Ireland - Final

Start with the good news, I made it home last night around 9:00 PM. The day started badly in Ireland, when my 1st flight was canceled due to fog. I had to take a 3 hour bus ride to Dublin and made my flight with about 30 min to spare. As a result I only had a 7 hour flight to Boston instead of a 9 hour flight to Atlanta. Made it to Boston just in time to walk up to the plane to Columbus with about 15 minutes to spare.

Nothing really exciting on any flights, except a little girl about 20 rows in front of me threw up on her mom, but otherwise nothing interesting at all.

Reminder: Deadline for Guess the miles contest is Midnight Saturday (see previous blog entries for details, other entries are close but not right)

VACATION NEXT WEEK!!!!

Ireland

Sorry it took so long to report, but Internet access has been an issue. So has happened since update:

• Drove to Malaga and then flew to Dublin no problems, slept almost the whole way.
• Got through customs fine, got my ticket for the flight to Sligo
• The security line was moving along OK, but the lady in front of me was Eastern European, did not speak much English and had a baby in a stroller (Irish call it a pusher).
• As we approached the metal detector. the lady in front of me got very confused, the security people were telling her to put the stroller on the x-ray machine belt, so she did baby and all!!!
• They stopped the line, 2 more security people came up, this time the mother was scared thought she had did something wrong and started crying in an unknown tongue!!!
• I thought it was very funny, I have traveled a lot and I never saw someone try to put a baby through the X-ray machine!
• Flight to Sligo otherwise was good, small prop plane, sat next to a lady with talked my ear off the whole way. It was good to hear English again, so I did not mind.
• After landing, my luggage did not make it, so I has to wash the important pieces of clothes that I needed to wash the next day in the sink, and use the blow dryer to dry them off. My bag arrived about the 10 AM the next day, so at the break I changed my clothes in the bathroom at the plant, not ideal, but it worked fine.
• The hotel Clarion looks like a castle with 300 rooms, it used to be a psychiatric hospital, so the claim there are certain rooms that no ones stays in, because of the terrible things that happened in them, but I fine.
• Class went very well, finished the 1st class at Noon local time, waiting for the next one to start in 30 min.
• Last night several of us went to an Italian place in downtown Sligo. It was kind of weird eating Italian food, in Ireland, while they played Spanish music!!! Oh well , it could worse.
• Sleeping much better, 2 more nights until coming home!
• Weather is very rainy and cold, but people are great, very friendly and obviously much easier to communicate. They have already asked me to come back at the end of the 1st Quarter 2008.

Spain - Final

Today was the last day to be in Spain, went to Alhambra and it was amazing!! It was a palace and fort in the 12th century, the hand carvings that were done are hard to believe. The ceiling in king's throne room was made from cedar with ivory inlaid. I took about 100 pictures, hope they turn out.

I, of course, was the only American. There was a couple from France that spoke a little English, a couple from Italy and 1 from Mexico, all helped me out. I felt like I was getting a private tour, because our tour guide would explain everything in Spanish, and then come to me and explain it again in English. The amazing thing to me is that Heaven will make that palace look like a dump, when you think about it. The palace was beautiful, but the colors had faded and much of had been restored. I do not think there is ever any remodeling going on in heaven! Just lots of new construction, praise the Lord!

The only funny thing from the tour was another older German couple from Brazil. He spoke fair English, but did not have anything good to say about the Arabs, wonder what he was doing during WW 2?

Afterwards, I came back and cleared my email and took a nap.

Got up and made my last shopping trip in Spain. Got Angela a real nice ... (sorry have to wait until I can give it to her).

Actually ordered my dinner tonight in Spanish all by myself, "quatro with grande coke." That's right I ate where good Americans eat when in Spain, Burger King! Hey I just wanted something that reminded of USA. (#4 combo meal with a large coke). IT WAS VERY GOOD!

That's about all for today, on to Ireland tomorrow.

Spain day 4

• Started the day riding to the plant with Manolo, he is in charge of all projects at the plant. To my surprise as we were riding to work in his BMW, Elvis came on the radio! He explained that he has an MP3 player in his car and he loves American oldies! How funny, I rode to work listening to the temptations, etc.
• The class finished up today at 1:00 PM local time, remember they take a lunch break from 1:30 until 3:00 PM everyday. Lunch was uneventful, some kind of bean soup, with a combo platter of small piece of cucumber stuffed with meat, a small hamburger (didn't taste like hamburger), and a small piece of fish.
• I was supposed to meet with a few individuals in the PM, but they never showed up. I was working catching up on work e-mails, when an ambulance pulled in. After working in factories for almost 30 years, it is never good when an ambulance showed up. About 5:00 PM, I finished all I had to do when they told me there had been an accident in the plant. An 18 year old contract construction worker died in an accident. His father also works on the same construction job, so it was very bad for everyone.
• When I got back to the hotel I grabbed my camera and headed downtown, probably snapped 20+ pictures of Churches, fountains, streets, etc. Did a little shopping, and ate dinner at a sidewalk cafe. All in all pretty good day.
• They say that everyone says a twin somewhere in the world, well I saw my sister-in-law Tammy's twin tonight while I was walking, I did a double take, it was weird.
• Tomorrow is big day, the plant manager set me up on a tour of Alhambra. If you Google it you will find it is an ancient Arab palace that is still standing, a full report tomorrow night.
• Sunday is a travel day to Ireland, which means I that much closer to coming home!!
• BONUS Question: Guess how many miles I am travelling on this trip: Columbus to New York to Madrid, Spain to Granada, Spain to Malaga, Spain to Dublin, Ireland to Sligo, Ireland back to Dublin then on the Atlanta and finally back to Columbus.
• Winner gets a free Angela Salyer dessert! (Love you honey!) Only answers submitted as replies to this posting count. So have the kids get the globes and maps out and get started, winner announced next weekend when I return home. Correct answer based on the miles printed out on my flight itinerary.

Spain day 3

Well, I finally got to do some of the training I came here to do. It went very well, according to the plant manager, and I finish up tomorrow.

A couple of observations:

1. My hotel room has 2 twin beds
2. The worlds narrowest shower, I know I am not tiny, but I should I really have to stand sideways to take a shower?
3. No shower curtain on the shower, only about 6 inches of tile enclosure is all that keeps the water off the floor
4. My room has only 3 electric outlets total, 1 for the TV, 1 for the Mini frig, and 1 for the lamp in the corner, all on the same wall about 12 inches total apart. Most of you know that I have sleep apnea and sleep with a CPAP machine. So I had to put the pillow where my feet usually go, unplugged the lamp, but I did not realize that the light switch also controls the light over my head, so I quickly went to Plan B, which was unplug the TV. I could only take so much about the Dali Lama visiting the White House anyway.
5. You also have to leave your door key in this special slot inside your room or you have no power for anything! Spain must be a country that saves lots of power, the AC in the training room today felt like it was set on 80 and some still had sweaters on.
6. On the way home, as the cab was leaving the plant, we went about a mile and had to stop and wait of the goats and sheep to cross the road.
7. Think I mentioned earlier that they eat late, well it is true, lunch was from 1:30 to 2:30 and 1 of the guys is picking me up for dinner at 8:30! Food today was OK, pork chops, potato soup, french fries that were fried in something different, the fries were a little too greasy for me. Hopefully tonight will be something good with a local flavor.
8. Talked to my baby doll (Angela) and she told me about Rochelle Andrews, thanks to those who helped with food. I think Billy would appreciate chitterlings, to remind him of Mississippi!!
9. That all for now.

Spain day 2

• Picking up where I left off, flight over the ocean was great. A - 340 Airplane, large 4 engine type. Got to sit in 1st class with no one next to me. Seats reclined and even went totally flat, if you wanted to sleep. But I could not, since it my body was telling me it was only 11:00 PM.
• Each seat had it's own TV screen, so I picked 3 movies to watch, Evan Almighty (A), Chaos (A, but not for kids), Georgia Rules (C). Just fell asleep for a few minutes and they turned the lights on and served breakfast.
• Landed at Madrid and had 1 hour to make my flight to Granada, so in 1 hour I:
• Went down 3 flights of escalators
• Took a 15 minute train ride
• Went back up 3 different escalators
• Stood in line at customs
• Went down 3 more escalators
• took another train ride
• Went back up 3 more
• Stood in line at security got pulled out of line due to some batteries in my carry on
• Walked fast to my gate and made it with only 5 min to spare, I was last on on the plane
• They had car waiting for me, so made it to the hotel by 10:30 local time, 4:30 AM Ohio time.
• Took a nap, called my baby doll, who had just started work
• Took a walk, got lost, found out where I was, made it back to the hotel
• Cleared email, finished 1 book, talked to the people at the Abbott plant
• Watching TV right now, only 2 English speaking channels, CNBC and CNN - Europe, ugh!
• That's about it for today, not hungry, so probably will skip dinner.
• Granada is a typical, what I thought a European town would look like.
• All small cars, scooters, or motorcycles
• narrow streets, many of them 1 way
• most intersections are "roundabouts", like downtown Newark, but smaller in the middle.
• Hotel room is small, but OK.

Later, Jeff

Spain day 1

• Day 1 will be long and hopefully uneventful.
• Made it to New York, JFK Airport with no problems
• Next flight leaves for Madrid at 6:00 PM and arrives at 7:10 AM their time, not sure how many hours difference it is, but Angela said to find that out before I call her, and accidentally wake her up in the middle of the night.
• From Madrid I fly to Granada and conduct training classes until Friday.
• I am sitting in the business class lounge and it is much better than sitting at the gate for 3 hours. They have snacks, TV, things to read and Internet hookups to make the time pass. Looking for someone famous but nobody yet.
• Almost finished with a John Grisham book, called the "Broker" brought several more books to read during the trip.
• Big shock on exchange rate for money, only got about 0.65 euros for every $$$, so hope I didn't get ripped off, but live and learn. Just makes the presents smaller, sorry family.
• That's all for now, hopefully will be able to keep updating while I am gone.
• Y'all check in on Angela every once in a while.
• I asked Josh across the street to let me know if any cars come and go while I am gone. He laughed and said there are so many cars coming and going from our house every day, he could tell who was supposed to be there and who was not!!!
• Keep praying for the Knox's. Thanks to all who called, sent a note or brought food.

Later,

Jeff

Things you learn when you have sons

Thanks to Ron for sending around, (didn't know he knew my boys when they were little!)

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.
10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old Boy.
11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Super glue is forever.
13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy. .
24. 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Boys will be boys #6

(as told by the boys Aunt Tammy)

Nephews have been working all summer on preparing for deer season. Involves night filming, planting corn, feeding deer, purchasing the latest in hunter wear, etc., The evening before the big hunt, a traditional family dinner is prepared (pizza) and films are reviewed. Clothes are all sprayed with doe scent or "no" scent, I can't remember which, I just know the family dog goes bonkers sneezing in the meantime! Corey, nephew #3, is not really excited or into the scene as much as the others, doesn't really want to get up at 5:30am in a tree stand and has been known to sneak out of the stand, go home, sleeps until breakfast time and then pretends to arrive at home just in time for the hunters morning break. The event takes place at Gary's dad's farm. Great place, within sight (as long as you are in the tree stand) of their home. The "suburbs" sure are changing in Licking County! We were all given orders NOT to drive by and honk car horns and Gary is not to be mowing.

This past Saturday morning, first day of bow season, no deer in sight from 5:30am-10:30am....hunters go home for ham, gravy and biscuits and some sleep.....back in tree stands at 3:30pm until supposedly, dusk. Around 6pm, one of Gary's friend's truck konks out on River Rd and he pulls into the barn to phone for help. Another friend comes to pick him up and has to use the bathroom in the open air, behind the barn. (another "guy thing" all of which is being viewed from 4 treestands) Bathroom boy picks up a piece of iron and for some reason beats it a few times on the barn siding and drops it...just checking to see if it is iron, I guess, and proceeds to get in car with his friend and leaves. About that same time, the noise must have stirred hidden deer, as they were all around two of the stands. (3 Bucks and Does) Nephew #2 makes the first kill (14 pointer) and Corey, who isn't too much into hunting, has a 10 pointer under his treestand. Now, there is something about a guy and the excitement that takes over when a deer approaches and the raising of a bow.....I compare it to my excitement at a DSW shoe sale....it's a sweaty palm, heart racing, BIG thing.....Corey takes the shot and then..... passes out! Yes, you heard me correctly...passes out. His brother is running down the hill tracking his own kill and sees younger brother slumped over the rail of the treestand....luckily, he listened to Uncle Gary when he purchased the treestand with a bar that protects you from falling. Old brother climbs up in the treestand while yelling for everyone to help. Cell phones are dialed to mom & dad, aunt & uncle, who are just across the street and waiting for Ohio State game to start....great.

We arrive within minutes at the scene and big brother is coddling little brother, which we will NEVER let him forget, and little brother is white with teeth chattering. We can now spot a severe panic attack when we see one! The 14 pointer is laying a few feet away, mom takes over to calm little brother down, others are laughing hysterically at him. The story then began to unfold, Corey was not EXACTLY sure if his arrow hit the deer because he said it was either the deer he saw wobbling or HE was the one wobbling after he blacked out. Once the 14 pointer was gutted on the spot, the search began, which it was dark by now. I will never forget the vision of my brother in law with a OSU shirt that I think read , "Fear the Vest" and one of those miner flashlights on his head as he is searching for a deer that may or may not exist. I have never, ever, seen him in any type of brush/woods and here he was acting like he knew what and where to look...too funny. More friends arrived to help and luckily three were Park Rangers and very "into" the sport. Once Corey got his bearings, they had him reenact what he THOUGHT happened and how he was positioned, before passing out. To find a black arrow in pitch dark is one feat I would have beat against but low and behold, the Rangers found it and it appeared it entered clean through the deer. (not exactly "clean", blood on the entire arrow and small blood drops in the area) The group decided it best to wait until the following morning to track the deer so it will bleed out and hopefully not wander too far into a thicket. (hunter talk for saying, "I can't see a thing")

The next morning, 6:30am, Uncle Gary and the boys were on the search. Not sure who was more excited. Deer was found and definitely a big one, even if 4 points shy of big brothers...a much bigger deer. They were told it will be some kind of record more than likely. Nephew is thrilled and said he will not hunt again until one of his other relatives bags something bigger.......he has nothing more to prove! ha!

The hunt is still on for those that did not get a deer...."moose" as they call it, is still out there and makes these two deer look like Bambi. We'll see.


Looking forward to catch up on your "deer stories" !!



Tammy