A smile from India

I enjoy traveling to new countries and seeing and experiencing things that I wouldn't at home.  Many times these make me smile.

I ran across a sign that makes me smile.

Why did this sign amuse me so much that I asked my driver to pull over and wait by the side of the road while I hopped out and snapped the pic?

Because when the roads around you  look like this:

or this:

then this:

really does seem like this:

Around the World in 10 days

Follow the red lines - starting at the bottom of the "v" in North America and following the line east to track my journey over the next 10 days.  

Yes, I leave tomorrow for another business trip to Asia.  Meetings in India and Singapore.  5.5 days of work; 4.5 days of travel.  Or is it the other way around?  I can't keep track anymore.  Even the travel agent remarked at the large number of connections (8) and airlines (5).

What is likely to happen at home when I'm away:

• Rip will start to go feral due to lack of training and tear up some of my things
• Ziggy will drag The Husband around the yard and bark unnecessarily in the house
• Maggie will be her sweet self and sleep a lot

At any rate, I won't be posting dog stuff for more than a week, but I'll try to post some fun from the road.

My life in blogs

I have been a lackadaisical blogger lately.  I started this blog as a crazy dog blog, but lately life has taken over, and I've had less time to be a crazy dog person.  I knew I reached an interesting point when I started to think about the blogs I'm reading most now...


What I can relate to:

Through a fellow Cardi-blogger's blog,  I came across a blog called "The Everywhereist."  The blog writer writes about the "joys" of travel.   I was captivated.  I could SO relate.  I wasted a frightening amount of time on this blog last weekend.

Her air travel posts are particularly wonderful --  I've thought many of the same things she writes about - but she writes them in her blog in a humorous way.  I just grumble (or laugh) to myself.

The blog:  http://www.everywhereist.com/

The air travel posts:  http://www.everywhereist.com/category/air-travel/

My favorite so far is the 10 commandments of air travel.  They are very true, and if you fly at all you must read this before boarding the plane.  If everyone read this and followed it, the world on a plane would be a much happier place!

So read it (please):  http://www.everywhereist.com/the-ten-commandments-of-air-travel/


What I can't relate to:

Well, I can't really relate to blogs that I probably "should" be able to relate to, given that I have a dog to show and all.

Like this one on being a newbie to conformation showing:  http://dogshownewbie.blogspot.com/

Or, some of the blogs in my blog-roll that relate to competing in dog sports.

What is happening to me, and...


What should I write about?


Right now it leaves me trying to figure out what to focus on in my blog.

Some things I'm thinking

• The project that is Wagmore Farm
• Ziggy's recovery (because I am determined to post about this until the laziest of all Cardigans actually walks!)
• Rip and whatever he'll be doing in the near future

With a side of:

• Maggie as an old lady
• Work travel 
• Who knows what else

Until next time, here's one of my favorite recent photos of Rip.  Favorite because it captures Rip's personality really well.  He wants to work, I want to watch TV.  Guess who won?

India - On the road again - part 1

My trips to India are always eye opening regarding traffic and roads. 

On this trip, I had the opportunity to walk to work one day.  My hotel was only a couple of blocks away from one of our office buildings, so I figured why have my driver come around when I could walk?

I shared this idea with The Husband and he was not so happy.  Something about wanting me to make it home in one piece.  So picky.

I had already asked the driver to pick me up in the afternoon, so I was committed to my course of action.  I decided to take it as a trust exercise.  Forget about that silly "fall back into me"  trust exercise used at way too many team building events.  Walking in India is a trust exercise in humanity.  The roads may be crazy, but I trust that people will avoid me.

And so I walked. 

Here's a picture of my commute:

Note many other people are walking on the road, too. 

On this short stretch of the road there actually are sidewalks,

but they had construction material,

piles of dirt, and various food vendors blocking the way.

The good news is that I made it to work!  And (shh - don't tell The Husband) I walked back to the hotel, too, as one of my meetings was postponed.  Humanity earned my trust two times in one day. 

India again - a Lost in Translation moment

Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while know that I get to make a-just-about-twice-yearly trip to India.  Though I don't enjoy the long flights, I do generally enjoy my visits - though my digestive tract may beg to differ from time to time. 

I firmly believe that you've got to have a good sense of humor to travel internationally - particularly during those "lost in translation" moments.  Either that or you'll drive yourself and those around you crazy.

My lost in translation moment on this trip came after I spilled nearly all of my mouthwash.  For me, mouthwash is key in India.  Spicy food + not being able to use tap water for toothbrushing means I use a lot of mouthwash.  Unfortunately on my first night here I managed to spill most of the mouthwash I brought with me. 

After briefly pondering how I'd get by without it, and if I could ask my driver to take me to buy some (where does one buy mouthwash in India - and how to tell the driver to go there?), I remembered that I'm staying in a fancy hotel.  Fancy hotels have things like this on hand to help haphazard guests like myself.  So I looked in the hotel guide, and sure enough "mouthwash" was listed in the "forgotten items we can provide you" section.

When I was headed out the next morning, I stopped by the front desk and asked for some mouthwash.  The woman at the front desk looked puzzled by my request.  So I repeated it (though not more slowly and loudly):  "mouthwash, you know to rinse your mouth and help keep your breath fresh."  I told her I needed it either tonight or tomorrow - I still had some of my own left that hadn't spilled.  She nodded knowingly.

Back in my room later in the evening, the requested item arrived - proudly presented by one of the hotel staff.  "Your breath freshener, mam."  (and by the way, it's always "mam" - it sounds ok in an Indian accent)

Here's what he brought for me:

The world's smallest box of tic tacs!

 

I've included my normal-sized nail polish to provide some scale.

There are seriously on ly about 7-8 tic tacs in this thing.  And they're tropical cherry flavored - not what I'd consider the best breath freshener.  It really made me laugh - particularly when I thought about the conversations that must have taken place, and all of the work they went through to bring these to me.

But still, I had no mouthwash, and now my supplies were dwindling dangerously low (not to make it too dramatic, or anything).

When I went to work the next day, I unintentionally left my pathetically empty bottle of mouthwash out on the bathroom counter.  And what did I find when I arrived back?

Real mouthwash!

Thank goodness housekeeping understood.

More Singapore Pictures

Now that I'm back home I found a few more pictures to share...

Marina Sands
In the marina there is an impressive hotel, casino, and shopping complex called the Marina Sands.  Sitting atop the hotel towers is "ship."  Very cool.

The ship has a restaurant, pool, bar, and observation deck

The shell-like structure on the left is a museum

For some perspective, look for the ship in the distance...

(It's HUGE)

We went up on the observation deck

Wow what a view!

It was a gorgeous night, with perfect breeze

 Some other interesting things:

Loved the fan-like palm trees

Good to know that Singapore isn't immune to the plague that is

"early Christmas fever"

The view from my hotel room - not too bad!

I enjoyed watching the world go by

The coolest pool ever

I don't like to swim and it made me want to dive in

Unforunately, it wasn't at my hotel

No matter where you go...  there can be no escape

An entire store dedicated to Hello Kitty!

In the same shopping complex was an entire store of espadrilles

And since this is a dog blog:

I came across an impromptu dog park 

in one of the few vacant lots around

Oh, and I found out that one of my colleagues is a member of the Corgi Club of Singapore!  I saw a lovely picture of a Cardi at her desk, and just had to ask.  Unfortunately he passed away 2 weeks ago. Hugs to her from me and The Trio.

Singapore pictures

For the past week I've been on business travel in Singapore.  I've never been here before, and didn't quite know what to expect.  I leave tonight, but thought I'd share a bit before I leave.

Some things that stood out for me:

• This city is CLEAN!  No trash, no smog.  Very unusual for a big city.
• The restaurants are good and plentiful.  Since I've been here I've had microbrews, pub food, tapas, Australian food, Chinese food, Japanese food, and Italian.  Yum.
• The cabs are relatively inexpensive, clean, and the cab drivers aren't scary in any way.
• Though I like Singapore, my hair does not.  Note to self:  don't move to the tropics if you want your hair to look good.

Here are some pictures of the city:

I took a boat cruise along the river and into the marina.

It was a good way to see some parts of the city, and get a

little history lesson along the way.

Old houses along the river with modern skyscrapers looming over

An old hotel and bridge

Thanks to the Brits for both of these

The famous Merlion (mermaid-lion) statue

The "double helix" bridge in the marina

A good perspective on the river

Love the rainbow colors on this building's shutters

Here's another view of the same building -

showing the rainbow color pattern

I'll be home soon

The last couple of weeks for me have been busy with travel.  Here's an overview:

Indiana

It started with a 2 day road trip to Bloomington, Indiana.  I was part of the judging panel for the business case portion of the Indiana University Young Women's Institute.  The YMI is a program for bright, over-achieving high school girls.  In the week-long program, the young women learn about business, and work on a business case.  At the end of the week, the teams present their business case in front of their parents, friends, and panel of judges.

This is my second year to help out, and I LOVE it.  The young women are driven, smart, dedicated, and impress the heck out of me.  I hope that all of them join the business world.  We need them!

Germany & The Netherlands

I was home for one night, then off to the airport for a trip to Germany.  The hightlight of my trip was a day trip to one of our factories in The Netherlands.  I'd never visisted the country before, so I talked my colleagues into taking me somewhere "Dutch."

Here's what I saw:

The center of town in the middle of the day.

Lots of pedestrians and cyclists.

The old town hall building.

The bottom floor is now a restaurant.

So why not stop for an afternoon snack?

Apple cake and coffee.

My colleagues tell me this is a traditional Dutch afternoon snack. 

It was yummy and I'm not even a fan of apple-y pastries.

This day-trip convinced me that - on my next work trip to Germany - I need to fly into Amersterdam and spend a couple of days before starting work.  Apparently it's only a 3 hr train ride away from the office.

Des Moines

The day after I got home from Germany I got up early (4am) to drive to Des Moines.  Rip and I are attending a 3-day Laura Romanik obedience seminar.  I've picked up a couple good tips so far.  I'll do a post in the next couple of days to share some of what I've learned.

I'm looking forward to heading home tomorrow night and sleeping in my own bed for a change!

UK Trip 2011 - Around London

On this trip, we made an attempt to do more "touristy" things while in London.  As you know, I went to the Flower Show.  The Husband, The Child, and I also went to the London Eye and went to see The Lion King on stage.

Here are some pictures from our wandering around town

Here's the London Eye.  

It's the most visited tourist attraction in London.

If you're a kid, you want to go in the red car.

Then you ask your parents why you didn't get that one.

Your parents explain the "luck of the draw" and how,

if you inherit their luck, you'll never get it.

Great views of London are what makes the Eye so popular...

A view of the Houses of Parliament  and Westminster Abbey.

We decided to take the bus around London.  Buses are less crowded than the Tube (underground trains).  They're also cheaper, The Child loves sitting up top, and you get to see a lot more of London.  Here's some of what we saw:

Isn't the view from the bus great?

The Child and his stuffed cat love the front of the bus.

Here we're headed towards Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square

The River Thames, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben

The back of Westminster Abbey

The front of the Abbey

Big Ben!  With the London Eye in the background.

Headed towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Note the road sign...

Now look what it says.

Isn't that polite?  That's so British!

UK Trip - More Chelsea Flower Show

I've finally been able to download all the UK pictures, so I thought I'd share more from the Flower Show

One of the small gardens.

Doesn't this look like a relaxing place to sit?

Another of the award-winning show gardens.

I love the paths through the plantings.

I love the woodland feel of this garden.

It made me want to take a walk in the woods.

I thought these large rattan planters were fantastic.

This was all on a hard surface.

What a great alternative to terra cotta pots or barrel planters...

Now for some of the more "whimsical" aspects of the show

What is a flower show without somebody dressed up as...

just what is she dressed up as...?

A flower bride?

Fun nonetheless.

How's this for a floral seat cover?

This display was fun.  

All-floral jockey's silks.

Note the horse clearing the hedge in the background.

How's this for a chicken coop?

If you want a happy hen, you'll order one...

I even found a dog in one of the gardens!