Month: May 2006

Fly away ..

Catching up on some blogging now at the Dynasty Lounge in Jakarta international airport before heading back to TPE.  Been on the road now for 8 days, KUL -> SIN -> CGK (Jakarta Airport code).  Glad to have missed the Typhoon up north but the weather down here has not been normal either.  Lots of rain in the early and late mornings.  In Malaysia, flash floods due to heavy rains is a real danger on the road.  Hills around the KL -> Ipoh -> Penang highway get washed away forcing the road crews to rebuild around the clock.  Making it harder is the fact that the soil around Malayia is soft redish sand/clay like substance.

It’s a lot of work traveling getting to know people and learning what’s going on.  Met a few really nice and smart people.  Impressed with the folks here in the Jakarta office.  Wish I had them.  Team and relationship building along with skills development are the driving forces now. 

What I haven’t figured out yet is that although it’s only 1.5 hours away from Singapore, Why is Jakarta an hour behind?  I’ll have to take a look at the map again.  I thought they’d be in the same window.

Jakarta is a city of 11 million people, sprawling megapolis and quite beautiful, even though areas of it area quite poor.  In between Manila/Makati City Philippines, and KL.  Food delicious and the people here are just so warm, friendly and welcoming.  Refreshing compared to Taiwan despite the Taiwanese reputation for being friendly people.  My colleagues took me to Hotel Borobudur Jakarta which is famous for its oxtail delicacies and boy, it didn’t disappoint.  I’d love to come back again soon.

Not-so-looking forward to a busy travel schedule the next 6 weeks.  I’ll be headed back to HK a couple of times, KL again, London, Singapore again.  In between I’ll have to find time to move.

Ouch.

Happy trails folks and be well!

Amazing Races

Hippies validated as they win Amazing Race 9 today. After losing their stuff twice by being last at non-elimination pitstops, they get it all together in the final round. Being able to speak Japanese enabled them to have fun performing the messenger task. They were neck and neck with the “frat boys” up to the last roadblock, where they had to order flags corresponding to their travel sequence, where the hippies were able to burst ahead. The other reason to be happy about the hippies is that they had good karma and treated the local people well, speaking in their native languages where possible. They were well-deserving.

P and I are going on the next leg of our journey together: Hong Kong. It’s her first time; it’s my 4th. We picked up a really cheap flight, probably because it’s typhoon season. A big one narrowly missed Hong Kong yesterday, slamming Fujian with 200 mph winds, but only ranking Signal 3 (the southwestern version of a N’oreaster – Katrina would be a 10) in Hong Kong itself. I’m also going to catch up with some friends, and see some of the more out of the way places. Of course, there will be plenty of blogging. The trip begins on May 25. Say “hi” if you happen to be in the vicinity.

Goodbye to the Bartlett Administration

The West Wing series finale.

Preceded by the first episode – which I skipped, since I didn’t want to get all teary over how stunningly good West Wing was in its heydey – the last episode clearly harkened back over the years of West Wing. It was very much of what was the idea of the show: the behind-the-scenes life of the White House. You don’t get to see President Santos’ inaugural speech (although it would have been nice; I still think it’s a shame that they didn’t actually spend a whole episode on Leo’s funeral, with eulogies and all).

Very brief Rob Lowe moments as Sam (who should have at least made a face appearance at Leo’s funeral).

No Toby (aww. At least President Bartlett pardoned him, even if at the very last minute).

No big last Josh moment (there should have been; the first episode was very Josh and Sam).

Some poignant C.J. stuff (considering how the show has often felt like the Adventures of C.J. – well…).

A touching moment between Bartlett and his aide, Charlie. Bartlett gives Charlie the Constitution, or at least a copy of it in booklet form that Bartlett’s own father gave him, since Charlie is planning on going to Georgetown for law school. My eyes got watery.

Echoes of Leo – C.J.’s giving Josh a Post-it note: WWLD – “What Would Leo Do?” to help Josh get through the challenge of being Chief of Staff – and they agree: it’s hard to stop thinking of that office as Leo’s.  Bartlett’s getting the napkin, the very napkin that Leo wrote on to convince him to make that push for president.

But, not even a little farewall scene from Josh and Sam, the Santos administration people, to the old Bartlett gang? Or has the passage of time made goodbyes irrelevant (goodbyes having been made when Josh left the Bartlett administration to run the Santos campaign, goodbyes made when Sam left so long ago).

Very nice to see Donna in awe of her office as the First Lady’s Chief of Staff; a huge step up from the cubicle she had as Josh’s assistant in the West Wing. Cute to see Donna and Josh sitting together at the inauguration.

And, the episode ends with life moving on.  There’s a country to run.

Series finales always make me feel sad.