AaaaUUsTRRRIa

This whole stay in Vail has been a big commercial for Austria. Everywhere we go, its either owned by Austrians or reminds me of Austria.

Few Highlights:
1. Hotel Arrabelle is designed after buildings in Innsbruck, Austria
2. Swiss Chalet, has Austrian Red Wine
3. A lot of the hotel staff is from Germany and Austria
4. My allergies are as bad as they were in Austria
5. Classical Music is as popular here as in Austria, more about Beethoven here however than Strauss

Unscripted question: Why are there so many europeans here?
Answer: A lot of hotels and restaurants are owned by Germans here. Most people come on J1 Visa through a middle company that takes money from the hotel and from the people, the biggest one being Weise Corporation. Some come on a year visa and some just get married and settle down, like our server at Swiss Chalet.

Now about my trip so far, yesterday we did a 10 mile bike ride around Dillon Lake. The lake has two marinas and a beautiful bike trail from one Marina to the other. We rode from Frisco Marina to Dillon Marina.



The Dillon Marina - Tiki Bar is set in the most amazing valley with view of snow capped mountains and the lake and boats.



We did get hit by the thunderstorms and the rain drops really were heavy, almost like Hail. It stopped in a matter for 10 minutes but we were soaked through and through. The wind was very strong, so we were dry as quickly as we were wet. Quite interesting weather patterns.

I havent talked about the car I have rented this week. I am using all my hertz points to rent a Camaro SS, specifically because I kept seeing it on the Transformers commercials and since it was releasing this weekend, I wanted to rent the car.



The windows are so small, its almost impossible to see clearly .. but the seats are probably the most comfortable lumbar support seats I have seen. The power of the car is something I havent had with any other car, specially when trying to pass someone on the interstate, it will go from 0-60 in matter of seconds!

We went to see Transformers yesterday in Edwards CO, the movie was actually pretty bad.. probably the worst movie this summer. I am striking out with movies this week, saw Knight and Day on HBO the other day, probably the worst movie of the year!

Aight, time to get moving.. Off to Sweetwater River Ranch today, probably some hikes and maybe horse riding!

oh Allegra!

Trip to Nederland was beautiful, with a little hike to Boulder Falls and then a walk near the dam. The town itself was a small ski town with a bar and pizza place. Got some great pictures with the waterfall and the dam. The stream was so powerful flowing down the mountain it reminded me of rafting in the smokies and the level 5 rapids.



We walked around the park and the stream in Boulder near the beautiful public library that ran over the creek. Dinner was back on pearl street, street Chinese food with dim sum and bowl of veggie noddles with siracha.

The night was probably the worst I have in a few months with all these allergies and I forgot my claritin back in Minneapolis. Could not sleep all night and had to inhale steam at 3 am just to be able to breathe.

Didnt start the next day till 11 am. Decided to cut down on the hike (both allergies and altitude) and do a drive through the Rocky Mountain Park, to Estes Park and then the Trail Ridge Road. Lots of snow still on the ground, the drive was beautiful.

Unscripted question: Why are there so many nepalese restaurants in Boulder and Estes Park?
Answer from my Nepalese Server: We have been here for generations, my brother worked her and then he placed me and I am placing a bunch of my relatives. Infact the restaurant you are eating at right now (a burger joint!) is owned by a Nepalese, they own a bunch of other establishments here.

Who knew!

We finally reached Vail at 9 pm last night. Charming hotel, Arrabelle that reminds me of Innsbruck and the square is really nice to walk around. There is a ski life here, which may be a great gondola ride tomorrow.




Dinner at the Tavern, very relaxed atmosphere. The rooms are absolutely beautiful, probably the best I have stayed at in a long time.

The next four days are going to be very relaxed. I can feel it... 

Flying to Denver

Most of yesterday was taken in preparing for my Colorado trip, its the first time that I am going to be in Colorado and I am excited to be here!

My travel partner on the plane was a lady from Minneapolis who lived/loved to hike!

She shows me all the different places she has hiked all over the country. She told me about hiking through Grand Canyons which I really want to do, difference between the southern rim and the northern rim. She also talked about hiking in Maine and in Yosemite. Another place that I want to go is Glacier national park in Montana and Denali in Alaska. There is so much to see in the country!

Got into Denver at 7 pm, dropped my bags off and went straight to Green Valley Ranch Park with a lake, watched the sunset over the mountains and walked around the lake. Then went to have dinner at Solera in Park Hill area or uptown Denver, beautiful outdoor patio with Spanish wine and paella.

Drove this morning to Boulder. Spent the day walking around on Pearl Street,



went to a Tibetan/Mediterranean/East European inspired tea house -  Dushanbe for Brunch, had some chai and masala dosa which was more like a veggie curry crepe but really tasty!



 then to an oxygen and herban tonic lounge, another very unique place with ingredients I had never heard of specially the JUN elixer!

Then we spent some time at the boulder bookstore, charming house with lots of books and sat outside at a frozen yogurt place Maiberry. Its 95 degrees here so my idea to go hiking was scrapped. Am thinking of driving to Nederland just for a nice drive.

Its really laidback though so its nice to just walk around.

Getting new people in the EMR world

Just posted this on one of my Linked In Groups, its a question I get constantly from my fellow project managers and programmers/engineers who have been laid off and want to get into the healthcare IT world.
-------------------------

I have been trying to get a lot of people in this industry, mostly project managers and programmers. Few tips:

1. Healthcare industry is very focused on people within the healthcare, its hard for people from outside to enter, so one way would be to start volunteering at your hospital to understand the workflow.

2. Join different online and local community chapters for HIMSS, PMI and network with local healthcare groups. Attend conferences, HIMSS being one of the best ones and learn about the vendors, talk to vendors, learn about the field.

3. This may be long term, go back to school to learn about healthcare informatics. I have been recommending people to the UCONN online healthcare IT course that HIMSS backs. If you like a specific department, try to get experience in that department - work as a pharmacy tech, radiology tech... on the side.

4. Talk to vendors directly to get a position with them. Start with the most basic work, leverage what you already know. Getting a consulting job is difficult without specific industry experience, however you can get employed by the EMR vendor and gain experience in that regard.

5. Once you have done all the top 4 things, try getting some go lives under your belt. That gives you direct vendor experience. Getting to staff at go lives is a matter of being able to talk the talk and getting through the recruiter and added to their go live list.

Like any other industry, the world is small here. Once you get the first gig the next ones will fall into your lap if you have the right connections and develop the right path for yourself. 


------------


Another article that I read this morning: 

eHealth Initiative issues report on EHRs and care coordination

Hokkah and Patta!

Spent first two hours of my morning on the phone with Delta, trying to get the best tickets to India.. hopefully business class with the miles I have saved up all year!

Should I go to Amsterdam or Seoul, KLM or Delta. Where should I board from - MSP or LAX or ORD, where should I land to.. how many miles to Bombay, to Ahemdabad, what about economy plus, what about Korean Air or Emirates. Should I pay for upgrade, get an upgrade-able fare or coach half way... its really like a puzzle. Talking to my cousins on one hand, a travel agent on the other and all the time bouncing ideas with Delta Rep.

All I know is I am sticking to Sky Team... exploring every possibility!



Did my monthly PMI Healthcare Ambassador call. Those are always eventful.

Rest of the day was quite a blur, not sure what I was doing... took a nap in the afternoon.

Spent the evening playing cards at a middle eastern cafe and smoking Citrus - Mint Hookah.. perfect end to a very unproductive week.

Unscripted question: What do you have Ceylon tea bags at a middle eastern place?

Smoking Ban, which includes Hookah bars, now cannot serve food so instead they sell you food in to-go cups. They cant technically give you prepared tea, so they give you a tea bag and hot water :-)

More info: Link

On my toes

As a consultant I have to constantly stay on my toes, I can lose my job any day of the month for any reason...

Today started with me running to get some milk and juice before the free hotel breakfast ends at 9 am... was up last night playing words with friends, i am so addicted to that game!

Last night I got an email that my boss wasn't 'connecting' with me, wasn't sure what I was working on, for other jobs that would probably mean that I was going to be let go from my contract.. so this morning, I started sending out some remaining work that I have on my task list, in case in our meeting today I was told I was being let go.

Talk about staying on my toes, I am constantly talking to people about new engagements. I chatted with a few people this morning, getting the ground ready for the next assignment.

The meeting however went really well, looks like I still have a job. This is probably the best boss I have ever had, its all about getting the work done, doesn't matter when and from where!

Went for a movie today too, there isn't much to do in Minneapolis besides watch movies.. specially with summer here, a lot of blockbusters out there. Today I watched Green Lantern, such a lame plot with all the worst super hero cheesy scenes in one movie, I don't know how its doing so well at the box office.

Made some veggie burgers at home, with this really cool masala dip from Trader Joes and watched Glee, another show that I am totally in love with. They performed Ke$sha and the 'blame it on the alcohol' song, was really awesome!




Didnt get a chance to ask an unscripted question to ask today, however I did come across an interesting article about the happiest countries, all the scandinavian countries always take this prize.. sometimes I wonder if it would be fun to move there, then I think of their winters and quickly change my mind!

United States is at no 7, so we may be doing something right!

Also, I discovered a website called Turntable today and its absolutely brilliant, its where you can become your own DJ and join a room with similar interest and play your music and have others rate it.. such a great idea!

Been listening to the Bollywood room all evening and not a single boring song!

Minneapolis:Hot and Sticky or Swampy and Rainy

Life moves so fast when one's on the road..

Up at 4 am to catch a flight from Bakersfield, slept through most of the flight, and connecting through Phoenix, read through most of the second flight, except for a few interesting peeks on to neighbors iPAD. Its always fun to sit next to a 15 year old and see what they are doing.

Few unscripted questions:
1. You have to 15.5 to take the drivers exam in Arizona.
2. Cut the Rope is by far teenagers favorite game, even bigger than Angry Birds on the iPAD
3. Justin Bieber is an obsession, my neighbor stared at his picture for half the plane ride... she paused the latest movie on his face and ogled.


4. Schools start in August.. cant wait, the airport is full of kids!

Got in, got some work done, got some groceries and cooked some quick soup and salad. Watched some TV...

Today went by fast, some work, a movie: Super 8 - bad plot, good jokes... don't know how it got such good ratings. Was hot and sticky when I landed, and right now its rainy and really swampy, not very good drainage system here, all the roads get flooded!

On the road again

Another thing about SoCal that I love is the hikes and driving down PCH from Santa Monica to Malibu. I felt better yesterday and first thing we did was map out a short hike in Santa Monica Mountains. I love hiking, it helps with taking in nature and fresh air at the same time as it is a good exercise.

Solstice Canyon Waterfalls

Highlights:
Lovely creek, 30 ft waterfall, mysterious ruins, hidden statue, ocean views
Near: Malibu, CA
Scenery:
Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 500 ft
Hike Time: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Condition: Well maintained trail
Hike Type: Loop

Link to website

We took the higher ground - rising sun trail on the way back which had beautiful views of the ocean. 

Rest of the day was relatively quick with packing and exhaustion. 

Unscripted question for today: St Helena volcano experience and watching the ashes with my cab driver who was from Olympia washington and grew up climbing st helena. His experience was very interesting about the boom and then the mountains of ashes and boiling rivers. He talked about fearing it was a russian attack and he heard a big blast when it happened in the 80's.

Research:

"The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located in Washington state, in the United States, was a major volcanic eruption. The eruption (which was a VEI 5 event) was the only significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption ofLassen Peak in California.^[1]

The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano that created a huge bulge and a fracture system on Mount St. Helens' north slope.:

On the road again.. Bakersfield to Minneapolis via Phoenix.

Learning and Laughing

I badly needed some laughter after the intense movie on Saturday night. But first some unscripted questions, this time with my landlady for this week:

We talked about a lot of things: Tunisia, Arab Spring, Belgium, Real Estate prices in Santa Monica, Rental rates in Santa Monica, running a convenient store or starting an Inn, Travelling through deep south, life as a paralegal, living in portland...

Resorts of Tunisia: Really fun to learn from her about the different resorts of tunisia, she has a bound booklet from all her recent trips, apparently Shutterfly lets you make one very quickly. The cover of the book looks like its right from Santorini, which is how we started talking but its actually from Tunisia. She mentioned the resorts are very affordable but quite far away from the actual town.

here's one of them:

Tunisia

Courtesy of the Residence

The Residence--Tunis 

With its wide, warm beaches and the waves of the Mediterranean gently lapping the shore, the beaches of northern Africa are like nowhere else in the world. With its exotic mixture of Spanish and Moorish architecture, The Residence is a dramatic resort offering all the amenities and refinements of a modern luxury hotel. Located on the Côtes de Carthage, the site of the ancient city from which Hannibal launched his attack on Rome, this area of Tunisia is famous for its light, natural beauty as well as for its proximity to many local historical points of interest. 


Arab Spring: I had no idea the recent uprisings were called this and she kept referring it while talking about tunisia.. time for some research.


"The Arab Spring (Arabic: الثورات العربية‎; literally the Arabic Rebellions or the Arab Revolutions) is a revolutionary wave ofdemonstrations and protests that has been taking place in the Arab world since 18 December 2010. Prior to this period, Sudanwas the only Arab country to have successfully overthrown dictatorial regimes, in 1964 and again in 1985. To date, there have been revolutions in Tunisia^[2] and Egypt;^[3] a civil war in Libya;^[4] civil uprisings in Bahrain,^[5] Syria,^[6] and Yemen;^[7] major protests in Algeria,^[8] Iraq,^[9] Jordan,^[10] Morocco,^[11] and Oman,^[12] as well as on the borders of Israel;^[13] and minor protests inKuwait,^[14] Lebanon,^[15] Mauritania,^[16] Saudi Arabia,^[17] Sudan,^[18] and Western Sahara.^[19] The protests have shared techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies, as well as the use of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and internet censorship.^[20] Many demonstrations have also met violent responses from authorities,^[21][22][23] as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators.^[24][25][26] The slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world has been"The people want to bring down the regime".^[27]"


Those are the two unscripted questions and research from yesterday. Rest of the day went rather quick, we spent some portion at the Brentwood Farmer's Market and Century City. I started on a new book about Gandhi, review below from Amazon. Seems like a really good book for someone who wants to know more about his struggles in South Africa and how to he came to his methodology via experiments.

Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India

Joseph Lelyveld

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2011: With Great Soul, Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph Lelyveld accomplishes the difficult task of humanizing the fabled "Mahatma." Utterly unafraid of depicting Gandhi's less palatable tendencies--shameless self-promotion, inscrutable sexual mores, and an often narrow and ethnically specific application of his evolving political tenets--Lelyveld instead stands the man up against the myth. Comprehensively researched and confidently written, Lelyveld's exploration of Gandhi's politically formative years in South Africa, and the international profile he later secured in India, demonstrates laudable (if not unflinching) critical distance from his subject. It takes a brave biographer to pull this off respectfully. (See Christopher Hitchens’s book on Mother Theresa for a contrary and maudlin example.) Lelyveld is up to the job, delivering an ultimately indispensable take on the flesh-and-blood man who may have been his own best hagiographer. Everyone with an interest in Gandhi--from incurable skeptics to unabashed devotees--should find much to learn from one of the year’s best biographies to date. --Jason Kirk

What makes it more interested is that it was banned in India.. all the more reason to read it!

Subsistence consisted of veggie tamale at the farmers market, Ajisen Ramen at Century City and then Veggie burger at the Counter.. all amazing food!

Ended the night with the funniest movie I have seen for a long time, The Bridesmaids. An absolute blast and totally lives up to its reputation, I am so glad I went for this movie. Its not really about a bachelorette party as a lot of people have said, hangover for women.. not really. Its really just 5 funny-as-hell actresses in comic situations.. great acting. Kristen Wiig from SNL is amazing!

Link to a clip

Beach and Cinema

If I had to explain to someone why I love coming to LA, it would be for the Beach and Cinema.

And that's what I do when all my other plans get cancelled because of the way I felt yesterday. Exhausted and waking up after 12 hours of sleep with a horrible headache, I decide to walk over to the beach and just rest there.

Of course, its Santa Monica so it cant be just the beach, on the way we managed to walk through a great farmers market and got some unpasteurized jus' d orange and met some mexican guys on the beach selling mangoes with Cayenne pepper and lime juice.. that and the beach were perfect relaxation for my body.

Unscripted question: Did you know that Santa Monica now has a whole program for Smart Cans and the ferris wheel is solar powered?

Link
"Wrapped with artwork encouraging beachgoers to put their "toes in the sand, trash in the can," the cans' artwork incorporate a QR, or quick response, code that links smartphones with a new Santa Monica Beachcast app. The mobile website provides real-time weather and water quality information, as well as beach cleanup tips. The Beachcast app also lets users upload beach photos to an online gallery in the hopes the images will inspire beachgoers to take better care of the environment."


Link
"The new $1.5 million solar powered Ferris wheel, which replaces the Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel auctioned off on eBay for $132,400 in April, stands over Pacific Park amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier on its opening night on May 28, 2008 in Santa Monica, California. The old 90-foot tall Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel appeared in 105 photo shoots, 71 television commercials, 69 television shows, 28 films and 13 music videos and carried more than 3 million riders130 feet above the ocean on its 20 gondolas over the past 12 years. Like its predecessor, the world's first solar-powered, it will be powered by the sun but the new wheel, with its160,000 lights, will be 75 percent more energy efficient.

(May 28, 2008 - Photo by David McNew/Getty Images North America)"

Once I felt a little better, it was time to do some fun shopping in the new Nordstrom's at Santa Monica Place and then lunch at Blue Stove. Really good food, my favorite was the cilantro lime aioli, so yummy! It also felt good to get out of the sun for some time. After that I had to go back to bed for some more recovery time. 

As evening arrived it was time to catch a movie that we wont find anywhere else in the country, in our old Beverly Hills neighborhood. The reliable, quaint Laemmle Music Hall theater:

A Little secret (from wiki):

During the 21st century, the Laemmle venues have come to be known as the "Secret Path to Oscar Qualifying" since they have been repeatedly used by independent films, short films, and documentaries for that purpose.^[2] Laemmle provides services designed to enable a film to qualify for Academy Awards,^[3] charging a flat rate for exhibition while giving the film's producers 100 percent of the box office receipts; they have someone meet every year with the Academy committees in all the categories to ensure their "qualifying run" bookings actually qualify.^[2] They even help film-makers book their films outside of their own theaters if a committee requires that.^[2]

The movie was a shocking Canadian movie which was brilliant but left a very bitter after taste, hard core reality that I wasnt quite ready for, will definitely give me nightmares for a few months... but a lot of food for discussion and if I could see the brighter side of the story of human spirit and survival... well then maybe it would have been more rewarding but I dont think I am as evolved as my fellow movie lovers who seem to have enjoyed the movie!

"Incendies is a 2010 Quebec film written and directed by Denis Villeneuve. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play, Scorched, Incendiesfollows the journey of two siblings as they attempt to unravel the mystery of their mother's life."

and what a life it was... 

Finally to cheer me up, I was treated to Pizza at BJs in UCLA followed by Diddy Riese which for obvious reasons has a line outside the door for its amazing icecream cookie sandwich. 

My favorite things in life, as Julie Andrews would say ... would be: Beach, Cinema and Pizza... overall a perfect day!

 

 

Tim Burton makes me sick!

Friday was wonderful, we had lunch at this wonderful Vietnamese market place restaurant, decor by Crustacean - Tiato Market Garden Cafe, what an awesome find for a sunny day!



For more details on the meaning and the space, here's an article from LA weekly: Link

My unscripted question was to find out about the space that Tiato now occupies, it used to be an MTV cafe in their parking lot and it wasnt doing too well so the An family who also own crustacean decided to make it an open cafe with a wine bar. Quite and outstanding venue, however the service leaves something to be desired for. Here we get a glimpse of LA attitude, which is sad because the food it quite good.

Next stop: LACMA and Tim Burton Exhibit

After an hour on the 10, for 12 miles... yes that's why I hate LA, we finally got some free parking (always available for people with patience because people in LA dont walk ;-) right behind Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art. We went straight to the Tim Burton Exhibit which for the steep price of 20 bucks per person is still a pretty awesome deal. We all know Tim Burton from movies like Nightmare Before Christmas and Sleepy Hollow but this gives you his art work, his cartoons, his poetry, his short films.. gives us a glimpse into how this many got the imagination and technique that are so unique in today's world.

Gift shop is completely unaffordable but it was fun to watch all the memorabilia, specially the Tragic Toys!



Once we were done with the exhibits, we sat outside for some free jazz concert in the LACMA outside space, drank of cantaloupe juice which looked like honeydew green... and suddenly I felt sick to the stomach, next thing I know I am back in bed popping pills and sleeping for the next few hours.

A peril of travelling is not knowing who is next to you and what bugs they have.. apparently I caught something and needed to wait it out.. did manage to walk to the next door Swingers diner to do some people watching, santa monica is such an interesting place.



Cancelled my next day's plan to hike or get to the Getty.. 

Mr P brings rain to town

Went to see 'OVO' on Wednesday night, its the new Cirque Du Soleil thats travelling to Minneapolis, the concept was,

" OVO is a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects' home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives."

Just entering the tent for circus makes it such a fascinating experience!

Thursday was a travelling day, for me those days are quite a blur but I do enjoy them. 

Now for a few unscripted questions:

Residence Inn was having a 50's grill fund raiser for Children's hospital in Minneapolis. I asked a bunch of questions regarding that party and costumes. Turns out red lipstick was all the rage in the 50's. 

here's some research and blog posts:

1950s Make-up: How to Wear Red Lipstick

January 26th, 2011

In the 1950s red lipstick (with matching red finger nails) were all the rage, and on the blog today we show how to wear with style!

Today’s post is written specially for FiftiesWedding.com by the totally fabulous Lipstick & Curls, who are specialists in vintage styling and retro make-up. They are experts in hair and make-up from the 1920’s – 1960’s, and worked on films, burlesque artists, celebrities and brides-to-be. They are available for one to one sessions, parties, weddings or corporate events.

Link

Next was my conversation with my flight attendant on US Airways on the way to LA. She was from Little Rock, Arkansas, works only 9 days a month. They can fly on any airline for free while they are working there, its the best part time job with full benefits. She makes a certain amount minimum for the days she flies and then she is paid according to her flight hours. Once she retires, she can fly any domestic us airways flight for free for the rest of her life. Pretty nice perks!

Something new I learnt was the Southwest flight attendants are paid atleast 60% more but dont get much of a pension plan, they do get a nice bonus. here;s some research:

Discussion board on FA salaries and perks: Link

Some more numbers: Link

When we landed in LAX yesterday, our pilot pointed out the largest commerical plane that is currently in the air. It was a double decker Quantas Airbus A380 that we saw, pretty impressive!

"The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. Designed to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the large-aircraft market, the A380, the largest passenger airliner in the world, made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it."

We spent most of the time trying to answer the pilot's question about how many wheels the airplane had, I counted 20 but I am sure there were more!

We had dinner at Shershah in Marina Del Ray yesterday, wasnt too happy with the food. Our temporary lodging in Santa Monica is pretty quaint, there is a huge statue of Tara in the bedroom, which is a little disconcerting... the place is full of asian antiques. 

Got up this morning and the land lady had a little note for me, "Mr P brings rain to town", indeed, its raining here, atleast will stop LA people from complaining about June Gloom!

New Blog

This will be my 3rd blog, having used each one for 2 years each, this would be my 5th year at blogging, not considering few years in the middle where I lapsed. I have lost my blogs to technology changes and my inability to keep them continuously.

Today I am starting this blog based on something I read, this as far as I can is going to be the new format of my blogging. The term positive deviant comes from a book by Atul Guwande, Better. in the afterword of his book he talks about 5 ways to make yourself a positive deviant, the way he describes it,

" None of us is irreplaceable. So not surprisingly, in this work one begins to wonder: How do I really matter?....I came up with five-five suggestions for how one might make a worthy difference, for how one might become, in other words, a positive deviant"

Here are the suggestions:
1. Ask an unscripted question: Every day I am going to attempt to ask a stranger an unscripted..i.e. something out of my daily dealings to a stranger. This is where I will document what I learn.

2. Dont complain: I will make sure this wont be an outlet for complaining. In addition I will try to make that as a part of my own life.

3. Count Something: I am not sure what I am going to count/research about but I am going to start measuring something. It doesnt matter what it is, as long as it makes me think.

4. Write something: Hence the blog, it maybe 2 lines, or it may be a whole page, I am hoping to get a chance to write something everyday.

5. Change: I am going to find something new to try, something to change everyday.

So thank you Dr Guwande for inspiring me to start another blog. Most of my writing here is going to be very personal, for those who know me this will help know me better.. for those who dont, you may get an insight into this road warrior with serious ADD for making life more meaningful.