End of the trip - Reflections

Back Home Again - WOW - What a Trip!

Hi everyone - I must spend just a minute on reflections, then on to fun pictures and commentary. I would never have imagined an opportunity like I just went thru. Malaysia has been wonderful. Even losing my wallet and all the headaches that came with that don't cloud my positive feelings about my trip. My sister Karen suggested I write a blog, and that was so unlike something I'd do that I didn't give it much consideration. She told me it was easy, so I looked into it, and I am so thrilled by how it turned out. I've gotten many great comments from people who check regularly to see what new pictures/text have been posted. Thank you all for caring, this has been a lot of fun.

The other part of the experience that is hard to put into concise words (I don't do concise very well anyway) is the effect the trip has had on me. It hasn't quite turned me into a Democrat, but has really been a grand education into how the rest of the world sees life and world events and the interelation between everyone, both on a local and world scale. We really see an Americanized view of life from America, and since America is what America is, in today's world, I think that's mostly OK.

The education part for me was really just understanding better how everyone else sees things. More of a European view, more of an Asian view for sure. I really didn't understand Muslims, at all, and Malaysia probably doesn't show how all Muslims everywhere are. Malaysia is pretty 'westernized', so the Malaysian Muslim culture is likely more moderate than you see in some less 'westernized' locations. On the whole, you just don't anticipate how everyday normal all people will be everywhere. They are.

The uniqueness (and the blending) of each culture that makes up Malaysia is amazing. The advertising, the music, the clothing, the food, the humor, the concerns, the etiquette, the left-side driving, the food stalls, the subway/train/monorail system, the heat and rain, the shoppng malls, the crowds of people everywhere, the monkeys, the temples and mosques, the taxi's ...... everything is just fabulous to have been able to experience.

OK - I thought I was done, but 1 more thing. If you ever get the chance, don't turn down the opportunity to do something like this. It was scary getting going, scary arriving in the foreign land. It was really an emotional wringer when my wallet got stolen. My point is that all of that passes and the wonderful memories will last and last. Embrace it if you ever get the chance.

Bye now - I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.



Well - it's the end of the road for my Malaysian adventure. I'm back home in Kansas City. This will be the last blog entry. I was gone so long (8 1/2 weeks), yet it went so quickly. The Cerner work part of the trip (the whole reason for going in the 1st place) went well, was confusing, but came around as time went by.

This is on I-29, near the KC airport.





I really noticed the 'International Departures' sign at the airport in Kuala Lumpur. I knew that once I left I'd likly never return, and I really grew to love KL, the people, the cultures, the food, all that. While we could go back for vacation sometime (Tracy loved it too), there's so many places in the world we haven't been. I just can't see us back in Malaysia, but check back in 20 years and we'll see.

A gift shop in the KL airport had lots of lovely pendants and boxes, all made in Malaysia. They were practically jewel-encrusted, with a gold-ish mother-of-pearl-ish inside.





When you're not sleeping or eating on the long flight back, you have a pretty good video system to play with. Games, TV, movies, news are all pretty good. I was in an exit row, so I had this flip-up style screen. Most folks had screens in the seatback of the person in front of them.




Just off the coast, by Los Angeles, I saw some islands, my 1st view of the USA in 8 weeks, unless you count the US Embassy in KL, which is technically US soil, or so I understand.

One last shot of cute Malaysian women.








The long sequence of flights takes about 26 hours (KL to KC).


This guy was on a wall by the pool at my hotel. Kinda cool.




These guys were playing at the Hilton poolside lounge every night. My hotel and the Hilton shared a large pooldeck area and I could sign for stuff at any Hilton restaurant (or massage, or whatever). The guy on drums is Malaysian and the guy on guitar is Marco, from Cuba. Marco was very entertaining. Tracy and I both really enjoyed the times we sat and talked with him, about Cuba, and Malaysia and travelling around Asia performing.






This is Sa'adah. She is the shining light of the Cerner Malaysia office. Sa'adah is an Integration Architect, and a good one at that. She is really funny.



There are somewhere between 1 and 10 people in the Cerner KL office every day. It just depends on who's in KL, who has meetings at the office, who is working on what. This picture is of Gerard, Sa'adah and Halim. Halim is an Engagement Leader (project lead for non-Cerner-folk). Gerard is a Technical Engagement Leader, like me. He was hired by Cerner in March and was in KC for Cerner training when I left to go to Malaysia on April 7th. The head guy in Cerner Malaysia is Satriya, who was out ill this day.





A sign at the golf course I played at (with 3 Malaysia IBM guys). I've seen alligator signs in the USA, but never monkey signs.








One of the best reasons to come back home to KC. This is Audrey, our 5 year old grand-daughter.