Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon!! Please donate.

I am training for another 1/2 marathon in Las Vegas for Team Challenge (funds go to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation).  In order to get there, I need donations!  I can start putting more stories up here, for everyone that makes a comment on this post and a donation to Team Challenge, I will write up a new post.  And I promise to make them good and humorous.  Thank you!!!

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Southern Georgia

I'm writing this post primarily for Eric.  I used to work with Eric and he misses stories about being in the papermill, especially ones from me.  That's because there aren't a lot of females that work in papermills.  There are some, but not many.  And because of that, I tend to make friends very easily with the operators in the papermill and it's probably also because I'm so nice. :)

I was in southern Georgia last week, helping out with a start-up of some of our equipment.  There was only one operator for this area and they work an 8-hr shift.  A few of the nights, I was on the swing shift and one night, I was on the graveyard shift.  The first operator I worked with was really nice, he told me about how much he loves fishin' and huntin'.  Each day I saw him, he had fished in the morning before he came to work.  He also has two little boys and he told me all about how they were named, I remember one of them was Max, but I can't remember the other.  They were both named after different men on his side of the family, both first and middle names.  I asked him why they didn't name them after anyone in his wife's family, he said she had agreed with the names, too.  But, I could tell that it wasn't even something they thought of doing.  He had nicknames for a lot of people at the mill.  He gave one of the guys I work with the nickname, "humperdink" (his last name is Hungerpiller).  There was someone else nicknamed "sniffy" (because he was always sniffing) another operator was nicknamed "Ronald McDonald" for the week because he had dyed his hair bright red.  That nickname was very fitting.  The operator that was working graveyard was nicknamed "granny" because he was always getting after the other operators about their work and keeping things cleaned up in the control room.  It was fun talking to him and hearing all the gossip about the other people working there.  

I worked with "granny" (his real name is Joe) one night.  I met him the night before, as I was leaving, and he said, "oh, so we get to sleep together tomorrow night?"  Ha, ha, it was funny.  When I came in the next night, he apologized, since he wasn't sure how I took what he said.  I told him that I got it and there weren't any worries.  But he did say something else later that night about how he got to spend the night with me.  He is 62 and divorced and I heard all about his ex-wife.  We exchanged some stories.  He was into Harleys and dirt bikes.  He built a dirt bike track for his son and grandkids and races around with them all the time.  He seems to be an awesome grandpa.  He also is in the process of building them a zip-line.  I think my dad should build me a zip-line in my back yard.  

When Joe was telling me about riding Harleys, he told me how much he loves riding winding roads and that there was one road in North Carolina that has over 300 turns in 11 miles.  I told him that would make me so sick, since I get motion sickness.  But, that it seemed really fun.  Later that night, he told me it was just too bad that I got motion sickness and he was sort of implying that he would have liked to take me on a ride on his Harley.  Ha, ha....so awesome!  Another thing he told me was that he was not looking forward to going to the dentist the next day.  He just got so nervous about it.  He said, "I get more nervous than a prostitute at church".  That made me laugh really hard. 

He also told me about how he is only interested in dating women and not being re-married.  He just didn't want to deal with someone being like his ex again.  I thought that was a little sad, but it sounds like he keeps dating women that don't seem to be the best girlfriends.  He told me about his most recent girlfriend and she had thought she saw Joe drive by her place a few times during the day, but he had actually been working that day.  She was really mad when he saw her that night because he hadn't stopped by.  He just got up and said it's over.  He knew she was a crazy if she was that upset with him, when she didn't remember that he was working.  She came by his house that night and threw a bag full of all the Harley gear he had bought for her on his front porch and then peeled out.  And Joe was completely fine with it all. 

These are the kinds of things I get to hear when I'm working at the papermill late at night.  I doubt that my male counterparts from the office get to hear as many good stories as I do.  They also don't have the chance to be hit on by the operators, either.  The pros and cons....

Grandpa Gus

My grandpa Gus passed away on January 22.  My uncle Nick gave the eulogy at his funeral service which highlighted so many wonderful things about my grandpa.  I've copied it below.  Enjoy reading more about him.  He was a fun grandpa and a wonderful father to my mom.

Σας ευχαριστούμε πάρα πολύ, Παπά

For my beloved father, Gus Demas

by his loving son, Nicholas

(A Eulogy given January 31, 2011)

To be able to say some words on this day that pay special remembrance to my father--to commemorate his life--is a great honor. Doing so for him, and for my loving mother, is truly a privilege.

Some of us know him as Gus, to some others Costa Deno, and yet others know him as Papa; but sometimes I just call him Dad. Whatever we call him, when I think of my father, I think of a quiet confidence. A silent pride and strength and fortitude that need no words mentioned; revealed only by his stature and his actions. I think of him as a guardian and a protector--of anyone that needs protecting. A caring and compassionate nature for others, always willing to lend a hand. A man with a generous and giving heart, who provided for his family with the highest standard in his work ethic. And I think of him as a good husband to my mother (He so loves her, I saw it in his eyes). I think of a man who lived a full and vibrant life. A complete life, even though that cruel disease robbed him of his twilight. So today I will be proud and share some stories and anecdotes about his life and loves and some of my own experiences with him.

And from this point forward, I’ll cherish the memories I have, and forever contemplate how he affected my life so deeply.  Gus was the second oldest of 8 children. Born to Greek immigrant parents, he spent his formative years in Nevada City and Grass Valley where his father worked in the gold mines.  This was during the depression era of the 1930’s. Times were somewhat rough in those days, but young Gus and his brothers found industrious and enterprising ways to help make ends meet; and had a little fun too. Gus and his brothers somehow figured they could pick flowers and sell them to the ... ("professional" women of the town (brothel?)). Picture these kids, aged between 5 and 10, picking and arranging bouquets of flowers, and sending their littlest brother Sam up to the house where the working women there would find him so cute and irresistible they couldn’t refrain from spending a dime or a quarter. Or they would bring their shoeshine boxes to the saloon and shine the shoes for the miners and patrons there. They’d take some of the money home of course, but the rest would afford all sorts of goodies and fun stuff like movies and comic books. Depression? They had no idea there was any depression. Just the innocence of youth and making due with what they had.

Papa Nick

Gus’s father, Nickolas, was highly influential to his children. By all accounts he was somewhat of a stern man, with a sometimes quick temper, yet at other times sensitive and kind. Neverthe-less he was highly respected and admired by his children. Though he could not read and write in English, in Greek he was a learned man, and would teach the children by story telling.

The impressionable children would sit around a cast-iron stove or fireplace and listen intently as their father would tell stories of ancient Greece and its philosophers such as Socrates and Plato and Aristotle; or tales of his own childhood and hardships of life that was in Crete; or even stories of ghosts and legends and such. Gus and all his brothers always spoke of their father in utmost respect and regard, and credit his influence as vital to their characters.

The Gift

Gus was a gifted athlete. Definitely a natural talent in the realm of sports. Football, baseball, anything that required dexterity and speed and skill. But where he particularly shined was in the boxing ring. I have heard many tell of his exceptional abilities when they speak of him. I often hear words like: “excellence” or “awesome” when I hear others describe his extraordinary talents in the ring. I have even heard some say he missed his calling and could‘ve perhaps made a living fighting if he‘d continued. Although spectators who knew him and saw him fight praised his abilities, I never once heard a bragging word from his own mouth, as he was very modest and humble when talking about himself.

My dad’s younger brother, Angelo, told me a story about a neighbor they had when they were kids. Apparently this neighbor complained often about the kids being noisy while they were playing and horsing around in the neighborhood. One day this neighbor called Gus over and gave him a gift. To their surprise, the man had given them a gift, a set of boxing gloves so the kids could face off against each other. They only guessed as to the neighbor’s true intentions, but speculated he had secretly hoped they’d beat each other senseless in the process. Neverthe-less, over the following months and years they strapped these gloves on and fought with each other, day in and day out, learning to become good fighters, all of them. But Gus stood out, a notch above, displaying his natural abilities immediately, and it was obvious that he had a special gift. Gus became supremely confident defending himself. He developed a reputation of being someone to fear in the fighting ring; as well as on the streets, where there were some tough kids in those days. But it was compassion and class that stood out this time, as he would always step up and stick up for someone who may have been treated unfairly or hurt by a bully.

His brothers looked up to him, and felt secure in knowing Gus had their backs covered. I think everyone who knew him would agree those same sentiments were easy to come by for anyone around him, always knowing we had nothing to fear when my Dad was around; it was just the way about him, a natural protector.

My Father, the Working Man. The Family Man.

My Dad worked extremely hard to provide for us. As a kid growing up, I probably didn’t get to see him as often as most kids get to see their dads. He was intensely committed to working hard and laboring to bring home enough to build a decent life for his family. Often with extra board hours of 8 on and 8 off, barely finding time to sleep between shifts, it was hard to spend quality time with him. Of course we wanted more, but that was the man. That was the ethic...

Gardens and Grandma’s

A passion of my father's was his diligent caring for his garden and fruit trees. Anyone who knows him probably got a sack of vegetables or fruit on a visit or two. Nothing better than slicing open a peach or a nectarine right off the tree in the backyard, and shooting the breeze with Dad on a hot summer day. He would also, as sure as clockwork, take vegetables and fruit and other goodies to his mother’s where all his brothers and sisters would meet weekly for family gatherings.

I remember fondly growing up, going to my Grandma Demas’s every Sunday for those gatherings of the family. Gus and all his brothers would congregate there. They would have intense and elaborate discussions and debates in the family room about everything--all things politics or financial markets or current events or any topic of interest would be discussed and debated vigorously. I used to enjoy just sitting, and watching and listening from a perch on the staircase just above, fascinated with the energy emanating from the room as these men bandied words and opinions back and forth as arguments were established and points were made. As a child looking on, it seemed as though it was a fierce battle of combatants. Then suddenly, some or all of them would seem cross, and in the next moment they were all smiling and laughing together; but just until the next debate commenced.

So many wonderful memories of my Dad. How he used to take us on vacations. driving halfway across the states to Oklahoma and Texas to see my mother‘s relatives. Stopping at all the national parks and tourist stops along the way. He also enjoyed taking us to Tahoe. All you can eat seafood, and a dip in the lake. I loved to watch him sprint for the water and dive in the shallow and swim out and dive off the tall buoy. Other times he would dawn a monster mask and scare all the kids from outside the house when he came home from work at night. You knew he was in a playful mood when you’d get a gentle kick or tap on the rear end, or a pat on the head. He would show his affections and you knew they were genuine. He used to take me to the stock brokerage when I was kid, and I’d watch the tickers and lights. He bought me my first shares of stock when I was in grade school and showed me how to check the newspaper for quotes--to check my net worth.

Years later, after I was grown and on my own, we had regular discussions and talks. Many about markets and economics. My father was intelligent and read--self taught. And I admired that about him. He gave me my first technical books on markets and trading when I was a young man. He taught me to be frugal and save my money. Taught me about systems and odds. He inspired me in so many ways. But when my dad's eyes would light up when I had something intelligent to say, that was extra special. He had learned from me too...

And I am proud of that.

The Music in the Man

One thing not many people know about my Dad is his brilliant singing voice. I had experienced when I was a youngster, occasion when he would sing when no one was around. He wasn’t shy in front of me, but if someone would come around, he would clam up. But it wasn’t until later in life, in his older age, that I really heard him let loose with his voice and recognized his talent.  Not just his pitch but how he would sing vibrato and use his diaphragm. It really was beautiful. I would sometimes sing along with him to songs like “Red River Valley” and “Lone Prairie“. My mother and I continued to sing to him after his singing voice faltered into the last days. These are some of the things that showed the sweetness of his character that will live on with me forever.

My father was almost 40 when I was born, he had done so much before I was even a part of his life. In some way I feel almost cheated I didn't get more time with him. Somehow I wish I was his oldest, and could’ve seen him closer to his prime in life. But my memories with him are cherished, and I know I'll see him again some day. And I'll throw a baseball or a football with him again, and we'll talk together... and laugh together... and sing together.

Sas ef charistó pára polý, Papá... Sas ef charistó.

Work Conference

I go to a conference for my job every 6 months in Atlanta.  I was just there two weeks ago.  I try to meet new people while I'm at the conference for networking and also to help with hopefully getting more projects for the company I work for.  However, being one of only a few women out of hundreds of men attending the conference can be interesting.  I took a couple of guys to dinner one of the nights and then sat next to one of them during the meetings the next day because he was the only one there from his mill and I was there by myself that day.  He's a really nice guy, we talked quite a bit.  When I was getting ready to leave from the conference, he gave me a hug goodbye.  I don't really get that.  I also got a hug from one of my company's salesmen and another one from a salesman that I know from a different company.  Why can't I just have a handshake?  I think I'm too nice.

I also just received the following e-mail from another guy that I normally talk to each time I go to the conference (who, by the way, is married and has 3 little boys):

Ann,

I'm very sorry we missed the opportunity to get caught up during the Fall 2010 BLRBAC session. To be quite honest, being able to spend some time with you during these semi-annual sessions has become a highlight for me (ok, I admitted it!).

I want to thank you again for sending along my urgent recent request for assistance. Paul's input helped immensely.

But none of that helped with my Ann fix!! haha

Hope to see you soon.

errrr.....awkward!

A couple of stories...

Story #1

My little sister, Leah got married at the beginning of September and then had her reception a couple of weekends ago.  Her reception was down in Centralia, where my family has gone to church forever.  I knew I would see a bunch of people from church and was looking forward to talking to some of them.  I did get to see a few of those people, but there was one lady I talked to that just makes me laugh.  She has a daughter that is a little younger than me and I haven't talked to this woman probably in over 10 years..maybe?  So, the first thing she asks me after we say hi to each other is, "how many children do you have now?" 

So, I bluntly said, "I'm not married." and smiled. 

And then she said, "Oh, well you're going to have A LOT of children."

After which, I said, "well, I'm not married, so who knows?"

And then she just started talking about how all of my sisters and me look so much alike.  I just thought it was funny that she really doesn't know anything about me and what is going on in my life but automatically thinks I must have a lot of kids.  Is that because my mom decided to have 12 children?  I'm not mad about what she said to me, I just think it's weird that she would ask that first. 

Story #2

I saw Minus the Bear play at the Crocodile last week (awesome performance, by the way).  I was with my friend, Corinn and decided I really needed earplugs.  I went up to the bar to buy some and there was a girl standing in front of the bar, who at first, I thought was working because she asked me, "what are you drinking?" 

But when she asked me, she put her arm around my back, just a little.  I thought, hmm, that's kind of weird, but it was loud, so she needed to shout for me to hear.  So I was waiting my turn and she ordered her drinks (at which point I figured out she wasn't working there) and then she turned to me and said, "are you sure you don't want anything to drink?  You can put anything on my tab."

So I said, "oh thank you for offering, but I'm ok, I'm just getting earplugs."

But I did tell her that I liked her headband, it was really cute.

And then she told the bartender I needed earplugs, because that's what girls do for girls when they like them.  And I bought the earplugs and she brushed my back and then walked away. 

I really can't remember ever being hit on by a woman before, it was kind of flattering because she was really cute, but at the same time, why couldn't it have been a guy?  Seriously?

the dangers of biking!!

Joseph has threatened me that he will remove the link to my blog from his blog since I don't ever write on here.  I've decided I am going to try to start blogging again.  TRY...

Jared and I are planning to bike/run in a duathlon next weekend.  I've been biking more this summer and I think I'm pretty ready to bike 12 miles and run 3 miles.  Last weekend, Jared and I went on a practice bike ride near Lake Sammamish.  It was a fun ride, right next to the lake and it was good for me to ride with Jared, so I would push myself to go faster.  On the way back, we turned onto a trail and I noticed it was a little wet and had leaves on it.  I thought to myself...I should slow down, it might be a little slippery.  But, it was too late, I got to a corner too quickly and my rear tire slid out and I hit the ground in seconds.  Jared was right behind me and crashed as well.  His bike actually flew up and on top of me.  I'm still a little bruised from it.  This was the worst of it:

Ha, ha, I know it's disgusting.  It's still healing up, I should have a nice little scar from it.  I had just talked to my almost 8-year old nephew a couple of days before about his bike wreck, he had it pretty bad with his chin, elbow, knee all looking like my elbow.  The last time I wrecked on a bike was when I was 9, so this wasn't fun.  I'm just praying it doesn't rain on Saturday for the race.  I will be so much more nervous, if it does!

Monkeys!

I only have time for a quick note and I don't know when I'll be able to post again because I'm leaving tomorrow morning for another paper mill.  To get there, I will drive 4 hours, fly 2 hours and travel by train 6 hours.  I am not looking forward to it.

The monkeys were back in the tree in front of the house I'm staying in this morning.  They were jumping from branch to branch, they're so cute.  Although, as I was taking photos of them, one got on a lower branch and started making these awful screeching noises at me, it was scary.  He was not happy with me.  I tried to get some good shots, but there's only so much my camera can do.

The one above is an action shot, you can see the monkey jumping in the bottom, just to the right of the center.  Anyway, there were two different kinds, one with a black face and one with the white/pink face.  There were also a flock of these huge birds with a big beak.  They were so neat looking.  The monkeys were chasing them out of the tree for a bit.

 

And then I had to go to work.  At least there are some neat things to see around here when I am not working.  And as far as work goes, we have wrapped up what we came here to do.  I don't know if I've mentioned it.  We were starting up a system we designed.  It's a pollution control system.  Which, I think is pretty ironic considering each morning I leave my room in the morning, the sky is completely filled with smoke from everyone burning their trash.  And then inside the paper mill, I see all sorts of tanks overflowing to their sewer that shouldn't be sent to a sewer line.  But they might have a treatment system for the sewer lines, I'm not sure.  Anyway, I guess it's good that the paper mill is starting somewhere.

Some of the animals in town

There are animals walking around freely all over the place here...cows, dogs, pigs, goats.  I guess the cows, pigs and goats are actually owned by people, but they just let them wander around.  Like today at the market, I asked Raju about some of the cows and he said the cows will just try to get some free food and that is how they end up eating.  I feel bad for the stray dogs, they are all over the place, but most of them do look fed and not too scrawny.  I think people feed them, probably because they think they might be that dog when they die. 

If you look close at the one above, you can see two cows in the middle of the street and two motorcycles dodging them. 

Oh and here are some of my roommates.  I think I've seen 4 different frogs so far. 

I've seen a group of monkeys here, too.  They were playing up in the tree in front of the house I'm staying in one morning and then they were playing up on top of the temple another evening, but I haven't seen them lately.  Hopefully they'll come back before I leave.  It was so funny watching them play on top of the temple.

Sunday Market!

There isn't much to do here in the evenings, so if you like reading about what I'm doing/seeing here, then you are in luck.  Thank goodness for wireless internet!

It's Sunday evening here and I had to work in the morning and then a little in the afternoon.  I haven't felt too comfortable walking outside of the mill complex by myself and luckily, Raju went outside with me today.  Sunday is a busy day around here.  This is the day most of the people do their shopping.  The market is just outside the gates and was packed this afternoon.  There were quite a few vegetables that I have not ever seen before, but I've probably been eating them.  I don't really know what I'm eating most of the time, I just know if I like it or don't.  So far, I've liked most everything.  They have so many different varieties of vege dishes.  My favorite thing so far has probably been the mango Slice soda...so yummy!  Anyway, some shots from the market:

They had so many dried red peppers!

I still got a lot of stares in the market.  I guess I do stand out quite a bit.  I'm glad Raju went with me and explained what a lot of the vegetables and nuts were.  We walked by this sweets stand and he told me he would buy me some before we leave and that they are so delicious.  I'm a little leery, though.  He had me try this sweet milk dessert thing the other night and although the taste of it was ok, it had this really weird texture.  Most of the sweets at this stand looked more like spices.  So, we'll have to see.

More of Dandeli

I had a little bit of free time this afternoon while some things were being fixed on the system. I took a walk around part of the mill complex. They have all sorts of buildings here, a research center, hospital, gymnasium, employee's club and lots of housing. I was walking down one road but decided to turn around because it was where people lived, these houses were tiny and not the bigger apartment buildings they have here and it was even more run down than the rest of what I've seen. They also have a playground across the street from the Hindu temple. They even have teeter-totters. I loved those things, too bad parks don't have them anymore at home. You can see a couple of buildings behind the park, those are some of the apartment buildings.
I had to take a photo of their ambulance parked outside the hospital, it is a van that is probably only 4 1/2' tall. I rode in one of them (not the ambulance, but another van) and they technically seat 8 people.

Another day in Dandeli

Today was a very slow day. Even though there is an overabundance of people working at the paper mill, they aren’t able to fix things very quickly. I sat around most of the day waiting for a few fixes to the system I’m working on. There is definitely too many layers of management here since it takes forever for decisions to be made and then for someone to actually do something about it.
I am used to waiting around during start-ups but at least at the other start-ups I’ve been on, the operators will talk with me while we’re waiting for things to be completed. Here, I just sit and wait and don’t talk to anyone, except Raju once in a while (he’s not all that talkative). Anyway, it makes for a pretty boring day. As I was sitting and waiting, I was watching everyone that was “working” in the control room. There were a couple of guys that were really working and then at one point, there was at least 8 guys just sitting around talking, doing absolutely nothing. Labor is definitely cheap here if they can have all these men sitting around doing nothing all day.
Every time I am walking around the mill, I get long stares from everyone. I think other paper mills in India have female engineers working at them, but not this one. The only females I’ve seen so far are the ones cleaning things up around the place. They sweep the roads with brooms made with branches. I’m not sure why they bother sweeping the road because they are mostly dirt. Some of the men just stare for so long, it kind of makes me uncomfortable. So, I’ve started staring back at some of them and that normally makes them stop. It probably is worse because there are so many people working here, so I have to walk by lots of different people who keep staring. Ugh.
As I was leaving for the day, one of the security guards asked me where I was from and talked to me for a bit. He was really nice, has two sons, one’s an engineer and the other a doctor. He is retired from the Indian army. He told me his name, but it was over 5 syllables, so I have no idea what it was, even though I tried really had to say it back to him. It was nice that someone finally talked to me. And then when I went to dinner, the Japanese guy here talked to me for a bit. He’s really friendly and pretty dorky, but nice. He asked me if I’ve been to a bunch of spots in the US that he’s seen…Niagra Falls, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon. We talked about Ichiro and Jojima. I guess Ichiro is from a town that is near where he lives. And then there is one other guy here on a start-up that is Indian that has spoken to me a couple of times. He’s really friendly, too and tonight he told me I’m looking very beautiful. What a nice guy after the long day I’ve had.
Here are a couple of photos of the house I’m staying in (nothing fancy, if they painted, it would look so much better). We have a guy there all day that is there to wait on us. He gets me bottled water (I have 3 huge bottles in my fridge) and I think he just looks over the house while we're in the mill. He's nice, he brought me some mango juice today.

And this is the Hindu temple that isn’t too far from the house I’m staying in. I can hear their prayers being broadcast every night for about an hour. I have a recording I’ll try to put on here another day.

And a pretty bush with these neat red flowers. I saw this group of about 20 teenage girls walking on the street towards me and I wanted to take a picture of them because they looked so beautiful in their brightly colored saris. I feel weird just taking pictures of people, unless I can be sneaky about it and have them not notice. I was unsucceful. I'll try to get some people shots, though.

My first day in an Indian Paper Mill

It was interesting to see the inside of the paper mill today. The first thing that stood out to me was how many people were working. The parking lot is right next to the front gate and it had hundreds of bicycles and motorcycles parked in it. Raju told me there are probably 1,000 direct mill employees and probably a few hundred more that are contract employees. At a paper mill this size in the US, there would probably be a few hundred employees. I guess it’s good that so many people are able to have jobs, but it seems like a waste because a lot of them aren’t even doing anything. For the system I’m working on, I normally will have 1 or 2 people helping out at a paper mill in the US. Today, I think there were six different people with us at one point. But only 1 or 2 of them were actually doing something helpful.
And then I saw what some of the people working there were doing and it seemed like busy work. I saw this huge puddle in the road when we first walked in this morning and then at lunch time, the water in it was being manually scooped out into buckets by two barefoot women. It was pretty dry by the end of the day. I’m sure it fills up with water all the time and these women scoop it out every time, but why don’t they just fix the road, so it doesn’t fill up with water? I also saw men who were barefoot or wearing flip flops working all over the mill on all sorts of little projects. Projects that would take a day in the US, but here, it probably keeps them busy for weeks. And it is weird to see them all wearing flip flops when I wear steel-toe boots.
The other weird thing from today was all the stray dogs inside the paper mill. I saw at least 5 of them. I feel really dumb taking pictures when there are people around, but I snuck in a couple. I’m going to try to take more over the week. Here’s one of the dogs just lazing around in the middle of the mill.

I'm sure you can't see this photo very well, but it's depicting what to do in case of an emergency at the mill. The middle square on the top has this title: “On getting information about any gas leakage use available mode of transport to move away quickly from the place.” The funniest part of it is the mode of transportation they show in the cartoon. A motorcycle with 2 people on it, a bicycle with 2 people on it, and 2 trucks completely packed with people in the back. They definitely know how to pack people into vehicles here.

First Thoughts of Dandeli

Dandeli is built around the paper mill. Most everyone that lives in the town either works at the mill or supplies something to people that work in the mill. Raju told me he thought there are 100,000 people living here, but I don’t know because I have only seen a small portion of it. There is a whole community within the gated portion of the mill. I think most people that are employed by the mill live here, there are a lot of buildings that look like apartments and there are more that are houses, like the house I’m staying in. I’ve also seen a temple and a hospital. All the buildings look pretty run down from the outside.
The house I am staying in has three different rooms for people to stay in. I think it used to be a normal house and they converted it into a guest house. My room is pretty simple, but I have cable tv (the only thing I’ve watched so far is their music station and it is so awesome, I love Indian music videos, they crack me up), a little fridge and my own bathroom. And two twin beds right next to each other, so the room is a little cramped. I think the room next to mine has two guys sharing it, but I haven’t actually seen them, I’ve only heard them. And I’ve heard everything. I think one of the guys must be sick because he sure has the runs a lot. Totally gross. There’s only a false ceiling, so all the sound carries right into my room. I had to sleep with earplugs last night because their tv was on so loud and the guy keeps coughing over and over and then going to the bathroom over and over.
Anyway, my bathroom is just an open room and there is a shower, but I couldn’t get any hot water out of it this morning, so I used the buckets and scoopers to wash up. It worked and wasn’t as bad as a cold shower would have been.
We have each of our meals at another guest house where there’s a big kitchen and an open room where all the people visiting the mill eat. I guess there are two different places we can eat; we’ve been going to the vegetarian house to eat since Raju is Hindu. It’s all Indian food and has been pretty good so far, some of it is a little spicy for me, though. And I’m trying not to get sick while I’m here, so I’m only eating things that are cooked. They’ve given me a couple of desserts, but I have passed on them because they’re made with milk. I’m sure I would be ok, but I just don’t want to risk sounding like my neighbor. The other house has some non-Indian style foods since there are people here from Germany, Japan, China and other parts of India starting up different equipment at the mill. I’m not the only white person eating there, but I am the only female eating there. And I haven’t seen any female engineers in the mill. I think that must be why I get all the stares from everyone else working there. It’s kind of annoying.

Getting to Dandeli

I'm sitting in this community room where we just had lunch in Dandeli. This is the town where the paper mill is located. I'll tell you a little about my trip getting here. We flew out of Bangalore early this morning to Hubli, which is a teeny-tiny airport. They use a tractor to pull the baggage cart things. A driver from the paper mill was there to meet us and we took off down the road.
Drivers down here drive like they are in a race; I think most of them would do well on obstacle courses. We were first on a larger highway-type road which had enough room for our car to pass a motorbike while a huge truck was coming from the opposite direction. We soon took our exit, which was a dirt road that looped back under the highway we had just gone over. It was definitely not a normal exit, but people started using it as one. It put us back on a paved road, but not very wide and no markings on the road. There was just enough room for a car and a truck on the other side. Unfortunately, there are way more people/animals using the road than just a car or truck. I wish I could have taken some pictures as we were speeding down this road, we saw so many different things. Most of the area is farming, I saw fields of corn and sunflowers, women out in the fields carrying pots on their heads, cows with their horns painted bright blue and red, children in school clothes and children half-clothed, men sitting in front of shops.
The road was being used by cattle, men with carts full of hay being pulled by cows, people on motorbikes (a family of 4 was the biggest group I saw on one), children, dogs, chicken, monkeys, trucks with large loads, buses and cars. And the cars, like ours, were the ones passing all these people and animals. Our driver was going around 50 mph most of the time. Every time we approached one of the above, he would honk his horn and then whiz by them sometimes with a bus or truck only missing us by a few feet. I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be, but it’s probably because I’ve had somewhat similar rides in Thailand and Honduras. Although, those rides were not in such rural areas with so many people walking on the road or on a road that was so narrow. There were a few times that I thought we were going to get hit, but these drivers are pretty good. He would just slam on his brakes if he got too close to hitting someone or didn't have enough time to get around a slower vehicle.
Not too far from Dandeli, we came to a stop because a couple of cars were blocking the road and a bunch of people were on the side of the road. I knew it had to be an accident and I didn’t even want to look over. I looked, though. It was so awful. Two men must have been hit on their motorcycle and were in the ditch. One guy had blood all over his face and I could see the other guy being held up by someone, I don’t know if he was alive. It was really upsetting. If these people would just drive a little slower, those men wouldn’t have been pushed off the road. It seems like such a preventable thing.
Anyway, I made it here and I am glad we had a good driver.
Later today, Raju, (the Indian rep I’m working with) told me that he had never been the way we came. Normally, it’s about another 45 minute drive that is on the main highway.

Bangalore, India

I arrived in Bangalore around 1230am last night, after traveling for 22 hours. I spent way too much time sitting in a plane. I was on Air France and flew through Paris, but didn't get to see any of the city from the air because it was so foggy. I was hoping to at least see part of Paris. I really need to visit Paris. I watched a few French movies to make up for it. The cutest one was La Petit Nicolas.

When I finally made it to India, the hotel had a driver waiting to pick me up with the little sign. The drive over was pretty quiet, there weren't a lot of other cars out (probably because it was 1 in the morning), but every time the driver went through a crosswalk, he would honk, which I thought was a little weird because there wasn't anyone out. I found out today why he honked. That's all they do while they're driving here, honk to let you know they're about to run you over, honk to let another car know they are in their way...lots of honking. I had to take a video, which I'm having troubles putting on here. I'll have to try later.

Here are some pics of the road around here, nothing too exciting or pretty.

I'm staying on Brigade Road, which is next to MG road, both of which I had read about as being good places for shopping. I did get out and found some nice deals on a few things, but I really didn't like how dirty everything was out on the sidewalks and all the loud traffic around me. I went into this department store that had all sorts of things on sale. The weird thing about that store was how many people were working there. I would look at one or two racks of clothes and one employee would come up to me and just stare at me, so I would say, "Oh, I'm just looking, thanks" and then I would get to the next couple of racks and another person would come up to me and start staring. It was so weird. First, that they had so many people working there and then second that they wouldn't ask me if I needed any help, they would just wait for me to say something first. And then when I was making my purchase, I asked the guy if they took American Express and he shook his head no so I asked him if they took Visa and he said, "we take American Express or Visa". I guess shaking your head no means yes here. So confusing.

I had read about a huge botanical garden here, but I didn't have enough time to find it. It would have been nice to see some more green. I did see two small garden patches, but there was garbage thrown all around it. I really should have found the botanical garden, so I could know there was something really pretty here. Maybe I'll have time on my way back home.

Heading to India

Yes, I do still have a blog and yes, I've decided to revive it. Maybe I'll do a super post and put up some pictures from last year. But for now, I'm going to share my experiences with my upcoming trip to India. I leave this Saturday and will travel for 20 some hours to Bangalore, India. I'm going to end up in Dandeli at the West Coast Paper Mill for my work. I'm helping them with a start-up of one of my company's systems. It should be an interesting experience.

The wikipedia link for Dandeli appears to be written by someone promoting the wildlife sanctuary, and I wouldn't mind going there, if I get some free time. I might get to see one of these creatures: elephant, tiger, leopard, gaur, flying squirrel...especially the flying squirrel.

More to come. I hope I have internet at the guest house in Dandeli, so I can put up pictures while I'm there.

louisiana stories

I was in Campti, Louisiana last week for work. There were a couple of funny things that happened during the trip, so I thought I would write about them. Campti is too small of a town to actually stay there, so I stayed in Natchitoches. Think about how you would say that town name, you're completely wrong, it's pronounced Nack-A-Dish. I have no idea how they get that pronunciation from that word...confusing, but again, it is Louisiana and they pronounce things differently.

When I go on work trips I normally meet some of the operators that work in the paper mill. They are friendly and like to talk to me, probably because they don't get very many girls working around them. I wish I could have recorded some of the conversations I was in because their accents are so strong, it is sometimes hard to understand what they're saying, but kind of funny listening, too. One of the guys I was working with, Eddie, was pretty nice. He gave me suggestions on where to eat, gave me his phone number on the back of a map he drew in case I got lost, talked me into trying alligator tail, wanted me to try fried frog legs (no way!), made me laugh by making fun of another guy there that was taking dancing lessons so he could dance with his daughter at her wedding, and even made me this miniature little copper scorpion. Pretty funny. And no Annemarie, I wasn't interested in him. But I thought it was sweet that he made this little scorpion. So cute, I have it in my office, now.

A couple of more random things. I was driving into the mill one morning, listening to the local news and there was a story about these two women that got into a fight at the Wal-Mart in town. I guess one of the guys that was with one of them ended up grabbing some scissors off the shelf and repeatedly stabbed the other woman. He was arrested and being held for attempted man-slaughter. Needless to say, I decided to not go into Wal-Mart when I was looking for a place to grab a snack.

I did have some good southern/Cajun food while I was there. Besides the fried alligator tail (which really wasn't that great), I tried some meat pies (basically meat empanadas), dirty rice, bbq pork sandwich, chicken po-boy (this is just a warm sandwich, but the chicken was seasoned so yummily), baked chicken, chocolate cream pie on a pecan crust and some peach cobbler. I know, it looks like I'm a pig, but I was there a few days. And I'm going back on Monday, so maybe a few more stories will come out of this trip.

acupuncture

I love running and I haven't really been able to do it as much as I would like to since July last year, JULY! It has been frustrating to say the least. I developed trochanteric bursitis, read about it on wiki. But basically, I could not run on it for several months while I was going to physical therapy. The bursitis part actually went away through that treatment and no running, but I have had an irritated muscle in my left hip since then. It's the most annoying thing ever. I've been working with a sports medicine doctor and we tried the PT first and he did a x-ray on my hip, did a MRI of my lower back, went back to PT for core strengthening....our latest treatment method was acupuncture. Yes, I know, it seems a little new age and all, but I was willing to try it. I went 6 times and nothing really helped, so I am thinking I will next try the cortisone shot. I have been able to start running some again, but it's still a nagging pain in my hip muscle (I don't know the name of whatever one it is). I would really like to be able to just go out and run and not have to think about this anymore.

So, here are a few shots of my back with the acupuncture needles in, they are really quite small and don't even hurt. Except there was one that she put in my hip that must of hit a blood vessel because it swelled up and bruised immediately. My sister does acupuncture, I should ask her what she thinks of it, maybe it works for other things.

my new band

Bart just did this on his blog and since he is so cool, I'm going to copy him. Follow the instructions below to make the album cover of your new band.


I love my new band, Wichita Wild and our new cd, Energetic Men of Good Will is so awesome. I wish I could have gotten as cool of a photo as Bart did, but I didn't want to cheat, so I got stuck with some crazy kid running in the sand. Maybe it goes with my album title? If I saw this cd, I probably wouldn't be too interested in buying it.

1. Go to Wikipedia. Click “random”or go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3. Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together and post it.

shows!

I love seeing bands play live and I've been able to make it to a few shows lately. The first one was the Murder City Devils, who I love and have loved for a long time. They actually broke up several years ago, but are reuniting and touring right now. Their music is kind of dark, I guess it goes with the name, They are so good live. Anyway, I took a video, but it's too huge of a file to put on here. Here's a couple of photos, but look at their web-site, there's a video. The first one doesn't really show it, but Spencer, the lead singer, is singing while crowd surfing. I think my favorite show or at least most memorable show of their's was in Dallas when they lit the drum set on fire for a minute.

I also saw Ra Ra Riot this past week. They were a lot of fun, too and total opposites of the MCD. They are kind of poppy, but have a cello and violin in the mix. Good stuff. They had Telekinesis open for them and they're from Seattle, they were the best opening band I've seen in a while. And Cut off Your Hands (they're from New Zealand), they were pretty good. I took a few small-sized videos, the image isn't very good, but the sound turned out pretty well.

Cut Off Your Hands

Telekinesis

Ra Ra Riot!