Bob Travel

A great management training program will give new managers an idea of the job that lies ahead of them.  One of the main roles of the business team manager is the planner.  The further up you advance, the likelihood is that you will be responsible for looking further into the future.  The long-term goals become the focus, and you will be planning and creating the atmosphere for your team to not only clearly establish and communicate those goals, but that they are will be responsible for seeing that gets accomplished.

They must choose those goals wisely and in an organized fashion, for with proper employee training, the staff will know exactly what is expected of them.  The consequences of today, will be seen as how they will one day affect the future.  The team may work on those plans together in brainstorming sessions, and the manager will take the most optimal of the plans and see that it is implemented.  They will be able to see where problems may be occurring and solve them quickly and efficiently.

This is not only true for the project at hand, but the manager will have the foresight to see the needs, and create the plans for the next project in the works as well.  The manager will ensure that the team is provided with all that they need, the resources and the information that they will need to perform those tasks successfully.  The manager will have the authority in some cases to acquire information that the members of the team need, it is a job that often times, they are the only ones who can do that.  A great manager is a great team leader, and encourages everyone on the team to work in creative and collaborative ways.  This will ensure that all runs smoothly, and that not only are the goals of today achieved, but those of tomorrow as well.

Seville, the financial, cultural and artistic capital of Southern Spain…  Originally known as Hispalis, this city dates back thousands of years, and has a rich history, rising and falling, experiencing rough times in the first millennium after Christ, as the city regularly changed hands from Romans to Arabs to Normans to Phoenicians, eventually becoming the fourth largest city in Spain.  Whether you find yourself staying in the city for only a few days in one of the luxury hotel Seville, Spain, affords its travelers, or for a much longer stay, you may wish to experience shopping for food the way the locals do….

There are many favorite places from which to shop.  Like many of the farmer’s markets you might have at home, they provide the best possible fish and meats and local produce.  With a wide choice of vendors, you can make sure you get the best each and every time you go.

A few tips on local courtesies: At a fruit and vegetable stand, you wait for the owner to come to you and select the produce, although you can ask for a particular piece.  If there are other customers waiting, you are to ask who is list in line, ensuring you know when your turn occurs.  For this, ask the following: Quine es el ultimo?  The next-in-line shopper will raise his or her hand, and you simply keep an eye out, waiting for them to be served.

When dealing with meats and fish, ask for the meats by weight or pieces.  Also keep in mind that on Mondays, there’s no seafood in the markets, because fishermen take Sundays off (a good reason not to order fish in a restaurant on Monday!  It may well not be fresh!).  Most markets are open in the mornings early and close at around 2 in the afternoon.  They’re never open Sundays.  Here’s a quick list of the major markets around the city:  Encarnacion, Feria (the oldest market in the city), Triana (one of the newest), Arenal, and Puerta de la Carne.

Edgar Allen Poe wrote psychological thrillers.  His passions were dark, tormented and sometimes appeared to be neurotically concerned with violence and death, all the while holding on to the appreciation and the beautiful tragedies of life and the depths of the psyche, his own psyche and that of the people who surrounded him.  The tragedy of life, a funny phrase.  Perhaps he was consumed by the death of both of his parents.  This happened when he was just a young boy of three years old.  His stories resonate, and in modern times have been played on stage too many times to count, have been made into movies and series for television shows.  His work continues to influence the writers of today.  Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  Both of his parents were actors, David Poe and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins.  After his parents died he moved to Richmond, Virginia where he was raised by John and Frances Allen.

As a young man he moved to Baltimore and lived with his cousin.  This is where he sold his first stories to the Baltimore Saturday Visitor, for fifty dollars a piece.  In any Baltimore pub or restaurant you will still hear stories told of the man today.  Just as his horror stories always contain an element of mystery, so to does the man and his life.  Poe lived for most of his time in the city at 203 Amity Street.  The small house is a museum now, open for visitors every weekend.

There is a public housing development next to his house, the first one in Baltimore, named for Edgar Allen Poe, and one of the stories you may hear is that there is a spirit, “Mr. Eddie”, who takes care of his house and those in the housing development.  There are also many people who claim to have seen a woman’s ghost wandering through the house from time to time.  Poe is buried, along with many other notable Baltimore figures, in the Westminster Church Cemetery. This is also a famous visitors location.  During the year you may visit the cemetery from sunrise to sunset.  Small gatherings take place throughout the year, one such night happens of course on Halloween, when Poe’s fans and admirers hold candle light ceremonies in honor of the man and his work.  And in keeping with the mystery, each year since his death in 1849, a bottle of Cognac appears on his grave, with a single red rose.  Edgar Allen Poe, a piece of the rich cultural history of the city of Baltimore.

Travel in Australia has held a powerful attraction to world travelers for many generations, drawn to the cultures and the extraordinary sense of culture.  It’s never been easier, either, and it still holds many fantastic things on the surface, and many mysteries beneath the ground.  The contradictions between the visible and the invisible are particularly keen in the larger cities, and Adelaide has many stories to tell.  On its surface, it’s a spectacularly charming place, and there are few cities as sweet as Adelaide.  Boutique hotels are exceptionally lovely here, combining the old world charms with all the contemporary conveniences of our complex lives.

But even the complexity can seem small when you’re here, and the sweeter the accommodations, the more simple life can seem.  The basic pleasures of sleeping in a perfectly soft bed, and a particularly nourishing meal, can take you back to a state of heavenly balance.  In this marvelous state of well-being, you’ll be able to really appreciate all the city has to offer, as well as take the time to contemplate its deeper mysteries.  Art has a way of revealing certain hidden truths so that the ordinary world never looks as ordinary as it once did, paving the way for new ways of thinking and being.

This is certainly the case in the works of Garry Shead, whose intense and lyrical figures speak of a reality that’s recognizable and at the same time fading into the distance.  His work is some of the most acclaimed in the country, and he’s won the Archibald and the Dobell Prize.  You may very well come across his work while you’re here, from his paintings inspired by D.H. Lawrence, or may even see some of his experimental films from the 1960s.  He’s one of many artists who’s been deeply influenced by the dark and lingering poems of the great Ern Malley, and shares an obsession that’s rather common here, or better to say, uncommon but not uncelebrated, or even better perhaps, simply ecliptic.

I have worked in the service industry for many years, mainly in the restaurant business.  I have witnessed great cases of customer service, and not so great.  What I have noticed through waiting on people, is that the kindest gestures often hit the customers unaware, they get side swiped and before you know it, everyone has tears in their eyes.  Now, every customer is different, and knowing when to leave someone in peace to eat their meal, well, their body language will say it all.  But for the most part, people do want to engage in conversation, dining out is an experience after all.  One such occasion took place a few years ago when I was working in a high end steak house.

An older couple came in and I waited on them.  Their son was a sergeant in the US Army and he had just come home from a two year tour in Iraq.  They bought him a gift certificate and told me to wait on he and his wife when they came in.  A few days later, they were sitting in my section.  They enjoyed a great dinner, a little wine and a wonderful desert.  The restaurant manager would often take a dessert or an appetizer off of the bill for the soldiers who had returned from war.  I questioned him before I brought their check, and he took off everything.  Their entire meal was on the house.  I brought their check to them, which now totalled zero.  I left the check on the table and went to help another table.

When I came back, they looked at me with confusion written all over their face.  And this soldier said with tears in his eyes, “thank you”.  And wouldn’t you know, tears welled up in my eyes and I had a hard time getting out the words, “no, thank you”.  Now, that restaurant is a large corporation, and we were constantly barraged with secret shoppers trying to find us doing something wrong.  When I waited on that sergeant and his wife, I know I didn’t say things in “right” order, I may have left out an ingredient in the nightly special, but when no one was looking, my manager allowed me to go above and beyond the corporate and the scripted way in which were were to act, to wait tables.  This is what Steve Barbarich expects, and what all great owners should expect, managers and employees that take the extra step.

New York, New York.  People rarely believe me when I tell them I’ve never been to New York, even though it’s a city I’ve long wanted to see, so I have to amend what I say by explaining that, yes, I’ve seen New York, as I landed at Kennedy Airport, and changed planes, on my way across the Atlantic, to London, England.  But that’s not being in New York.  That’s not experiencing one of the world’s greatest cities, and almost everyone has to agree.  At least, I do get reports from time to time, from friends and relatives who have made the city their home.

If I ever do go, I think I know most of what I’d try to do.  First, I’ll check into a New York boutique hotel, and then make my way down to the Half Price Ticket Booth to see what shows or musicals I can see on Broadway or Off-Broadway.  Of the five boroughs of New York — The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — I’d spend the majority of my time in Manhattan.  Over the years, I’ve had a number of friends move in and out of New York, telling me about fantastic restaurants and plays they’d seen.  I’ve had two sets of relatives raised in New York, living in everything from a cramped studio apartment to the entire floor of a building with a view of the skyline, and all of them thrived in the city, describing it as more than a place to live; people connect with New York, its architecture, its culture, and its people, and I would expect to experience a little of each.

As of a year ago, in August, New York City had about five thousand and a half high rises, with fifty skyscrapers higher than six hundred and fifty-six feet, only second to Hong Kong in the number and size of the world’s buildings.  New York is one of the few places in the world that I’ve never been yet I’m familiar with its buildings, like the Woolworth Building, the Chrysler Building, or the Empire State Building.  I’d attend plays and walk in Central Park, along with that park’s other annual thirty million visitors.  I’d take a look at the Zoo, the Conservatory Garden, and attend the Delacorte Theater (where “Shakespare in the Park” is performed), as well as take a look at the nature center in the Belvedere Castle.  Maybe take a tour on the State Island Ferry.  And then just spend some time in the restaurants and coffee shops with my friends, while they ask me why I haven’t made the move yet.  It’s a question I’ll have to consider.

Your home away from home may be as close as your own backyard.  Gardens to plant, vegetable plants to tend, flowers to water, a portable spa to soak in with friends and with family, these are the things that allow us to all take a step back from what is not really important, in order to take a look at what really is…important.  A backyard spa allows you to sit, and think, and to talk, and to relax.  Creating a space for such a retreat just takes a bit of design, a bit of planning.  Where to install your hot tub is an idea to consider.  Many people choose to build a gazebo around the tub, which in my opinion, is great.  The scents of cedar or oak lattice work, enhance the experience of nightly soaks.  It creates a gateway to a world that is free from trouble, free from worry…it is the kind of sanctuary that every home should have.

Not only do cabanas and gazebos provide protection from environmental conditions, they increase your living space, taking your life outside into the fresh air.  Sometimes just sitting aside the hot tub while it is bubbling away, reading a book is enough to give you a bit of time away.  A bit of the sound of water.  Not to mention the time you will spend actually inside the tub, your muscles, your joints and your mind relaxing.  It is an escape from the world, needed every now and then which allows you to continue on in the world, or to see new ways of looking at that world.  Gazebos which surround a hot tub?…the design options are limitless.  Whether you choose to drape them in tiny white lights, or plant vines of jasmine, your time in your portable spa will be enhanced, through visual means and through scents and sounds.

Grand Rapids, Michigan is located on the Grand River about 30 miles from Lake Michigan. Around the start of the 19th century, European missionaries and fur traders began settling in this area. The Ottawa Indians had lived along the Grand River for many years and established a fairly peaceful existence with the white settlers, trading their fur pelts for the metals and textiles of the settlers. The first European/Indian trading post in west Michigan was established by Joseph and Madeline LaFramboise. More settlers came to the area, growth was quick and before long many businesses and industries sprang up. In the early days, the city gained the nickname Furniture City, as that was the major industry then. Now the health care, automotive and manufactured consumer products industries have taken over the economic structure. Grand Rapids was actively involved in the auto industry from the beginning, with the Austin Auto Company in business from 1901-1921.

Like most cities, there are drastic changes from the onset of a little settlement to what it is today. Now when visiting Grand Rapids you will find a very progressive, modern, vibrant city brimming with cultural and artistic activities to enjoy. Walk through the museums and be taken back to the early days, view the fabulous sculptures, attend the Festival of the Arts, take in a play, visit the botanical gardens, shop and shop some more, dine in elegance or sup at a dive, enjoy the nightlife with music and dancing. Visit the historic district and gaze upon the magnificent Victorian homes.

And of course you will need to stay at one of the fine hotels Grand Rapids has to offer. There, more of the city’s fine architecture can be found. Take in the detail of the ornate designs and once inside allow yourself to be pampered. Relax and enjoy the wonderful amenities these hotels offer. Grand Rapids is a unique city; let your trip be unique as well.

So you have decided to spend the extra money and purchase custom truck wheels and tires.  One of the best ways you can protect this investment is to make certain that the new tires are properly balanced.  This will not only provide you with a smoother ride, but it will reduce the occurrence of uneven wear, and will extend the life of your tires.  This is important to maintain throughout the life of your tires.  Some people do not pay attention to, or do not think that proper balance is really all that important.

But the tires and wheels of cars today, are supporting lighter and lighter vehicles as technology and design elements improve.  This is good for things such as reducing you fuel use, but actually, the older heavier vehicles smoothed out the ride, the weight suppressed the bumps and the jars from the road.  They put pressure on the suspension.  Tire technology too, while improving the responsiveness, has made the feedback from the road more felt by the driver and the passengers.

As a result of both of these components, even a slight imbalance will be felt in the modern cars of today.  This is important as well, for the high performance plus sized tires.   When new tires are mounted onto the wheels of your car, there are just two units that are joined, that weigh approximately forty pounds total.  These are units that are seldom perfect, and the precise distribution of weight is impossible.  Just one ounce of difference is all it takes to start your car to vibrating, causing damage to the wheels and the cheap rims, causing more wear and tear on the tires, and creating a very bumpy ride for the driver.

There are two kinds of terms used to describe the kind of imbalance you will experience, static and dynamic.  When the imbalance is static, your car will be affected vertically, kind of hopping down the road.  When the imbalance is dynamic, your car will wobble back and forth…horizontally.  Either way, this will not only be annoying, but could be a safety hazard as well.  The balancing of tires is an important step to maintaining the life of your tires and the over all performance of your vehicle.

One of the questions that many people have before choosing to install a hot tub is whether they are safe.  This question can be asked about any appliance really, about installing a swimming pool, about refrigerators or washers and dryers.  What is necessary is just common sense.  Knowing when and who will be using the spa.  Young children and pregnant women are always advised to stay out of hot tubs.  And when the hot tub is not in use there are covers that lock, preventing anyone from accidentally falling in.  The heat is just too much of a risk factor for these two groups.  The health benefits are great, such as increased circulation and decreased stress levels, and adding a hot tub will most always be a great decision.

Many people are choosing this smaller and less expensive option to the installation of a full sized swimming pool and many models, such as portable hot tub, can be installed by the homeowner.  The only way to not experience the benefits is when the hot tubs are not used in the recommended ways.  Such as the temperature of the water.  Water that is too hot may damage and certain health concerns.  Also the time spent in hot tubs should be about ten to fifteen minutes at a time.  Especially if you choose the high end of the recommended temperature of either 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the popular things to do while relaxing in a hot tub is to have an alcoholic beverage.  This can be extremely dangerous for a couple of reasons, most importantly being that the higher temperature will speed up and increase the effects of the alcohol.  It is best to avoid drinking while using spas and hot tubs.  Another concern some people have with regards to hot tubs, is the hot tub rash.  This is a simple thing to prevent.  It just involves making sure that you clean and maintain the water of the hot tub.  The only time this kind of rash will happen is when the water is contaminated.  So, just as with most things in life, common sense will always dictate the safety of certain activities.  The hot tub is safe, when common sense and maintenance are practiced.

Pam had been wanting to visit Seattle every since she saw the movie Sleepless in Seattle playing on the television late one night. This was seven years ago and she was now 24 and felt the time was definitely at hand. So she convinced her friend Tina to go with her and the two of them headed off for their week long stay in one of the Seattle luxury hotels. Tina was pretty much along for the ride so she let Pam be in charge of most of what the saw and did. However, she had one request and that was to visit the Space Needle, something she knew Seattle was famous for after she saw it on The Bachelor.

The friends did go to the Space Needle, which of course was also on Pam’s agenda though she let Tina believe that it was her choice. They enjoyed an incredible lunch while viewing the panoramic scenes of the city and sound. Looking out over the water Tina realized that she would also like to take a ferry trip. Without batting an eye Pam agreed that this would be fun and it was a good idea. Meanwhile she was able to cross off another item on her schedule. They took an hour long cruise of Elliot Bay and were amazed at the beauty of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. They both were able to get some beautiful photographs and thought this would be one of the highlights of their trip. So far they had two.

While they were at the Marina Tina noticed a lot of activity along the Piers. She thought this seemed incredibly interesting and suggested the two of them spend the following day along the waterfront. Pam smiled and agreed that Tina had come up with another great idea and secretly crossed off yet a third item on her list of attractions. The two of them had a great time along the Piers and shopping at Pike Place Market. Tina couldn’t believe that Pam didn’t suggest this place herself and wondered if she had even known it existed. Then Tina realized that up to that point she had been suggesting all of the ideas for places for them to visit and mentioned this Pam stating it was a good thing she brought her along. Pam started laughing and agreed it was a good thing because the trip was so much more fun with a friend and then she showed Tina the list of attracts with three of them crossed off. They both had a good laugh while they enjoyed a delicious bread bowl of clam chowder.

Now that I am single again I am heading to Miami, Florida for a winter vacation this year. Earlier this year my wife took off on me, she said ‘she couldn’t take it anymore’. I am not sure what she couldn’t take, that never seemed to be defined. What was clear we were having a lot of financial difficulties as I had lost my job last fall. She never seemed to supportive after I lost my job; well actually she wasn’t supportive at all. I remember her announcing ‘you don’t expect me to supports us now do you?’ I thought well no; on your retail income you don’t make enough to support us.

She only worked to keep herself busy and to have a little extra money of her own. I had always been responsible for the housing, transportation and daily expenses of living. I was surprised at her reaction but in retrospect I suppose I was blind to all kinds of signs earlier. Well she hung in here through the Holidays and in early January announced she was leaving me for someone else. The big surprise is this someone else was well healed, ok I am being sarcastic but how else can I be after 15 years and she runs off with someone with more money.

Well any way that is all water under the bridge now. I have landed a new position and remarkably in these times I managed to get hired at a better salary and package than I had previously made.

So I have gone and booked myself a suite in a Miami Florida hotels for a week this February. I will be going to beaches and hitting the happy hours at the beach hotels and party the nights away in the infamous Miami nightclubs. It will be a dual celebration of sorts. I will be celebrating moving on from a bad marriage and starting a new job.

Kerala, what a stunning State. It’s over-run with coconut trees, very tropical and lush. We hired a boat, it’s called a punting boat, and the owner was this Israeli who took us through all the backwaters. We passed by homes where women were doing dishes and laundry in the canal. Children were playing and running happily beside our boat as we continued down the canal. Everyone we passed waved and called out to us. We were dropped off at this amazing spot that had two little thatched cottages with verandas over-looking the backwater and the other view was of rice paddies. This was the only way to get to this spot, by boat and the owner, the Israeli cooked for us too! We took a very long walk around the nearby villages and got a real good taste of what life is in this area, we were so welcomed.

Then we stayed with a friend of my husbands parents and sister in Kerala and they were so astounding with their hospitality. They cooked us delicious meals. We were to leave early one morning, but when we got up, we found out that a local politician was assassinated in his home not too far from where we were. His political party enforced a strike, which meant all shops, schools and businesses had to close down, not even trucks, taxis or auto rickshaws could operate. The roads were completely deserted and the whole village felt eerie. We finally located a private car and a driver, so we did manage to leave in the afternoon. We felt like we were in a movie being evacuated out of a danger zone.

We’re currently in Goa, staying at a Goa India hotel located on Palolem, which is a spectacular bay. We’re on our balcony drinking Kingfishers, which we enjoy tremendously, but this beer isn’t available in most restaurants in India. We are so much having the time of our lives on this holiday. We hired scooters yesterday and headed to some fantastic beaches further north of our hotel. We found one beach that was deserted, we didn’t think that could be possible, but no one was around. We head out to Delhi tomorrow by train, then on up to the foothills of the Himalayas and on to Rajasthan. We’re looking forward to seeing the rest of India, what an amazing place! What an amazing country.

Who would not love to own a tailor made dress, or shirt, or pair of pants.  Most people in the general population have not had the opportunity to such a luxury, however this is available in Bangkok.  Not only is it available, but this is one of the things that the city is known for, one of some travelers only reasons for visiting.  And many discover this while on vacations or traveling and conducting Bangkok business.  Hotels will have suggestions on the best tailors in the city, but there are just so many, that some times it is better to take a walk around and discover some of them on your own.  According to your own tastes and preferences.

One such place is the International Boutique House.  The tailors here are known for their ability to create a suit that is completely unique and perfect for each individual.  However some clients have stated that while the suit does look great, the fit may be a bit uncomfortable.  And, many of the tailor shops while creating similar fantastic looking clothes, do not regularly use high end finishes, such as their use of poor quality plastic buttons on blouses made of fine silk.  Knowing this before hand, you will have the opportunity to pick up these elements on your own, and bring them with you to the tailor of your choice.

Other requests that must be made before hand have to do with the edge stitching and double ply material on the collars and the cuffs.  All of the tailors are willing to do this, but there is a bit of an extra charge.  Be wary of any shop that promised to have large orders done in a very little amount of time.  While they will take measurements, what happens is that they then send those measurements to a sweatshop where low paid workers sew as fast as they can.  There are many beautiful options and many wonderful tailors in Bangkok, but just look around and check out the work before you agree to large orders and that way you will be certain to be pleased with the tailor made clothes you bring home with you.