Did you survive Christmas? Ha! I had no trouble with shopping before Christmas but when I went down to Macy's this morning to buy something for a friend in Thailand, I had to wait and wait and wait. No, there were not that many people in line but there were not enough clerks and those that were working were having to deal with people returning items or exchanging things. At one cash register one clerk was tied up by a customer who was paying off (with cash) several accounts. Yep, that's right. He had several statement sheets for several accounts and the clerk kept asking him how much he wanted to pay on each account. Sort of reminded me of the old days of "lay-away" plans. Then when I finished shopping I went to Boudin's in the food court at Macy's only to get stuck in another line behind people who did not know what they wanted. Grrr....

Anyway, I finished my post-Christmas shopping and got home without too much hassle. Now I am ready to go on vacation to Thailand in a few weeks. With this chilly weather we are having in San Francisco right now, that will be very welcome. Right now it is 49F/10C at 2:20 PM here where as the high temperatures in Pattaya these days are around 91F/32C which will be very welcome as I lounge on a deck check under an umbrella on Jomtien(Dong Tan) Beach. Ah, thoughts of just sitting there in the shade with a slight breeze off the Gulf of Thailand, food vendors coming around with various things of interest, the "scenery", etc., etc., really warms me up with warm fuzzies even whilw trying to stay warm here at home. Before I go however, there is New Year's Eve at my favorite club down the street where I like to stay in touch with many of my friends.

The only thing I don't like about travel is the preparation and the getting there. I sort of have packing down to a routine but I still get nervous and fear that I will forget something. No, this will not be like to going to the middle of the Sahara Desert where I would have to be self-sustaining for three weeks but still, I could forget something of a personal nature. I do, however, have a check-list but I am not sure if I have remembered to put everything onto that list that should be there. Ha! Anyway, in Thailand there is a 7-Eleven on practically every corner and a Starbucks on every other corner so I am will not be too far from the creature comforts of home.
What I can't do anything about however is the thirteen hours flying time from San Francisco to Taipei. That is where I change planes. It is another two hours or so from there down to Bangkok (that includes another change in time zones). By that time, however, I am all hyped up and ready to hit the beach running. LOL

So now I will rest up for the final big bash of the year here in SF and then will get ready for my flights.

Cheers...