11-28
I went to bed about 4am and then awoke at about 9:30. I left the curtains up a bit as I did not want to oversleep due to darkness. I called the desk to get an iron and ironed everything so I would be ready for the next several days. I got so busy that II forgot to go down to eat, so I instead ate a couple of the protein meal supplements I made for the trp. I finally felt caught up around noon, and decided to clean up and tour the area. The gym is nice, as it has cardio and resistance equipment, and the locker room has both a Steam room and Sauna. Abhinav called me and he would be here about 4:30 to pick me up. I was feeling groggy, so decided to take a nap. The eye mask helped to get me relaxed enough to nap until housekeeping knocked. She showed me that there is a do not disturb light, and I was able to sleep til about 4:15.
My first day in the office was good. Abhinav and his wife (I think her name is Charu, and will verify again) picked me up from the Palms at about 4:30 pm. It was about a half hour to 45 minute drive to the office. She works on the way to the office, and we missed the turn twice due to all the buses that were lined up along the way. I sat in the backseat until we dropped Charu off, and then Abhinav invited me to the front seat. It is like a roller coaster, the front is the most exciting part of the ride. When we arrived to the office, the guards greeted us with salutes. It was neat to feel the respect they gave us. When inside, Abhinav gave me an overview of the office and introduced me to Manu Rikhye. It was great to meet him after all this time of corresponding via email and phone. After our chat, Abhinav showed me to the 4th floor conference room that I will call home for the next several weeks. They are doing a lot of construction, and there is a crack cut into the wall to make room for a fire escape that will go from the top of the building to the bottom. When it got dark, it gave the mosquitoes a way into the building. Admin is great, and they sent people up to spray to get rid of them.
It was good to see my friend Himesh, and he took me on the office tour. He introduced me to the GMs on the shift. I met a lot of people and felt bad as I mixed up names with faces. I finally met Ashish and he told me to call to St Cloud. I updated Jay, Rick, Cheryl , and Amy of things, as they were meeting in Jay’s office.
The day went quick as I was in a feeling of catching up through the day. At about 1 AM I went out on the floor and met many collectors. Several of them I had direct contact with over the past several months, and we chatted on the floor about how the month was going and about questions they had after talking to several consumers. Pooja Bisht informed me of a birthday for one of her collectors. We went to the cafeteria to celebrate, and sing the traditional birthday song. Deepak G. informed me of a tradition of spreading cake around the birthday boy’s face, and proceeded to do so. The cake was wonderful, and I indulged sparingly to try to keep with my diet. After cake, Sachin and I played a game of 9 ball. He ended up winning at the end of the game, and it was tight throughout the match
I was able to finally meet Manju, a collector that I worked with in the first group of 5 collectors in the test program for Increasing Cash Average. Since that time, we have had several chats to chart her progress, which has been superb. It was great to finally meet her, as she held me accountable through the months to keep checking in for any questions or words of encouragement . We also chatted about the neat Henna tattoo she received at her niece’s birthday.
I could not believe it was already 4AM at that point, and I proceeded to my office to get ready to leave. The day went by very quick. I got back to the Palms at about 5 am and went to sleep soon thereafter. I set the alarm for noon as I had done the day before, and this time I did not wake until the alarm went off.

I decided to hit the gym today. The equipment is state of the art as it is in the U.S. health clubs. I did a half hour workout on the elliptical trainer, and then took a steam. It felt good. Afterwards I cleaned up and went to the hotel restaurant (Geoffrey’s). I tried the lamb kebobs, and they were great. They were about the size of country sausages, and they were 3 times the depth. The plate made them look small, yet I felt full when I was done. I tried the Castle Lager, and it was very tasty. It is a South African beer.

I decided today to hit the gym. The equipment is state of the art as it is in the U.S. health clubs. I did a half hour workout on the elliptical trainer, and then took a steam. It felt good. Afterwards I cleaned up and went to the hotel restaurant (Geoffrey’s). I tried the lamb kebobs, and they were great. They were about the size of country sausages, yet 3 times the depth. The plate made them look small, yet I felt full when I was done. I tried the Castle Lager, and it was very tasty. It is a South African beer.
I am getting ready now to go into the office and set an agenda for the next several weeks.

India trip

1. India Trip
   
   Day one started at 10 am in St Cloud MN. Brenda, Patrick, Joscelyn, and Zack took me to the STC airport, and they stayed with me until it was time to board the plane. It was a tough good bye, as we were able to spend a couple hours together before it was time to leave. I strted in the smalles plane I have flown in, a saab turbo-prop.
   
   From there I flew to MSp. I had 3 hours before boarding, so I went to the sports bar nearest the gate to watch the Vikes beat the Giants. I noticed there was a currency exchange on the way, and I stopped there to purchase all the ruppees they carried. I was able to purchase 800 rupee for $28.69. I then proceeded on to watch At the 4th quarter of the game, I went to the gate and boarded shortly thereafter. The plane was full. It was a good ride to Amsterdam, except that I was unable to get any sleep. I read a lot of my new book Splinter Cell, watched the movies The Beach and Oceans 12. I examined the maps on the display in front of me, and listened to the Sansa I gave Brenda for our anniversary. It was nice to be able to do things we plan to do for relaxation but seem to run out of time.
   It was raining in Amsterdam and the reality was setting in that I would not be able to see my family for the next month. I had a 4 hour layover in AMS, and was growing tired around 7am AMS time. I went to a café in the airport and tried a coffee. They brew their coffee there similar to Espresso. It comes out frothy. I drank this with no sugar or cream. Although it was strong, it was smooth to drink. In the Café people were able to smoke. It was odd to see smaking there and then no smoking 20 feet away from the café, yet the café was an open area. At 9:30 I went to stand in line for the flight that was to board at 9:50. We then boarded the biggest plane I have been on, a 747-400.
   The flight to India was nice. The TVs were not as accessible to watch, but there was an inflight movie. The flight meal was a vegetarian India dish that was tasty. I was able to finally get some sleep. Each time I woke up I thought I had been sleeping for several hours. I used the blanket and pillow that Todd and Stacey got me for the flight to get comfortable.
   When I awoke with an hour or so left in the flight, I began conversing with the person sitting next to me. He was flying from Toronto to visit his family in India. He works at Citifinancial, and was interesting to talk with. We talked about taxes, politics, the jobs, and about thedifferences in our medical systems. He pointed out that in Canada they are frustrated in the long waits . An ER visit you can wait 6 or more hours to get in. If it is non life threatening, you can wait months to get in. He mentioned it took 6 months to get into his optometrist.
   The India airport was very busy. People were going everywhere it seemed, yet all were herding to the immigrations area. Single file lines didn’t seem to be the norm in the airport, as people al sort of clumpted in and went through to get to customs. It was a short wait, as there were several customs agents working. It took about 30 minutes. Rick’s advice to go straight to customs helped, as there was a long line that formed behind. I filled out the form in line, while I saw many people filling the form out prior to lining up.
   After getting through cumtoms it was time to find my luggage. Here the philosophy of fend for yourself was evident. Everybody crowded the baggage Carousel , and it seemed that nobody was picking up bags. Slowly but surely, bags started to move to their owners. Over the next 45 minutes or an hour, I was growing anxious about whether my bahs made it to their destination. I was able to halp a few people tackle their bags and pull them off the carousel. Finally I saw what looked to be my bag, yet it had a white powder substance all over it. When I smelled the familiar scent of Gold Bond powder, I realized it was indeed my bag. I assured the crowd next to me that it was foot powder, as we all came from Amsterdam. My second bag was not near this bag, and when the carousel stopped, I was worried. I then spotted what looked to be my bag. I then focused better to see that the same zipper on that bag was broken.
   I had my luggage, my carryons were secure, and I was now ready to get to the hotel to clean up. 24 hours of flight does not do well for one’s hygiene. I noticed the Duty free shops, yet thought I would wait to visit them on the way back. I also noticed a couple currency exchanges. I thought it was fair that $1 buys 38.60 ruppee. I purchased $3860 ruppee, and felt rich. I later calculated to find out they gave me a better exchange then the US. I then went out to find hundreds of cab drivers with signs. My Driver was half way through the line, and I was relieved to have seen the sign. It was confusing to get out to find him again as there was a lot of commotion. When I finally got through, he took the luggage and we found the car.
   The drive was very interesting. Due to their English influence, they drive on the right side of the road. I had been told that they don’t follow the lines as we do, and this was now a reality. The car in front of us saw the line as a way to center her car, while others were using the solid line of the shoulder to pass. I was surprised an impressed to get to the Palms Hotel.
   

Pre India

Only a week away. I am excited to take the trip, and anxious. I started packing. Doctor visit for vaccines next week.