WHAT IS New IN 2007?
 
Welcome to 2007
Drive To Survive
The Walk to work. These people are walking lots of miles to get to work. There are lots of motor bikes and a few bicycles but still a lot of bus travel and foot traffic.
Here are a few pics that I did get while in Turkey. Pics from The Bosporus and the town of Izmit.
Here are some remodel photos.
Link to More Drive To Survive Photos../Mikes_Photo-Movie_Gallery/Drive_To_Survive.html../Mikes_Photo-Movie_Gallery/Drive_To_Survive.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0shapeimage_7_link_1
Mike and Oscar in Saudi Arabia
Well here I am - it is early February 2007 and and I started the year just like last year - in India. This time it is in Mangalore and it is warmer than Panipat was at this time of the year. Mangalore is on the west coast in the south and Panipat is in the north up by Delhi. So far this year I have had 2 minor colds, one bout of food poisoning and a bacterial infection in my throat. I am stuck in the car with the driver and if he is ill then it is likely I will catch what ever the driver has got. The food poisoning I attribute to a case of improper storage of chicken. I was tasty going down - not as pleasant coming back up. I can count the number of times I have had projectile vomiting in the past 10+ years on one finger. Not bad for the amount of traveling I have done over the past 9 years. The drive to work has moved on to the main road from the windy back road.   As you can see from the above photo there is no order - this is a 2 lane road and you pass when ever and where ever you can - even on a bridge as above - from all appearances safety is not part of the culture. As chaotic as it is, some how it all works, and the traffic moves On the work scene the client is working on getting things in order so we can do a test run. Once that is done and they accept the plant then I can head back to Thailand and relax for a week or so. If you remembered I wanted a half bath in the upstairs of the condo. Well that may come true in the near future. The developers have found a person who can do that work as well as finish off the second floor so it is not a loft style. I would have a 2 bedroom, one and 3/4 bath condo with about 1300 square feet. The cost of the upgrade would be about $12000 - depending on the fixtures that I choose. The company I work with had other work for me so I was finally released from the job I was on. I flew to Mumbai spent the night at the Citizen Hotel. It is on the beach and nothing fancy but suitable for a night to wait for the next flight to Bangkok. Up before the dawn to check in at the airport. No drama there and the flight to Delhi was uneventful. After picking up some passengers they closed the doors and then announced that there would be a 2+ hour delaydue to heavy traffic. They had some fog delays in the early morning and a backlog to get rid work through. At least it wasn’t Jet Blue behavior and let you sit for 8 hours and tell you nothing. I was not happy as I had to catch a flight from Bangkok to Istanbul the next day. 24 hours in Thailand was all I was going to get and I wanted to enjoy those few hours. I had a bunch of personal shopping to do and a few friends I wanted to catch up with. Well we finally got going. I get to Thai immigration and end up in the slowest line - yup I was the last one in the line. I finally got my bags and off to Pattaya. I met some of my friends down on Walking Street and had a relaxing evening. Up early to get the errands done that had piled up after being gone for 5 months. Packed and ready to go at 7 pm and off to the airport. Loaded up to Istanbul and off I went. The meet and greet person was there and off to the hotel. I was supposed to go to the work site on Sunday but they didn’t have a gate pass for me - WOW! - I could have stayed in Pattaya for 2 nights. I got to the job on Monday. So far all is as expected. This client knows how to take care of people. The food is good and best of all it is free. Hopefully this will wrap up soon in a week or so and I can get back to Thailand for a little more than 24 hours of R&R. Before I leave I hope to get in a little sight seeing and get a few photos to show here. September 6, 2007 I have been a little slow to get back to the blog and give some updates. I finished up in mid April in Turkey and had no time for sight seeing. While I was in Turkey I was contacted by a friend to submit my resume to Bechtel. I sent it in and several days later they were calling me about joining then and when would I be back in the USA for an interview. I told then that I wasn’t coming back to the USA and an interview was not a good reason to spend my own money when I already had a suitable job. Then then sent an e-mail from a guy working for them here in Thailand. He asked me to contact him when I got back - so I called him and set up an interview. Well I must have the right stuff since they offered me a job. It is here in Thailand and I get to go home and sleep in my own bed every night. That is a change. I arrived back in Thailand in time for the Thai New Year. It is has turned into a big water war and anyone with any sense leaves town of stays in doors. Nothing like a COLD bucket of ice water thrown in your face while riding a motor bike down the street. Safety is not part of the Thai culture. It took about a month to work through the paperwork and get on board with Bechtel. I had to go to Singapore for a new visa. I got 2 nights and 3 days in Singapore to do some shopping. I broke down and bought and Apple TV. Great gadget. Works well with all my other electronic toys. At the end of July I got started on my remodel. First we took out the head dive stairs that were very steep with no handrail and replaced them with a spiral design. They have a nice rise run for the “older we get knees”. Once that was completed then they got to work on closing off the loft and adding a second bedroom with a small storage closet. They are now doing the tile in the new bathroom upstairs. See the left side of the page for some photos of the remodel. The job is going well and should last into early 2008. There seems to be lots of work out there for guys who do what I do and then Bechtel could have more work for me when this project is over - we shall see how it goes. Pay wise I am not really getting any more except I have full benefits such as medical and 401k. Late December 2007 Things were going well with the job in Thailand and then a friend of mine contacted me about a job that he was involved with in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. At first I wasn’t really interested. He contacted me again and I did the math. Since the remodel was completed I decided that as fine as the current assignment is, the pay increase is substantial. Unfortunately we were hot and heavy on the current project in the middle of a shutdown so it was not really practical to just pull the plug. I was looking for an exit strategy and hoping that the job in Saudi Arabia would still be available. I told my friend in Saudi that I would be happy to come to the party but had to figure out a way out of Thailand. Finally there was a break in the action in Thailand so I told my boss and he was helpful and doesn’t appear to be holding a grudge and said that I should keep in touch for future work. I left the Thai job December 12th and was on my way to Saudi December 16th. I finished 2007 in Saudi Arabia - unlike the past 2 years I was in India. To sum it up - 2007 was an interesting year. Starting in India, off to Turkey, falling into a job at home in Thailand, then to a big raise at the end the year. I don;t have any reason to complain and I won’t. I have money in the bank a place that is paid for to live in, good prospects for continued employment and my health is good. Over the course of the job in Thailand I got pretty friendly with a lady named Tay - pronounced ‘Thai’ - we seem to be getting along so we shall see how that goes in 2008. Take Me to Mike’s 2008 blog Mikes_2008_Blog.htmlshapeimage_9_link_0