Hawaii and Punta Laguna, Mexico

The 2007 Hawaii journal is from February, 2007. It consists of the adventure experience visiting Waikiki, Waimea Bay, and the North Shore of Oahu, the surf heaven. While it was short and you always can "catch just one more wave", it was certainly exciting.

The Punta Laguna, Mexico journal is from Summer of 2002. This was a tropical conservation project in the Yucatan jungle. The group I was with studied spider monkeys with 2 PHd scientists, lived and played soccer with the local Mayans, visted archaeological sites, and studied the botany and ecology of the local Punta Laguna rainforest. There was also an anthropological, linguistic, and cultural exchagne in this amazing adventure as well.

The Best Customer Service Qualities

I was asked in an interview what was the best example of customer service I had ever encountered. I had numerous examples but it became clear that three distinct qualities make the best customer service exchanges. In order of importance these essential qualities are:

• Enthusiasm -- Enthusiasm is the number one invaluable quality to ideal customer service. Enthsiasm sells. Enthusiasm opens the door and creates the interface between you and the customer. It establishes the link and engages you with the customer and makes the product and or service interesting. It draws attention to the customer service exchangeand makes the customer service interaction pleasant and even entertaining.
• Knowledge Base - While enthusiasm gets you in the door, the knowledge base composes the subject-matter, the data, of the exchange. You have to know a lot about the product and/or service to answer questions and get across the type of information the customer needs in order to possibly make a purchase. Your knowledge base of the product or service entails the details of how it works, why it's a good thing to have, how it will benefit the customer, and details of its design.
• Adaptability -- Finally, you have to be able to adapt to what type of information the customer is interested in. Adaptability modifies the knowledge base component of customer service. If you get a customer who is a techie and you're selling computers, for example, you're going to want to share all of the technical nuances such as CPU speed, cache size, and hard drive space. However, if you are interacting with a customer who is a very novice user, you'll want to leave that technical jargon out to avoid the risk of confusing the customer and, instead, replace it with information on, for example, how easy it is to connect to the internet and use email.

A side note: you can substitute "customer service" for any people-based exchange such as long-term relationships, first impressions, and even interview or networking skills.

The 4 Elements Plot and Style

When reading a story, there are essential elements of design that craft and shape each unique story. Life is an unfolding story. Scrutinize the four plot elements and the how? element to get more insight on your own life.
The 4 Plot Elements

1. What?
This represents the narrative, plot, and subplots
o The typical path of the story is introduction, complication, rising action, climax, falling action and denoument. Notice the symmetry of problem, building, crescendo, resolving, conclusion

2. Who?
o Static characters do not significantly change the narrative
§ Static examples – stock, stereotype, foil
o Dynamic characters do significantly change the narrative.
§ Dynamic examples – allegorical, three-dimensional, antagonist, protagonist.
o Everyone should a be a dynamic character in their own life, but few people are. Most people live passively as static characters.

3. Why
o Topic – general issue; ex. “true love”
o Theme -- the message; the author’s specific argument of the specific topic. Examples:
§ True love exists
§ True love at first sight
§ True love exists only with focus.
o Motif – the mood; “hints” that shape the mood of the plot (could be tense, calm, fast, etc.)

4. Setting – Where? & When?

How?
· The How? Element depicts the authors style.
o Use of narrative vs. dialogue.
o Word choice – colloquial (Twain), formal (Austen), informal syntax (Faulkner) , terse (Hemingway)
o Narrative voice – 1st person, 3rd person, 3rd person limited omniscience

When you learn what is going on in your life, you become familiar with the direction, the pace, and the action of your life story. Discovering your why illuminates messages that are broadcasted throughout your existence as well as the mood of your life. The who can reveal which friends are mere acquaintances and which people have a profound impact on your well-being and ability to overcome obstacles. Your setting, the where and when, give you scope on the placement in time and space of unfolding events. Finally, understanding the how element reveals your method, your demeanor, your tricks, and your stylistic, individualized uniqueness in overcoming challenges, and leading your experience.

News Today -- Omnipresent Opposition

There’s still an opposition ruckus in Zimbabwe, Kiwis can keep their cool even in shaky territory or fast floods, ancient religions still face opposition, and psychotic authors fictionally write about and act out murder.

Zimbabwe government and Robert Mugabe has gotten so intense that they are fracturing the skulls of leading Opposition members, preventing them from leaving the country, near Harare airport. Some radicals, expressing the dire nature of the situation, agree that Britain has more grounds to invade Zimbabwe than it did Iraq. These climactic protests could foreshadow a resolving period marking the end of Mugabe’s dictatorship.

Seismic technology reaches new heights, as New Zealand volcanic river eruption is predicted and local citizens from nearby towns were evacuated to safety.

Despite their ancient pre-Christianity roots, Savior Mandayans are persecuted by Islamic extremists, fearing their religion may become extinct. Islamic extremists throw acid in the eyes of these refugees and make them jump over bonfires.

After, a saga of being given asylum of France , Italian Crime writer, Cesare Battishi, who, apparently to entrenched in his own novels was wanted for four murders, is captured in brazil with the combined efforts of French, Italian, and Brazilian police officers.