Rob and Elizabeth

Rich Lloyd: A dear friend passes away

It is with great sadness that I share that our dear friend Rich Lloyd passed away shortly before 5pm this past Friday evening, April 25th 2008.

For the past eight months Rich has led a courageous and inspiring battle with brain cancer.

Throughout this experience, Rich defined the term “grace” as he never lost his positive outlook on life and met every challenge with vigor and optimism.

Family and friends often commented that they would visit Rich with a desire to uplift and inspire him, yet would come away feeling that they themselves were the ones most benefited.

Rich was truly a great example of a father, husband, friend, Christian and businessman.

He leaves behind a family he loved with all his heart: Marianne (newlyweds at HBS), David (8), James (6), and Joshua (3). We will all miss him greatly.

Following are links to more information of which you may have interest:

• Rich’s obituary: http://www.legacy.com/saltlaketribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=108412954
• Rich’s cancer blog (very inspiring): http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richlloyd
• Rich’s comments on “LIVE RICH” recorded just over a week ago: http://robandelizabeth.typepad.com/liverich/
• The company Rich was running that he was so pleased with: www.peruvianconnection.com

Snowball Fight!

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Austin: Guerro's with Great Dell Friends

I was very grateful to have a chance to return to Austin to say goodbye to some very dear Dell friends.  In this picture are (L to R) Chris Shelton, Mike Bullock, Liz Brown, Carrie Wheeler, me, and Susan Espinoza.

My last day at Dell is June 1st.  I'll be joining CarMax based in Richmond, Virginia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We had a nice weekend in KL.  We wanted to see the Petronas Towers as they are the highest towers in the world.  The kids liked the elevator ride as much as anything.

Other than that, we actually found KL a little dull, so we were pondering what to do and the kids saw an ad for Genting, a kids resort in the mountains about an hour away.  So...off we went. 

Elizabeth turned out to be the killer bowler.  Matt wanted to go on every scary ride.  Catherine rock-climbed a climbing wall like she was walking up stairs.  It turned out to be a very nice weekend.

Also, we took a bus up from Singapore to KL.  Matt had always wanted to ride in a double-decker bus and this was his chance.  He and Cate had front-row seats with nothing but a big glass view of malaysia as we cruised 5 hours up the Malaysian Peninsula to KL.

 

Vietnam

Elizabeth and I spent the weekend in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.  What an amazing experience.  I quickly realized how little I know about the Vietnam War. With the N. Vietnam victory in 1975, the communists took control of the country and are still very much in charge.  The history of the war here is very much depicted from their point of view ("History is written by the victors", Churchill) and only speaks of the American invasion, not the civil war between the North and South Vietnamese.

Our weekend consisted of spending time at Vietnam war sites (e.g., Cu Chi Tunnels) and museums (e.g., War Remnants Museum), shopping and eating.  Elizabeth really enjoyed the shopping and I the eating...to each their own vices!

Learn More about Vietnam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

Learn More about the Vietnam War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

Learn More about Ho Chi Minh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%E1%BB%93_Ch%C3%AD_Minh

Book Recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/Retrospect-Tragedy-Lessons-Vietnam/dp/0679767495/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-9544718-6156044?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177825189&sr=8-2

More Photos: http://robandelizabeth.typepad.com/photos/april_2007_vietnam/

Take me there:  Download saigon.kmz 

Four Peaks to Bag Once Kids are 12

Name: Orizaba

Altitude: 18,490 ft (5,636 metres)

Claim to Fame: 3rd highest peak in N. America; highest in Mexico

Location:

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_de_Orizaba

.

Name: Aconcagua

Altitude: 22,841 ft (6,962 metres)

Claim to Fame: one of the 7 summits; highest peak in outside Asia

Location:

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua

.

Name: Kilimanjaro

Altitude: 19,340 ft (5,895 metres)

Claim to Fame: one of the 7 summits; highest peak in Africa

Location:

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro

.

Name: Mont Blanc

Altitude: 15,774 ft (4,808 metres)

Claim to Fame: highest mountain in Western Europe

Location:

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc

Tokyo in Spring

  While I missed the peak of the cherry blossoms by a week, I still found it quite beautiful.

Tokyo Techno-Toilets

I tend to always want to try the latest consumer electronics.  However, I was not so sure about a toilet that comes with instructions and warnings.   I must say though that the seat warmer is an idea whose time has come.

Tokyo Trains

  Tokyo trains are very efficient.  However, getting around is a bit of a challenge due to the number of trains and the limited English.  People are very friendly and helpful and with their assistance I had no problems.

Pandas

Matthew's Panda Slideshow

China Trip, Photo Favorites

Great Wall

We just finished a fantastic 2-day climb on the Great Wall of China, from Jinshanling to Tower 12 of Simatai, about 120km northeast of Beijing.  The first day the weather was absolutely perfect, high 60s and sunny with great visibility.  2nd day brought rain, fog and cold, but it didn't stop us.  Neither day did we see more than 10 other hikers.  This section of the wall is more remote.  I had high expectations for this hike, but I must say the experience surpassed those  expectations...it was breaktaking.  Catherine and Matthew were amazing as in total we hiked nearly 10 miles on very steep grades.   

• Photo album: http://robandelizabeth.typepad.com/photos/march_2007_great_wall/
• Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simatai
• Location: Download google_earth_simatai_great_wall_of_china.kmz

Great Wall Video Clip

Xian City Wall

  We had a great time in Xian.  I originally thought it was a small China town...but at 8 million people it is hard to call it small.  Our first day was spent seeing the Terracotta Warriors.  The second day was mostly spent bicycling around the the Ming Dynasty City Wall around Xian.  12km around, but flat, it took us just shy of two hours to ride some old tandems around the top.  At one time Matt and I counted 30 cranes we could see.  China is really growing.

• Photo Album: http://robandelizabeth.typepad.com/photos/march_2007_china/
• Learn More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian
• Location: Download xian_china_inside_ming_dynasty_city_wall.kmz

Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, Xian

Posting these two videos for Grandma Mary...

Terra Cotta Warriors

It was good to see the Terracotta warriors, but we pretty much felt it was over-rated.  We enjoyed the Xian City Wall and the Great Wall of China visits much more.  More interesting, in my opinion, is to learn more about Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (246 BC), who united China.  Qin is pronounced "chin" and China comes from this.

• Learn More, Terracotta Army: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Cotta_Warriors
• Learn More, Terracotta Army Discovery: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/10/01/html/ft_20011001.3.html
• Learn More, Qin Shi Huangdi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huangdi

So Popular

 

People kept wanting to take pictures of us...especially our kids with theirs.  Part of it was the lighter hair of our kids, but of course they thought it was just because they are 'so popular'.

Night Train to Xian

We took night trains from Beijing to Xian and back.  They were great.  Less expensive than intra-China airfare, no cost for hotel, depart and arrive in city centers.  Great chance to see the rural China countryside. Trip took about 12 hours and arrived around 8am.  Trains were clean and attendants spoke enough English that we got along fine.  We had a "soft sleeper" holding all four of us, and no others.  Door to our compartment had a lock.  There was a place for luggage in the compartment above the door.

• Great site for train info http://www.seat61.com/China.htm
• Company we used to arrange tickets (guides and conceirge can also arrange) http://www.chinatripadvisor.com/english/

Overall comment on guide-services...we felt we paid too much and received too little.  In Beijing and Xian, the days we got around by Taxi were best.  Hotels can point the taxi in the right direction and provide cards to show taxi to return to hotel.  In Xian, we found (he found us) an English-speaking driver at the train station and only paid USD40 for the entire day of him driving us around...including the Terracotta Warriors.

• Xian driver: Warren, [email protected]   Tel: 13991149095 (m)

Shopping

  Shopping was quiet an experience.  Prices often started 10X the final selling price...you really had to bargain with the vendors.  It was fun at first, but grew tiresome.  There we definitely a number of times we observed someone else buying a similar item and realized we had paid too much for something.  Overall though, we picked up some really fun things at great prices.

Forbidden City

The first place we visited in Beijing was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  Okay, the first place was really the 'dirt market' but it wasn't open yet...so shopping would have to wait.

• Photo Album: http://robandelizabeth.typepad.com/photos/march_2007_china/
• Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City
• Location: Download forbidden_city_beijing_china.kmz

Cate Speaks Manderin

Cate has picked up a fair amount of Manderin during our stay in Singapore.  Here she is reciting her homework.

Sydney

I took another work trip to Sydney, Australia.  This time I was there for two weeks (04 March - 16 March, 2007).  While I stayed over a weekend, I was very busy with work and did not get out much.  However, I spent about four hours walking along Manly Beach.  This place is magnificent.  The weather was in the low 80s, a cool breeze blowing off the beach.  So many people were out exercising and enjoying the ocean with every manner of water sport.  It was refreshing and invigorating...a great place to spend more time.

Gerbil Jail Break

Ever since tasting freedom after Matt left the door open one day, these gerbils work on their escape 24x7.