Monthly Archives: September 2009

Transition

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It has been another very busy week and the weekend won’t be much quieter I am sure. I have been in meets and running around the office putting out fires. Transitioning systems is always an ordeal it seems. No matter how much time, energy , planning and testing you do something always blows up. A feed goes wrong, a line of code fails, the possibilities are endless for problems from human to operational to equipment failure. I suppose it is what keeps me employed. If everything were perfect and right there would be no need to create these projects to ‘improve’ the systems. So the week went from one event to another weather the launch went right or wrong there were issues. If it went wrong well that was understandable, some process was failing or some report wasn’t getting generated that was critical all that could be understood. But the issues with people and change are endless. It seemed as if something had to be made up or created because change was occurring. The need for attention, fear of the change, just plain wanting to be difficult it was difficult to understand why there had to be an issue when the things were going off right. That is always par for the course here, just another day on the job. This weekend I need to finish getting ready for the up coming trip to out sister site in India. Booking flight and a room in a Bombay India hotels I about all I have done in preparation for this trip. There was plenty more to do. Laundry picking up cleanings, getting the house and garden in order so I could feel comfortable leaving it, some shopping and maybe if I am lucky I can do something fun for a little while. So I’d better time budget well this weekend.

Phoenix’s Rapid Growth

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I really enjoy the cooler crisp morning of the fall. Nothing like the cool air filling your lungs and preparing you for the day. Summer was brutal and the fall is a welcomed relief. The days are still getting warm but the nights cool off a lot making for nice sleeping weather. Summer here is long, very long starts in May, temperature wise at least and stays hot until the beginning of October. However the rest of the year is beautiful, we complain about the cold in January and February but it really is not cold. With the occasional one or two nights ever getting to the freezing mark it really is not cold here, but compared to the contrast of six months latter it is a range of nearly 90 degrees. Even tho the heat, more and more is being built here, more business, financial and property management companies are making their presence i.e. Transglobe property management. Looking at the statistics for growth in Phoenix the heat doesn’t seem to be scaring anyone away. The mild winters are very attractive and I suppose a lot of people are willing to tolerate the summers for the cool but temperate winters. I’ve enjoyed watching the city transform its self in many way growing larger and attracting more teams offering more amenities, expanded museums and cultural offerings. These have all blossomed in the recent past with this explosion in growth and popularity the area has gained. News coverage and reviews continue to taut growth and Transglobal Property Management keep touting the benefits of living here. All there is to do and see in the city and close by, and within a days drive for an over night trip. I have been here for 25 years now and do not look back at cold, wet and damp climates.

Singapore’s Night Market

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Arriving in Singapore late in the afternoon after a day and a half for traveling I was tired! But I could not sleep, over tired from the traveling a lot on my mind with business. I was very grateful my five star hotels in Singapore was near the all night market. I was able to check in shower and thought I would go to bed but sleep seemed impossible right now, so I headed down to the lobby put to the street and a short walk over to the all night market. This market has gone on here for many years, apparently 100′s of years. In this climate of hot humidity the night market makes sense as being out all day would be brutal. Although late at night there was plenty of activity here. The bustling market seem to only get busier as the night wore. I started out by finding something cool to drink and a light snack. I got a young coconut which covered both drink and snack in the same breath. Wandering the market I was impressed with all the color. Bright fabrics in yellows, blues, reds and greens. Plain fabric, printed and brocade. Bolts and bolts of Chinese produced silks. Wandering on I came to the pet section. Everything from spiders and snakes to rats and cats to birds and fish were on display for buyers to look at. The market is vast and easily one could get lost in the maze of pathways and vendor stalls. Around the next corner I came across a booth of a wood carver. he had carved wood in the form of dolphins, elephants, birds, Buddhas, Shiva, Kwan Yin, turtles, koi and much much more. He worked in his booth demonstrating his talent for the passing crowds. he was quick and accurate in his work it was very impressive. Soon after that I began to feel relaxed enough to give trying to get some sleep another shot.

Falling in Love in Bali

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I was fortunate enough to tag along with my new boyfriend’s trip to one of the best islands in Indonesia, Bali. He was going on a business trip it Indonesia, but thought it’d be great to make an reservation for a few nights at a hotel in Bali Indonesia with his new girlfriend, me. I think he’s a keeper. I had to quickly get all my paperwork and shots in order, but I managed to do so, just in time for the airplane flight. I didn’t fly with my new boyfriend, he was already in Indonesia, but he met me at the airport when I arrived with a beautiful bouquet of Malay flowers. Yes, most definitely a keeper.

We stayed on the northern coast of Bali, where it’s remained relatively untouched, or seems that way anyway. This side of the island is split from the south by a volcano. We took diving lessons and explored the nearby reefs which was so colorful, there were colors I didn’t even knew existed. Then we took a short boat ride to Gondol Reef and took a dive where we encountered all kinds of marine life. The next day we went to Menjangan Island and had one of our best dives ever, which isn’t saying much since it was our third dive, but it really was a fantastic dive.

Then, my new boyfriend, who I’m pretty sure I love and he loves me, took me to the forested area called Bali Barat National Park for a picnic. A picnic he arranged well in advance. He had everything prepared ahead of time, with all my favorite foods and he even managed to have a CD player with speakers playing my favorite Andrea’ Bocelli songs. I’m not a religious type of person, but I do believe I was in heaven. I couldn’t wipe off the smile on my face. He told me that day how much he loved me and how happy I make him. He  didn’t propose yet, but, to tell you the truth, I didn’t care. I was so happy just to be with him.

Phoenix Art Museum and Herberger Center

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Phoenix, Arizona is certainly true to its name and has risen from the ashes to become a major metropolitan area and the largest city in the state. It is also one of the largest cities in the United States and has a growing cultural scene that continues to gain recognition from the national eye. Among some of its attractive cultural offerings are the Phoenix Symphony, The Herberger Theatre Center and The Phoenix Art Museum. It also has a major league basketball team, The Phoenix Suns. The Arizona Cardinals are its NFL football team and also won their regional championship in 2008. In baseball they are represented by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who won the World Series in 2001. Tourists staying in one of the Phoenix luxury hotels will have no problem finding entertainment and excitement in this desert city.

The Phoenix Art Museum is located in central Phoenix and features touring exhibits as well as an extensive permanent collection. It is the largest and most respected visual art museum in the Southwest and has many programs and initiatives in addition to its galleries and exhibits. The museum was officially established at its current location in 1959, though its origins actually trace back to 1915.

The Herberger Theatre Center is also located in the downtown central Phoenix area. It is part of the Copper Square collection of buildings and venues on East Monroe Street. It features three stages and is also the home of three professional performance companies. These include the Center Dance Ensemble, Actors Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company. In addition, other companies perform out of this center and one of the regulars is The Valley Youth Theatre. There is also a Lunch Time Theatre series that features box lunches available on site or patrons can bring in their own lunch. These performances are generally one acts and last approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

Lynn Lu performs Singapore

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When traveling to Asia and booking the perfect place, our luxury Singapore business hotels offer the best in the region in terms of service and style.  There is a fantastic capability for hospitality here, and it’s almost a reflex.  You’ll be made to feel right at home, and you will enjoy returning to relax in splendor after a day’s work.  Just because it’s business doesn’t mean you should hold back on style, and our hotels are designed to stimulate the mind while relaxing the senses.  You’ll enjoy the contemporary atmosphere, which reflects Singapore’s energy as a cosmopolitan place on the cutting edges of culture and technology.  After a magnificent meal prepared by our world-class chefs who specialize in innovations in international cuisine, and a luxurious night’s sleep in our sumptuous rooms, you’ll be rejuvenated and ready to do what you do best.

Singapore has an awful lot to offer, both to its residents and its visitors.  If your business deal involves a night on the town, there are many spectacular choices any day of the week.  There are fantastic theatres that offer mainstream as well as daring works of performance, excellent clubs with the latest and hottest djs, and splendid watering holes that offer more intimacy while maintaining the local reputation for stylishness.  If you’re up for an evening of art, some of the most exciting things in town, in the world for that matter, happen at the Future of Imagination.  These events are coordinated by the artists themselves, so the focus is on the new and the experimental.  For performance art, it’s a fantastic event, and one of the most provocative performers in town is Lynn Lu.

Her performances are visually often very stunning, and always extremely intelligent.  She plays on the ideas that performance and life are complimentary, and sometimes the dividing line does not exist.  In this regard, then, the work of Lynn Lu helps to make the spectators ask important questions about the nature of being in the contemporary world.  She uses iconic objects and plays with elemental forms to make a body of work that is tremendously simple and simultaneously heavy with the weight of memory.  Her work speaks to a wide cross-section of humanity, and is always extremely local as well, and is a splendid way to touch base in the local culture.

Ana María Moíx: Barcelona Poet

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Five-star Barcelona hotels should offer a lush combination of the old and the new, to place the traveler well within the luxuries and comforts of this amazing city.  We offer the best of old-world values, like hospitality and gracious service, and the most contemporary design and technology.  We take pride in our ability to consistently dazzle our guests, turning a casual stay into an otherworldly experience that replenishes the energy reserves so that the city can be seen with fresh eyes.  With amenities and extras that meet or exceed the highest standards of the industry, our hotels are chosen with extreme care in order to meet your own high standards.
After a delicious night’s rest and a splendid meal in one of our hotel restaurants, where internationally-renowned world cuisines are meticulously prepared by top chefs, you’ll be ready to take in the city.  Barcelona is one of Spain’s largest cities, and is often considered to be the economic and cultural center of the country.  As such, it offers a heady array of distractions and attractions that will hold the interest of every member of the family.  After looking through one of the local museums, browsing one of our excellent bookstores, and taking an espresso on a sidewalk café, take some time to relax and see the city.  You might see movie stars, theatre stars, or one of Barcelona’s literary darlings, such as poet Ana María Moíx. 
In 1970, José María Castellet edited an anthology of new Spanish poetry, Nueve novísimos poetas españoles, that is regarded as a classic, and announced a new generation of writers to the world.  Of the nine collected, there was only one woman in the volume, Ana María Moíx.  At the time, she had only a few rather slim volumes of poetry to her name, but is widely regarded for her ability to create sonic references to a reality that is wholly contemporary and wholly Barcelona.  Today, she is still considered to be one of the finest poets alive, and she still represents a very particular generation.  Rejecting the ideas of Franco as well as the dictates of the academy, they value pop culture over the canon, and were known for their ability to stir trouble.  It’s a sensibility that speaks to youth culture today, and has a resonance that is keenly felt in Barcelona.

The Importance of the Suspicious Activity Report

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The concept of know your customer, refers to business practices wherein thorough investigations are complete on prospective customers, clients and business associates.  This not only entails becoming educated on the practices, policies and history of future partners, but also knowing just what they are intending to use the goods and services for which one provides.  In the financial realm, institutions are required by law to know with home they are conducting transactions.

Should a customer from either a foreign country, or living within the country, wish to deposit large amounts of cash, they employees of the bank must investigate, and if they do perhaps suspect and sort of criminal activity, be it drug trafficking or corruption they are required to fill out a suspicious activity report.  Not doing so means that they will be prosecuted along with the customer, should the customer be found guilty of said criminal activity.  They will be fined and perhaps charged even if the customer is not found guilty of anything suspicious or criminal, simply because this report is required by law.

Likewise, when this is concerned with a company that provides goods instead of services, they are required should they suspect that the one purchasing those goods are using them in ways to commit acts of terrorism.  There are various ways a company can go about discovering criminal behavior.  () Should a product require installment, but the customer declines, that is suspicious activity.  If a customer makes a business purchase for items not related to the type of business they are usually involved in, that is suspicious behavior.

On a local level this is similar to companies such as Home Depot and paint stores deciding to put aerosol spray paint under lock and key, sometimes refusing to sell the paint to minors.  After it was noted many times that some youth were using the paint for purposes of drug induced highs, and not for paint the walls, the companies locked up the paint in order to avoid prosecution for contributing to the damage that the kids were doing to themselves, as well as being concerned ethically about selling to kids that were exhibiting suspicious behavior.  In a world wherein some individuals are capable of committing incredible acts of destruction, this is very important on the local level, as well as necessary on the global level.

Finding the Balance in Hong Kong

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A very old form of exercise is Tai Chi.  This consists of a series of movements, done very slowly, shifts one’s balance and strengthens one’s body.  This serves to drastically lower stress, to condition the joints of the hips, knees and ankles, and strengthens and lengthens the muscles and the tendons, making them more resilient and less likely to become injured.  The movements involve the constant shifting of one’s weight placement which will training the body over time, increasing over all balance and awareness.

As in many forms of Chinese exercise, and all exercise in general, this has beneficial effects on one’s everyday life, releasing stress and promoting confidence and ease.  This practice when done just twenty minutes each day, has these positive outcomes.  Sciences of the western countries have been studying the quantifiable effects of  Tai Chi which are the increased intake of oxygen and the better utilization of that oxygen, as well as a reduction in blood pressure, the increase in the density of the bones throughout the skeleton, and the decrease of the hormones that flow through one’s body when involved in periods of stress or anxiety.

Not only has the practice been going on for many years in countries such as Hong Kong and China it is gaining in popularity throughout the United States as well.  Many people going on vacation are choosing spa like vacations at one of the many resorts or a  Hong Kong hotel that offers  Tai Chi classes among their amenities.  The Hong Kong Tourist Board has even funded classes that take in the city, free of charge and catering to the western travelers who may be new to this form of exercise.  This is an inspiring location for one to go to practice as on almost every balcony and in many of the parks, the people of Hong Kong are practicing.  Most often times the classes are held outside, as the connection with nature is heavily rooted in the philosophy of the Yin and the Yang, the balance within one’s body as well as one’s balance with the universe.

Train to New York

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We took the train in from Buffalo, eating the beef on weck sandwiches we got at Charlie the Butcher before we boarded when we realized we had not made a reservation at Hotels New York USA and thought we may be sleeping in Central Park we joked. Traveling by train this way is sure a lot more fun than flying, the long security lines, the cramped rush to get on board and stow your carry on that everyone is trying to do at the same time to avoid the checked bag fees, sitting in that uncomfortable seat with knees in your face, the thin dry air, the gymnastics required to use the bathroom. On a train, it is get on board, find a big comfortable seat at a window, stretch out your legs and open a beer you brought on board. And a sandwich. Our sandwiches, an old time Buffalo favorite, is sliced oven roasted roast beef in au jus, tucked into a big caraway seed and crystal salt hard roll called a kimmelweck roll . The top of the roll is often dipped in the au jus and the sliced beef slathered in prepared horseradish sauce. A couple bites of this meaty heavenly sandwich and suddenly you realize you are just about in Rochester New York, ready to crack open your second beer. We had not planned our itinerary in New York that closely. Chloe was going for an art opening and book signing and later we would be checking out some of our favorite Manhattan places to visit. The Statue of Liberty recently reopened, and we would probably do that, you can’t get more touristy than that, a breezy boat ride in the harbor and a visit to the beautiful statue. Later, we would go to Little Italy and drink wine and eat pasta. We could not wait.