Foreign Service Specialist (FSS)

Trying yoga....not for the weak!

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Jacci bought me a 10 class package at a new yoga studio that opened near the Embassy. The studio is called Kryoga. Yoga is a very asian thing to do. When I walk to work through Lumpini Park, I see early morning yoga classes with people twisted in all sorts of positions. I've been wanting to try it, but never made the effort.

When I went to my first class, I didn't bother to bring a towel or a bottle of water...how hard can it be to do a few stretches. Well let me tell you.....its really, really hard. Halfway through the class they teacher had to get me a bottle of water and a towel and I was dizzy. Don't be fooled....yoga is very, very intense and I've never sweated like I did in yoga class. I've been going once or twice a week now and I love it. It's a lot more interesting than jogging around town.

The Beatles Bangkok at O'Reilly's

2012-01-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned in several posts, I spend every other Friday night at O'Reilly's in Bangkok...my "Chris only place" to blow off steam and sing away the stress of the week.....and enjoy pints of Chang beer (with ice...a habit I've picked up in Asia). I finally got around to bringing my camera and taking pictures of the people I've sat next to for the last 2 years and the waitresses that I have gotten to know....oh yeah....and a picture with the Beatles Bangkok.

My Thai teacher - Khun Tawin

2012-01-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

This is the guy I have to thank for my growing ability to speak and write Thai. I've been lucky to get one on one sessions with K. Tawin which has helped me greatly. Now, when I went to tets in French back at FSI - I almost didn't so I wouldn't get stuck in West Africa. And sure enough...I'm headed to West Africa. I think I will try and test in Thai when I go back to the US for home leave in July. Even getting a 1 out of 5 might give me a leg up on someone else trying to come back to Thailand!

FM Retirement

2012-01-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

Khun Boonma (I'm Thai, "Khun" is the same as Mr. or Miss. or Mrs.) retired today after working at the EMbassy for 14 years. K. Boonma coordinated our mainternance work at the 18 unit condo the USG owns here in Bangkok. Boonma is a nice guy....but he speaks no English and he can't seem to understand my Thai! Oh well...it was nice that the front office had a ceremony thanking him for his time here.

Funny video

2012-01-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

Now, probably everyone will find some humor here....but those of you in FSI or recently out of it will really get a kick out of this. Enjoy! (BTW - the clip is from is "Downfall" and is an excellent movie!)

New to Post

More interesting items in the news...

2012-01-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

Apparently they arrested two Hezbollah members at the Bangkok airport on Friday. One has admitted a plot to bomb a location where Americans and Israelis congregate. The first place my wife and I thought of was khao San road...Bangkok's backpacker hangout...and sure enough...they found these guys apartment near Khao San Road. There are several Jewish backpacker clubs over there and a ton of Americans there, too. Glad its a long way away from where we live. Check out the story and the photo of the explosives they found today...

Bomb cache busted

More excitement in Bangkok...hopefully not.

2012-01-13T01:01:00.000-08:00

This is why I'm going to the beach this weekend...and I'd love to know why I learned about this first from a Bangkok message board and not from the Embassy itself, but whatever...

Possible Terrorist Threat to Americans in Bangkok

Couple of pics from Dili

2012-01-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

I went to the Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili to take photos one afternoon and spent some time taking photos of some of the grave diggers there.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

Our second Christmas away from the us. Probably the least Christmas-like Christmas of my life. It's not that we didn't try. Jacci cooked wonderful cookies as usual and we had a Christmas party for our friends (which was a big success thanks to the party planning prowess of my wife). But it just didn't "feel" like Christmas.
Maybe it was the fact that no one in Bangkok celebrates Christmas...if you go the malls you'll see big trees and Santa Claus and decorations. However most of them say "Happy New Year" and not "Merry Christmas." Minor detail, but perhaps that's the difference.

Maybe it's the weather. Christmas is supposed to be cold. It's winter here in Bangkok and the weather is unbelievable! This is my favorite time of year for weather....max temp in low 80's with morning weather in the low to mid 70's. It's amazing...but celebrating Christmas in shorts is still odd.

To make matters worse, we're all sick. I'm not sure who got it first, but Christmas day came with all of us with some combination of stuffy nose or cough....max I think had all of the above. With germs aplenty, we ended up bailing on Christmas morning church service, Christmas lunch at the church, and a party we were all invited to that night. Basically, we opened presents and stayed in the house. Ho ho ho!

Monday is a holiday and jacci and I were looking forward to having our housekeeper watch the kids while we went to breakfast. Well, she called this morning and bailed on us claiming she had a sick relative. We are not taking a 2 year old and a 4 year old to the Oriental Hotel.
Tonight we have an invite to yet another party, but only Max and I are going since Siena is still sick and Jacci needs to rest.

Good news is that the week between Christmas an New Years is slow for any business especially the US Government, so I'll be able to get caugt up on my trip report to Dili EastTimor that was due a week ago.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

"US Embassy Green Team" Chairmanship Ending

2011-12-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

I received a Certificate of Appreciation for my work as Chair of the Embassy Green Team...during the last year we:

1) Had the Embassies largest Earth Day Celebration with a "Recyclable Tree Contest 2011" bringing in over 250 people from the Embassy and private sector.

2) Started a battery and CFL recycling partnership between the Embassy and a local University.

3) Started a toner cartridge recycling project between the Embassy and HP-Thailand.

4) Replaced the incandescent light bulbs in all Embassy provided lamps with energy efficient CFL's.

5) Convinced the Embassy restaurants to use biodegradable take away bags instead of plastic bags.

It's been fun....but I'm ready for someone else to take it over! :)

More excitement at the US Embassy!

2011-12-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Glad I was on a regional trip to Dili, East Timor!

Demonstrations outside US Embassy

The Market Railway

2011-12-05T02:53:00.000-08:00

Following in the footsteps of Anthony Bourdain, I took a (long) daytrip to the Maeklong Railway Market....next time I'm just going to drive there instead of 8 hours on a train for what really wasn't all that exciting...but I can check this off the list.

Here's a youtube video of Anthony Bourdain's visit....and below are a couple of my pics.

Thanksgiving with Family & Friends!

2011-12-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

We were very happy to have Jacci's brother and family and some of our friends over for Thanksgiving Dinner! Jacci cooked an incredible Thanksgiving meal with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and everything in between! We don't get a lot of visitors all the way here in Bangkok and it was wonderful having visitors and showing them the city we call home....well, home for now!

Flooding over....

2011-12-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

Central Bangkok dodged a bullet...no flooding here and the flood waters are receding around the country. Still a few of the FM staff living in alternate housing until the water recedes and there's a guy living in his office, but things are slowly returning to normal around town. Now what do I do with 5,500 sandbags?

This is a man's lunch!

2011-11-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I watched an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. He was in Bangkok and he went to a restaurant which he said was behind Lumpini Park. The restraunt served bull penis soup. I work behind Lumpini Park and it's taken me a year and a half to track this place down - but I did it!!!!! About 10 of us went to try bull penis soup at this 30 year old restaurant down a small alley near my office.

If you want to see the TV show..the segment on the bull penis soup begins on link #1 at 14:25 and continues to the 2nd link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd2OqFC8Cu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQam2doYgZQ

R & R to the US was neither really.

2011-11-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

This trip to the US was our R&R (rest and relaxation). Certain posts offer employees and their families a chance to go to a more modern, slower city (R&R point - ours in Sydney, Australia) or back to the US. We chose to go back to the US to see friends and family. See this person, go to this party, on to this town, etc....and dragging 2 kids along the way. I need a vacation after our vacation. It was great though, and the cool crisp autumn air was a nice change from the thick and muggy heat of Bangkok.

On top of the rigors of travel home, I was constantly on my Blackberry getting updates about the Thailand flooding (which is still going on I might add). I loved getting those "emergency" text messages at 3am. From a work standpoint, it was a relief to get back home. We crawled into bed at 3am and I was in the office at 8am back at it. Here are some pics of the trip home.

The long, long, long ride across the ocean...and back.

2011-11-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Jacci's and the kids trip to the US and our trip back. 27 hours door to door....absolutely, incredibly, horrible. How my wife did it by herself with 2 kids still amazes me.

I'm not there to help...

2011-10-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I must admit it feels a bit helpless being here in NC while everyone is on edge back home (Bangkok) waiting and hoping that the flood waters don't come to downtown. Many of the guys working for me haven't been coming to work as their homes are sitting in 5' of water. Sad...wish there was something I could do. Let's see if 5,300 sandbags keeps the water out.

News Coverage of Thailand Flooding

Weekend before we left..

2011-10-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

A nice visit to a National Park outside of Bangkok before we came home to the US. The cool thing is that I can read (and understand) the Thai!

Afternoon snack...

2011-10-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

On my walk home from work, this is where I stop for a quick snack. It's called "mo ping" which means grilled pork. Three sticks for $1 and oh so yummy.

Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USA!

2011-10-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

We're back for a visit. Jacci and the kids left a week earlier and I showed up a couple of days ago. I can't complain about the horrible long flight (BKK-NRT-EWR = 24 hours) since Jacci did it with 2 kids. (But know I hate that flight...uughhh...so long and boring.) We're up in PA with Jacci's family and we head to NC to visit my family. Back to BKK on November 1. Loving the cool fall weather, too.

Here's is what Max packed to take to America......no, these items did not make it on the plane. Sorry Max.

Siena enjoying more Chiang Mai snacks...

2011-10-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Last time I went to Chiang Mai I brought back fried meal worms for my staff. it turns out my daughter likes them, too! Here is another video of her enjoying the worms from my most recent trip.
Siena eats worms again!

A bag of...

2011-10-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

Meant to share this with everyone....
When I made my last regional trip up to the Consulate in Chiang Mai, I was walking around surveying the buildings. As I walked by the laundry room I heard the rustling of plastic. I thought I was alone and I turned to look, but no one was there. Then I heard it again. Investigating - I saw a plastic bag hung on the wall next to janitors jackets and the bag was moving,

The janitors must have seen me go to the bag and got nervous that I would throw it away - because they darted out of the laundry room. I opened the bag and the janitor smiled and said "Aroi mak!" (very delicious) It was a bag full of frogs! This was their dinner and as they walked around cleaning the compound, they collected them for grilling that evening.

Reverse culture shock.

2011-10-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

I found this very good article on the topic of reverse culture shock. What is reverse culture shock? Read the article. I've tried to tell me wife some of these - especially #1. I can't tell you how true #1 is and it was one of the most surprising truisms we faced when we got back from our 1 year RTW trip. It was true when we visited the US last year and it will be true when we go home for a visit in a few days!

RULE #1 about returning home....NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR TRAVELS!

ok....there's the teaser...now read the article here.

Will it flood?

2011-10-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

Northern Thailand is underwater. 10 years ago there was 3' of water on Wireless Road and 1' on the Embassy grounds.....so...just in case...we had 1,000 sand bags made up today!

Visited Vientiane NEC site

2011-09-29T01:39:00.000-07:00

I did my quarterly visit to Vientiane and visited the construction site of the NEC (new embassy compound). Thyere were completing an Unexploded Ordinances Investigatio - which means they were looking for left over bombs from the Vietnam War!

My next assignment is....

2011-09-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

...Libreville, Gabon.

It was my #3 choice on my 2nd directed assignment list. Honestly, I was expecting #1 or #2, but because I have a 2/2 in French, I guess that's why they put me there. It's okay...housing is good, its relatively safe, but cost of living is high and I'm thinking there's not a whole lot to do there. More as I learn about it.

Right now, we're getting ready for our R&R. We go back to the US in a couple of weeks. We haven't been home in a year so it's time.

In Vientiane, Laos right now doing my last quarterly visit of the FY. The FY for the USG ends Sept 30 and, as usual, there is no FY12 budget so we'll be on a Continuing Resolution until DC gets it wored out.

To Germany and back...

2011-09-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

What a week! Monday was a holiday and we spent the long weekend in Khao Yai National Park about 2 hours outside of Bangkok. It was a nice escpae from the noise and pollution of Bangkok. Tuesday morning I raced into the office to send the preferences of my directed tour list to my CDO (career development officer) and hope for the best....a couple posts in Africa, a couple in Europe, 2 in china, and then some other places I pray to god we don't get stuck in. Bid list emailed....now off to the airport with two of my colleagues.

We were off to Frankfurt, Germany for a meeting at the consulate. The Frankfurt consulate has a procurement group called RPSO who helps the state department and other government agencies buy things that cost more than $250,000. This particular project we are working on is just under $3,000,000 so we had to get RPSO to help us solicit and procure the contract.

Eleven hours later we landed in a cool and rainy Frankfurt. Long boring flight, but I can now say I've been to Germany....never been there before. Again, my four years of French is proving worthless. We got there at night and basically went right to bed.

The next day we went to the consulate and worked until 6pm. Fortunately, it doesn't get dark until almost 8, so we had a couple of hours to walk around the city. Frankfurt is small, but has a few nice sites...and excellent sausages and fantastic beer!!! Next day basically the same and on day three....meeting and then back to the airport for the 10 hour flight back to Bangkok. Before we left the consulate, the facility manager gave us a tour of the building. The consulate building used to be a WWII Luftwaffe Hospital with swastikas that had to be scraped off and even an intact wine cellar belonging to Herman Georing. A huge compound with an incredible historical significance.

Glad to be back home on Saturday. Former NBA player Chris Mullin is at the embassy in Bangkok today. Hope my staff remembered to clean the basketball court off....I'll just have to miss the event. I'm going to bed.

NBA Coming to Bangkok

2011-09-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

In a little over a week NBA Cares will be coming to Bangkok for a 3 on 3 tournament. The star of the event is Chris Mullins from Golden State Warriors/Indiana Pacers who was recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

I was asked to make sure the basketball court was fixed........

NBA Comes to Bangkok

Nearing end of fiscal year...go,go,GO!!!

2011-09-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

In one month FY11 for the US Government ends. We're frantically trying to close out the pots of money I control (7901 maintenance) and spend it all (but not spend more than you have because you get in serious trouble for that). Last minute projects, last minute needs and wants from everyone in the Embassy...fix this before the money runs out...quick, quick, quick. Summer and September are too crazy. Ready for October 1!

This is what happens when you leave a country....

2011-09-01T01:59:00.001-07:00

oh well....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOr4JUT2U0

Cool Thailand video...

2011-08-31T01:56:00.001-07:00

It's cool to see places you walk by every day shown on international tourism videos! Good video - 8 minutes long, but very cool.

This is why I don't swim in Dili, East Timor...

2011-08-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Dili!

2011-08-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was warned...it's boring, it's under-developed, it's rough, it's a terrible place to have to visit much less be posted there. Again, actually going there proved them wrong. Dili was fascinating!

Bangkok has regional coverage of Dili and I made my 1st visit there. Dili is a small post with something like 25 Americans working in the Embassy - compared to 800 Americans in Bangkok!

Dili is under-developed, the infrastructure is a wreck (the Indonesians did a scorched earth job on Dili as they left in 1999 and the city still hasn't recovered fully), and the UN is the main police force in town. In fact, about 30% of all of the cars on the potholed filled roads are UN vehicles! I stayed at the only "nice" place in town - The Discovery Inn. Picture a Red Roof Inn with nice people working there. However, the beaches are beautiful, clear water, and tourist free!

Here are some pics of Dili from the internet and then a few photos I took while there...

My favorite lyric in any song

2011-08-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

An under-appreciated song by the Beatles, composed and sung by George Harrison, is The Inner Light. This song contains my all time favorite lyric...."The farther one travels, the less one knows...the less one really knows."

I've found several websites with people's explanation of this lyric...but this line from the song has always stuck with me for a reason I've never found anyone else who shared...

The more I travel...most recently to Indonesia and East Timor (next week to Germany) is that all the pre-concieved notions I have about a place always seem to be proven wrong when I actually go to that new city or country. I think I know a lot about a place, I'm certain I've got it figured out - until I get there.

It seems my continued travels prove how ignorant I really am about places (most important lesson - ignore whatever you are told from the news). The more I travel and go to new places, the less I realize I know. The farther I travel, the less I (realize that) really know. Thanks George Harrison for such a great song.

To Bali and Dili...

2011-08-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

In a 2 day period I’ve managed to visit 2 countries I had never been to – Indonesia and East Timor. The FM’s in Bangkok have regional responsibility to oversea facility functions in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Vientiane, Laos; and Dili, East Timor. Why we have to go all the way down to East Timor when there are 4 other Embassies closer is a mystery, but I’m happy to get a chance to visit East Timor since, well….who the heck goes to East Timor! J That’s what makes it cool!

The flight from Bangkok to Denpasar, Bali was about 4 hours and I stayed at the Conrad. The hotel is spectacular, but the beach was terribly disappointing. I brought my mask and snorkel ready to enjoy the water, but the beach small and the water a shallow clam field. As big as Bali is I know there must be better beaches, but I don’t have the time to explore.

I decided to walk out of the hotel down the street past all of the tourists restaurants (with signs in Indonesian, English, and Russian – because Bali is such a hot place for Russian tourists) and I found an interesting side street with local shops and local restaurants. I had an early dinner of 10 chicken satay sticks in an incredible peanut sauce with a plate of rice for about $3. The woman had a little cart where she was cooking and customers sat inside a small room with a portable table, plastic chairs, and 1 light bulb. I enjoyed my delicious meal with about 6 flies and 4 local construction workers who, by the looks on their faces and the laugh in their voice, were quite amused that someone from the $200 per night hotels was walking over to eat a $3 local meal. I live for moments like this!

Dessert was from yet another cart with a guy making something like a very thick, light pancake with chocolate condensed milk in the middle for about $1.25. I sat down on an old bench next to the street and shared my pancake with a little girl who kept peeking around the corner at me! A local beer for the walk back to the hotel - $1.50! (Actually, I can get local beer in Bangkok at 7-11 for $1, so $1.50 is actually “expensive”.)

In contrast, for my actual dinner I was craving a cheeseburger and when I sat down in the hotel restaurant to eat, I was quite surprised to see a cheeseburger and fries was $25!!!!

From what little I’ve seen, Bali is a lot like Phuket….which means nothing to you unless you’ve been to Phuket – but trust me. For better or worse, there are McDonads, KFC, and Starbucks here, but I’ll stick to local food.

Right now, I’m sitting in the run down Densapar, Bali, Airport waiting for my flight to Dili. There is no seating except for restaurants so people are standing or sitting on the floor and flights to Dili are chronically late…we’re already 1 hour delay for “late arriving equipment.”

Lot's to say...

2011-08-20T18:23:00.001-07:00

Been traveling, but get ready for a bunch of info coming your way....stay tuned!

Unlikely Thai Friends....

2011-08-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

There is a fish market I have seen several times along the Chao Phraya River when we've taken water taxis to different parts of the city. I know that places like big, local fish markets are good places to take pictures so a couple of days ago I decided to head down there with my camera.

The fish market is a series of huge open air warehouses where fish from up and down the river and the Gulf of Thailand are brought for buying/selling and selling and distributing around the city. It's incredibly huge and incredibly busy. I walked around snapping photos and walking very, very carefully. I had on a pair of flip flops and the floors to these warehouses are covered in water and fish slime and guts. Several times I had to catch my balance to keep falling flat on my face.

As I walked to one end of the warehouse I heard some people calling to me in Thai. There clearly aren't a lot of farang (Thai for foreigner) around here and a group of about 10 Thai men and women were sitting down taking a break and eating lunch. They were very excited to see me and hooted and hollered for me to come over. I, of course, had to go look.

There were all sitting around a makeshift table eating seafood and drinking beer and whiskey. They wanted their photo taken. I snapped a couple of photos and was rewarded with a tall glass of Leo Beer and an invitation to sit down with them. Excellent! However, as I walked to my chair, a pile of fish innards lay in front of me and in my attempt to step around them I lost my balance and fell very, very hard on my left knee and hip. The glass of beer fell out of my hand (didn't break!) and I managed to keep my Nikon D5000 off the ground at the expense of my elbow. My knee was bashed pretty bad and I was really hurting. But this is where the story get good...

Two of the guys jumped up, carried me to a chair, got betadine and gauze and taped me up. My beer was refilled and I was given noodles and shrimp and fish curry. I was suddenly a welcome guest. They spoke almost no English, but that was enough to complement my limited Thai. We chatted for almost 20 minutes - snapping photos, talking Thai politics, Thai food, beer, and women (one of the ladies said she'd marry me if I was up for it - "pomme mii laow panraya" which is "I already have a wife" in Thai). I had a blast and almost forgot about the hugh knot on my knee and the fact that I had to walk back through the ware house to get home!

After several cold Leo's, it was time for me to go and I walked gingerly back to the main road and got a cab back home. Despite the pain, it was a great visit and meeting people like this and the cool stories that come out of it remind me why I love this job!

It's official....

2011-08-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

...the Senior Facilities Manager has departed post and I am now the FM of Embassy Bangkok. Steve - thanks for all of your help. Without your training and assistance the last year I'd be worlds behind where I am! Very gald to have been able to work with you the last year! Ok, let's see how I do flying solo!

The official blog of the State Department...

2011-07-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

Never knew this existed....here it is.....DipNote

Please don't go see Hangover II

2011-07-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

You'll never get that 2 hours of your life back and you'll be 50 IQ points stupider when you leave. That is not Bangkok...that is the movies. If you see me on the street, stop asking me if I've seen Hangover II.

However, if you've already made the mistake of seeing it then let me tell you that the roof top bar they go to is the Sky Bar on top of LeBua State Tower. Max and I see it light up at night outside of his window each night when he goes to bed.

And ping pong shows are only designed to shakedown tourists when they walk down Soi Patpong. Google it to learn more. We live a couple of blocks away, but fortunately the night life stays on Patpong.

Stress break

2011-07-21T02:19:00.000-07:00

Ok - I'll get grief for this. I'm not going to tell my wife about this photo and I'll see how long it takes to get to her. Here's one of our admin guys, our maintenance engineer, and me taking a break from the stress of the day.

(Actually, the sign behind us is a Thai no-smoking sign and we thought the picture would be funny....I'm sure some will think it's not. BTW - only 1 of the 3 is actually a smoker.....and it's not me.)

My "bid list" is here!!!!!

2011-07-20T06:01:00.000-07:00

Even though it's still a year away - the list for my next post was released this week. I'm not able to reveal the list, but it's a good mix of all continents, poor/rich countries, developed/undeveloped countries, etc... We have more than a month to pick our next place....well, sort of pick.

The 1st two assignments in the DoS are "directed" in that I list my preferences, but my CDO (Career Development Officer) makes the final selection. On my 3rd tour is when I actually bid or lobby for jobs.

I've emailed the incumbent FM's from these posts to ask them what work and home life is like and if it's a family environment. I'm also looking through the post reports on Tales Mag. Check it out!

Lots of FM's coming

2011-07-20T05:55:00.001-07:00

Just got that over 50 new Facility Managers are coming into the State Department. Congrats to all of you and welcome!

Odds and ends....

2011-07-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Too, too busy the last couple of weeks. Changed out the Main Distribution Panel in one building, then a generator, roof leaks at the Ambassadors House, our son has broncialitis, boss wants a huge space rationalization plan by end of fiscal year, and a demanding Housing Office is going to lead me to drink. July is the busiest month of the year and I can't wait for it to be over.....this week will be figuring out how to budget the maintenance money I have left. Come on vacation!

It's election day here in Bangkok

2011-07-03T00:09:00.000-07:00

In fact, Election Weekend is a big deal. Friday night at 12am no alcohol was allowed to be sold until 12am Sunday night. Why do I care about the no alcohol law....well, it cut short my Friday night watching the Bangkok Beatles at O'Reilley's short by about 30 minutes!!

We're all hoping today and the coming week is smooth considering what happened last May with the Red Shirts. Just in case - the generators are full and everyone is staying close to their blackberrys.

See what's happening with the Thai election at Bangkok Post.

A critic of the US Embassy here in Bangkok

2011-07-03T00:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of a friend of a friend told me about this guys blog about Bangkok. Might be an interesting read for some - especially when he has something to say about the US Embassy.

Andrew Spooner

One more pic from Hong Kong.

2011-07-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

Here I am at a lunch at the Hong Kong Jockey Club right in the heart of Hong Kong. You normally have to be a member to get in here, but IFMA was having an executive meeting and I got to come. Here a little info on the HKJC.

Embassy 4th of July Party

2011-07-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!! Here are some pics from the (rainy) party on Friday.

Back from Hong Kong

2011-06-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Glad to be back and glad to be done traveling for a while. The week in Hong Kong was good. Two days of the World Workplace Conference and two days of the CFM Exam Review Class. I've signed up for the class and now IFMA has to approve my application to take the class.

Because this trip wasn't part of normal DoS duties and it wasn't a DoS event but I DID use US Government funds to travel - OBO wants a trip report. This is where I show what I did on the trip to provie that the money wasn't spent for a vacation. I need to show the money was used for work related activities. I'm going to hold out a week before I send in the trip report and hopefully include the good news that I passed the CFM exam! :)

While I worked, Jacci, Khun Vipa, and the kids spent time touring Hong Kong and spent a day at Disneyland Hong Kong!

Here are some pics of the conference and the trip. And, yes, I picked photos from the IFMA website where I could see myself! :)

Travel, travel, travel

2011-06-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

Traveling is fun - but it's making work back in Bangkok difficult. I was in Chiang Mai at the Consulate 2 weeks ago; 3 days in Vientiane, Laos last week for the pre-bid for the NEC (new embassy compound); and this week I'm in Hong Kong for the entire week at a conference and for an exam prep class to take my CFM certification. This means my work in Bangkok as the lone FM gets backed up and I'm having to put in OT to get the work done. This is the last week of traveling for a while, though. In case you're interested - here is why I'm going to Hong Kong...

World Workplace Asia
CFM Exam Review Class

Offers for new FM's coming out now!!!

2011-06-19T02:41:00.000-07:00

I've been told that as we speak, people are getting offers to join the next FM class starting September 26th. Congratulations to all of you! Let me know when you get an offer!

Siena tries some Thai Food

2011-06-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

At the request of some of my staff, they wanted these little treats for a snack when I visited Chiang Mai last week. I let Siena try them first.....

Franklin Award Ceremony

2011-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

I was very proud to have received a Franklin Award for my work coordinating the renovation of the Ambassador's Residence. Here is my pic receiving the award as well as a pic with some of my faciltiies staff and Ambassador Kenney.

How's this for a small world...

2011-06-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are 10,000 miles away from Jacci's home town in PA. She's from a small town in the Pocono Mountains

I had dinner with a guy from our church here in Bangkok who actually lives an hour away (he's an English teacher and not even with the Embassy) and he tells me his sister and her ex-husband are from the town right next to where Jacci is from. That's amazing by itself.....even weirder - the ex-husband was at our wedding back in 2001! How's that for small world!!!

Off to Chiang Mai

2011-06-05T06:13:00.001-07:00

Early morning flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand tomorrow. One of the beauties of being the FM of regional posts is that I have to actually go visit those posts! This week a few days in Chiang Mai and next week a few days in Vientiane, Laos!

No Facilities Training in DC this year!

2011-06-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Due to the budget problems faced by the USG, the Facilities In-Service Training normally held in October has been cancelled. This training is how we visited family last October and saved a little money. My ticket back to DC was free since I was going back for training, but we paid for Jacci and the kids. It still cost a lot. This year with no DC training, we've elected to use our R&R for Bangkok to fly home to the US to visit family.

Bangkok's R&R point is Sydney OR the employee can use that money to go to an alternate location and pay the difference (if it's more, obviously) . Our alternate location will be Newawk, NJ so we can visit Jacci's family and then get down to Raleigh to visit my family. This way we can still go back to the US and the plane tickets will be free.

EER Done

2011-05-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

My 1^st EER is done. As hard as they’ve tried, the whole EER process is complex. As an employee I have a “rater” and a “reviewer.” The Senior FM here is my “reviewer” and the next up the chain of command – the Management Counselor – is the “rater.” The reviewer writes a narrative about my work, things I did, accomplishments, areas for improvement, etc… This is done electronically in an HR administered program just for EER. When the reviewer is done, it does to the rater for his comments. When all of the boxes have been checked and all of the areas of measurements have been evaluated, it goes to me. This is important. This is where I get to talk about myself. This section is called the “Suicide Box.” What I put here could help me get a promotion or could kill my career.

In fact, there is a whole session at FSI I attended about writing a proper EER with a special section on the suicide box.

Even after I submit this, there is a review panel here at Post that looks over everyone comments to make sure there are no typos, no mistakes, and no “inadmissible comments.” Three reviewers send me a hard copy and I make the corrections and send it on to the next final step…

Everyone’s (I mean the whole Foreign Service) EER go to an EER Review Panel in DC where it will be looked at and, well, reviewed for consideration of tenure and promotion. As with most things in the government you don’t get any feedback for a while – sometime this fall they will send a cable out of the names that have been promoted or given tenure.

Another FM Class coming

2011-05-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have been told that there is another Facility Manager class starting in September 2011. I would guess that people will start getting their invitations to the class in the next month or so. Remember – if you passed the oral exam, you can always call the DoS and ask what your “rank” is to get called for the next class. (Call them, don’t email). Good luck!!!

I got an email from my CDO saying that there are 2 entry level positions for Facility Managers in AIP (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan). The tour is for 1 year with two R&R’s. The pay is good and the work is challenging – but I’m going to pass. Maybe some other time. Our regualr bidding list doesn't come out until July/August...

Actually, the other FM here in Bangkok just left for a TDY to AIP and I am the only guy in charge. It’s quite reassuring to know they are comfortable with me handling both FM spots (an FP-1 and an FP-3 and I’m an FP-4) in my 1^st year. I’m assuming this means I’m doing a good job! J

FInaly getting over a cold...

2011-05-23T20:37:00.001-07:00

Finally shaking this cold. I’ve been catching a cold about once every 6 weeks. Not sure if it’s because I don’t eat as well as I should and tend to skip breakfast or if Max brings colds home from pre-school and I’m susceptible to the germs. I’ve got to stop this “cold a month” routine. Feeling better now and finally ready to update people on things.

Lingering cold.....

2011-05-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

I have lots to post, but a lingering cough and a busy work schedule keep me from being motivated to sit and write. Stry tuned for a bunch of posts. In the mean time, today is the 1 year anniversary of the violent end to the 2010 Red Shirt protest - much of which happened near my compound and our home. In fact, traffic is so bad right now outside of the compound due to an anniversary protest - I sent my staff home early.

Here is an article from the Bangkok Post with photos from the riots last year. Every picture here is less than 1 mile from the Embassy and our home...a couple of pictures we see right outside our balcony.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/237695/city-recovers-but-pain-lingers

Wondered why Thai military with M-16's were here....

2011-05-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

Before I knew the big news, I saw big Thai guys with big guns hangong around all of the buildings...

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/234991/security-tightens-at-us-embassy

Embassy BBall Tournament

2011-04-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

Didn’t get a chance to share with you some pics from the Embassy basketball tournament a few weeks ago. Our “Team #2” (how’s that for original) came in – fittingly enough – in 2^nd place out of 5 teams! J

Congrats to me - Earth Day 2011

2011-04-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not someone who brags about my accomplishments.....I'm going to with this post.

A few months ago I was made the Chair of the US Embassy Bangkok Green Team. The current environmental committee was languishing and needed a shot of leadership which I agreed to provide. We've since started recycling batteries, cellphones, and toner cartridges and will be replacing all of the incandescant light bulbs in the GSO housing lamps with CFL's. However our biggest challange was the upcoming Earth Day 2011 on April 22. The Embassy never had a significant Earth Day event and I was told the Ambassador was eager for an exciting event.

About 2 months before the event we held a planning meeting and had 15 people.....however, when it actually came time to do some work (and not just list Environmental Committee on their EER) the numbers quickly dwindled and it was basically left to me and anyone I could beg for help.

To make a long store longer, the few of us who discussed the event decided to play off of the UN's theme for 2011 of "International Year of Forests" and hold a "Recyclable Tree Contest" for Embassy and local groups. In the end we had 31 teams of 5 people, drinks by Coca Cola, food by ACSA, games, contests, music, almost 100 spectators, VIP judges from the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, The Nature Conservancy, and The Thai Forest Department. The event was a HUGE, HUGE draw with almost 250 people at the Ambassador's House for an awesome event. Thai PBS also showed up and interviewed me! :)

I was the hero of the day and got lots and lots of kudos from the Ambassadords and lots of other people with higher pay grades than mine. It was such an great event and I really hope people can see the ideas I can come up with and the ability to put together a large and intersting event! Go CHIRS! :)

Take a look at some of the pictures for the day....

US Embassy Earth Day on Facebook
Ambassador Kenney's Blog Entries About Earth Day

And guess what??? The maintenance guys won "Most Creative Tree"

Following the US Embassy Bangkok online!

2011-04-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Our new Ambassador Kristie Kenney is a huge fan of social media. Here are a few of Embassy Bangkok's online pages...

US Embassy Bangkok on Facebook
US Embassy Bangkok of Flickr
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney's Blog
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney's Twitter

EER Season

2011-04-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

HR Departments at Embassies around the world are busy this month with EER season. EER stands for Employee Evaluation & Review (at least I think that's what it stands for). It's the annual review process for DoS employees and this is my 1st one. As most things are with the DoS - there are forms and processes that must be followed. Fortunately, it's all online, but that doesn't mean it's simple.

The way it works is that my immediate supervisor (the Senior FM here in Bangkok) is my "Reviewer" and the Management Counselor who is my "big boss"- so to speak - is my "Rater." They both write hopefully good things about me in their little section of the EER.

There's also the section of the EER where I write about myself - affectionately known as the "suicide box." Supposedly you can kill yourself my screwing up this box. In fact, at FSI I went through at least 2 "classes" about how to properly write an EER. I think I've got my part ready...this week I'll be inputting my comments into the online form and keep my fingers crossed.

When the EER is completed it goes before a review board back in DC. Best case - I get promoted to an FS-3, but that's almost unheard of in your first tour. Usually, a new employee aims for "tenure" about 4 years into the job and promotion to FS-3 in the next year or so after that. There have been rare cases where someone got promoted in their 1st year. I have a list of unique situations I've been put in and how I've excelled (Red Shirts for example), but I know that's the chances of promotion in your 1st year are almost zero - but I can dream.

I'm at my highest step within FS-3, so most likely I'll get a favorable review, but no step increase so no salary increase. FYI - step increases are not part of the federal pay freeze instituted by the President a few months ago.

Not sure how long it takes to hear back from the review board - but it's the government so I'm sure it's not a fast process. :)

The view from my apartment...

2011-04-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

This isn't my most informative post, but what the heck...playing around with my camera and here are two views of Bangkok from my apartment...

New Edition of Inside a US Embassy

2011-04-10T20:40:00.001-07:00

Haven't read it yet, but I got a notice from AFSA about this book..here's the link if you're interested. I read the 1st two editions and they were very good.

http://www.afsa.org/inside_a_us_embassy.aspx

Fun weekend in Siem Reap

2011-04-09T03:18:00.000-07:00

Mother-in-law was here last weekend and Jacci and I took the opportunity to go for a weekend away in Siem Reap, Cambodia - home of Angkor Wat. We had been in 2006 when we were backpackers (pre-kids :)). Also, I'd always heard going from Bangkok to Siem Reap by land was a challenge - so I had to do it that way instead of spending an obscene amount of money on the ONLY non-stop flight between the two cities - Bangkok Airways = ripoff.

I actually made a blog out of my trip report - www.bkk2rep.com if you want to see it. Enjoy!

Shutdown saga....

2011-04-09T03:11:00.000-07:00

In addition to just doing my regular job, earlier this week we all "quietly" began making plans for a possible partial government shutdown. This involved identifying which American and which Thai positions would stay and which would be furloughed.

It turns out that Thai labor law required a company to pay an furloughed Thai employee 75% of their salary during the furlough and they have to be given 3 days notice before the furlough AND we're coming up on Songkran - the biggest holiday of the Thai year.

We had a big meeting at the end of the day Friday for all Thai and American staff getting ready for the shutdown and answering lots of questions. Embassy Bangkok has 2,000 Thai and American employees so the preparations were huge.

We received a text message from the Embassy minutes before 11AM Bangkok time that a deal had been reached and Monday would be a normal day.....glad we were prepared, glad we didn't need to execute the plan.

Monday will be a regular day...

Am I about to get a vacation?

2011-04-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

Looming government shutdown???? Actually, emergency personnel still have to work....how we'd get paid is a mystery, though? Unlce Sam is good for the money, right?

Felt earthquake a few mintes ago...

2011-03-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Thought my wife was moving furniture or a rat was crawling around above the ceiling....then we saw the plants swaying. Creepy....but no damage. Epicenter was almost 500 miles away. Will probably be dreaming about earthquakes tonight. :)

READ ABOUT EARTHQUAKE

2nd Place in Embassy Trivia Night!

2011-03-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

Fun event at the Embassy last Saturday night. Out of 20 teams we came in 2nd place! :)

Brutal cold in Bangkok...

2011-03-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

...at least according to the Thais. They pulled out the parkas and gloves this morning. We broke away from the muggy, thick, 90F days we've had the last week to a beautiful autumn feel today....I guess this is the last hurrah of winter! :) I love it!

Odds & ends...

2011-03-16T06:53:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who clicked by the way! :)

Glad to have Jacci's mom visiting us again! Off to Phuket this weekend and then to Siem Reap, Cambodia the next weekend! :)

As Chair of the Embassy Environmental Committee, I'm the defacto leader for the Earth Day Committee. Earth Day 2011 is April 22, 2011. The UN has labeled 2011 at the International Year of Forests. The Embassy will be holding a "Recyclable Tree Contest" where teams will build a "tree" out of recyclable wood and paper products to promote saving forests. More to follow as it develops, but I'm finding putting together a public event of this size is a major undertaking - especially when I have my regular job to do!

My yearly request for help...

2011-03-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

I only do this 1 time per year...and this is that time. To help me with the cost of hosting my webpage and to buy me a cup a Thai tea, I ask that if you like my blog would you please remember to click on one of the ads you see on the right side of the page. When you visit, if you'd click an ad for me - it won't cost you a thing, but it'll give me a couple of cents per click. Thanks for the help!

Chris

1 Year at Post!

2011-03-13T01:11:00.000-08:00

One year ago our family crawled off a 24 hour flight from Washington, DC to Bangkok and we began our journey overseas with the State Department. One year into it, I can officially quit and NOT have to pay the DoS back all of their training and travel money. But I'm not quitting anytime soon! :)

This post will be answering the most common questions I get:

1) Has it been worth it so far? Yes, yes, yes! No regrets, no second thoughts, not even a wonder what life would have been like if we didn't do this. We paid a high financial price with the sale of our home, but it's still worth it. It's tough on the relatives back home, but it's still worth it. So far, so good! :)

2) How have your wife and children adapted? Like any move, it takes time. Jacci is at home with the children, but we have a lady come in to help with cooking and cleaning. This is helpful to all of us. Jacci and the kids have made friends through our church, local play groups, and Max's school. They're always busy. It's been challenging for them, but everyone has adapted well and everyone is enjoying themselves.

3) How's the job? Awesome. I love it. Still excited to go to work every day and hope it lasts. My responsibilities are tremendous, but it's a wonderful job and I learn something every day!

4) How do you keep in touch with friends/family? Vonage/skype for phone and slingbox for TV!

5) Most interesting moment? Definitely the Red Shirt protests of May 2010 - check out my blog posts from that time...

6) Do you know your next post? Nope - won't get my 2nd directed tour list until May or June...I tell my wife to quit thinking about where we'll go next - we've only been here 1 year! :)

careers.state.gov has a new webpage!

2011-03-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

The Department of State careers website has been reworked and looks great! You can see the site at careers.state.gov. A new feature is a form where you can ask active employees about various aspects of the job. It's very new so there's not a lot of traffic, but the forms can be found at http://careers.state.gov/engage/forums

Still not sure how to get my blog added to the list, but there's lots of other people's blogs to take a look at. If you see something on one of the blogs that might interest me - please drop me a line!

The life of an FM....

2011-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Man Shoots at US Embassy Bangkok

2011-02-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Never a dull moment...however, it was a US holiday so no one was working.

Security personnel hold weapons around a man handcuffed outside the U.S. Embassy in central Bangkok February 21, 2011. The man was detained after he fired a weapon outside the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, police said. No one was hurt in the attack. (Reuters)

Max & Thai Food

2011-02-22T07:09:00.001-08:00

A popular snack in the office is fried meal worms with garlic. I like them - Max has some getting used to. (Again, sorry for the shameless plug of my other website)

Part of a "green" project at the Embassy!

2011-02-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

The first Green central UPS was commissioned in Bangkok in January 2010. The Eaton 9395 ESS UPS replaced the grossly inefficient NOB central UPS that could no longer be maintained. The new UPS is 99% efficient, and significantly smaller in size, returning valuable floor space to the Embassy for other uses. The unit is expected to reduce the overall NOB electric bill by 3.5%, or $18,000 per year. The was no loss of power to the critical loads during the replacement.

The project was a collaborative effort by Richard Crowson of FAC/PS that designed and managed the replacement, James Alden of FAC/MS that removed and shipped parts from the old unit to keep other worldwide units operational, and Post under FM Steve Montgomery and FM Chris Grawburg that provided invaluable coordination and local expertise to assist with the project.

Received the extension cable today...

2011-02-06T20:57:00.001-08:00

Don't want to end up on WikiLeaks, so I'll post the important part of the cable I got today:

1.OUR CHANGE:

A. Tour of Duty for Mr. Grawburg has been extended by 3
months. Your new tour of duty is 27MRR. Tour length is 27
months. Your transfer eligibility date is 06/2012.

More visitors!

2011-02-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Bangkok's 10,000 miles away everywhere, but we got some more visitors! :)

Taxi Sign

2011-02-03T04:15:00.001-08:00

Saw this sign in my taxi coming home from the Embassy today....look below the shameless plug for my website and you'll see a funny "no-no" for this taxi. Unfortunately, my Thai wasn't good enough to ask the driver if this behavior had been a problem in the past.

Family at the Embassy

2011-01-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a pic of the family at the front door of the US Embassy in Bangkok.

Ambassador Kenney visits the FM Shop

2011-01-20T00:05:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Ambassador Kenney for visiting the FM Shop today! Nice to meet you!

Putting out fires!

2011-01-19T22:32:00.000-08:00

More fun with fire extinguishers at our technician training with the Bangkok Fire Department!

My swearing in.

2011-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

The photos trickle in...only 1 year late! :) I'm upper left with red arrow pointing...

The photos trickle in...only 1 year late! :)

Passing on family faith in a non-Christian country

2011-01-16T00:13:00.000-08:00

Our Christian faith is very important to our family. Paramount to settling into a new city was finding a home church. Not just a church to go to, but a church where we could find a church family. We found it at Christ Church a couple of blocks away.

Two weeks ago, we all visited Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple) here in Bangkok. As usual, inside the temple was a large gold Buddha and lots of people where there on their hands and knees praying to the Buddha. We were looking around, taking a few pictures, when I looked down at Max and saw him on his knees with his hands in prayer position "praying" to the Buddha. Now, this made the Thais around him very, very excited which made Max happy to see their approval. He said, "Look, Daddy. I'm praying to Buddha."

I said "Yes, buddy, I see. Ok, it's time to get going." It was an interesting situation. How do I explain that, as Christians, we pray only to God. How do I do this without making the people in the temple seem bad. He's clearly too young to understand the difference between Christian and Buddhist theology, but I wanted him to understand that, as Christians, we pray to God - not Buddha.

My explanation was...

"Max, you know we go to church each Sunday and learn about Jesus and God, right"

"Yes, Daddy."

"And when we're at church, we pray to God."

"Yes, and when we go to bed at night."

"That's right, Max. Buddha was a very nice man and he said lots of nice things. The people in the temples are happy about all of the nice things Buddha said. But he's not God so we don't pray to him. Prayer is so special, that we only pray to God, not Buddha. Does that make sense?"

"I think so...we pray to God, but I'll pray just a little bit to Buddha."

"No buddy, prayer is so special we only pray to God. It's nice to look at the statues of Buddha, but they're just statues..we don't pray to them."

"Ok, daddy....I understand."

We'll see....but it does show us the importance of keeping an eye on our children's faith while being sensitive to the culture in which we're living. Fortunately in Bangkok, there is freedom of religion. I'm certain one day we'll be in a place that is not so friendly to our faith.

Tour in Bangkok EXTENDED!

2011-01-16T00:06:00.000-08:00

Friday night my Blackberry buzzed with a new email. I looked and it was an email from my CDO (Career Development Officer - this person is my HR guide back in DC. Among other things, the CDO makes the final decision as to where I go on my 1st and 2nd directed tours! I want to keep her happy! CDO's rortate in and out of the position as a DC tour just like everyone else in the DoS)

The email said that because there were going to be so few openings for 2nd directed tour FM's in March 2012 - OBO has decided to extend the tours of the 3 of us (Dan in Helsinki and Luke in Lisbon) for 3 months. This will put us on the summer bidding cycle where there will be more opportunities! I'm actually happy with this because it keeps me at a post I really like in a very cool city a little longer. Wife is also happy so we're excited! :)

CMR Done! :)

2011-01-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

After 3.5 weeks of 10 hour days, 7 days a week - the FM crews and subcontractors completed the CMR in time for the new Ambassador to Thailand to arrive late Friday night. Word is that she is very happy with the house! Pat myself on the back for making sure that it got done on time - at least from the facilities side. GSO, who handled the furniture and cleaning, also did fantastic and we had to work with them very closely to make it happen! We're all proud of ourselves. :) This afternoon there is a "town hall" for the Embassy community to meet the new Ambassador.

Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney

Finally got my Flag Day picture

2011-01-06T01:17:00.000-08:00

It took over a year and multiple emails, but finally I got a copy of my Flag Day picture. This was a very exciting day because I learned for certain that i was headed to Bangkok for my 1st assignment! Here I am with Ambassador Harry Thomas who is now serving in the Phillipines. What is cool about being photographed with Amb. Thomas is that on the night before my Oral Assesment in Washington, I was driving back from picking up my suit when I heard and interview with the Ambassador on the radio. The Amb was talking about his career as a diplomat and how exciting it was to work for the Department of State. Glad I got a chance to meet him!

Thai lunch

2010-12-29T00:04:00.000-08:00

The FM Office staff invited me to join them for lunch today. The brought in food from the North East portion of Thailand called Isaan (ee-san). Isaan food is famous for being very, very spicy and it consists of just about everykind of animal and every part of that animal. To show you how hot it is - take a look at Khun Golf. You know when a Thai sweats - ITS HOT!

Bangkok Christmas

2010-12-28T23:48:00.001-08:00

Growing up I always wondered what it was like for Australians to celebrate Christmas. Did Santa wear shorts? What did they eat? Our first Christmas away from home and in beautiful 85F degree weather was wonderful. Complete with a Chrismtas dinner. Meanwhile from Raleigh to Pennsylvania, snow fell....typical..the year we leave they get a white Christmas. Here are some pics from Christmas morning in Bangkok. Hope you don't mind the personal posts...next week I've got some "business" stuff to post!

Finding a church home in Bangkok

2010-12-28T06:06:00.000-08:00

Church is a very important part of our family life and Jacci and I and the kids were very happy at our home church in Raleigh - Edenton Street United Methodist Church. When we were living in DC for 6 months of FSI training, we tried a couple churches but never felt at home. Going back to Raleigh was a treat so we could visit church and our church friends.

When I got the housing assignment for our apartment in Bangkok, I googled churches in the area and the closest church was Christ Church Bangkok. We started going as soon as we moved to Bangkok and we are very happy. It's been good to keep up our spiritual lives and a great place to meet new friends for us and new friends for the kids. If our next post is someplace that is not quite a friendly towards Christianity, we'll have a real challenge. Here are some pics from our small group Christmas Party on Sunday night...

Thai lunch....

2010-12-28T01:04:00.000-08:00

My 1st day at work I noticed that it was very, very quiet in the office at lunch. I thought everyone was gone...but I was wrong.....they were all asleep. Apparently when lunchtime hits, Thais take a nap - office staff, construction workers, etc... Quite a nice idea, but I still can't bring myself to do it. I did a check of a project we're working on at lunch and I thought I came across a mass suicide....

FM/GSO Christmas Party

2010-12-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

Despite the best efforts of the USG to purge even the slightest reference to anything religious - the GSO/FM Christmas Party was a big hit. (Sorry, most Americans celebrate Christmas, not the "Holidays.") Here are some pics from the event:
The DCM helping us with a gift raffle.

Me with Khun Jeab and Knun Wan.

Playing chairball!

After the Americans left...

Some GSO staff.

Happy Birthday to me...

2010-12-22T20:15:00.001-08:00

My birthday was November 27th and one of the work order clerks, Khun Jeab, had her birthday the next day. The staff got us a cake and we celebrated birthdays!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-22T19:58:00.001-08:00