Finally on my way

"Look, I was just on my way to pay you back, but I got a little sidetracked! It's not my fault."

-- Hans Solo

Well...after being hospitalized twice and going through an amputation (right leg, above the knee), I'm finally heading out to Bangkok. HR still has some kinks to work out, but I'm not waiting for them, they'll figure it out.

So the plan is to spend one last Christmas on the east coast (getting loads of snow today, Moht will be happy and sad at the same time). Spend it with the kids, who will all be back by Christmas Eve, pack up and go.

Then we will spend New Year's Eve in Kalasin (Moht's home), have a big Isaan Karaoke, drinking party and hangover day (not teetotaler me -- "...thank God I'm only watching the game -- controlling it"), then go back to Bangkok to find an apartment. I'll be travellig for much of the first couple of months, but nothing new there except a new home base. Moht and I are very excited and can't wait to make the jump.

Finally, this blog's purpose is coming to fruition.

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go

Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only exception of this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs.

-- Douglas Adams

I'm at the beginning of yet another business trip.  I don't complain about trips because they satisfy the explorer in my soul.  However, airports are a different matter.  Airports are, by their nature, way stations where thousands of people pass through every day.  They can be the starting point to an adventure and the final destination after a grueling journey.  I'm going to list a few of the more memorable airports I've visited.

JFK

John F. Kennedy International Airport used to be my least favorite airport.  It is difficult to get to and often traffic can become do bottle necked that a short 45 drive can become a two plus hour nightmare.  More than once I have had to call while stuck in traffic to reschedule a flight that I thought I had plenty of time to get, but missed.

It's also massive and spread out over several acres of land.  There are EIGHT separate terminals connected by a monorail.  Again, if you have connections and need to take the train, give yourself plenty of time.

I said used to be my least favorite.  But they rebuilt the American Airline Terminal (terminal 8) and very nice.  That, combined with the fact that Heathrow has fallen to crap has raised JFK to a tolerable airport.

Heathrow

I hate this place.  It never fails to bring new standards to bad service and horrible layout.  I could spend an entire blog on Heathrow but I just focus on a couple of egregious ones.  They just opened Terminal 5 that they are very proud about.  I don't who designed it, but they obviously didn't think it all the way through.  It is a half hour bus ride from Terminal 1.  You could literally take the express train into downtown London (15 min.) quicker than from Terminal to Terminal.

BAA, who runs the airport does all kinds of crap in the guise of security, but are really cost savings (or income producing) activities.  For a long time, they only allowed one ITEM.  So if you had a purse and a roll-on, you had better fit the purse in the roll-on or you had to check a bag.  They also have the smallest carry-on allocation in the world.  Want to watch frustrated travellers some time?  Watch them miss the size limitation by 1/4 inch.  Too bad, so sad.  Check it.  Finally (not really finally, but it depresses me to even think about it), customer service is atrocious.  They simply don't shiv a git.  Instead of helping you, counter people will gossip with their friends and when you finally get some response, it is generally unhelpful and nasty.  Who needs these guys?

Suvarnabhumi International Airport 

The gateway to the Land of Smiles.  I actually like this airport a lo.  It's huge, but pretty easy to navigate.  The shops are nice, but I understand that there has been a problem with the King Power Duty Free shops.  Some sort of scam where tourists are accused of shop lifting and extorted by the police.  I've never understood the attraction of the duty free shops.  Probably because I don't drink or smoke, but the rest of the stuff does not seem like it's on deal.  There has also been a problem with unauthorized taxis.  But I've seen that in every airport in the world.

The immigration area in ENORMOUS and makes it so much easier to get through than in Don Mueang International (the old airport).  There are two spas (one at each end of the terminal) where you can get a message for a moderate price.  When you're about to begin  20+ hour journey, it's a nice way to start.

One big complaint -- the security area is right before you board the plane, so it is impossible to take any water on to the plane.  This is VERY annoying a little short sighted.  There is one trick however.  If you buy water at the duty free shop, they'll seal it in their plastic and you can get that on the plane.  Make sense?  No, not at all.  Welcome to Thailand.

Hong Kong Airport

The airport in Hong Kong is exactly what you would expect: large clean efficiently laid out.  You can walk the entire length of the terminal in 20 minutes, yet they still have an underground train that will take from end to end.  Immigration is painfully slow, but you still generally beat the bags to the carousel.  They have a decent assortment of restaurants and eateries, from Burger King to noodle joints and sit down dining.  

The only problem with the airport is that is sooooo far from the Island.  That means you have to plan for a long car ride out to the airport (with possible traffic) when leaving.  

Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so

In one crappy week, we lost Henry Gibson, Patrick Swayze, and Mary Travers.  People die all the time and we try not to think about it.  But these three were special people to me.  Henry Gibson, because he was funny at a time in my life when I was beginning to understand what funny was.  Patrick Swayze, because he was as cool and tough as you could be while still being sensitive (plus he was close to my age).  Mary Travers, because as the Mary in Peter, Paul and Mary, sang songs that touch my soul.  Every time I begin a business trip "Leaving on a Jet Plane" rings through my heart and reminds that even though I'm far from those I love, in my heart they're close.

As I move into my second half-century, death seems to be a more constant companion.  My sister-in-law and my mother-in-law both have been diagnosed with cancer, but are taking remarkably different approaches.  My sister-in-law, in California, has an awful prognosis, but is attacking it aggressively and is determined to be remembered for how she lived, not how she died.  My mother-in-law, in Kalasin, Thailand, is, to the best of my understanding, basically ignoring it.  She was taking radiation treatment, but it was painful and so she stopped.  

My wife worries, but insists that there is nothing she can do to get her mother to understand.  I don't know if this is cultural/religious resignment or pure ignorance.  I try to explain that cancer will not go away with a pill (I have found so far that the definition of modern medicine to a farm village in Thailand exists in the form of a pill), but to no avail.  

 I can't dwell on my demise too much because I can't function in the melancholy of impermanence.  But a week like this forces the thoughts inward and reinforces my desire to not put off adventures and plans until I "retire."  To make sure I don't leave issues unresolved with those I care about.

Just keep moving forward in the circle experiencing what I can, learning what I will, loving those that I'm able to.

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Corporate Transgressions

If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't. -- Hyman Rickover

Dealing with what seems to be the turtle slow pain of PepsiCo bureaucracy can be very frustrating at times.  I waited over a week, calling every day for HR to get back to me.  I need some sense of timing so I can move this thing forward.  Today, I sat down with Annette, my HR generalist to go over the details necessary for the move.  She was actually quite nice and seemed helpful.

If I seem qualified it is because in 20 years of dealing with the corporate world I have dealt with exactly ONE HR person who was honest with me.  I don't know what it is with those guys (and gals).  Maybe everyone lies, but my experience is that these guys do it straight faced even if they don't have to.  They'll lie just about anything and with a very sincere and kind smile.  A bit of advice to the naive -- NEVER sit down and have a friendly chat with someone from HR.  It will wind up in a file somewhere and the good stuff never seems to benefit you, but the bad stuff will haunt you forever,  Maybe I've been really unlucky.  Anyway, Annette may be the second honest helpful HR person I've dealt with, but I just met her so time will tell.  

Everything still seems to be on track for a November move, but now it's maybe later in November, possibly early December.  I need to clarify my job description so as to facilitate the offer sheet from ... Compensation & Benefits.  Comp & Ben are the truly evil part of HR.  Even the HR guys are afraid of them.  I wonder what the Thai HR guys are like.  I could definitely see them not being completely forthcoming in order to avoid conflict or to save face.  Maybe this entire 20 year experience was to help prepare me for Thailand.  Ha!  Guess I'll find out soon.  All of this  has to be blessed by the Thai office HR.  Shouldn't be a problem, they won't be paying for me and I won't be reporting to anyone out there.  I just need an office and a phone (which corporate pays for as well).  I met him a couple of months ago, he seemed nice (he also wasn't Thai, an expat from India.

As much as I may rail against them here, in person, I am smiling and cooperative.  I used to be forthright and up front with them, but Rickover was right, they never forgive.  While they can't fire you or hold back your career if your boss is in your corner (and my boss is GREAT), they can make your and her life miserable.  I can handle the pain, but I refuse to put her through it.  She's been great to me, and I owe at least that much.  So, today I'll write up the description and try to keep the process moving forward.  LOS here I come.

A Serpent in the Garden

Last week Moht, my wife, related an incident that happened at our house located in a farming village outside Kalasin. She had gone fishing in the rice fields and while she was away, the pack of dogs that routinely roam the village were loudly barking outside the house (four of those dogs are hers). These mongrel dogs roam the streets of just about every town and village in Thailand that I've been to. I've always found the dogs top be a bit mangy and off-putting. When her father went to investigate he discovered a snake about two and half feet long.

"What kind of snake?" I asked.

"You know honey, the kind that get a big throat when they get angry."

Yes, I know that kind. Cobras in the garden are not something that suburban boys from California are used to. It's not that I'm afraid of snakes. Growing up in south Orange County, we used to hunt for rattlesnakes in fields surrounding our neighborhood. But cobras are exotic and at least seem more deadly. I can say one thing for certain, I am now a big fan of the wandering dogs.

Today she informed me that two more small cobras were found and dispatched this week. One, outside under the air conditioner, the other in our bedroom. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm psychologically ready for this.

Ready or not, I'm committed (my brother believes I should be committed). At least I'll have two or three years in Bangkok before moving permanently to the farm country. I asked for adventure and you know what they say...be careful what you ask for.

And so it begins

I'm on the verge of heading off to a new adventure so I thought I'd write down experiences and feelings as I transition to a new life in a new place with my Thai family.  I'm very excited, but not without some trepidation.  I have a need to be in control and I want to fix all the problems of those I love.  When I move, I'll be thousands of miles and hours in time away from my family here in the US.  John, whose wife is sick; Joseph, who's starting a family; Cade, who who probably needs less help and more consequence; and Claire, who seems so independent and yet has difficulty cutting ties.  

The reality is that most problems will be solved with or without me and it's probably more than a little arrogant to believe I can have that much impact.  For the last quarter of a century my sense of self has revolved around my children and maybe now that they have reached adulthood, it's time to rediscover myself.  

The plan is to move to Thailand in November, but it's already mid-September and the wheels at Pepsi move a their own pace.  HR wants a better understanding of what I'll be doing in Asia.  I resent their questions.  They take no interest in what we do unless it means they have to do any work, then they become the high lord protectors of the company.  Just let us do our jobs and be support instead of trying to lead from the rear.  Grrrr.

I'll be in Thailand in October as part of larger trip.  I'm leaving October 3 for Ireland for meetings regarding Singapore and procurement.  Then on to Cairo on the 7th to review some transfer pricing exposure issues.  I leave for Bangkok on the 10th and will meet up with Moht and Bet for a few days to do some initial apartment and school hunting.  I'll transact some business there with R&D folks and maybe take a day trip to Malaysia for some initial meetings with advisors.  Then on the 19th I'll leave for Shanghai to conduct some more R&D interviews.  On to LA where I hope to pick up a playoff game or two.  Then back to NY on the 26th.  

Man plans and God laughs.  So much is still out of my control.  I haven't received an offer sheet from HR yet, so U can't even tell my landlord I'm bailing.  I keep telling myself to have patience, but it is so wearing thin.