The Life and Times of....

Getting back to Sydney is proving to be difficult. The seats I can find, are far too expensive to justify. I found out the reason yesterday. Next week is World Youth Week or something and Pope Benedict is going to be talking in Sydney. The bloody Catholics are gathering en masse. Couple that news with the fact that I was checking out the Vatican's website the other day, and it almost rekindles my interest in the Catholic religion.

I am certainly not going to start to go to church every Sunday, but when I think back, I don't think I have ever had a bad experience with Catholicism. All the priests I have met and spoke with, (barring one), were quite relaxed about religion. I even heard a sermon in Sydney one time where the priest asked everyone to donate money to some Muslim country that had a catastrophe. He said something along the lines of "ok, we all know the muslims are quite an extreme religion in some cases, but we all have our own crosses to bear, even the catholics have had their extreme days".

Maybe I should take a trip back to the Vatican. It certainly is a cool place as far as history goes. If I get back to England next year I might consider it as a side trip.

Work is a bit crazy at the moment. It's both good and bad but I have pushed us into a situation where we haveto solve alot of production issues. It has kind of revitalised everyone here, which is encouraging, but it has also put alot of stress on me. I am the face and the leader of the company, if we mess it up, it alls comes down on me.

I was thinking about my resume after this company becomes profitable. General Manager and sales, took a manufacturing company in South East Asia from heavy losses to profit. That's gotta be worth something, right? Might be enough to overcome my lack of formal education. I wonder if the Atlanta Falcons could use me in a corporate sense. It would be awesome to work for a sports team.

The other thing I have been thinking about is maybe starting my own business here.

I could just put this company right, demote myself to sales only, and spend the next few years just travelling the world. That might be fun.

Just testing out the "Blog It" application for facebook from Six Apart.

I have been SUPER FREAKING busy with the work the new English contact has given us. It is millions of baht worth of work and equates to 5 containers over 4 months. I will probably head back there in October to discuss supply contracts and the likes. The business is starting to build that momentum we have needed for a few years now.

I wonder what my next role will be. By this time next year I will have turned around a loss maker manufacturing plant and been responsible for millions of dollars worth of accounts being created. Stick that on your resume and surely someone important will find you.

While the trip to England was mostly about business and I did get an order, there was a little something in it for me. Time off with one of my best friends in the world in the beautiful city of Liverpool England. Most people that know Liverpool, don't actually think it is that nice, but all around that place I see character. It is so rich in its history and the people that live there now range from extremely wealthy to the poor and destitute. There is just so much to see.

It is calling itself "the city of culture" now and the "Lamb Banana's"  litter the city streets in different designs. My friend lives down the road from the beach that is also now home to the "Iron Men". The Iron Men do tend to make the beach a rather eerie place.

It had been 12 years since my last visit to England and my freind also now has two kids. His wife was pregnant with the first last time I was there. The kids are awesome. We had alot of fun and played PS2 and Wii, (I am SOOO buying a Wii as soon as economically possible).

I earned hugs from both on my departure and left gifts for them both which I was told nearly upset the youngest one. I walked with the family to school on the last day there and the youngest and I had the following conversation.

Him - Can you stay for another week and come see my bike ride?
Me - I really have to get back to work buddy.
Him - Can't you just call them and tell them you will be a week late?

Really sweet kid. 8 years old.

Holiday over, Back to work.

I did come back with an order and while this would normally be good news, we are going in at a price that will challenge our profit margin. So, we are in the middle of one of our busiest times ever, and my factory manager quits. He did give me three days notice though which was nice of him, </sarcasm>

I am not going to replace him, but I am going to put a competent woman I know into the office to support my other senior manager and admin manager. This should ease some of the pressure.

Next I have to sit down today and plan my next trip. It is to Malaysia, for a food fair and to look at sourcing polystyrene cups, (yes I now about the environment and all comments relating to it will be deleted), then onto the Phillipines to meet a potential customer, onto Australia for food technology show and to meet a potential customer, and then onto Auckland, customer relations and the spousal birthday, (nice dinner and stuff), probably back to Sydney for a few days with family, then back to Thailand.

That should work out to about a month of living out of a suitcase, which I am yet to master the art of.

It was right round the corner the whole time. Anyways, going to kill a few hours here then hop on a train to Liverpool.   

Just had a caramel machiatto and a muffin for breakfast. The internet was 5 pounds for an hour. Oh well, saves me walking all over Birmingham to find a free cafe. Emails for work are done and now I am going to go back to the hotel and make some calls. Firstly though I have to buy a phone charger, I forgot mine. :(

I am off for dinner. Here's a brief chat about today.

Voice posts are so much easier

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Today, I have to pack to go to England for the first time in 12 years.

Right now I am looking at my options to get from Heathrow to Birmingham, where I will have 3 days. I have a few business meetings there as well. I can catch a train but I am thinking a coach might be more fun. Taking a bus through London will certainly bring back memories of my 1996 trip.

I am a little nervous, but that has always been a feeling I enjoy and embrace.

After Birmingham I am heading up to Liverpool to spend about 9 days with a friend there. He's already booked me in for a golf day with him. Heaven help the poor guy, although I did tell him I was not very good. We are also heading off to Blackpool as well.

I will TRY and remember to take photo's, (even though I hate looking like a tourist, snapping everything I see).

So here is a brief update.

I nearly got to leave Thailand for 6 weeks, while not ideal, it was going to be a cool adventure. I have however organise a different adventure for myself.

I am going to England on the 15th and hopefully getting straight on a train up to Liverpool. There I will be staying with my friend for 11-ish days and in that time, I will rent a car and drive 2-3 south for meetings, TWICE. Driving across the English countryside! How freaking cool is that! I hope I get phone reception becauses chances of getting lost, extremely high.

Then, on about the 27th I will land in Thailand and be back here one week.

Approximately the 7th I will then go to Kuala Lumpur for one week, Manila for a few days, down to Sydney for a week-ish, Auckland for about a week where I will spend TA's birthday with her.
Then back to Sydney, (maybe), and back to Thailand.

If I get some business in the UK I will get to travel there at least twice a year. HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT!

Sometimes, the mistakes that the Thai's make, are very funny.

Here is a passage in an email from one of my suppliers.

The second quarter of the year is known to the Thai building and construction industry as the time for the Architect Expo’08. This year’s theme is Unpugged; to encourage people to be conscious that Global Warming is an immediate danger, not just a threat. Just help unplugging your appliances can save the planet. The expo featured several Microban licensees, all highlighting their antibacterial features. 

Did you see the mistake?

Unpugged? I always liked Pug's.

Just help unplugging your appliances can save the planet? I don't even know what to say to this.

Lastly, what this has to do with their "anti-bacterial agent" that we buy is anyone's guess.