This video cracks me up everytime.

Damen 'El' Stop

Here are the first pics from what I hope will eventuate in pics of Chicago series. Now that my Q is all setup I can blog directly from the mobile device. I hope it means more regular posts. Anyway below are some pics from the Damen blue line 'el' station (which I catch to Motocity)

RIP - The Brick

You were the first windows machine I bought. You have been a loyal soldier since I first visited the US in Nov 2002. You got the job done. Unfortunately you did things without style or class - and that's just not me. Further more your CD burner stopped working properly only after a few months and low quality is another peeve of mine.

For those who haven't seen me online much let me translate the above for you - my personal Dell laptop has died. I don't intend on replacing any time soon coz I have a work laptop as well. So that means no IM but I can be messaged through skype.

Educational themepark

Well this is definitely something from left-field - a theme park where kids can 'go to work' in one of 70 different occupations. As someone who feels like they spend too much time working, the write up in the journal really threw me off. Seems to be very popular in Japan, both from the government and parents. So if you're ever thinking of going to Tokyo and fancy trying a different occupation well now you can - Kidzania . Just for reference it first originated in Mexico.

A commitment to post at least once a month

Wow it sure has been a neglected blog. No excuses I've been slack. So what do you do when you neglect a blog? Start another one of course! So I've started another blog (leadershipenlightenment.blogspot.com)to capture the lessons/experiences that I pick up during my course of work. My brain is pretty shoddy nowadays so I need to write things down to remember them. Hopefully it works. We'll see.

Ok so back to the title of this posting. I figure if I don't have something to say at least once a month then I'm not living life. So here's a wrap up of a busy beginning to the new year:

- I'm back on my snowboard and SY's taken up skiing
- I've started a new role (as part of my rotation program) - Integrations Manager, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. Wow..that's a mouthful isn't it :). I'm loving this new rotation. Shit load of work but so much interesting stuff to learn.
- It's frickin' cold right now. I think the HIGH of the week has been -10degC.

You know it's Christmas...

When the Victoria's Secret fashion show comes around. My oh my is that a spectacle. The whole event is just the shebang. What I wouldn't give to be at the post-event party. If you missed it the torrent sites have the full video from CBS or just head on over to Victoria's Secret for some video clippings.

Snuba

Not quite scuba but more than snorkelling. That's what snuba's all about. Great fun without the hassles of scuba certification. Basically you have a standard regulator but your air tank resides on the surface in a raft. A hose runs from your regulator all the way up to the tank on the surface.

P1010045

Aruba

Finally some photos to update my Flickr page with. Over the thanksgiving holiday SY & I escaped the Chicago winter and spent 5 days in Aruba.

Until that vacation, the most I knew of Aruba was that it's one of the islands mentioned in the Beach boy's song Cocomo. What a classic song. Anyhow, Aruba's a small island in the caribbean. It only measures 19miles wide.

Our trip consisted of relaxing on the beach, snorkelling, gambling and eating. Very stress free. Everything seemed to run on island time - no hurry, no rushing .. it was a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of Chicago life.

Unfortnately we're back now and we just had a 1ft dump of snow. The highs of the day are 0degC.

IMG_3478