Episode Tres- Rewind to India

Let's rewind to Oct 2007. I was nearing the end of the Westminster College MBA program. I should take a minute to explain a couple things about the characters of this post. I meet a lot of great people while attending Westminster, however three classmates became life long friends. Listed in alphabetical order Albert "Alby" Miller(aka Albizzle), Kim Barry (aka Kimme)and last but not least Stacy Chain (aka Hell on Heels). Kim, Stacy, Alby and I boarded a plane from Salt Lake City to New York to Catch a flight to Paris then on to India. As luck would have it we were unable to land in New York and flew circles around the east coast before landing in New York. Arriving late we missed our connection,it's somewhere near 11pm and all airport restaurants are closed. As Stacy "the negotiator" begins working some charm on the gate agent to get us on a different flight, Alby and I go on a food recon mission. We find a Winchel's Doughnut shop that is still open, we secure four hot chocolates and the balance of the day old doughnuts that remained in the display case. As we make it back to the gate Stacy as our flight situation under control and we are booked to Delhi, India after a brief stop in Mumbai.

About 27hrs later we land in Mumbai, India which is on the other side of India from where the rest of our group is currently at. We figure out where to go to find our luggage and wait...and wait...and wait some more. Apparently our luggage went on to Paris the next day following our original travel schedule. It is now 12:30am India time not really sure what day it was at that point, they all began to blur together. We wander out of the airport and find a little cafe within walking distance. First meal in India was Chicken Tikka and garlic naan, food was great.

We head back into the airport and end up sleeping on some chairs by the ticketing gate. The next day we found out that we had not flown into the main Mumbai airport, but into something more chicken bus like. The real airport was pretty much amazing, clean bath rooms (not like the great place where we stayed that had a gutter that channeled ones bio deposits through a hole in the wall to a ditch outside. Sounds amazing I know but you're not even getting a chance at the smell that came with it.

We made it to Delhi and after one of the most intense taxi rides of my life we met up with the rest of our group at our hotel. Our luggage showed up a few days later. We saw a lot of India and went on some great business visits. On one of our shopping stops one of our guides decided that I looked like I was in the market for a rug. Before long the group was gone and I was surrounded by 10 of my new Indian friends telling me how my dreams would come true if only I would purchase one of their $5000.00 rugs. There was some intense exchanges, but in the end I walked out in one piece and without a rug. Those guys made our used car sales people look like girl scouts selling cookies.

Seeing the Taj Mahal was probably the highlight of the trip, it was that or when we were in Mumbai and walked a few blocks to the beach expecting to see a beautiful sunset and seeing instead an Indian man dropping trou to make his own submarine races in the Indian Ocean.

There are so many stories but to summarize I would say that I loved the food, enjoyed the people and would like to go back in 15 to 20 years to see what has changed as they find their place as an up and coming player in the global market.

The Indian version of a family van. At least the Dad gets a helmet. The women ride side saddle which is more modest and makes it easier to bail off the bike if they get in a tight spot.

Snake charmer on the streets of Delhi.

Sleeping quarters the first night in India

Episode Dos(That's Two for all you non-spanish speakers)

So I get a call this week from T-Money and he says "Please hold for the President" or something like that. In any case Dawnelle gets on the phone and provides some chop busting or encouragement for me to do another post on the blog. With that said I will dedicate Episode Dos to R. Travis Call.

T-Money = R. Travis Call, aka Tar, Tardogg, Tarvis, T-Moneda = Long time friend, partner in crime (at times literally), Dive Buddy, Wing Man, Co-Worker, Classmate (from junior high to high school to college to master's program), Snowboarding Buddy, Wake boarding Buddy, Biking Buddy, Road Trip Navigator/Co-Driver, Annihilator of prairie dogs(Legendary), and The Toucher of all things forbidden under the sea(story for another post).

Money and I at 18 years old. A lot trimmer then.


One of my all time favorite pictures of Money. Money is Fresh, never frozen.


So that was Episode Dos the end........

Okay not really. Though I did just catch a glimpse of Sherry working on her Blog update and it made me think of pulling the plug on my weak blog effort. Her's is a lot fancier than mine. She's got slide shows, music and probably flying monkeys.

RGV Updates:

Speaking of flying monkeys "we aren't in Kansas anymore" or Utah for that matter. Since my last Blog I made my last flight back to the SLC and we road tripped it south.
The kids opted for the drive straight through option. It was a long and ... well very long drive. The kids were champs, no one threw up, so in the world of road trips that's a win.








Moving Day has arrived.














Here's some answers to some of the frequently asked questions I've been getting:
1. Do you like living in Texas?
A. So far so good. I haven't shoveled snow once this winter.

2. No really do you like it?
A. While you were enjoying your winter storm warning we were on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico spotting bottle-nosed dolphins. Really I like it.

3. Do you miss Utah?
A. Absolutely, a little bit. I miss the mountains, the option to go snowboarding even though the last few years we haven't as much. Mostly I miss friends and family. Family is irreplaceable and friends are too, though I am trying. Seems to be a shortage of friends that are like each of you. I've ran a couple of ads on Craiglist but haven't gotten any takers.

4. How long are you going to stay in Texas?
A. Sounds like they're asking about a prison sentence, "How long you in for?"As long as it takes. I'd say at least 2 yrs, but probably not more than 60 yrs.

5. How's it going with work?
A. Strong to quite strong. Seriously I have a great team and our numbers are improving everyday.

6. What percent of the time are you able to speak English?
A. I'd say 0% of the time, here in America we speak American not English. I think what they want to know is how often I switch to Spanish to communicate. The answer is, it depends. If I'm at a great little restaurant with no posted price list then I switch over to Spanish to get the locals price and not the out of towner price.

7. How is it living in a little apartment with the whole family?
A. Better than living in a little apartment with half a family. It's temporary, but did I mention that I haven't had to shovel any snow this year.

8. Do Sherry and the kids like it?
A. Too early to tell. The kids miss their friends a lot. Sherry is learning to maneuver around the valley without ending up south of the border.

9. If you had to do it again would you still have made the move?
A. Yes. It's been an adventure.

10. When are you coming back to visit?
A. Been there done that. I came back three times after I moved down to the RGV. When are you coming to visit us? When was the last time you were cruising the Gulf of Mexico spotting Dolphins? For us it was a few hours ago. We hope to see you soon.






Thought i'd add an assortment of photos to close out my second posting.

Marty and Money or Money-Mart as I like to call them.

Kim and Stacy working very diligently on an important MBA assignment of an urgent nature.

Stacy and Kim realizing I was taking their picture.

Stacy meets Aiden and Blake.

Alby rocking his Nantucket Reds (Pink Pants for the rest of us)
I should mention that Albert Alby Albizzle Miller should get credit for the Blog title of Living the Dream. Alby has been Living it since the day I met him and there's no end in sight.

MTF Alby.

The Jefe spending some time with me, my last few days in Utah.

My first post, relocation and living in the RGV.

So I'm living in the RGV. Some may be wondering what is the RGV? The RGV is what locals call the Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande Valley is located about as far south as you can get in Texas without applying for a passport.

I arrived in Texas on Oct 19th and spent a week in Dallas before heading down to the RGV. I spent three weeks trying my luck bidding on last minute hotel specials on Priceline.com. My favorites are Las Palmas and the Marriot Residence Inn. My least favorite was the Ramada Limited. Limited being the service, the cleanliness, and my desire to stay there longer than I had too. On the other hand it was the least expensive.

A couple weeks ago I moved into the corporate housing unit. I know it sounds fancy when you combine corporate and housing in the same sentence so let me clear it up. It works like this, the relocation company finds a three bedroom apartment, sets up the utilities, calls rentacenter gets several twin beds and one double bed, a small table with four chairs, a TV and DVD player with out a remote, a small couch and non-reclining recliner and says enjoy this luxurious gated community. From now on when you hear Corporate Housing I want you to associate it with a Refugee Camp.

Things I've learned about relocation:

1. You say, "I need a four bedroom unit" They say "that shouldn't be a problem" what they mean, "three bedrooms and a fold out cot should do nicely."

2. They say, "We're here to make this a smooth transition." What they mean is you're on your own.

3. You respond to questions about when you'd like your vehicle shipped. They never respond. You respond again by email and voicemail. They still do not respond. You respond again telling them that if you do not hear by Friday you will road trip the car on your own. You drive 25 hours straight through breaking several long standing land speed records not to mention the record for the greatest amount of caffeine consumed in a day. Monday you get a call from the vehicle transport company to schedule a pickup.

4. Your Boss asks "who is your assigned rep from the relocaiton company?" You respond and he says, "I'm sorry to hear that, she's terrible."

This may look like the entryway to my "Corporate Housing Unit," but I call it a really small garage.

This is a wonderful shot of my multi-purpose room, i.e. living room, family room, theater room and guest bed room should anyone dare to visit.

Bedroom 1&2

This is my formal dining area. Not sure if it will seat seven.

Tune in next time for more on the RGV and life in Texas.