News & Views by Kim Davis
I just love to hear from you guys when something I tell you actually helps you. Or when I "get something right." This week I had this good news from J.P.:
Thank you for your reply! The reason that I didn't reply earlier is that I am working as a Steward on an 85 m m/y, and during this charter we're serving guests from the Royal family from Arabia, so it's pretty high end!
I did complete the STCW through Freedom Yachting and had to pay 1200.00 euro, knowing that I would end up paying it anyways.
I had no direct lead after the completion of the course, but now that the high season is on, the phone didn't stop ringing ..or it was for my presentation instead of my skills..:)
Anyway, I am working now and having a great time.
Thanks again for you research and with kind regards,
You are most welcome, J.P. I know you'll have no problems continuing to find the right jobs at the right times for you.
I couldn't resist this week's feature article because it reminded me of many a drive through new and unfamiliar places. Ah the rows my beloved husband and I have had while stuck going round and round on a busy Roman round about. Then there was the time he got totally flummoxed and went the WRONG WAY on a round about on the island of Elba - EEEK!
The press release continues with the Italian idea - and promotes a book to help us avoid looking like tourists in that amazing country. (Could that be possible? If any of you try this book out, let me know if it works!)
NOTE: If you go to http://www.extraordinary-jobs.com, you'll find yourself on a welcome page. To get to the current issue of the newsletter, follow the link at the top of the page.
Visit me on the web at my other sites:
I hope you're having a great summer, and if not, get busy!
- Kim ;-)
Feature:
Wait! That’s Not On the Map!
by Roger DeWitt
Back from my amazing summer excursion, a month long drive through Spain! Well, I mean, I didn’t do any of the driving, my partner did. See, I only know how to drive an automatic and since we only had a stick, my partner kindly agreed to do all the driving. In total it ended up being close to 5000 kilometers and he did beautifully without so much as a complaint. Nice, huh?
My part in this adventure was to be the navigator. A role that I take with great relish and responsibility! I had my several large maps along with the trip planner for each leg printed out from the internet. I would sit in the passenger seat with the big detail map open on my lap and the turn by turn internet guide at close reach (oh, and I was also in charge of the CD’s – but I digress).
Everything all prepared for, right? No surprises, right?
Well, not exactly. While we were totally prepped about 80% of the time, there were still a few glitches. Occasionally, the signs on the roads – I mean even the road numbers – were different than what they were supposed to be. We would be going along just fine and then everything would change suddenly and without warning. No names or directions or numbers matched anything remotely familiar. I, of course, went into a tizzy. Flipping pages, shuffling papers, barking at Brad all because I was venturing into uncharted territory.
I mean I was ticked! This was absolutely not the way it was supposed to be. Those silly traffic people putting up these confusing signs – I mean, didn’t they know what I needed?
Thus I began the “blame game” – the stupid internet map people, the stupid sign people, the stupid government and finally, stupid me. (Hmmm, coaching opportunity here? Read
on.)
Then there was the event of entering a new city for the first time. More often than not, while our maps were terrific they did not give the detail that we needed in each individual city to be able to totally navigate where we wanted to go. The internet map was our savior here, but still... in every city the street signs were in different places and the names for the streets weren’t always what we were expecting. Picture this: two guys and their dog, in some big city in Spain circling on one of those “roundabouts” over and over trying to figure out which off-shoot we should take and which direction all the while dodging incoming and out going drivers who grew up on these roads and are late for work. I hope that image makes you smile, it does me – at least now looking back.
Inevitably, we always made it to our destination and usually without a hitch. In fact sometimes, when things would look hopeless and nothing was familiar, we would wander and see what came up and strangely enough all of a sudden we would be right where we needed to be and in a better spot than we could have ever planned with all the maps in the world.
I learned several things from this that actually shook me up a bit. Here are a few of the lessons that I got:
- If you stare at the route on the map too much you miss some amazing scenery.
- Most of the time, the signs are very clear and point you in the direction of the destination. When they don’t, you can choose to a) get all agitated and scared fearing that you might “fall of the edge of the earth,” or
b) adventure into the unknown, look for things you recognize and back track when necessary – remember the world won’t come to an end.
- When you are stuck on a roundabout and you feel the pressure of everyone else zipping in and out on familiar territory, remember that a) with time, this can become familiar territory for you too; b) the roundabout is there to help you get where you want to go; c) after a couple spins around, make a decision and go for it – after all you can always back track!
- New situations can be disorienting. Accept that and relax into the adventure as best you can.
- Learn to drive a stick when you are young – not profound but simply the truth!
Below you will find some experiments to help you enjoy the journey more and worry less!
The Experiments:
- Are you so focused on the “route” and how you will get to your goals that you lose sight of the scenery around you?
Plan for the future with focus and determination but LIVE in the moment. Journal regularly on what is happening now and pick out the special lessons that you learn on the way to your goals. Often they are more valuable than the goal itself.
- When things aren’t as they should be what or who do you blame? Circumstances, others, situations, even yourself? Sure there are reasons and explanations that we can use to learn for the future but sometimes we use blame as an excuse to stay suck right where we are. What if for this month you promised not to blame anyone for anything?
Instead, all you did was use your non-judgmental self to collect the information that comes in and then made a choice. Look and see what kind of freedom that gives you and keep a journal to see the results.
- What lessons do YOU see for yourself that come up around this article? Put together a program for this month that is tailor made to what you need to learn.
© 2004 by Roger DeWitt & Life Artistry Coaching. Roger is a certified international life and business coach working with people to make their "impossible" dreams POSSIBLE! Contact me for a complimentary session when you mention this article! www.lifeartistrycoaching.com
 Press Release:
Get the 411 on How to Get Around Italy
Without Looking "Totally Tourist"!
Contact:
Jacqueline Simonds
Beagle Bay Books
jcsimonds@beaglebay.com
Italy: Instructions for Use*: The Personal, On-site Assistant for the Enthusiastic but Inexperienced Traveler (ISBN: 1-885436-30-0, Illustrata Press; paperback; Travel/Italy; $14.95; 119 pages) by Nan McElroy, is a practical pocket-guide that offers suggestions and solutions for every how-to and what-now travel situation in Italy.
* When all else fails... read the instructions.
"An antidote to the hulking volumes that offer encyclopedic amounts of information on a locale, McElroy's book is designed more along the lines of a operating manual....For first-time visitors, it's a boon.
" McElroy... explains everything travelers need to know in order to blend in and enjoy their trip." - Publisher's Weekly
Written by an American travel consultant who speaks the language, accompanies private groups in the country, and lives Italian life two to four months per year, this illustrated guide is packed with the most current, pertinent, easy-to-locate advice available. Because it's the only guide that focuses solely on the practical information, Italy: Instructions for Use contains many extra, specific details the other guides simply don't have the room to include.
You'll spend hours poring through travel guides and websites choosing destinations, booking hotels, train passes and rental cars, making note of the plethora of hints and tips along the way. But, because they can't truly prepare you for the energizing - if sometimes confounding - ways of Italian daily life, you'll have no idea what to truly expect until you arrive. This unique handbook leaves the "what to see" and "where to stay" information to other guides, and instead provides specific answers to the inevitable questions all travelers will confront on their never-ending, oft-confusing search for La Dolce Vita.
- in-depth considerations when planning your trip
- advice on eating, drinking, ordering, tipping
- driving tips, including color road sign illustrations
- phoning instructions (local, international and cell calls)
- keys to understanding the Italian train system
- shopping,
- shipping, and
- the secrets to obtaining your VAT refund easily
- vocabulary in context, Italian to English, and vice-versa
- tourist information resources
In short, you'll have the answers to your questions available as you travel, not back on a website or buried in the fat, heavy travel guide that you decided to leave at home.
Besides being a private guide and expert on travel to Italy, Nan McElroy has worked as a film and video editor and was an actor and voice-talent. She is the author of The Actor's Guide, Southeast - considered the primary business resource to acting in the southern seven-state region.
To see this book and more information, go to http://www.beaglebay.com/iiucatpg.htm
To request a copy, qualified travel writers may contact:
Jacqueline Simonds at jcsimonds@beaglebay.com
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