Thailand - Bangkok

After 4 long and crazy days in Dubai, I have headed for Thailand. In Bangkok I got to spend time with my friend Chalit whom also went to USIU-E and who was kind to look after me then and now. Seeing Bangkok with a native is wonderful. I got to see places and eat at places the average tourist does not. The Thai are serious about their food and basically we planned what we were going to do around great food. Everything is fresh and spicy...I am in food heaven! I am still sleep deprived but am slowly adjusting to this time zone....slowly. The fact that I am typing this Blog at 1:13 AM may not be the best evidence, but I am closer I think. I took a nap today which might be the problem. Oh well, I get to sleep in tomorrow.

So far nothing is what I have expected. Bangkok is a lot like LA...big, smoggy and on the move. Traffic is constant and it was by the sheer skill and knowledge of Chalit that we made it anywhere. It took me a couple of days to realize they drive on the left...too long in the UK, I swear I do not know the difference anymore. It becomes a problem; however, when both sides seem wrong. Luckily I was not not driving...I would have just drove in the middle of the road. Driving in Thailand is not for the meek...between the trucks, cars and motorbikes, it is insanity on wheels. Add pedestrians in the mix and you begin to wonder why there are not more fatalities. I had my fortune told at the Grand Palace Temple, he said I would live a long life so I just held on and took deep breaths...I survived.

I landed on Chinese New Year Day (year of the Ox) so Chalit took me to his families for lunch to celebrate...more amazing food. It was neat to learn about the traditions and see the red everywhere. It is a holiday so many places were closed, which was just as well since it turns out I only needed one day to spend all my money. I am sleepy, feeling old cus my ankles have swelled up due to the heat. I was told on Facebook by my friend Matty that whining on vacation was not allowed so I am trying to suck it up...the Motrin makes sucking it up a bit easier ;-) So fat ankles aside, I am having a ball.

Dubai - The USIU-E Reunion

It was a whirlwind day, I left the Inauguration and headed to the airport for a 13 hour flight to Dubai. I am still trying to catch up on sleep a week later ;-) I landed in the evening, walked around Festival City, called a friend and met up with the first lot of IUE folks for drinks. I made it to bed at 4:30AM. Everyday for the next four proceeded similarly. It was great to see my friends from college whom have not changed much at all. A few pounds, a few wives, a few kids...but basically the same. We picked up where we left off and many still can drink like they did 20 years ago...I was not one of them.

Besides seeing everyone, eating way too much and walking every inch of the shopping miles, the highlight had to be going to a dance bar where...you guessed it...woman dance for money...fully clothed and the men send tiaras. Go figure. All the woman from our group were like, "why are we here?" It was a good laugh though and really any excuse to spend time together was OK.

So, Dubai is truly in the desert...there are a million and one cranes in the air and at the moment, motionless. They have been hit hard as well economically and are trying to regroup. It will take time. When do you think the male leaders of the world will realize we are interconnected? Nothing happens in isolation anymore...they need to be more thoughtful...find their feminine side...something!

Tangent aside (whew), Marwan, Walid and Yehia spent my last day with me, keeping me entertained from lunch until they dropped me at the airport at 8 PM. We laughed a lot and reminesced. I remembered why I loved them. I am glad I made the effort and hope we don't wait 20 more years.

Highlights:

• Water for the tub coming out of the ceiling in the Intercontinental Hotel
• Sharing a room with Ben, Jacs and family for last two nights
• Turkish delight
• Dancing on the Dhow dinner trip
• Trying to remember everyone (and their wives) names
• Lunch with the boys
• Seeing Ski Dubai
• My little pink skirt
  

Inauguration Day - A Few Days Later

It has taken me a couple days to get my act together...getting over the jet lag and simply processing the events of Inauguration day has been a bit of a task. The day was a whirlwind of rushing to wait. The immensity of the crowd was beyond my imaginations expectation...but I really had nothing to compare it to so it should not be such a surprise that I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. Roughly 2 million people..numbers like that are thrown around on a semi regular basis and because we hear it often enough, we think we comprehend what it actually means. But not until you are walking among the said 2 million can you really begin to know immensity of it. I was overwhelmed...overwhelmed by what it meant to be in a crowd that size, overwhelmed that that many people were also "possessed" to be there (because to call it less than a "possession" would be sorely inaccurate), overwhelmed that I would not only witness history in the making but be a part of that history. I am sure my friends and I (like many others) will appear in thousands of photo albums, to be shown to those who could not join us, as nameless masses who "were also there."

Once we braved the subway, walked the streets, and stood in a very long line in a tunnel in DC to get to the "Purple Gate" that bore the name of our inaug tickets, we finally made it in the gates and got to our place in time to watch Aretha sing, the swearing in of VP Joe Biden, the orchestra play and finally (what we had been waiting for) the swearing in of President Obama. it was a humbling and moving moment. I WAS THERE! President Obama spoke eloquently to me and the world...and we listened intently to his message with hope and gladness in our hearts. We made it!

Shortly after his speach we began the trek back to Taisha's. It took sheer determination (and a little strength) to make it back down the subway to Bethesda where we were staying. By the time we arrived, we were worn out. we watched the rest of the events on TV while I prepared for my flight to Dubai that evening. I was in a haze all afternoon, I tried to work but could not stay focused. I finally gave up and declared the day a National Holiday in my mind, closed up my computer and watched the parade.

I have to thank Taisha for her hospitality, Celisa for her positive spirit and motivation, and Penny for her mob connections (AKA as the AKA's and her Dad) that can manage to get tickets to anything they put their mind to and mostly because some very significant moments in my life have been spent with her.

DC here I am...Inauguration Concert

I got into DC last night, it was a great trip with the only hiccup being my bag got delayed and was not delivered until 1:30 PM today. It made us a little late leaving for the concert but really was not bad at all. It was quite a day and I can not begin to imagine what Tuesday is going to be like. We were at the Capitol with about half million of our closest friends and EVERYONE was smiling, dancing and laughing. I began the day with a bit of dread about being in a crowd that large and finished the day in amazement and remembrance that we are better than what we show to the world. There were people from all walks of life, speaking many languages and having various shades of skin color yet sharing a common ideal. The conversations I have had in the last two days show me we are on the path of change...for the better. They are honest and open conversations that I have never had with a stranger in the US prior to this election, I am only hopeful this is the beginning.

I got to see John Legend preform with James Taylor and if you know me well you know what that means to me! We saw Usher, Bruce, Garth and Josh, we listened to Samuel Jackson, Marissa Tomei and Tom Hanks. We picked up a couple of trinkets and stayed warm with "Hot Hands" hand warmers. Many of you know I hate the cold but would do this again in a heartbeat! I feel very blessed to be here...what a way to begin my trip!

From Inauguation '09