Hello?

Does anyone read these?

Send me a comment if you do by clicking on the envelope below

Regards,
Scott

Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to. - J. R. Tolkien

Well my friends… what a blur the last couple days (I think it has only been a couple) have been. We departed on Friday afternoon for Club Med Ria Bintan in Indonesia. It was an hour long boat trip and it was so hot. I had never stayed at a Club Med before…. I tell you the truth…. If I could afford it I would go every year! It is one price for almost everything included in your room cost.
It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen… Ok the most beautiful tropical paradise I have ever seen. It was so hot and humid but we had an absolutely grand time for Friday evening- Monday morning. They control the quantity of guests and I never had to wait for anything and there was always enough chairs or whatever to go around. This trip was a very special treat but there was one big gapping thing missing: My Wife. Then it would have been perfect! It gets 5 stars from me! I realized I must be a loser husband because my wife deserved this treat much more than I did. I was really dreading her being at home for two weeks and three weekends without a break- that is not fair for anyone! My inlaws flew her and the boys our for spring break this week- I am so grateful! I know the time with them and all their friends is much needed and over due. Poor Crosby has only one friend that he place with maybe once every other week. Anyway- the boys are "in heaven" getting to see Carly and Noah and uncle Chris and Aunt Joy and Owen in Isabel and Andrew and Emily. You know… we are really rich!
Singapore is a beautiful city and is most enjoyable. It is a tad on the hot side heating up to almost 107F heat index. It does not feel crowded at all. I am very anxious to get home though. I miss my Peeps (people)!
I will sign off for now but hopefully get back on the daily updates until Friday. I am scheduled to leave at 7:15AM Saturday and arrive in Manchester at 6:30PM on Saturday (I think…. Time wise it will be Sunday for me I think… who knows!).

Here are some photos from my hotel, the office and Club Med:

Love you all!
Scott

Ria Bintan: http://www.clubmed.com.sg/cgi-bin/clubmed55/SP/villagesHeading.do?PAYS=362&LANG=AE&CODLSC=RBIC

Google Map Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=1.18292,104.335871&spn=0.038101,0.058022&t=h&z=14

XTreme Update 2.0...

Just got back to my hotel after being in Indonesia for the weekend. I will tell you more about it but have to run to some meetings now. If you see my family tell them I am good and would like to chat.

Regards,

Scott Whitten
By working on knowledge, skill, and desire, we can break through to new levels of personal effectiveness as we break with old paradigms. All three components must be present. ~Stephen R. Covey

www.myspace.com/witbits
www.linkedin.com/in/scottwhitten

Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.- Thomas Edison

I cannot get over how humid it is here. It is absolutely amazing - and uncomfortable. We had another extremely productive day of work here yesterday. In some sense we are really redefining how our companies global teams work and deliver.

I have been taking a taxi to the office rather than walking the 5-10 min walk due to my back and the humidity. I decided to brave the walk last night on the way home. The back was very sore after but more importantly… I was soaked from head to toe!

There is nothing else of any interest to note I guess. I have only been able to speak with Jolie once since I have been here and have not talked with my boys at all. I try in the morning (there evening) and in the evening (their morning) but it just has not workout I guess.

What's Next? For my family, they leave for Spring Break in Kokomo:

...Theres a place called kokomo. Thats where you wanna go to get away from it all…

Oh… Kokomo Indiana I mean. And I am headed to Club Med Indonesia.

Tune in next time for- Where in the world!- Who know's what adventures lie in wait!

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. ~Sun Tzu

Today we traveled across town to the headquarters of our Asian Company (DataCraft Asia). Singapore reminds me of any major American city except it is ultimately clean and green! We had a Green moment today where all of the lights in the office were turned off from 1-2:20PM today.

Singapore is an island (actually 63 islands) that is almost 300 square miles in area ( it was only 224 in 1960 and is forecasted to grow by another 40 by 2030). This area is slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC and is one of the only city-states in the world. The population is roughly 4.6 million but it does not cramped or crowded. Many of you know my passion for FREEDOM so of course I need to understand the context here. They do have a representative democracy even though they are recognized as being a parliamentary republic. The People's Action Party (PAP) has won control of parliament in every election since they became self governing in 1959. I wonder…. When someone creates rumors about this party… is that a PAP smear campaign? Anyway… they finally achieved their own sovereignty on August 9, 1965.
It is hot and humid. Normal temperatures all year long are between 72-93F. Average humidity however is 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon.

We had productive meetings but I have tried to get horizontal as soon as the work day is over to allow my back to relax. Everyday gets a bit better.

I did have a special treat this morning- I got to talk to Jolie for the first time since I left on Friday. She shared with me that Nathan climbed a tree and got up so high that she almost had to call the fire dept to get him down! He was stuck. Fortunately our neighbor is an arborist and had all the ladders and buckets necessary to get him down. He could not figure out why his mom could just not catch him. I needed that story today. That is all for now. Check in tomorrow for more.

If anything can go wrong…. It undoubtedly will

Wow. I left my home on Friday morning @ 7:00AM. I received a call from United letting me know that my flight was on schedule and everything was good on the way to the airport. When I arrived I was informed that my flight was cancelled. That meant that the seats I had selected for legroom were also gone. The flight they booked me on actually was leaving before my original. Instead of flying to Chicago then to Tokyo, I had to fly to San Francisco. When I arrived (Friday 3PM) I was informed that my flight would not leave until the next day. After we dropped the flight crew off at a Hilton Double Tree, the shuttle took us to a red roof hotel. On Saturday I left the hotel at 7:30 AM and arrived at the airport only to find that there was no one at the ticket counter. Instead of flying to Tokyo I was flying to Hong Kong but my flight was delayed. Finally we departed for Hong Kong where I anticipated having a two hour layover. This was not too bad because I figured it would give be plenty of time to get through customs etc. We guess what… rather than departing Hong Kong for Singapore @ 8PM on Sunday… my flight was delayed take off until after 1AM on Monday. This put me into Singapore at 3:30AM Monday. Upon leaving the gate I had to walk down a path between guards armed with machine guns.
I was greatly relieved to finally be there. Now all I had to do was make it to the hotel and maybe I could get a nap before having to be coherent- Monday is the start of my meetings and I have not had any sleep since my red roof experience and my back was spasm ing like crazy after standing for hours at a time in line and sitting for hours flying. Never the less I got to the hotel with out a problem and swiped my credit card for the toll. I tried to check in only to realize that sometime in the past 3 min my credit card company had deactivated my card due to Fraud/Security alert. Now picture this…. I stink… I am sweaty (it is hot and humid and I am tired and in pain)…. All I want is a shower and a bed … it is early in the morning I have no way to get a hold of anyone and my credit card company is not cooperating. The amount of cash I had in my pocket was not enough for even one night! Finally @ 6 AM they had mercy on me and took all the money I did have and let me check in…. I have yet to talk to my wonderful bride! But she knows I am here in Room 1239... can you see me?

Tune in tomorrow to discover how Monday went. I am going to bed!

Tomorrow will be the start of a new mindset and intestinal fortitude!

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

Well my friends... tis time for the next adverture of Where in the world!
Not alot has happened since we last spoke but let me highlight any critical developments. I went to Maine to help get my parents place opened for the summer last saturday. They still had knee deep snow in places. In fact it was a nice father and son adventure. I took nathan with me and we could not even get into the drive way. So... being prepared for that we started shoveling. Have way through the 2 foot deep snow and POW! then !^&*^%#$@#@!* By back something in my back gave out...popped... and put me on my knees. Here is where it gets frustrating for people who know me.... I was only half done... you guessed it...i gutted out the rest of the entry to the drive and then hiked up the drive and got into the house. I layed down on the floor (BAD VERY VERY BAD idea) to gain some relief. Nathan was afraid. I made some phone calls and then tried to get up... it took me 30 minutes of breathing and gutting it out before I could stand. I knew it was not good. I drove back to NH and went to the ER. They gave me steroids (so I will not be able to play baseball), a muscle relaxant and a pain killer. I have been working from home this week and every day gets a little better.
So, 6 days later, I will board a plan in Boston due for Singapore some 20+ hours later.... did I mention it will be economy? Did I mention that I saved some pain meds?
So long for now. I try my best to track daily with my trip.

Regards,

Scott Whitten
By working on knowledge, skill, and desire, we can break through to new levels of personal effectiveness as we break with old paradigms. All three components must be present. ~Stephen R. Covey

www.myspace.com/witbits
www.linkedin.com/in/scottwhitten

Singapore Trip

Here is my itinerary (high level) for my trip to Singapore.
I leave on Friday morning out of BOS @10:37 AM
I arrive in Chicago at about 1:30PM
I leave Chicago @ 2PM
I arrive in Tokyo @ 3:10 AM
I leave Tokyo @ 4:50AM
I arrive in Singapore @ 11:55 AM

I will be at the Charlton Hotel in Singapore during the week and at a ClubMed resort on the weekend.

I will post retrun after I arrive.

Regards,

Scott Whitten
By working on knowledge, skill, and desire, we can break through to new levels of personal effectiveness as we break with old paradigms. All three components must be present. ~Stephen R. Covey

www.myspace.com/witbits
www.linkedin.com/in/scottwhitten

Timing is everything!

Well, it seems to be a common trend in my life; I try to do something for someone else and I get hurt or burned in the process. Nathan and I went up to Maine to start opening my folks house for their return. There a 2 foot tall snow pile (on top of 6 inches of solid ice) at the opening of the driveway. We started shoveling it snow off so the air and sun could melt the ice. Well... long story short, I shovelled and twisted and my back went out and sent me to my knees. Keep in mind I am supposed to leave for Singapore on Friday morning. So... I went to the ER and got some meds to try ot help with spasms, pain, and inflamation. I am in bed trying to allow it to get better.

Regards,

Scott Whitten
By working on knowledge, skill, and desire, we can break through to new levels of personal effectiveness as we break with old paradigms. All three components must be present. ~Stephen R. Covey

www.myspace.com/witbits
www.linkedin.com/in/scottwhitten

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.

I'll tell you right off the top that this is a quote from George Burns.

Today I completed my pilgrimage from "sea to shining sea'. It was cloudy. I wore my Crocs today and waded out into the water. The cool thing was my LL Bean Khaki's are water resistant and never got wet! Anyway the water was about 63F (compared to Hampton Beach, NH 40F).

 
 

Tomorrow I leave the hotel at 3:50 AM to catch a 6:20AM flight. Wow, an airport that has free wireless. I got up @2AM and headed to the airport only to have to wait for the ticket counters to open. It was the latest timeslot the shuttle had open. Last night I got on the elevator and smelled something very familiar but I could not place it…. I got off and looked on the street and it was musclecar heaven. Turns out there was a Good Guys Car show just up the street and what I smelled was the rich exhaust of a 1969 camaro with a blown 350 that had just unloaded. I saw Woodies, camaros, rat rods…. Had I known they were here this weekend I might have tried to stay…. No not really. I miss my wife and boys. I am headed home!

 
 

Godspeed,

Scott

Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.

Hey all,

It rained overnight. I woke up at 2AM and had the worst dream I can remember. I don't dream often but this one I dreamed I was in a car wreck and the car t-boned me hard. I remember the air bags deploying and I could not feel my left arm. I thought sure it was gone. I woke up in a sweat and realized my arm was asleep.

It was cloudy this morning but today is nearly cloud free and the waves are quite surf able. We walked down to the beach and it was a wonderful view.

We finished our day at 5:30PM and went to the California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. It will be the last dinner together until Singapore.

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.

Today was by far the most productive day. It was a day that was to be solid rain and yet there was barely a cloud in the sky. We walk about a half mile to the office each day. The office is great! I had a great burger from the HideAway Café today. It is literally a shed! But it was clean and tasted great! I had a nice Cobb Salad from the California Pizza Kitchen for supper. Got to get some sleep!

 
 

Godspeed,

Scott

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. "

For those who did not catch yesterdays' quote source… it was Sir Winston Churchill

 
 

My colleagues are from France, South Africa, and Australia. Today was another good day of work. We had breakfast in the morning and walked down the street to the office. We pretty much "sprinted" all day and finished about 7:30PM tonight. We are moving in the right direction. We had dinner tonight at a Thai restaurant next to the hotel and I had a honey roasted duck on fresh spinach with broccoli and carrot decorations.

 
 

It was cloudy this morning and looked like it was threatening rain but during the mid afternoon it cleared and we has a beautiful sunset. Tomorrow is supposed to be rain all day. Thursday is supposed to be a good surfing day with 4-5' seas.

 
 

Good day for now,

Scott