Christmas

Here are some pictures of our Christmas decorations this year. Much of these things are new as we have a new house. It's always interesting putting up the lights especially on a new house but this house turned out to be a lot easier to put lights up on then the old house. The Christmas tree is also new and our village grew considerably this year. We've already just about run out of space on the mantle, we'll have to get creative next year. We both really enjoy the season and decorating the house.

Halloween

This year we decided to do pumpkin inside a pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. I think that they turned out pretty good. I didn't get any pictures that are too good but this is the best one that I have.

Gallinger - Helgeson Wedding

On the weekend between being at the HP Technology Forum and being in Dallas for work a good friend from the fraternity was married in Billings, MT. So rather then heading home I made the trek up to Bozeman and then drove to Billings with some friends for the event. It was a very nice ceremony and a great opportunity to see everybody again. The groom is the third from the right in front in the picture below. He and his wife have since moved to Denver so we're hoping to be able to see them frequently.

HP Technology Forum 2005

I've gotten a bit behind with posting so I'll try to get a couple done tonight and get caught up. Unfortunately I haven't done a very good job of keeping my camera near by and getting things recorded here but hopefully that will change soon. If you follow the blog you know that it goes in spurts.

I had the opportunity as part of me job with Hewlett Packard as an engineering program manager this past October to teach a hands on lab course at the HP Technology Forum 2005. It was a really a lot of fun and a rewarding experience. I really like teaching folks about all of the great products that we have been working on and how it can help them to run their IT organizations more effectively. It's really awesome that HP provides opportunities to get out of the labs and out on the front lines with our customers. This event was initially scheduled for New Orleans just weeks after hurricane Katrina, given these unfortunate circumstances it's very fortunate that they were able to pull the event together a few short weeks later in Orlando. I had a lot of fun at this conference and hope that I'll be able to participate again next year. I've included a photo of the equipment that was flown in for my lab.

Bathroom Remodel

I recently completed remodeling one of the bathrooms in my home. It was the first time I had done a project like this and as always there are a few things I would do differently the second time around but overall I'm very happy with the results. It was also fun to do something new and a satisfying project to complete. I've included some before and after pictures below.

Tim and Anne's Wedding

Lauren's oldest brother Tim got married a couple weekends ago in St. Louis. It was a beautiful weekend. Since Lauren and I were both in the wedding we were there for 4 days and it was a nice long weekend celebration.

House Pictures

Sorry this took so long to get posted but I'm finally going to get a few pictures of the new house posted.

Bostrom - Bachim Wedding

I was in Madison last weekend for my cousin Matt's wedding. It was a very nice ceremony and reception. It was also a great opportunity to see family that I haven't seen for awhile. I wish Matt & Jody the best for a long and happy marriage.

I've included a picture of Laura's (Matt's sister) children and the capital building in Madison.

New Home

I closed on the sale of my home in Fort Collins and the purchase of my new home in Highlands Ranch (a south western suburb of Denver). The move was a lot of work but all of the stuff is in the new location now. I'll post some pictures of the new home once we are settled in.

2005 Balfour Leadership Training Workshop

This past weekend I was able to attend my third Balfour Leadership training workshop and my 2nd one as a chapter advisor. The event was held at Ball State University. It was a great 2 and a half day event which allowed for chapters to start developing strategic plans for the upcoming school year. The curriculum this year changed from a focus on the fundamentals for each officer to more time with the chapter team and this was a welcome change as the guys got an opportunity to start working rather then just talk theoretically. It was clear throughout the weekend why this is the largest and most effective training effort of it's type in the Greek world and I very much enjoyed and being able to take part in this event.

July 4th

I was able to spend some time at home on the lake with some friends from high school for the 4th of July. We did some jetskiing, fishing, 4 wheeling and fireworking it was a nice break.


The gang

Sigma Chi 150th

I was able to spend the past weekend in Cincinnati for a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sigma Chi. It was a great weekend. There were many events looking at the past, present and future of Sigma Chi. I was able to see the founding site of the fraternity as well as the alpha chapter in addition to attending all the celebrations. I'm looking forward to returning to Cincinnati in 2055 when the fraternity turns 200!


150th Gala

Home

I was home from 6/8 to 6/13. It was nice to be home for a bit and relax. Although I spent much of my time troubleshooting computer issues. One evening we burned up some stuff that had blown down in a recent storm.


Lake Stella

Hong Kong

In the evenings there is a light show. Lights are cast from the buildings on Hong Kong Island. This picture was taken from just across Victoria Harbor on the Kowloon side.


Hong Kong

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

From Bangalore I flew to Hong Kong on another overnight plane trip. I flew on Singapore airlines and it was one of the nicest flights I have ever been on, it leaves me wondering if all flights on this airline would be as nice. The group that I traveled with from Bangalore went out to see the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. This is a temple in Hong Kong where Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are all practiced.


Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

Mysore

In Mysore I was able to see many sights. I won't be able to post pictures of them all here but I'll note them all at least. We started off by visiting the Cauvery river. We then moved on to Gumbaz. The burial site of Tipu Sultan. A Indian king who stood up against British rule around 1800. We then moved on to Dariya Daulat Bagh. The summer palace of Tipu Sultan. Next we visited the bird sanctuary. We were able to go out in a row boat and get a close up look at all the birds here, luckily we didn't get too close a look at the crocodiles also swimming in these waters. We then moved on to Chamundi Hills. Then after lunch we finished up our visit at the Mysore Palace.


Mysore Palace

Mysore Trip

On Saturday before leaving Bangalore on a 11:55 PM flight I was able to head out to the town of Mysore. This is a town that is about 120 km away and takes about 3 hours by car to reach. On our way we happened to come up behind this bus. How would you like to ride on the top of this thing for 3 hours?


Bus

MSL India Team

The MSL India Team and I. From left to right.
Back row: Jayanth, Siddhesh, Suresh, Sanjay, Ginu
Middle row: Erik, GRK, Kavita, Raji, Bhuvana, Nagaraj
Front row: Hemanth, HSP, Vasu, Rohini, Anita, Mahesh


MSL India Team

PPU Support Team

The PPU support team and I in Bangalore. From left to right Me, Gireesha, Ram. Not pictured Nath.


PPU Support Team

Tipu Sultan's Fort

This evening I was able to slip away at the end of the day and go to see Tipu Sultan's Fort. It's quite a small fot. The fort has it's own temple right next to it so that the king could worship easily. The most amazing thing is that this temple is made mostly from wood. This is a far cry from the gold and marble that I would have expected.

Later as I was eating dinner in one of the hotel restaurants, I couldn't help but find some humor in the irony of the situation. I was sitting in an Irish restaurant in India, eating a mutton burger, listening to country music and watching English football (soccer).


Tipu Sultan's Palace