Insurance Agencies of the Future
HuTongs (simplified Chinese: 胡同; : 衚衕; pinyin: hútòng) are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.
The Great Wall of China was the first adventure of our first day of touring in Beijing. Pictured here is the steepest section of the Great Wall at the location we explored. Gene went part of the way up this section while I explored at a lower elevation. The pictures shared here just won’t do the Great Wall justice. In every direction you look from this vantage point there is the great wall. The views are stunning.
Gene and I left home Saturday morning, October 25, at 3:30AM in order to catch a 6:00AM plane to Chicago on our first leg of our journey to China. Our plane to Shanghai left Chicago at 10:35AM. Some 13 1/2 hours later we arrived in Shanghai. Customs was surprisingly quick and easy, we secured luggage, exchanged US dollars for a wad of Chinese money I have yet to master. We have traveled long distances before with flights of 8 and 11 hours so the length of this flight wasn’t anything we weren’t prepared for. The challenge at this point was that we had a layover in Shanghai of 7 hours before being able to fly to Beijing. Poor choice of connections on my part it seems.
I always get the window seat on the airplane. It is important to me as a traveler to see what I am leaving, where I am arriving and as much as possible in between. Last week (October 6, 2009) I traveled to Utica, New York, and my view did not disappoint. The flight from Chicago to Albany was a wonderful viewing experience. I have experienced fall foliage in Utah and on a particularly wonderful Sunday several years ago along the Hudson River north of White Plains, New York. But seeing this display from the window of your airplane is another matter. The view actually looks like a patch work quilt.
I finally broke down last week (October 13, 2008) and ordered a new Kindle to replace the lost Kindle. Somehow I could not imagine traveling to China and back without reading material. And, I am certainly not using precious clothing and shoe space for carrying books. Anyway, the replacement Kindle has arrived, been matched up with it new pink gel, old publications loaded and new books purchased.
I consider myself a leading edge techie and sometimes bleeding edge thus I use the screen name of Gadgitgirl in numerous places. I spend my life teaching others how to let go of paper and accept technology. So why am I always intrigued by tools for writing? One would think that Pat would be doing all writing on her laptop or be a big user of MindMap and other such softwares for planning. However, that is not the case.
I somehow find looking at my laptop screen for these process a mind-stopping event. However, give me paper and pen and I am off and brainstorming. Thus, I am always looking at writing tools and paper, tablets, journals, etc.
I consider myself a leading edge techie and sometimes bleeding edge thus I use the screen name of Gadgitgirl in numerous places. I spend my life teaching others how to let go of paper and accept technology. So why am I always intrigued by tools for writing? One would think that Pat would be doing all writing on her laptop or be a big user of MindMap and other such softwares for planning. However, that is not the case.
I somehow find looking at my laptop screen for these process a mind-stopping event. However, give me paper and pen and I am off and brainstorming. Thus, I am always looking at writing tools and paper, tablets, journals, etc.
In the last two weeks I have had great business travel in two different cities. These two cities are as different as any two cities can be. Last week I spent 4 days in Albuquerque, NM. I always feel so restored when I am in Albuquerque. The pace of life is a bit slower, there are mountains, there is soothing music, beautiful sunsets and then there are the hot air balloons in the sky each day. I started last weeks trip with a massage upon arrival in Albuquerque. Then moved on to a really quite dinner and then back to my hotel. It was so relaxing to begin my week in this way. I was energized for the meetings and challenges that lay ahead. The meetings for the week went well, there were other great dinners with friends and a girl’s shopping trip on Wednesday evening. I returned home on Thursday evening less exhausted than usual and ready to spend the next few days completing documents for this client and preparing for the next.
However, Friday morning brought a phone call that propelled me into going to New York on the spur of the moment. I don’t believe that I can go to New York too many times. I love it for all the opposite reasons as Albuquerque. I love the rush of the city, the many cultures, the many food options, the smells, the crowds, all of it. I enjoy walking from my hotel to the office each day. So I left on Sunday morning, arrived early afternoon, enjoyed a great lunch in Bryant Park’s open café and just enjoyed the afternoon in the park. The weather was incredible. Clear blue skys, 72 degrees. My meetings went very well, enjoyed several great meals as some new places and some of my favorite places. Now at the same time I was in New York, the United Nations was having their opening sessions. On Tuesday, President Bush was speaking. When the UN is in session, traffic is challenged to say the least. So leaving on Tuesday afternoon was longer than expected. So I was a little stressed about making my plane, but La Guardia was amazingly empty and quick moving. Our plane left on time and arrived at 58 minutes early. Our gate was available and there was a ground crew in place when we arrived at the gate. I would like to mention here that our pilot and co-pilot were both women. So my theory here is to find out which flights are piloted by women and my flying life will be better.
Being able to visit wonderful cities such as these is why I like doing work that involves travel. These types of weeks are The Glamour of the Road.
The life of a road warrior gives you many opportunities to lose your stuff. Over the years I have been extremely fortunate. The lost sweater at the hotel in San Antonio was recovered same day it was left in the room. As far as I can remember that is the only thing of value that has been lost or almost lost over the years. I mis-place things all the time. I don’t always carry the same equipment on each trip or always use the same brief case, therefore, I sometimes forget what is where, but the stuff always turns up. I occasionally have this problem with clothing and accessories too. I am now traveling with one of the “real” books that I had before the Kindle so that I have reading material. But what am I going to do about China? Adding heavy books to my luggage will be taking up part of the precious limited weight limit for my clothing. Reading material is mandatory for such a lengthy trip. What a dilemma. Another event in my life of travel that I call The Glamour of the Road.
I recently received an Amazon.com gift certificate for my birthday. I have been wanting a sturdier cover for my Kindle. So just before I left for Fargo I ordered the cover of my dreams and decided to also add a gel to further protect the devise from abuse. When I was packing for my trip to Albuquerque last Sunday I discovered the Kindle was not in the bag I had carried to Fargo. I checked by the bed to be sure I hadn’t taken it out when I got home and just forgotten. No such luck. I knew contacting the airline was in vain, but I had to give it a shot. After going through the process, the Kindle has not appeared. Now I have accessories for the Kindle but it seems the Kindle is gone and I am having Kindle withdrawal. So you ask, “Why don’t you just order a new one?”
Many blogs say Amazon will be releasing Kindle 2.0 in October 2008, however, Amazon is saying no. Of course they are saying no. They still have inventory of the current version to sell. What is a girl to do? If a newer, better model is just a few weeks away, why buy the old model? If the new verions doesn’t come out until sometime next year, can I really wait that long for my reading companion? I have come to depend on my Kindle for travel, doctor’s office visits and bedtime reading at home.
Last week I traveled to Fargo, North Dakota for the first time. In my mind it is a flat town on the great American prairie that is always cold. It is in the north, right? Well yes, the terrain is flat. However, it was beautifully green has they have had rain throughout the summer. The weather was mild and the skies clear. Definitely clean air.
The airport is under renovation so we had to work our way through the construction and the workers leaving our gate. My first impression of the people during my hotel van ride to the hotel and the hotel staff is that they are very warm and welcoming.
The purpose of this trip was to teach all day Friday at a National Alliance, Agency Management Institute. The group was comprised of mostly natives of the area with Scandinavian heritage. So my Texas accent was up for discussion and clarification about what ya’ll and you’all mean. But this group was indeed as warm and welcoming as those folks in my initial encounters. At one point during the day I had a few moments where my throat closed up and I couldn’t talk. Not very good for the person that is supposed to be speaking. Someone in the group said the problem was the clean air and that I was probably not used to it. We had good fun together.
Now while this seemed like a really nice town, I always have my doubts about finding good food on the road. Smaller cities always seem to be a challenge in this area. But I was pleasantly surprised. Especially on Friday evening when we went to WF Maxwell’s. Great ambiance, excellent service and outstanding food. So if you should be in Fargo, I definitely recommend this place. Reservations suggested especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
You can’t get home from Fargo late in the afternoon so it is necessary to stay over. Since I would be traveling on Saturday I chose to start early so I could have as much of my weekend at home as possible. What I forget when I made these decision is that to catch a 5AM plane you must get up really early. The good news is the airport is only 10 minutes from the hotel, doesn’t open until 4AM and there is no traffic or crowd problems. So off I go headed to Minneapolis to change planes. One hour between flights. Well, I arrive in terminal F and my departing flight is in terminal C. A good distance apart. There is a need to visit the restroom and secure breakfast food in addition to arriving at my departing flight before it departs. I was having to move way to fast for a Saturday morning, but all was accomplished and I arrived at the gate just at boarding time. There was some concern about actually being able to fly to DF/W. Due to hurricane Ike there was talk of DF/W possibly being closed due to high winds. But luck was on my side and our plane departed on time and arrived at DF/W just as the beginning arrival of the outer bands of Ike. So you think there are no more challenges from here. You would be wrong.
When our plane arrived at our gate there was no ground crew. So we spent a good 10 minutes waiting for them to show up. When they do we taxi to the jet bridge. Alas, no gate agent to drive it up to the airplane. We wait another 5 minutes. I was on the left side of the airplane and could watch what was happening. When the gate agent arrived the jet bridge was moved around several times but apparently could not be made to match up to the airplane’s door. I wished I had been outside and had my video camera running. It was a small comedy in action. Another 10 minutes. The pilot advised that we would be deplaning down the planes steps and then going back up the jet bridge steps. Now it is raining in addition to everything else. The steps are the regional jet’s steps that fold out of the door. They are very narrow and slippery when wet. Really dangerous for an old, tired woman. None-the-less, we all made it down these steps, up the jet bridge steps and finally into the terminal. Just another day of fun travel I call The Glamour of the Road.
