Weboggle

Ok, this site is very addictive. I spent most of the day yesterday playing the 5x5 board. No one in the family really wants to play with me but here I am on unchartered ground. These guys are really good. I think I have then figured out though - get the long words which would score you 11 points max, get a few of them and you are at least in the top 20. Want a challenge? Check it out WEBoggle. Thank Travis for sharing this link.

One more...

Thought I was done with my trips till I got a call from the boss to travel for an onsite meeting at Corp. Funny thing is hubby has to go on one too but his is only for a day - no fair.

Bye folks

The in-laws left this morning after a long and (hopefully) fun stay. Let's recap the last 3 months....numerous home improvements, home cooking, jokes, laughter, shopping and a runner-up thropy (Thanks Hywell for dropping the trophies off) - I cannot complain. What a great summer! Best of all, daughter had a great time knowing her grandparents. However, I will admit I am happy to have my family and home to myself again. Hey, guess what - no tears at the airport. :-)

Back home

I'm home! Made one phone call and changed my flights. There is an advantage to travelling mid-week. My flight from Santiago had 51 people only! I went online before leaving for the airport and changed my seats. Had a 3-seat row all to myself so I could stretch out. It was great. Hubby and I went out for lunch and then picked up daughter. They were so happy to see me. Feels great! This is my last business trip for the year. Phew!

Mind blogging

Shocked to see the meter count going up to the 500+. Can't believe my blahs are worth the time spent reading.., I have not been blogging much because I've been mind blogging. Yah, blogging in my mind but too lazy to pen it down. :-)

Picasa rocks!

I have sent 100+ pics to hubby already. I enjoyed the slideshow the most. As my colleague manually thumbs through his pictures, I just let Picasa do the work. It's a VERY handy tool to have and it's FREE - can't beat that.

McD's in Argentina

Ok, it's fundamentally wrong to NOT have milk shakes at McD's. Made lots of progress today and we thought we celebrate with some good old American milk shakes. McNuggets without sweet and sour sauce is like having fries without ketchup. Quite disappointing. They did have pretty uniforms - Oxford type shirts with black pants and the cute golden arches stitched on the back pocket. At least I feel closer to the family since that's on the dinner menu tonight. Hope to finish early and pray that there are available flights home to my babies.

Dinner at Hyatt

We had to eat at Hyatt tonight coz the restaurant in our hotel is closed on Sunday. Unfortunately, dinner at Hyatt (with English menus) starts at 8:30pm! So, we made our reservation and hang out at Plaza Independencia and watched local performing arts. Kinda brings back memories of home nad the local "pasar malam". The wait was worth it. Had this spectacular salad with greens, sweetened roasted pears and blue cheese. Main course of grilled white fish on coucous, asparagus and grilled spinach with corn. Yummy good, especially since I have not eaten much in the past few days. Since we don't drink wine, they keep serving us bottles of water. My colleague has the salad, beef tip and dessert. Total bill came to 120, 00 which converts to USD$40! If we ever come back to Mendoza, Hyatt is the place to stay. It may cost a little more but definitely more English friendly.

Don't cry for me...

Yes, I am in Argentina! Mendoza is the city, about 50 minutes from Santiago, Chile. Not sure what the elevation levels are but it took me a day to get used to the pressure. This is probably the first flight I did not enjoy but seeing this beautiful country offsets the discomfort. Total flight time = 14 hrs (4 stops).

Mendoza population = 1 Million
Temp = 50 degF / 65 degF
Current season = early spring
Currency = Argentina pesos (yes, there are different pesos per country)
1 USD = 2,90 Pesos (read as 2.90)

Our local colleague took us on a drive down the Andes yesterday. Wow! We drove 2.5 hrs north of Mendoza where we reached Puenta del Inca. As we head futher north, we can still see snow on the mountains. What a gorgeous view. You can raft, hike and bike down the stretch.

90% of the cars here are equipped with natural gas and regular fuel. There is a switch in the car, so when you run out natural gas, you can switch to fuel. It costs 1 peso / 100km of natural gas! Pretty neat - pollution levels minimal! I will not be able to drive here as only 10% of cars are automatic. :-)