Today's The Day

Ha, well I am really writing to myself here as nobody really ever reads my blog - that's ok too, as it's more for me than anyone else.

But I thought it was worthwhile to post today as I may not get on again for a while. I have yet to master blogging using this site on the iPad, so if I can't, it could be months before I get on again.

Today marks my last day in Kupang and in my current job. Some slight mixed feelings, but 99% I am happy to say goodbye to both. Both were stepping stones in my life, and we will take away some good memories and learnings. But overall, see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!

Around The World

So I wanted to post about another one of my travels. Back in 2010, not only did I meet my wife, but she also accompanied me on a trip. And I wanted to make this trip like no other! So we went around the world...

It wasn't quite as exotic, adventurous or extensive as that sounds. Quite simply, we circumnavigated the globe by flight, but actually only visited two countries (stopovers not included). This is what we did:

Fly from KL to Singapore
Fly from Singapore to London
Spend 5 days in London
Fly from London to New York
Spend 5 days in New York
Fly from New York to Denver via Minneapolis
Drive to Estes Park and stay at Stanley Hotel, exploring Rocky Mountain National Park (2 nights)
Drive to Devils Tower in Wyoming (continued below)

Drive to Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming entrance)
Drive to the Oregon / California Redwoods, via Boise
After the Redwoods, drive to Redding
Fly to Las Vegas
Spend 5 days in Vegas
Fly to Hawaii
Spend 5 days in Hawaii
Fly home

So it was a hell of a trip! I think it was about 40 days all told. And we loved every minute of it. I don't really want to write a book here, so I think I'll just write a paragraph on each spot we visited, and include one photo. Hopefully that will make it brief enough. If anything stands out as needing more, well maybe that will require a post of its own!

1) KL - London (&NYC)

Normally one wouldn't post about mundane things such as flights, but in this case I had to! Because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, flying First Class to London from Singapore. For the two of us, I had enough FF points to do that, as well as stay in London, as well as fly to New York in Business Class. It was frigging near half a million points by the end of it, but it all went to a damn good cause! We flew British Airways, which frankly was not as luxurious as something like Emirates, and because it was overnight I slept most of the way, but it was a lovely experience nonetheless. We arrived in London a lot fresher than we otherwise might of I think.

2) London

I could have posted pics of any of the ubiquitous and awesome London landmarks, but instead I thought I'd post something that makes London such a special and unique place - one of the many tiny pubs that one can find just about anywhere - in this instance, hidden away from the main drag on a small suburban street. Wifey and I loved London, and probably rate it as our favourite city in the world - to visit at least anyway. This pub we visited after a very long walk, and sat next to a group of Irish fellows in town for a rugby match. They all had thick accents, so much so that wifey couldn't understand a word any of them were saying. I was ok with three, but the fourth - I was certain he was speaking another language! But his mate assured me he was speaking English. We all had a good laugh over that.

3) New York

Once again, I could wax lyrically about all the wonderful aspects of NYC that make it one of the great World Cities. But hey, everyone knows all about that. I could have also posted a pic of me eating a pastrami sandwich almost as big as my head - frankly, nobody does sandwiches like the yanks do, they are simply awesome. But this pic is of Anthony Bourdain's restaurant at the time - Les Halles - where we went for dinner one night. I write about it not because it was super food (it was good, but a bit of a gimmick frankly) but because in NYC, almost like no other place, so much is about celebrity. Being famous in NYC is very important to a lot of people. Moreso than anywhere else I have ever been. We always had a soft spot for Tony, loved his books and shows, so it was a very obvious choice for us for our higher-class night out!

4) Stanley Hotel

Getting specific this time. Colorado is an incredible place, that is for sure and certain. But we came here for one destination - The Stanley Hotel. Featured in Kubrick's original The Shining, whilst that movie/book is fiction, this place has a long history of its own when it comes to the paranormal. It is well over 100 years old, is amazing both inside and out, and exudes incredible character and mystery. Wifey had an experience while there, and I caught some amazing orbs and such on camera. Not sure if dust or something else, but in any event, we had a wonderful time in this historic place.

5) Devil's Tower

America is amazing. From many perspectives, but particularly geological. So many of the most incredible unique features to be found in the world are here. This place is one of them. It is a butte, and whilst it looks like columnar basalt, it's actually a porphyry. I had to come here for two reasons - one for the geology, but also because this is an iconic location for sci-fi movie buffs, of which I am one. Close Encounters of The Third Kind is an old movie now, but still resonates with me. One of the all-time classics.

6) Yellowstone

Another geology-focused part of the trip. To think this is a super-volcano is quite humbling and quite numbing. When it erupts again - and it is overdue, luckily geologically-speaking that could mean another 10,000 years - it is going to wipe out half the planet, if not more. The immense power of nature is staggering. I have been to hot springs before, but this dwarfs any other experience. It is amazing, beautiful, and sobering.

7) Redwoods

The photo speaks for itself. Another truly breathtaking example of nature. These trees are pure majesty. Whether or not any kind of sentience resides within them, they exude the purest essence of life, in a very ethereal, yet powerful way. This was my second trip here. I just had to share this with wifey. A very special part of the world.

8) Vegas

https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ka That was our cultural experience in Vegas. A truly magnificent and entertaining show! No photos here as the rest of Vegas is well, Vegas. Gaudy, neon, full facade. It's a kind of love or hate place, and it is not an iconic cultural experience. But I think people are too critical of Vegas. It doesn't pretend to be anything - all it aspired to is a place to entertain, and entertain absolutely everybody. So yeah there's all the glitz and glamour. But there are all the seediest elements of society there too, right in-your-face. So if you don't expect it to be another NYC, and just take it as it is and let your hair down, you can have amazing fun here. Like we did :)

9) Hawaii

This might seem a bit odd a photo to include, considering the coolness of Waikiki Beach where we spent a lot of time, and the historical significance of Pearl Harbour. But this photo tells a story about Hawaii, Honolulu at least anyway. It was so incredibly lush, green and lovely. Especially where we were staying, with this lovely old lady in a homestay on the hill near the beach. Far out it was just a beautiful house and wonderful experience. http://diamondheadbnb.com/index.html It was actually a really nice way to end the trip as we were a bit tuckered out by then, so a fair bit of R&R was called for. We even canned a planned trip to the Big Island to see the volcano just so we could chill.

Motivating Me

So on our recent holiday I spend a little bit of time looking inwardly,  and asked myself this question: What is it that I actually like? I mean there are things I spend my time on obviously, but to avoid being an NPC (as wifey puts it) I think one needs to attack life and not just let it happen. Of course spending a lot of time with family is not just letting things happen, but I'm talking more about my own personal interests. So I thought I'd issue myself a Pepsi Challenge and see what I can do about upping the ante in this regard. First things first, let's list down everything that interests me, at least everything I can think of;

1 I'm interested in the unknown, either paranormal or lost history
2 I'm interested in travelling, going to new places
3 I'm interested in good food
4 I'm interested in reading
5 I'm interested in decent movies and TV shows
6 I'm interested in music
7 I'm interested in writing
8 I'm interested in managing my photos better
9 I'm interested in building a Lego city
10 I'm interested in self-sustainability
11 I'm interested in retiring early, not at 65 or later
12 I'm interested in improving my health
13 I'm interested in watching my kids grow and supporting them
14 I'm interested in being a good husband and loving my wife
15 I'm interested in sports, especially cricket, AFL and rugby
16 I'm interested in computer games
17 I'm interested in treasure hunting and following others doing it
18 I'm interested in rocks and minerals
19 I'm interested in being part of a decent organisation
20 I'm interested in being a good leader
21 I'm interested in socialising with my friends

Ok I think that covers it. At least from the point of view that pretty much 100% of my adult life can be put into those various activities.

So I've rated these in terms of whether they are critical, important, nice, or less important.

The formatting on this bloody thing is not working for me at the moment. So I am going to post this now and move on to the next step in another post. I will be focusing only on the critical and important items in that list to start with.

The Arse

Yep that's right, I have been given the arse. The only time in my entire career that's happened to me. I was made redundant once early on, and left another job because it was untenable to continue. But this is the first time I've been told "we're letting you go".

The bastards. They beat me to it. I could rant, but frankly this is the outcome I wanted anyway. I just wanted to have a job first before I jumped. So with my notice period, I can't complain. We're moving back to Malaysia to live in wifey's parents house. We should be right there for a good six months I reckon. I should have another job well within that timeframe anyway.

So, at the end of next week, it's bye-bye Kupang. With any luck we'll never be back. It has been an experience, and I have learned a few things about myself in that time. So that's a good thing.

But boy oh boy I am sick of working for companies with no money. That ain't ever happening again.

Thanks for the last 15 months. It was the get-out-of-jail card we needed at the time, but now it's time to move on again.

My current boss (great bloke) told me to think about perception. As much as I hate the idea, because it's the output that matters to me, he's right. I can have my own opinions all I want, but I have to respect the fact that most others think differently to me, and they all think along the same lines: as a manager you should be well-dressed. As a manager you should work your full hours. As a manager you should be seen to be positive and committed at all times.

I haven't done those things here. Not often enough anyway. I wear shorts to work. I go home early and take long lunches, because there's no fucking work to do. And I didn't socialise with our local shareholders at the BOD meeting last week because I don't like them. What I do outside work hours is my own business.

When the work was there and I was pumping out some good shit, those kinds of things were tolerated. The work has dried up, and I guess my attitude probably came across as not giving a shit. That is entirely untrue, but as my boss said, perception. It does matter. I'll take that on board mate. I will try not be so selfish with my attitude professionally in the future.