I have been very neglectful on my posting the past few months. In an effort to catch up I will give a brief summary of my travels in April, May and June:

April 7 - 10, 2008
A domestic, U.S. trip for a change:

Orlando, FL: FranklinCovey Certification event and a visit to English Estates Elementary school. SRC was given a warm and enthusiastic welcome by about 200 elementary students. Clapping and shouts of welcome were followed by shouts of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was a very touching moment.

Williamsburg, KY: SRC spoke to faculty and Staff at the University of the Cumberlands. It was fantastic! The school campus is beautiful; brick buildings, green and lush landscapes. This was a highlight for me. To open the event the school had invited a Scottish Bagpipe band to perform. It was amazing! They also had vocal numbers which were very moving.

Lansing, MI: Greatness Summit. The highlight of this event was meeting Jon Schmidt. He is a well known (at least in Utah) pianist and I love his music. He composed the song "Waterfall: which is the piano piece used in the FranklinCovey film "Creating Greatness".

Portland, OR: Along with a great event I was able to see Julie Hillyard, a great friend and mentor to me in my job. It was so fun to see her and have a chance to catch up.

April 25, 2008
Texas A&M, Mays Business School

This was a fun event. SRC did a fantastic job and really hit a home run with the group.

May 7, 2008
Phoenix, AZ Greatness Summit for the FranklinCovey Western Region

This was a fun event for me...I was able to see some of my friends and colleagues that I don't see very often. SRC was fantastic!

May 13-15, 2008
London, the Netherlands and...Phoenix? Strange combination!

London: well attended event. If I remember correctly we flew in late and scurried back to the airport right at the conclusion of the event. No time to even figure out where I was in London. I do remember the bed in the hotel room: twin bed, very narrow and the duvet was short.

Zeist, Holland (The Netherlands): This event took place in a very charming town called Zeist. SRC and I arrived early enough that there was still daylight left in the day. We walked up and down the city street and enjoyed the quiet and pleasant weather. We passed a city part nestled in some trees that had a path around and through it. I took advantage of this path and ran a few laps. It felt good to get up and move! The event was great! SRC did a terrific job.

Phoenix, AZ: you may be asking why in the world would we add a domestic event to the end of an international trip. The way these events worked out we actually added the international legs to the already booked event in Phoenix. SRC spoke at a lecture series for the Mayo Clinic. It was a superb event.

May 22, 2008
Memphis, TN
Barret School of Banking

Remind me to not visit Memphis again in May or after a rain storm. It was so hot and sticky you could not stand being outside for more than 2 minutes and that was stretching it. This was a great event. The audience was so enthusiastic and intent on learning.

May 26 - June 4, 2008
Australia - Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane
South Africa - Johannesburg, Cape Town
Botswana - Gaberone

This was a trip to end all trips. I think SRC were not quite recovered from all of the other trips and that is why this one was so hard. We traveled a lot of sky miles.
Our flight to Sydney was quite eventful. Not really eventful but an event for me nonetheless. Prior to leaving on this trip I had been surfing the internet trying to find a show or something fun for SRC and I to do while in Australia. I saw on one website that Michael Buble would be in Australia at the same time that we would be. However, we missed each of his concert dates/times by a day. Well, because of that I thought it quite interesting that Michael Buble was on our flight to Sydney. It's true! It wasn't until the very end of the flight that I actually spoke to him but nevertheless, I spoke to him...shook his hand and exchanged words. It was fun!

Sydney: this was my second trip to Sydney in 2008. It was nice to fly in and recognize the airport. I sort of knew where I was going. We stayed at a hotel which was right across the street from Darling Harbor. One my first visit to Sydney SRC and I took a bus tour and I remember thinking that I would like to visit Darling Harbor the next time I was in Sydney. I actually had a chance to walk around the harbor and it was delightful. The weather was amazing and it was not a busy time. Below are some pictures.

We arrived in Sydney early in the morning. By the time we checked in at the hotel I only had time to drop my bags off in my room before I had to go to the event venue for my AV rehearsal. I was a pretty picture in jeans, t-shirt and a baseball hat. At least I was comfortable. I just hope I didn't smell like I had been traveling on a plane for 18 hours. This was a two day event so the morning of the 2nd day I showed up for my AV rehearsal showered and in my black suit. It was funny to see people's reactions when they saw that it was me. Quite a change from the baseball cap the day before.

Canberra: I celebrated my birthday in Canberra, which is the capital of Australia. That was something new I learned on this trip. The photos below are taken of the new parliament house. It was an amazing structure. We were in the government part of Canberra which was away from the shops, malls, etc. To celebrate my birthday, SRC and I asked our driver to take us to get some ice cream. He took us to a large mall that must have covered 4 maybe 5 city blocks. It was huge. The ice cream was very good - Happy Birthday to me!

Perth: Below are pictures of Perth taken from my hotel room. Let me tell you about this hotel room...it was more like a suite. Very big! The bed was so comfortable! The event in Perth was so cool! The event was sponsored by the Western Australian Primary Principals Association: an education association. The subject: the importance of teaching leadership skills in primary (elementary) schools, which is something SRC is very passionate about. I felt the day was a huge success.

Brisbane: Also a great event. I'm not sure I remember much about Brisbane. That's not true. We landed about two hours later than we thought we would; at 3:00 in the morning I nearly flew off the handle when the hotel front desk clerk gives me a hard time about not contacting them that we would be late. I can't say that the entire stay at that hotel was bad: the bed was comfortable, the hair dryer worked and the bathroom was clean but my interactions with the staff was less than fun!

I received exciting news from home early in the morning on the 31st. A new nephew! Ezra Dallis Boshard was born on May 30th. I could not wait to get home to see him. However, I still had 6 days left of the trip. Ugh!

June 1, 2008
Johannesburg, South Africa

It was great to be in South Africa again. The Community Event in Johannesburg was held at a university. The picture below is a picture of the front of the building...beautiful! The event was well attended and it was so great to look out into the audience and see so many families attending. We flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town that afternoon.

June 2
Cape Town, South Africa

The pictures below are of the hotel, fountain, etc. It was a beautiful place with a Casino attached. SRC and I went to the Casino...rather we went through the Casino to a large food court and had KFC for dinner. AS many of you know SRC wears some sort of hat when he is out and about. We walked into the Casino and almost immediately we were stopped by a security guard asking him to turn his hat around or take the hat off. He decided to turn the hat around and let me just say it was hysterical! We laughed and laughed!

The event in Cape Town was awesome! It was well attended and the audience was engaged and asked amazing questions. As you can see from the pictures below the AV booth was quite a distance from the main floor. It was cool to be up that high. During the first session we struggled with the audio for the videos. It was so frustrating but at the break (within 15 minutes) we have the problem fixed and the sound was impeccable the rest of the day. It can get very intense when something like this happened but luckily everyone was on the side of "let's get this fixed". The problem, a bad cable connection, was an easy fix once it was identified as the problem...we were very glad it had nothing major to do with the entire audio system. That would have been disastrous.

June 3
Johannesburg, South Africa

Another great event! Let me first tell you about the hotel. It was amazing--The Westcliff Hotel. It is built on the side of a mountain and was not one building but multiple buildings built on the side of this “cliff”. You could take the walking path to and from your building but you had better be ready to huff and puff. The easiest way is to take the shuttle…seriously in a suit, carrying a laptop bag and wearing high heels, you would have chosen the shuttle as well. The view from my room was amazing and if I had remembered to take a picture you would be able to see just how breathtaking it was.

The event, as I mentioned above was great. We spent the day at ABRA Bank…multiple sessions with multiple audiences. These pictures were taken at the afternoon session. This building was amazing. This open area was at least 5 stories high and very open. It was cool to look around and see people listening to SRC from the balconies.

June 4
Gaberone, Botswana

Beautiful! Botswana is one of the diamond capitols of the world. We flew into Gaberone at night so I really did not see much of the beauty until the next day and even then I only saw what I could see from the hotel and our drive back to the airport…very green and lush but also flat.

The event was very well attended and the participants were very excited to be there. The Vice President of the country came after lunch and gave a speech to the audience. His speech was inspiring and focused on the principals taught by SRC. It was very cool to be a part of that event. I did find it interesting that the Vice President’s handlers walked up to the podium before he did and placed a copy of his speech on the podium. I wondered if that was a matter of precaution or just part of the process. It was a bit intimidating to look around the room and realize that there his security detail was everywhere.

…Our final event of this trip and the beginning of our long journey home.

June 10 – June 14, 2008

My five days at home were wonderful…not very restful but it was great to sleep in my own bed, do laundry and not have to wear a suit.

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Wonderful experience! This was my first trip to Guatemala and I was impressed. I was reminded of El Salvador with the rolling hills and trees…trees everywhere. The two events were held at a university. The morning event was a public event and the afternoon was a community family event. Both were very well attended. I don’t think there was an empty seat in the house.

Mexico City, Mexico

This was a long day, with a lot of moving from one meeting to another and one event to another. The highlight was ending the day and taking a helicopter ride from the El Camino Real Hotel to the airport. It cut our travel time in half. The traffic in Mexico City is awful and would have taken us about 2+ hours. The helicopter was bright red and seemed to just float in the air…perhaps that was due to the fact that it was very windy. The wind seemed to either push us a long or lift and move the helicopter. Not scary but definitely unsettling at times.

Finally, the flight home…for a few hours and then on another plane to Calgary.

Banff, Canada

Although I was exhausted and so tired of traveling I found the strength to enjoy this trip. We had about a 75 minutes drive from Calgary to Banff for both directions we had daylight…which is a change from our normal travel. The drive could not have been any prettier. Banff reminded me of Tahoe, a bit of Park City, Estes Park (Colorado), and Sun Valley, ID. I could have stayed there for a few days to relax. That is for sure.

The event was great. All participants we so enthusiastic and SRC was right on with his message and engaging the audience. Overall it was a home run.

March 30- April 1, 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hot! Sticky! Yuck! Not the best first impression of Kuala Lumpur but an honest one. We arrived at night so I was unable to see the grandeur of this city until the following day. It is quite the city but it was hot and sticky!

The first event was a community event hosted by an organization/association dedicated to raising awareness about Autism as well as provide support to families of autistic children and those with autism. SRC was able to meet a few of the autistic children and families who are supported by this organization. It was quite an experience. The event was well attended and SRC's message well received.

The second event was HUGE! This is probably the largest public program I've been a part of since working with SRC. I mean largest as far as participants paying to attend. I think the U.S. Symposiums were close to this number and may have exceeded but at any rate there were 1,000+ attendees. It was an amazing event. So well orchestrated and the AV was spectacular. I was sitting off to the side of the stage and unlike other events I had to manage more than just my laptop. I wish I had taken a picture: my laptop sat in the middle along with two DVD players, a large sound board to the left and a large switcher on the right. I worked the switcher and sound when playing a video. So, it was a lot of juggling but it went well. I was testing a DVD player right as SRC was being introduced and not knowing the the audio was live when the DVD played the sound came over the speakers...loud. Luckily, it was like intro music so it fit really well. I could have passed out right there but I quickly recovered. I also had to count on the person on the other end of the headset to switch between camera and graphic from my laptop. For the most part it went really well.

SRC did an amazing job with such a large group. He got out into the audience and at one point engaged in a two way dialogue with one of the participants when he asked a question. The gentleman was so great. He did not expect this two way dialogue to take place so, in desperation said, "Help! Someone else come and take over." He did an exceptional job talking with SRC and going back and forth with the questions and answers. At another point in the day he also engaged in a two way dialogue with a woman who had a point to make. It was so interesting to see this happen but enjoyable for everyone.

At the conclusion of this event we moved hotels in order to be where the event would be held the next day. It was a beautiful hotel! Below is the view from my room. At this point in the trip I was feeling very anxious to get home and I was counting down the hours until we boarded that plane for the U.S.



The program on April 1st was with a client and it was just a a half day event. It think it went well although the end seemed a little rushed. Then again, I would have rushed to if I were speaking. I just wanted to be done and on my way home. I guess that is not fair to the client but it was an accurate description of how I felt. SRC came away very energized because one of the things he had been asked to do is to help the client determine the origin of a prevalent issue in their company. Within the first 90 minutes he found the source and could not have been any more enthused by that. I was enjoying that enthusiasm as he proceeded with new insight into the client.

This is a picture of me with one of the organizers of the event, Liana. She is wonderful and after so many months of communicating by email regarding this event I was so happy to meet her in person.

After 20+ hours of flying we did make it home. I was so happy to be home and could not wait to sleep in my own bed. As we came around the corner into baggage claim I spotted the driver who welcomed us with firm hand shakes. I then began looking to see what baggage claim we needed to go to. My eyes were scanning the room and came to rest on a tall, dark, Latino with a huge smile on his face. There he was, my knight in shining armor who came to rescue me and take me home. I was so shocked to see him there I turned and walked the other way. I also felt really gross and smelly but I turned back around and gave him a huge hug. It was so good to see him. I thought he had to work that night but he just smiled and said, "April Fools!"

March 25, 2008
Sydney, Australia

What a beautiful country. We arrived in Sydney early on the 24th to wet, drizzly weather. The very first thing I saw as I looked out my plane window once we had touched down on the runway was "The Golden Arches"...McDonalds. Not exactly what I expected to see but I did have to chuckle to myself. After checking into the hotel I just needed to get my blood pumping so I went to the hotel fitness center and got in a good run. Since we arrived so early and because of the time change i needed to keep my body moving. After a wonderful shower I just wanted to be horizontal...I did not take a nap but I did enjoy a relaxing two hours of doing nothing. SRC called me in the afternoon to tell me he had found a double decker bus that would take us around the city on a tour. The day had cleared up and the sun was shining so off we went. It was wonderful! We sat on the upper deck of the bus and enjoyed the warmth and the wind. Below are some pictures from that tour.

After our tour we made our way back to the hotel for an early dinner. Stephen ordered a bowl of lamp soup which when it was delivered looked more like a soup Turin...the bowl was huge. the soup was very good. The noodles were my favorite part. I had a chicken curry meal which was oh, so tasty!

The event in Sydney took place on the 25th and it was a great event. The company hosting the event is the same company that did the events in Asia last November. We did not doubt that the events would be successful. The audience was highly energetic and asked a lot of questions. The room was packed with hardly any space to walk between chairs and people. SRC did a fantastic job and really captured the minds and hearts of the attendees. At the conclusion of the event we made our way to the airport to fly to Melbourne.

March 26, 2008

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne seems to be a very intriguing city. I did not see much of it because of our schedule but I did enjoy the hotel fitness center and my room. We learned from our driver that Melbourne is really suffering a drought right now. Australia is moving out of Summer and into Autumn so you would expect some dryness on the ground. It was interesting on our drive from the airport to the hotel to see, even the highly visible city parks, and roadways with grass were brownish. The city is taking the conservation of water very seriously.

The Sofitel hotel was amazing. It was huge and connected to a shopping center. What was so interesting about this shopping center is that during the 3/4 of an entire wall is opened to the outside streets. This is a main entrance to the shopping center and created a really nice airy atmosphere for those walking around or sitting in nearby restaurants.

The event was as well attended as the one in Sydney. There was a bit more room in the ballroom but it was no less intimate. The AV tech tables were set up in a closed balcony areas above the ballroom. It was interesting to have that view of the ballroom. It made seeing SRC a lot easier but it was not as easy to communicate with him. When he would leave the room I had to sprint down a flight of stairs and exit the stairwell just about at full speed in order to intercept him. What a spectacle I was! One thing that SRC has found really fun to do during videos is to sine the laser pointer in my eyes. With the really strong laser pointers he can shoot it clear to the back of a huge ballroom. He thinks he is so funny. Meanwhile I am not partially blind because of it.

Once again, at the conclusion of the event we made our way to the airport. It is so interesting to me the difference in airport across the world. Some security people must think I am crazy because I go through a series of questions: Laptop out of the case?; Shoes Off? Shoes in the bin or on the belt?: Jacket off? Liquids and gels out of my carrying on?; and for good measure Do I need my ID again? I loved the Melbourne airport because the only thing I had to do was remove my laptop from my bag. It was wonderful and made the process so speedy.

March 27, 2008

Auckland, New Zealand

Well, now. This is where they have been keeping the good looking men. In Australia I began to wonder what all the hype was about the gorgeous Australian men I would see. I did see some attractive men but it wasn't until New Zealand that the real men appeared...at least my taste of men: tall, defined features, muscles abounding, etc. I have a friend who has said, "Chelsea, you only have to smile and you will get what you want". So, I put that to the test...could I get one of these fine looking men to notice me and perhaps engage in a little bit of a flirty conversation? Now, anyone who knows me well enough knows that I would never have that thought go through my mind and in light of recent events in my life and a certain someone, I would especially not try to engage in flirty conversation with a man. Well...then again. But, I am serious about the good looking men! Wowza!

We had the shortest amount of time in Auckland so I really can't tell you much about the city except that it was very, very green. The weather was wonderful! The hotel was amazing and the ballroom was huge! This was the largest events of the four with 650+ people attending. The audience was highly engaged in teaching each other and in what SRC was teaching. It was a great experience!

At the conclusion we drove to the airport and boarded a plane to Wellington...where my life would be forever altered.

March 28, 2008

Wellington, New Zealand

Over the past 2+ years many people have asked, not in these exact words but similar, "Where is your favorite place?" Until now my response would be, "Can I do it by continent?" I did not have a favorite place. I can tell you that, hands down, Wellington, New Zealand is my favorite place. I don't know exactly what it is about it but I could live there in a heart beat. It is beautiful and the overall feeling there was amazing to me. Below are some pictures taken from a harbor near the event venue. The weather was amazing during the day of the event so every chance I had I went outside. Along the water there is a running/biking/walking trail and it was here that I saw more of the good looking men that I spoke of earlier. I could tell they were athletes...most being rugby players. Some were HUGE in stature...very intimidating.

The event was well attended and the audience seemed eager to learn and gain as much as they could from being there. At the conclusion of the event we went to dinner with the even host, Red Carpet Ltd. team. This group had been with us for each event on this trip and it was so fun to be with them in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. We laughed and learned more about each other. SRC stayed for dinner and then excused himself so he could return to his room for an early night. I enjoyed myself so much and really hated to say goodbye to this group. You spend enough time with them and learn to appreciate each other and the amount of work that goes into these events. For them it was the end of a long period of preparation and travel. For me and SRC it meant we were onto the next country...Malaysia.

Does anyone want to see my stamps?

Don't you hate it when you get to somewhere fun and exciting, a place you have never been and the camera that you brought with you does not work? The only proof that I have that I was in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai are stamps in my passport and a few pictures I took with my phone. you will have to just believe me when I tell you that Kuwait and Bahrain were amazing. Dubai, was equally as amazing, I speak mainly of the architecture and number of buildings that have gone up since my visit a year ago. The pictures you see below is the view that I had from my hotel room in the downtown area of Dubai. The building that you see with the tall spire is the tallest building, right now, in the world. It is not yet complete but very impressive to say the least.

March 2, 2008
Kuwait City, Kuwait

I was impressed by the size of this city as well as the new construction that is taking place. As we drove from the airport to the hotel I noticed a lot of new construction as well as older, war torn buildings, that while inhabited, look like they have seen better days. I was impressed by the overall friendliness of the people I met and the interactions we had. In these highly Muslim populated countries it is hard to know what the reaction will be from the men and women. One man may shake my hand while others will nearly throw their hands up in the air and say, " I do not shake the hands of women". Some women wear head coverings and normal clothing while others wear the all black with head and face coverings. I asked about the differences and was told that for some it is their level of commitment to their religion. For others it is out of respect for family tradition. The program was a huge success. I would guess there were about 500 people in the audience and they were highly engaged and asking questions, which, as I have mentioned before leads SRC in different directions than perhaps was originally planned.

March 3, 2008
Bahrain

I don't have much to say about Bahrain because we arrive quite late and left immediately following the program. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton, which is also where the event was held. SRC and I were housed in a Villa...beautiful, huge, luxurious. Too bad I was only able to enjoy it for 8 hours and even with that amount of time I spent a few hours sleeping. I was quite impressed with what I saw from the windows and the short drive to the airport. The Ritz is situated right on the coast so the view from the back doors of the Villa were spectacular...palm trees, beautiful private pool all leading out to the ocean. I would like to return if only to see more of Bahrain. The event was for one client and I would say it was successful. The audience was smaller than the program the day before but equally as interesting and with many questions from the audience.

March 4, 2008
Dubai
Public Program

First of all, the hotel Jumeirah Resort Hotel was incredible. It is situated along the coast line and is one in a line of about 4 resorts. My room was incredible and I was able to enjoy it for two nights. The gym facilities were the best I think I have seen in my travels. I also had the option of running the length of the four resorts on an outdoor trail that connected all four. It was so fun to run along this path and see the vacationers and catch a glimpse of their lives whether it was a father kicking a soccer ball with his son and daughter, or a couple enjoying a dinner by the ocean. I also witnessed families enjoying the pools as well as conventions taking place at some of the resorts. The event was great: a public event hosted by IIR. This crowd was also engaged and full of questions. I love the questions and the direction they take SRC with his responses. It can also be a test for me and my knowledge of the slides. SRC may call for a slide that we don't use very often and it takes me a few seconds (or minutes) longer to pull it up.

March 5, 2008
Dubai

We ended up with a free day on the 5th. The event that had been planned had to cancel because of company restructuring. It was great to be able to sleep in and relax a little bit. I actually slept until about 7:00 a.m. which in my travels is sleeping in. I got up, went running and to the gym, had a good breakfast and prepared to move to the last hotel of the trip. It was better for us to move to the hotel where the event was being held because of traffic. The evening of the 5th we actually had dinner with the FranklinCovey Middle East group. They are a fantastic group of people and it was so wonderful to meet with them in a more casual setting. When I am traveling and especially during events I am all business. I have my game face on and my focus is on logistics, SRC, the slides, and making sure everything is in order. Many people who meet me for the first time in this setting find me very serious. So, it was great for this group to see me more relaxed and not so serious. SRC was a great host and complemented this group on being a "Transition Team", possessing the skill to influence all of Dubai and many of the Middle Eastern countries.

March 6, 2008
Dubai

The final event! Yahoo! The event was good but probably a little more difficult than the other events. I didn't think the audience was engaged in the presentation...they seemed distracted by other things. SRC felt differently. He felt that there was just so much information given that is different enough from how this group functions and thinks in their profession that it was overwhelming. That makes sense to me. Overall I would say it was a success. SRC amazes me! He adapts to such diverse groups and such varied questions. Plus he is able to keep his energy at a high level event after event after event. By the end of the day we were ready to go home.

November 5-15, 2007
Asia and Florida

November 5-7
Shanghai, China

As we prepared for this trip I was full of anticipation, not only for the presentations, but the travel and knowing we would be so far from home. SRC and I arrived in Shanghai Tuesday evening and after checking in at the hotel we both looked forward to some exercise time. Spending 15 hours on a plane, basically in a reclined position without much walking around and I was ready to get the wiggles out. Running felt great! Here are a few photos: the view from my hotel room as well as SRC's. Plus a view from the elevator.


The thing I was most fascinated by in Shanghai were the number of bikes and scooters on the road. I didn't see many pedestrians and even the cars were few in number. What we saw were bikes and scooters...everywhere. That is the main mode of transportation and it was amazing to see bikes lining the sidewalks or intersections filled with scooters and more bikes.

The presentation went very well. SRC was terrific and on top of his game. There were about 450 people attending and it was a very energetic and engaged group. Most in attendance speak English fluently so I did not notice a delayed reaction to jokes or questions asked by SRC. At the conclusion of the event we drove to the airport to board a plane...no time to enjoy the hotel or see any more of the city than we did to and from the hotel. Next stop: Hong Kong.

November 7-9, 2007
Hong Kong

What an incredible city! We actually did not see much of the city until the day after we flew in but our driver from the airport gave us a driving tour. He was a hoot! He pointed out the worlds longest suspension bridge. This picture is just one small section. I had hoped for a better picture but this will have to do. Our driver explained that we landed on one island, crossed the bridge to another island, went through a tunnel--under the water--to Hong Kong. He also pointed out the worlds tallest residence building...82 floors. Fascinating! Downtown Hong Kong is like a mini New York and even has some aspects of Las Vegas...building lit up from roof top to street level. The view from my room wasn't too bad either.
Wednesday night, after getting settled into my room I was able to get in a good run! The gym at this hotel was amazing...huge with great equipment. Thursday morning SRC gave a presentation to a small group at the LDS Church building. The group consisted of the Area Presidency, office staff and Senior missionary couples. In the afternoon I walked around "The Mall". A huge mall next door to the hotel. This mall must have been at least three stories with at least a hundred stores. I felt totally under dressed in my capris and polo...most mall goers were in business attire which was mostly black. A nap followed my time at the mall. Very nice!

We had a Community Event in the evening which was hosted by the Hong Kong Institute of Education. It was a great group made up of teachers, principals, and other school administrators. SRC has not done this before but at the conclusion he had me come out on stage as he introduced and thanked me for my assistance. I had been sitting behind a curtain, off stage, like Oz in the Wizard of Oz so it was funny to have me come on stage from behind the curtain.

Friday morning was a full-day presentation with about 400 people. Another home run day! After a book signing and short cocktail hour with one of the main sponsors we were on our way to the hotel. Singapore here we come!
November 9-12, 2007
Singapore

Arriving into Singapore was interesting. My first international trip was to Singapore. It was also my interview with SRC to work for him. I remember it like it was yesterday. Traveling with two very experienced travelers, I was trying to act like I knew what I was doing by I was watching and observing everything so I didn't look stupid.

Out hotel, Shangri-La, was lovely. We had "Garden Rooms" with a view of the pool, balconies, and wood floors. Since we would be in Singapore for a few days it was good to be in nice hotel rooms. The service was the best I have seen. What impressed me most about each employee is that they would serve you even if what you were asking of them was outside of their job responsibilities. For example, I was looking for the fitness center and asked a hostess at one of the restaurants where to go. She came from behind her hostess desk and walked me halfway to where I needed to go. I was impressed.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling very puny: sore throat, cough...not good! I wanted to fight it so I went running, took a nap, and tried to drink as much water as possible. SRC and I went on a tour in the afternoon and had a great time. Take a look at these pictures. Our driver was fantastic and really knew where we needed to go to see what we wanted to see. I didn't get pictures of everything we saw but here is a sampling. Singapore is an amazing, clean city.

Sunday afternoon we had a community event which was attended by about 900 people. It was a fantastic group. It was deja vu because of where the event was held...the exact same room at the Singapore Convention Center that the event was held in that interview trip to Singapore. I enjoyed working with the FC Asia group. The event was so well organized and went off without a hitch.

Monday was a full-day presentation attended by at least 400 people. It was great! The topic for each of these three full-day presentations was Insights into Leadership and what continues to amaze me is how SRC can customize each presentation for the country, audience, culture, etc. He hit a home run with each group based on needs, issues, challenges and what he learned from those who live in these countries.

We had one more night in Singapore. By the end of Monday I was feeling really sick. I now had symptoms of a head and chest cold. I was not looking forward to our flight back to the US. Tuesday morning we boarded a plane in Singapore and flew to Hong Kong to catch a connecting flight to Chicago. The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful. The landing was hard on my ears and sinuses and my ears stayed plugged even after we landed. As we flew out of Hong Kong I was amazed to see so many high rise buildings coming up from the landscape. What is so amazing is that the majority are residences. It's like mini downtown areas. The flight from Hong Kong to Singapore was LONG. The in-flight entertainment system at my seat was broken so no in-flight movies for me. It was not the end of the world but it was certainly inconvenient to not be able to lose myself in movies for 14 hours. It did give me a chance to focus on sleeping and I did watch some shows that I had downloaded to my laptop.

After landing in Chicago we cleared customs and made our way to the gate for our flight to Orlando. My ears were completely plugged and I felt like I was yelling whenever I spoke. I was trying so hard to remain up beat and do my job like nothing was wrong. The flight to Orlando was interesting. I ended up in a middle seat!!!! I was not a happy person! After receiving a phone call to speak in church on the topic of gratitude and taking some time to write down things I am grateful for my attitude did change. I was no longer so focused on the fact that I was in the middle seat, that my ears were plugged, and I felt awful. I just thought about all that I had to be grateful for. After what seemed like an eternity we landed in Orlando. The sun was shining and it was a pleasant 75 degrees. I was in heaven.

November 14, 2007
Orlando, FL

The event in Orlando was for a client and was a huge success. The word we received from my main contact for this event is that the participants were thrilled with what they heard and the morning could not have gone any better. I was pleased to hear that. Both SRC and I were feeling the effects of the difference in time zones and felt very anxious to get onto Tampa, the next presentation and then home.

November 15, 2007
Tampa, FL

We arrived at the hotel on the 14th and I actually spent some time in the warm sun by the pool. It was the perfect medicine feeling like I did. I had a good nights sleep and an easy morning on the 15th. The presentation was in the afternoon and although the group was far smaller than we had expected or even hoped for SRC did a great job. Once finished we bolted for the door and quickly got in the waiting SUV to take us to the airport. We had a short window of time to make it to the airport for our flight but we made it. The flight was good and when we got home I just wanted to kiss the ground. Another great trip under my belt!