It may be approaching the end of January, but I'm still trying to capture Christmas on this blog. Here goes... As I mentioned in my last entry, I was heading to Denver, Colorado to visit family for the holidays. A series of flights (3) from Bangkok to Denver found me at my destination on the night of December 22, 2007. The flights were basically uneventful, and thankfully, not full. I had plenty of room to stretch out. Upon arrival in Denver, however, I quickly found myself with yet another cold. Those have been coming often recently, what with all the public [View Full Entry]

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It's Thursday, December 20, and I'm two days away from heading to America to see family & friends for Christmas. I'm looking forward to this short visit. I leave Bangkok on December 22 and arrive in Denver, Colorado later that same day. I'll be in transit for almost 24 hours, but with the time change, I don't lose a day. The time gets eaten up though on my return to Bangkok (leave Denver on Dec 31 and arrive in Bangkok on January 2). It's been over 1 month since my last update. What have I been doing? I've been busy working, [View Full Entry]

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It didn't play out as planned, but I am finally teaching English in Bangkok. Last week was fairly uneventful after all the drama of the previous week. I renewed my search for a teaching job, and scheduled two interviews for Monday, November 12. My plan was to go through those interviews before pursuing any other options. However, I ended up responding on Saturday (November 10) to another posting by an agency on ajarn.com. The posting was for a full-time English Teacher (about 1 hour away). The start time of 7:30 wasn’t too appealing though (7:30-4:00). Up at 5:30 a.m.? U [View Full Entry]

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I’m sure there will be a happy ending to this story, but the initial drama involved with finding my first English teaching job has been more than I expected. It’s been a whirlwind recently. Over the course of 6 consecutive business days, I interviewed 5 times. Those interviews varied greatly. The shortest was 30 minutes; the longest was 3 hours and included a 45 minute teaching demonstration. I received offers from 3 of the schools, and was the runner-up on a 4th. I never heard from the 5th school which I had ruled out anyway after discovering it was over 1 [View Full Entry]

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It's Sunday, October 21st, and I've returned to Thailand. I wanted to give a little update on my last few days in the Philippines, and the latest news since my return to Bangkok. Ok, the Philippines. Thankfully, the good weather held in Boracay until my departure on Tuesday, October 16. I really enjoyed my time on the island. I connected with a group of Germans (4 university students) when I returned to Dave’s Straw Hat Inn for my last 3 days on Boracay. They were on vacation from their internship in Malaysia, and also staying at Dave’s Straw Hat. Rolf, Jens, [View Full Entry]

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It’s Saturday, October 13, and time for a little update from paradise. The weather has been incredible this last week. So what did I do? I decided to stay on the beautiful island of Boracay for the rest of my vacation in the Philippines. It's hard to beat this. I’ve got a couple more days before I fly to Manila, and then it’s back home to Bangkok. Island life for me has mostly consisted of relaxing on the beach, reading, and eating. However, I've done a few other things. In my last update, I mentioned a boat/snorkeling trip around the island. [View Full Entry]

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The weather on Boracay has taken a dramatic turn. The storms passed, and the rain and high winds have been replaced by calm seas and sunny skies. Let's hope the good weather holds! Tomorrow I head out for a boat trip around the island with snorkeling gear and lunch included (all for under $15). Love it! I'll let the pictures and captions cover these last two days... Look! There goes Dave [View Full Entry]

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The beach has always been a special place for me. From my early years of building sand castles, boogie boarding, and digging up sand crabs on the beaches of Orange County (So Cal, USA) to more recent years of playing volleyball or relaxing on beaches from all over Southern California to the Caribbean to Thailand. I've seen quite a few beaches in my life. Yesterday I arrived at the most popular beach in the Philippines, "White Beach" on the island of Boracay. This beach is often included in top 10 lists of the best beaches in the world. Unfortunately, my first [View Full Entry]

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I wasn’t looking forward to that 4:30 a.m. wake up call, so I got up on my own at 4:20 a.m. I’d do it on my own terms. The taxi was waiting for me (prearranged) by 4:50, and I was off for the LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal outside K.L.) My Air Asia flight was at 7:20 a.m. on October 2 (Tuesday). With no traffic, we made it in less than 1 hour...plenty of time to navigate through the 1000’s of other people at the airport that were also up way too early. I got a good window seat near the [View Full Entry]

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Lots to cover in this update. It’s Monday, October 1, 2007, and I’m sitting in a smoky internet café in a city I am not particularly fond of. Where am I? I’m in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. For those of you who read my blog during my 9 week adventure to SE Asia in early 2006, you know why I don’t like this city. I was much more prepared for K.L. (Kuala Lumpur) this time, however. No need to relive last year’s problems. Therefore, I’m staying far away from the Pudu Hostel. I know my ATM card won't [View Full Entry]

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