying out.

1st of 23 flights! Jakarta....

I survived the first week! and quite nicely I must say..... On February 3rd I left Knoxville for 61 days on the road for work (and a few vacation stops). 6 flights later and I arrive in Jakarta for a week of Process Excellence workshops with 21 participants from Southeast Asia. Luckily after 48 hours of flying I was able to get a $20 massage at the hotel! That's 1/8th of what we paid at Opryland!!

Looking at the pictures makes me miss these guys already. What incredible hospitality from Indonesia and such friendly people. We managed to get out a few nights for some local Indonesian cuisine. A bit spicy, but quite tasty. Satay was my favorite. I'm back again in 4 weeks, so I'll try to be a bit more creative and take a few more shots of the crazy traffic scenes.

We hang around in London Town......

In between 2 weeks in Copenhagen for work and 3 days in Charlotte to pack and pay bills..... I managed to meet a close friend of mine in London =) So with 48 hours, what do you do??? Everything! Walked thru Hyde Park, Fish and Chips for lunch, Shopped around Oxford Circus, Tea and Crumpets (or maybe it was a Cappucino....), Took the London Eye for a nice sunset view, strolled by Big Ben (Parliament), dinner out and caught the late show of Mamma Mia. Day 2........ (breathe....) catch a train to Cambridge to see where Ricardo spent a year in college, walk the campus, visit the old town, back to London for an evening at Camden Market and a nice Thai dinner out. so nice to have someone to share the weekend traveling with.....

Girls Weekend 2010!

The Annual Girls Weekend- this year at Opryland Hotel where we enjoyed 2 nights together- dinner, clubbin' =) and a relaxing day at the spa...... It was so nice to be around the girls again, catching up on the past few years. Looking forward to L.A. in 2011!

2010! Ringing in the decade

3 weeks in Spain! Quite a nice way to start the new decade. We had our traditional New Years in Bilbao and to celebrate Ricardo's birthday on Jan 1st! Knitted a scarf, read a book, watched 4 or 5 movies, went bowling, went skiing, went to the Guggenheim, and spent some time with my girlfriends- Silvia and Sara. A very needed time to rest and get ready for the adventures of 2010! Stay tuned....

at the Guggenheim in Bilbao

lunch at Maria and Hacier's

apres ski in the Pirrenes, our favorite place for Pinxos

3 feet of snow in 24 hours- it was beautiful, but prevented an extra day of skiing