never mind

i got a card this year - probably because his pharmacy counter faces the card aisle so that's all he sees ! :roll:

off subject - i sent our vet flowers friday because she is just so good with dory, and she called today to check on dog and thank us for the flowers. she almost started crying and said it was about the nicest thing anyone had done for her. she is such an awesome vet, and dory is totally enamoured of her.

that was so sweet of you! she was probably shocked. people who do good things rarely get the recognition they deserve these days.

true. we don't even need a thread for relevant discussion anymore. just random thoughts, a joke here and there, avatar changes a few times a week, smoking/cussing/drinking on certain evenings, and mostly mindless drivel - or anything lighthearted and fun and cute and whatever....

Welcome to the Mindless Drivel Thread... soon we'll be giving out a Drivel Award each week.

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!:clap_1: :clap_1: Right up my Allie....

Random thought: I had a bean and beef burrito with chili and cheese for supper.

Next random thought: Never mind

Random thought: I had a bean and beef burrito with chili and cheese for supper.

Next random thought: Never mind

BC - do you have the vapors?

you are a nut!

Well, Toots and DD (and others, of course):

I'm here in Hong Kong by myself. I teach executive education courses ("developing the manager in you" for 3 days and "high performing teams" for two days) in Hong Kong twice a year (october and june). It is fun, though a bit high pressure because I'm "on" for 5 days in a row. I've been doing this for about 3 years now and I'll probably do it for about 3 more years (maybe longer).

I don't really get around much here in Hong Kong because I'm usually preparing for teaching or actually doing the teaching. As the kids get older, I'll probably stay a little longer and see more of the area. For now, I use the time before I teach to pamper myself (had a nice massage yesterday).

I eat well (though I am behaving myself more than usual because of the SoWell on SoWal thread...) and have a room at the hotel with a great view of the harbor. The food is wonderful. In Hong Kong, the hotels have some of the best foods and people often go to the hotel restaurants when they want to eat out. I eat mostly Asian food when here, though there are restaurants with any kind of food. Last time I was here, we went to a noodle bar which had all different kinds of Asian noodles, vegetables, meats, seafood, broths, and we made our own noodle bowls (I like the Thai coconut milk broth with shrimp and some greens). I think noodle bars are quite popular here, and I think they'd do very well in a big city in the U.S. (maybe we already have them in the US).

Though I don't see much of the city, I do get to meet interesting people through the teaching and that's pretty special. I get a good sense of what people care about with their work, how we're pretty much similar overall, with some interesting differences.

The only downside of this trip so far is that I really screwed up that book order for teaching a course I start teaching a few days after I get back to the U.S. so I'm bummed about that (but I'll get over it). It's just harder to fix a problem like that from a distance.

Oh well...

Why are there not any good shows on tv on Saturday night?

amazing work paula. how fortunate you are to travel and experience so much while working.

glad you are pampering yourself and eating well. BUT, we expect to see you in Sowell on Monday with a weigh in / progress report. Geographic location is no excuse! JK. you can wait til you return... you've got enough to think about.

take care and thanks for the report.

oh, since otter isn't on tonight I'll go ahead and ask on his behalf: got pix?:roll:

Well, Toots and DD (and others, of course):

I'm here in Hong Kong by myself. I teach executive education courses ("developing the manager in you" for 3 days and "high performing teams" for two days) in Hong Kong twice a year (october and june). It is fun, though a bit high pressure because I'm "on" for 5 days in a row. I've been doing this for about 3 years now and I'll probably do it for about 3 more years (maybe longer).

I don't really get around much here in Hong Kong because I'm usually preparing for teaching or actually doing the teaching. As the kids get older, I'll probably stay a little longer and see more of the area. For now, I use the time before I teach to pamper myself (had a nice massage yesterday).

I eat well (though I am behaving myself more than usual because of the SoWell on SoWal thread...) and have a room at the hotel with a great view of the harbor. The food is wonderful. In Hong Kong, the hotels have some of the best foods and people often go to the hotel restaurants when they want to eat out. I eat mostly Asian food when here, though there are restaurants with any kind of food. Last time I was here, we went to a noodle bar which had all different kinds of Asian noodles, vegetables, meats, seafood, broths, and we made our own noodle bowls (I like the Thai coconut milk broth with shrimp and some greens). I think noodle bars are quite popular here, and I think they'd do very well in a big city in the U.S. (maybe we already have them in the US).

Though I don't see much of the city, I do get to meet interesting people through the teaching and that's pretty special. I get a good sense of what people care about with their work, how we're pretty much similar overall, with some interesting differences.

The only downside of this trip so far is that I really screwed up that book order for teaching a course I start teaching a few days after I get back to the U.S. so I'm bummed about that (but I'll get over it). It's just harder to fix a problem like that from a distance.

Oh well...

Paula,
I was thinking about you the other day and here you are somewhere across the world. Enjoy your time in Hong Kong and the good yummies.
Safe trip home. I am sure you will figure out a solution for the book issue.
Need any help?

:idea: great idea Mango! you can fix the problem for paula in her absence! why didn't I think of that?

:idea: great idea Mango! you can fix the problem for paula in her absence! why didn't I think of that?

I ate a smoked turkey leg the size of a Terradactyl. I have some kind of Flintstones virus. Guess you could say I am PUT. I can do anything now.

I ate a smoked turkey leg the size of a Terradactyl. I have some kind of Flintstones virus. Guess you could say I am PUT. I can do anything now.

I had turkey tonight too! but I didn't acquire pteradactyl abilities!

well, I'm off to bed wenches. I'll leave you with a page from one of our favorite night time stories...

Thanks, Mango, for the kind offer to fix the book order screw up I had. I'm coteaching that course with a colleague so he's going to fix the problem, but I'm just annoyed. Oh well, the rest of the class should go smoothly... It's a new course so we'll be making a few mistakes as we go along this first time.

As for Monday's weigh-in Tootsie on SoWell on SoWal, I'm going to use the excuse that I don't know how to translate kilos into pounds But, I think I did very well today thank you very much -- swam some laps in the pool and then had an orange for lunch to make up for my hearty breakfast. And tonight I'll have some light sandwiches at cocktail hour in the lounge (followed by a nice sweet cream torte).

Random and off subject...I have completely lost my ability to appreciate a good thunderstorm.

Back on subject...pamper yourself? Whatever I think you're just doing the bare minimum to gear up for such a grueling week. I used to train, and would be completely stressed if I had classes scheduled back to back so that I had to be 'on' for more than three days in a row. Training was the most exhausting thing I ever did professionally. I don't think it would have been possible for me to fly half way around the world and then do five days of classes. My hat is off to you.

I loved your post. It took my mind off the storm, but gave me a craving for good Asian food...like a bowl of pho tai.

Paula, it sounds wonderful. Especially the food!! Have a safe return home and weigh in when you can!!

Random and off subject...I have completely lost my ability to appreciate a good thunderstorm.

Back on subject...pamper yourself? Whatever I think you're just doing the bare minimum to gear up for such a grueling week. I used to train, and would be completely stressed if I had classes scheduled back to back so that I had to be 'on' for more than three days in a row. Training was the most exhausting thing I ever did professionally. I don't think it would have been possible for me to fly half way around the world and then do five days of classes. My hat is off to you.

I loved your post. It took my mind off the storm, but gave me a craving for good Asian food...like a bowl of pho tai.

i'm right there with ya rapunzy - i despise storms now as an adult, loved them as a kid..

paula you are an adventurous lady ! i would be scared to death, but then we all know i don't have much adventure in me....i don't really travel well unless it is to sowal..

Paula, what a wonderful thing you are able to do! How funn to have the oppertunity! :clap_1:

Random and off subject...I have completely lost my ability to appreciate a good thunderstorm.

Back on subject...pamper yourself? Whatever I think you're just doing the bare minimum to gear up for such a grueling week. I used to train, and would be completely stressed if I had classes scheduled back to back so that I had to be 'on' for more than three days in a row. Training was the most exhausting thing I ever did professionally. I don't think it would have been possible for me to fly half way around the world and then do five days of classes. My hat is off to you.

I loved your post. It took my mind off the storm, but gave me a craving for good Asian food...like a bowl of pho tai.

Rapper - what kind of training? and what storm?

Rapper - what kind of training? and what storm?

What storm? No way! You didn't hear it? About 4:15 there was this huge loud boom and whine...in my half sleep state I thought it was Eglin doing bomb practice right on the bay. I was terrified. I think I have some PTSD issues from New Orleans or something...maybe it wasn't really bad.

What kind of training? I taught 'Blue School' for BCBS. My two classes were Customer Service Communications and Insurance 101: Understanding the Business. After that, I taught the communications class and Maximizing Reimbursements for a hospital system. It's good to be retired.

You seriously didn't hear the storm?

What storm? No way! You didn't hear it? About 4:15 there was this huge loud boom and whine...in my half sleep state I thought it was Eglin doing bomb practice right on the bay. I was terrified. I think I have some PTSD issues from New Orleans or something...maybe it wasn't really bad.

You seriously didn't hear the storm?

I think I was dead cause I did not hear a thing. and we have a metal roof. even a small shower sounds like a tornado...

Its raining here right now, the kind of day you just want to curl up and watch movies all day But I have to go make some money and paint a wall

Yup, this Hong Kong training is indeed tiring, especially because I'm in the opposite time zone. But I used Tylenol PM for the first two nights and I'm pretty well adjusted now to the time zone. As for the training itself, I start this morning and I plan the first day to be the things that I do pretty easily (and a few videos and teamwork) so I'm not "on" all day. I'll be exhausted tonight and I'll get room service probably and just crash in the room after stopping by the lounge for a glass of wine (or maybe gin and tonic tonight or a specialty margarita).

Thursday and Friday will be the most difficult because it's only the second time I'm teaching the course so I have to be more on top of it and I'm a bit more anxious and I'll be more tired then.

As for risk-taking, I can't figure out if I'm a low or high risk-taker. Probably medium. This doesn't feel as risky for me anymore because I'm used to it -- I'd love to go to India sometime and that would feel like more of a risk. Our business school is connected to a charity hospital for the blind in India and I'm getting tempted to ask to go on one of the trips sometime.

Well, thanks for all your support SoWallers. I'm off to take a morning bubble bath, eat breakfast, and start teaching...

I absolutely despise pantyhose. Enough said.

I absolutely despise pantyhose. Enough said.

Worst thing ever.

My dog is outside and sound asleep on top of a big pile of sand. A big hill that he created all by himself. He looks very comfy.