A New Day Has Dawned...

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama! I applaud Mr. Obama and his campaign officers for running an exciting race and reinvigorating the electorate in this country. After 21 long and grueling months, the American people have spoken and overwhelmingly elected the first African-American to the highest office in the country. As the final votes are counted, Americans the world over are realizing that this is a new day for the United States of America. However, the new president is entering the White House during a tumultuous time not seen since Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in 1933. Unfortunately, one man alone cannot change the face of such a large and bureaucratic government overnight; it is going to take the dedication and sacrifice of the Legislative branch and the greater population as a whole to get this great country back on track. Yet, it is my belief that Mr. Obama and his team will hit the ground running. I see him assembling an Executive administration that contains the best and the brightest professionals across all reaches of government and industry. I see new ideas being presented that will help tackle some of the problems that have been dragging this country in competing directions. I see a new face to America that the rest of the world will embrace and look forward to working with again. I see a better tomorrow.

Southeast Asia

Twenty-nine (29) years after “stepping foot” on this earth, I am finally getting the opportunity to get an international stamp in my U.S. Passport!  If everything goes according to plan (and the finances work themselves out in this time of global economic turmoil), I will be boarding a Boeing 747 come March 2009 in Chicago, IL for a 21 hour flight bound for Changi International Airport in Singapore.  Now, this will not be my first “international” trip, as I have visited the wonderful locales of Canada and the Bahamas on several occasions, but it will be the first use of my Passport through the international terminal in an airport.  And for those that know me, just getting to experience something like that (and knowing that I’ll finally get a chance to fly in a jumbo jet over international waters) is enough to make me giddy.

So what led to this trip overseas? Since January 2008, I have been a student of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA pursuing my Masters of Business Administration. In entering the program, I heard from several sources the potential to travel internationally with professors to explore global companies and different cultures.  Not taking advantage of it during my undergraduate tenure (due mainly to my degree choice, distracted mindset, and lack of monetary backing), I wanted to make every effort to not let the opportunity slip by yet again.  This has become even more pertinent with the realization that I welcome my second child in December of this year.  Time and resources are slowly being redirected more to family needs and less to personal growth (which my wife can attest to with her love for photography).  With a pretty strong understanding that this will probably be my last jaunt with higher education (that is, in a formal degree program), I want to walk away from it with a good grasp of the material and the ability to apply the knowledge in any setting.  And the ability to experience business first-hand in an international setting with knowledgeable people in an unfamiliar culture was an opportunity that I consider to be once-in-a-lifetime.  Therefore, it is my desire to do everything I can to participate.

At this point, you are probably wondering why I am documenting any of this.  It turns out one of the requirements of the class is to maintain a journal over the duration of the study tour.  Now, I understand the fact that it is 4 1/2 months until I actually make the journey, but in all actuality I wanted to get a head start.  I don’t spend enough time capturing my thoughts and feelings on “paper”, so what better way to start the process than being forced to in order to make the grade!  If anything, it should be a worthwhile experience to see how often I can make the effort to document my experiences.  Let’s hope there’s not a 4 1/2 month gap before my next post!

To help enlighten myself and those interested, here are some information blurbs (courtesy of Wikipedia) on Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the second destination on our Southeast Asia tour).

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, and 9,760 miles from Williamsburg, VA.  It lies 85 miles north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands.  At 273.0 square miles, Singapore is one of four remaining true sovereign city-states in the world (Vatican City is another example). Prior to European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. In 1819, the British East India Company established a trading post on the island to be used as a strategic trading post along the spice route.  Singapore would become one of the most important commercial and military centers of the British Empire and the hub of British power in Southeast Asia.

The city achieved independence from in 1963 and merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. However, less than two years later it seceded from the federation and became an independent republic in August 1965. Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has been on the rise with foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for a modern economy focused on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services. Singapore is the 6th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita with a population of approximately 4.84 million.

Though Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse, ethnic Chinese form the majority of the population. English is the administrative language of the country and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy (though the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic).

A mere 197 miles to the northwest of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (often abbreviated as K.L.), is the national capital and the largest city in Malaysia. The city proper, making up an area of 94 square miles, has an estimated population of 1.6 million as of 2006.  Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million.  K.L. is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country in terms of population and economy.  It is also the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, making it the country's legislative capital.  The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they moved to Putrajaya (a planned city and new federal administrative center located just south of K.L.) in 1999.  The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is still situated in K.L.

The city is the cultural, economic center, and global city of Malaysia.  K.L. is defined within the borders of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and is one of three Malaysian Federal Territories (the other two are Putrajaya and the island of Labuan).  K.L. is home to the world’s tallest twin office buildings (they were surpassed as the world’s tallest building in 2004 by Taipei 101 in Taiwan), the Petronas Twin Towers (see the picture below).

Hi.

Life is a like roller coaster. It has its slow times, it has its moments of pure terror, times where things are just twisted, and the rest of it at speeds that keep your surroundings in a blur. My hope is that in times where I'm climbing the hill or waiting in the station, I can update this blog with my thoughts and observations of the crazier times. I have a tendency to forget the little things... we'll see if actually writing them down helps me to continue to live in the moment.