Nana Nights

Mark met us (Dale and me) at the Nana train stop for dinner last night.  This is 9 train stops away from where we have been staying, so maybe about 12 miles or so.  He was staying at the Ambassador Hotel, one of several large western-style hotels in Bangkok which are clustered in this area.  There is a famous alley called No. 11 that they all share, and this small road hosts numerous restaurants, stores, and massage parlors of various types.  The tourists come for the massages and the locals are glad to provide them.  We were there to spectate, and there was quite a spectacle to see.

Mark has been stying there all week and he knew the various haunts.  I was a bit concerned as he demonstrated his breadth of knowledge, but he said it all had come from just walking in the evenings and having a look around.  Nothing so personal as actually getting a massage, he said, and I tend to believe him.  Anyway, short skirts and fancy hair were everywhere.  It was what Bangkok is famous for providing, and the Australian and UK accents on the tourists said it all.

One small note for my American readers:  this area, and most in Bangkok, at street level was filled with the various odors for which the tropic is also famous.  Up through the gutters comes sewage smells.  Passing by a street vendor selling fish grilled on an open fire you get that aroma, or the next stand stir-frying garlic and noodles together.  A converted VW Microbus sits to the side of the road decked out in flashing neon lights, the top hinged back exposing a mobile bar complete with beer on tap, a liquor shelf with under-shelf lighting, loud music blaring, and European customers sitting on patio furniture drinking around it.  Prices from the van bartender are a fraction of the prices for the same drinks inside the hotels, so it is an attractive option if you want to take in the street scene from a comfortable seat.  After all, it is a sort of parade that walks itself by for your amusement.

Dale and I had traveled over from our hotel to meet Mark at 7:00.  We walked up and down the street once and settled on the Shangrila Restaurant which had an island motif and a tourist menu.  We sat inside the glassed-in area in AC comfort, but there were lots of patrons in the warm night air.   We shared several Thai dishes and a couple of beers.  I had Tiger Beer from Singapore, and they had Singha Beer, a local product.  We finished about 9:30 and strolled the walk again.  Dinner was good but not spicy and featured fried wantons, chicken satay, very tame sauces, a duck dish that was very good, Phad Thai (Dale's favorite) and a seafood medley.  Mark's flight was at 5:00 am this morning, so he turned in and Dale and I headed back.  We made a stop at a rooftop bar Chris had taken me to earlier in the week and I had a screwdriver made with fresh squeezed oranges, and Dale had a gin and tonic.  I was back to the room at about 11.

I would note that getting to the rooftop bar is not for the timid.  It is necessary to enter a street level stairway that looks like the kitchen entrance for the bottom floor restaurant with slick nasty concrete stairs at the bottom.   Graffiti in the stairwell is graphic but not violent and features dragons and spiders on different landings, including a metal Spiderman near the top.  The top bar is on the 6th floor so you have lots of stairs to climb and there are other bars on the different landings as you go up.   Once on the top floor there is a balcony with tables and chairs (all filled when we got there last night) with a good look over the train station and the city.  There is no AC.  The bar is about 8 x 8' area where a very small Thai girl is mixing drinks (nobody bigger would fit).  Three small Thai guys chase up beer for patrons from boxes they carry up from the bottom floor, including the ice they use to keep them cool.  This is not a "chrome and glass" glitzy place, this is an Authentic Thai place that is bohemian in the sense of the 1950's beatniks, where talking revolution and treason sits side by side with reviews of the newest Samsung cell phone.

One small note from the evening.  At the Nana train station exit there were many, many street vendors selling goods, including knives, hunting rifle telescopes, bootleg DVD's, and all sorts of durable goods that we did not see at the Weekend Market at Mo Chit.  Some of the knives had brass knuckle handles with spikes on them.  These were very nasty.  So far this is the only place we have seen anything that resembles the sort of violent weaponry we are used to seeing in the USA.  Thai people seem to be a gentler sort that than this.  I'm sure they sell this to the tourists, but I didn't like seeing it, all the same.  I suppose people can check this on the airplane to get it home?

Here are the two guys who made my time in Bangkok so much fun.  Mark Moriarty and Dale Gremaux.  Thanks guys!

Bangkok Market Visit

The Open Air Market in Bangkok was HUGE!  The Three Musketeers here, Dale (Beaverton, Oregon), me, and Mark (Boston) walked it for 2 hours and I bet we didn't see more than 10% of it.  We all bought things to bring home, Mark especially, but it is just plain overwhelming.  I've been to similar markets in China, Australia, and Seattle, but this one beats them all in terms of sheer scope, breadth, and numbers of people involved in selling and buying.  It was incredible.

Despite Mark's silly grin we had nothing to drink at this point.  We were totally sober.

That didn't last long...

Bangkok Baijo Dinner

My dear readers,

Your traveling correspondent has been terribly amiss in his duties over the past month. I have been traveling, indeed, but failing to chronicle my exploits, some of which have been fairly noteworthy. The now routine 265 mile commute from my home in Snohomish to my new employment home in Salem OR does take up the time I might have used to communicate with you all, but that is no excuse. My intent was to journal my thoughts and experiences, and I have failed in my self-assigned task. Let me make amends!

I write this on Saturday morning, Oct. 6, from my hotel room in the Vic3 Bangkok Hotel. I arrived here just after midnight on Monday, Oct. 1. Tuesday I helped set up a trade show booth and generally hung around, and Wednesday through last night I have been manning the booth, talking to Thai people (and many others) about biomass processing, and doing little else. WSM has an employee here in Bangkok who is a Caucasian that speaks Mandarin and some Thai, who has lived here for 15 months, and knows the city well in terms of places to eat, where to shop for the best bargains, etc. He and I have been spending a lot of time together, as well as 2 folks from the Oregon Trade group sponsored by the State of Oregon. It has been fun, and productive.

One of the objectives I had when coming was to sit down and hammer out the final details for an order for one of our larger pieces of grinding equipment, along with ancillary components, which had an aggregate total value of about $740,000. The customer has been working with the WSM home office for quite some time to get this in place, and Chris, the local guy, has been smoothing things over, selling the value of the equipment, etc., and the customer has been asking lots of questions, and pounding on price (which is what they do here on everything). To make this long story somewhat short we signed the contract yesterday, and now we are off to the races to build this thing. Chris wanted to celebrate with a special dinner so last night 4 of us headed out into the teeth of a monsoon to find his favorite Chinese restaurant and drink some baijo (pronounced bye-joe), a Chinese liquor that tastes like gasoline. 

We took the train to the appointed stop and stepped out into a torrential downpour.  We had to go about 2 blocks through huge puddles which drenched our feet and the rain soaked us from above.  We ducked into a restaurant that was not unknown to him but wasn’t the objective one either, but the weather made that decision for us.  We sat at a round table with the ever-present glass Lazy Susan in the middle, Chris ordered in Chinese, a large glass bottle with a clear liquid inside appeared with a price on it of 3,000 baht ($100!), and the dinner was on!  We shared 8-10 dishes of different sorts including a delicious lamb stew, spicy tofu on rice, seaweed salad, sautéed bean sprouts with garlic, and dried beef.  There were others but I can’t remember them just now. 

Through this all we toasted our success with very small glasses of baijo chased with beer.  When the food was done the glass bottle was only half empty but we sat there talking, telling stories of the road, arguing over who won the presidential debate (which only 2 of the 4 had seen), and finished it off in about an hour.  I won’t say we were quiet while doing it, but the other patrons were respectful and I didn’t see any harsh looks or upset faces.  Amazingly I didn’t feel at all smashed, and we were able to negotiate the Bangkok train system just fine and made it home without incident.  Chris had received a message from his Thai buddies and left to join them, so one other guy and I made it back to the hotel at about 11 pm, at which time I fell into bed and straight to sleep.  I feel fine today, so maybe “The Good Stuff” which Chris called our particular bottle, actually was better than a kick in the head.

It is raining today, but only a sort of misty rain.  I have plans to visit the Open Market with 2 of the three guys from last night.  I just want to wander around and see the sights. 

 

Thoughts from the Road

One of the things I've learned is that summer is hotter in Oregon than in Washington.  I can watch the temperature fall as I drive home.  Granted I depart at 4:30 and arrive home at 9:30, and this is the time when the temperature falls anyway, but yesterday I departed Salem in 91 degree heat and arrived in Snohomish in 64 degree coolness. 

And another thing I should have taken into consideration when I worked out this arrangement: The Mariners don't play baseball on Thursdays!  That is their one night off per week.  So, as I drive home and could be listening to the play by play action on the radio, it is all talk radio crap on ESPN.  Or Pittsburgh is playing Detroit - who cares!

So, after 4 weeks of making the commute it is still working for me.  My costs have been less than I anticipated.  I need to develop better eating habits - I've gained 3 pounds over these 4 weeks that I didn't want to gain.  I haven't figured out how to work in an exercise program yet.  One evening a week playing 9 holes of golf is not an exercise program, even though I do walk the course and don't get a cart (I've done this two times in 4 weeks).  B and B living is OK, and I like having breakfast and dinner on a deck where I can also work on my iPad, write blogs, Skype with Judy, and so forth.  The Prius is getting 47-50 mpg on each tank of gas, and I'm driving 625 to 1000 miles per week, depending on where I stay (when I stay with Chief and Rose it adds up as they live 60+ miles from Salem).  Work travel is about to pick up - I have 2 day trips this next week, then off for a vacation week, then a 3 day conference in Eugene, then off to Bangkok for 2 weeks.

I will say that the sunny weather is absolutely great.  I am very happy about that.  I know it will not last, but I love it as long as it does.

I am listening to the Narnia Series, and I am down to the Last Battle, the last of the books.  I'll be sad when it is finished.  I've enjoyed them very much.  I wish my cat could talk...

A country villa

I've just poured the last glass of wine from a bottle I opened on Monday.  I drank half as I ate a dinner of hummous and pita bread then, and I am finishing it tonight with a dinner of a Greek salad.  A Chilean red of no great importance, but good company on a beautiful evening in the country south of Salem.

I am staying for the first time in a bed and breakfast arranged online using a website called airbnb.com.  I have been looking and thinking about doing this for quite some time, but finally pulled the trigger last week, to stay this week.  It has worked out very well, actually, as I have a private room and bathroom in the lower floor of a large house on a hill, with a nook that contains the breakfast part and holds a small fridge, microwave, tea and coffe makers, dishes, and all the necessaries of a do-it-yourself breakfast.  My hosts are a couple that wanted to make a little extra cash, and they have been surprised at the freindliness of the visitors, and the success of thier venture.  Debbie, the hostess, tells me they have cleared $1,000 in August alone.  Not bad at $50/nite.

My week has been what is coming to be part of a routine.  Everyone is in the office this week, or mostly.  One of my sales guys is doing a start-up in central CA today and tomorrow, but he was around Monday and Tuesday.  The boss and my co-workers are all here, and we are having what I think of as very good communication and I am fitting in very well with them.  It is clear that someone to fill the void I have filled was needed.  There is lots to do and someone needed to do it.  That's me!  I have good help, and things are moving along fine.  I continue to hear from my industry friends who tell me that I have joined a good company (my feeling exactly) and they are telling my co-workers that West Salem Machinery has got a good guy on their team (again, my feelings!).  So far we are all on the honeymoon, and I haven't stepped on any toes yet.  Yet.

Last night I played golf with the owner of WSM, and we had a good chat while we played.  He is a very good golfer, but we played about even.   On one hole he drove to within 30 yards of the green, his best drive of the night, but ended up with 7 strokes on the hole.  My drive was not as good but I got a 6, so I had something to rib him about, which I did not.  We walked and talked, and it is clear that he needs a confidant and advisor in many things, and this is the role I am to play here.  It is a good place for me, and is a big part of why I like being a part of this group.  Very different than the last company.

The thing that is starting to define my travels is something quite unexpected.  Peter Harvey, my friend and finnacial advisor, gave me a set of audio CD's with the chronicles of Narnia on them by C.S. Lewis.  I am listening to these in the car, and I am HOOKED!  I can't wait to jump in the car and find out what Peter, Edmund, Sally, and Lucy are up to now.  Aslan and all the talking animals of Narnia.  It is very exciting, and interesting.  Too much dialogue, in my opion, but the action scenes are fun and the good guys always win in the end.

I hope you are reading this and find it interesting.  I see that people are checking it out, so perhaps my efforts are not just for my benefit only.  A diary, as it were.

Living in Salem, Week 2

It is Wednesday night, and I have almost completed Week 2 of my new Normal, living in Salem Oregon during the week.  I drove down on Sunday night, stayed in Gresham for a few hours, and finished my drive here on Monday morning in terrible traffic.  I spend Monday through Wednesday nights at a Howard Johnson's not too far from the interstate.  It is what I call Spartan in terms of accommodations, but  in my new Monastic State, I suppose it would suit me fine.

Monday I explored, Tuesday I rode my bicycle around a local park on the Willamette River for an hour (very narrow bike path, lots of walkers, and lots of turns).  Tonight I golfed at Oak Knob Golf Course after work with a couple I met on the first tee.  This course is notable in that the fairways are absolutely straight, every one.  A hook or slice and you will be playing your ball in the adjacent fairway, guaranteed.  The par 5 holes were all over 500 yards (this is long, in my experience), and the par 3 holes were 180 yards+, which is also long.  The greens were soft and slow, but smooth and nicely cared for.

Work is starting to fall into a routine.  It is summer, and there are lots of people taking time off.  The manufacturing pace is brisk, and things get done.  We have a large project in house that is being manufactured and progress on that happens daily - you can see large machinery moving through the stages of manufacture.  I wander through the factory looking at parts and pieces going together.  It is fun.

My new computer is being worked on by the IT staff, so that I can work remotely, so that I have the latest versions of the software, so that I can do anything I might need to do anywhere I might be.  Today they were working on it for an hour or two in the middle of the day, which gets in my way of doing things.  I'm sure it will settle down shortly.  Perhaps tomorrow I will get a key to the front door that will allow me to stay late and work, since if I don't depart with the last person I stand a pretty good chance of being locked in.  Not good...

Tomorrow I depart for Snohomish at 4:30 or thereabouts.  Wish me luck with the Portland Traffic!

Time to Catch Up

Well, it has been a while since I've taken the time to sit down and write up something for my blog, and in that time things have changed quite a bit for me.  I am on the road more literally these days, logging 1,000 miles a week on the Prius driving to and from a new job.  I have completely changed hardware for my Road Warrior support system, including a new cell phone and phone number, new computer (I lost lost of old stuff including some contacts, so if I ask for your info, that is why), new email address for work, and a host of new co-workers.  But more on that in a moment.

In brief, I now work in Salem, Oregon.  This is a city about 250 miles south of my home in Snohomish.  Judy, Marilyn, and the cats and dog will continue to live in this wonderful house close to the kids and grandkid, and I will commute.  This means I depart on Sunday evening, stay with my dad and Rose in Gresham, OR (3.5 hours drive) and then make the final 1 hour trip on Monday morning.  I will be in residence in Salem Monday through Thursday, typically departing 4:45 or so for home.  Last Thursday it took 5 hours, door to door, to get back.  Without traffic it takes 4.5 hours, so I lost just a little time in Portland, but Seattle was clear sailing.

My new job is as the VP of Sales and Marketing for West Salem Machine (www.westsalem.com).  They make machines that grind, chip, chop, crunch, and mill all sorts of waste materials including wood and bark, plastic, yard wastes, municipal wastes, pallets, construction debris, corn stover and wheat straw, and lots more.  They have a very good reputation for making strong and durable machines, selling them at a competitive price, and standing behind them.  They have not had anyone in this particular position in the past, with the owner and General Manager sort of doing the selling and marketing in their free time while running the company.  They needed someone to help them and here I am.  I have known the company and these guys for many years, and we are all old friends.  So far it is working out very well and I am pleased.  I have a small staff in the office, and one remote guy who works for WSM and lives in Bangkok, Thailand.

I gave notice at BRUKS and spent a week in Atlanta off-loading my projects and information.  The BRUKS people think that WSM is a good company, and they often include WSM equipment in their system offers.  There was one project where both BRI and WSM were bidding, and I have stayed away from that one so there is no conflict of ethics involved.  Other than that the companies are very different - WSM is much more like Acrowood in that they make the machines, and BRI didn't make anything directly. 

I felt that it was important for me to be working from the home office rather than remotely, both because a Sales Manager needs contact with the daily activities of the company and because my remote office environment at BRUKS kept me too distant from the flow of information that is vital to being involved with a company.  With salesmen and support people reporting to me I needed to be at hand to have the impact the company needs me to have.  I have already jumped into some manufacturing issues that I dealt with in the past, and am making contributions here and there beyond things that are strictly sales.  Wood handling machinery is what I do.  It is god to be back in close contact with the sounds and smells of making machinery.

So that is the big news on my end and how I see things going for at least the rest of the year.  I will have evenings to spend blogging, and I hope it works out that way.  I am taking my bicycle and golf clubs with me this week, and hope to do some evening riding or ball driving.  I am staying in hotels for the three nights I need them.  I book on Hotwire.com and can find decent (not great) rooms for $50/nite.  It doesn't take much to make me happy, I suppose.  Long term it might make sense to rent a room in a house or rent a studio apartment, but this is OK for now.