Send me an angel

On February 21, 2012June 16, 2014 By thestampsinmypassportIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I was watching Whitney’s going home service on Saturday night and Alicia Keyes was called up to sing. She was overcome with her own emotions, but somehow found it in her to sing the most incredible song to honour her friend Whitney, or whom she called Mema.

I found myself part way through the song really emotional and crying. Not for what you may think, but because the words in the song were all about sending us an angel, and that of course to her, Whitney represented that angel.

The angel for me, was not Whitney, but another angel. An angel that I know who helped me three years ago today.

Last night at dinner, when I reminded my mom that it was three years ago today that I had my car accident. She didn’t remember. I am hoping that in time, I will forget as well. I am in the process of closing my claim with the insurance company, or maybe I would have let this anniversary start to become a distant memory for me.

But, not so much just yet. Maybe one more year I will remember to forget what today is.

But what I will never forget was the fact that I am pretty sure I am here today because of my angel, Aviva. I know that she was there with me that night, and that the two guys that helped me out of my car were there because of her. They had to be. One told me that he was a paramedic, which couldn’t really be, because there wasn’t an ambulance on the scene of the accident. Could it be a passerby who just “happened” to be an off duty paramedic? Possible. But what happened after I was pulled out of the car and taken to the tow truck, they were no where to be found. There was a police car, and the fire department arrived on scene, but no ambulance.

I think I will leave this memory with the fact that my angel made sure that it was not my time. I have seen and heard a lot of situations with brain injuries and so much worse that could have happened to me, but didn’t.

Thank you my angel, you will never be forgotten.

Personal connection – what you can’t get from the internet

On February 1, 2012 By thestampsinmypassportIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

True story – it happened on Monday:
A client called in asking about a Princess cruise that she saw on line on our website, but wanted more details about the ship, the itinerary, and the price. I told her I would put the package together and email her all the details. Great, right? Yes, of course right. So, I did the legwork, sent the email and then received a reply.

This is a direct quote from the email:

“Can you tell me if Carnival has any special rates right now due to the ship that sunk a few weeks ago?”

I thought to myself….how to reply to this question? I should say that the cruise price BEFORE taxes was $424 per person = about $61 per person per day. How much better of a rate can you get?

But, even before the price, this customer asked about Carnival, because she knew that the owner of Costa Cruise lines was Carnival Corportation. Carnival Corp ALSO owns Princess, the cruise line she was asking about, not to mention Holland America, Cunard, Seabourn, to name a few more.

This all leads back to the fact that she called my agency for advice on something she couldn’t really get on line, but from a professional in the industry. Knowledge is power, and as much knowledge that is available on the internet, there is still a need for conversation.

The story actually gets better. The itinerary that she is looking at stops in Curacao. I advised her via email that from a historical perspective she really needs to stop at the Synagogue on the island. That is the oldest operating Synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. To which she replied via email:

“OMG are you serious about the Synagogue? That will totally convince my hubby to go. He is jewish and I know he woudn’t want to miss that. Neither would I!!! Thank you so much for letting me know this. That is fantastic”.

I believe in the internet, I use the internet, heck, I spent more than half my day infront of a computer every single day. I order online, Chapters, Amazon, Itunes, I used ebay for the first time a few months ago. It is a normal way to shop in the world that we live in today. But it doesn’t replace the human conversation.

I was looking for a specific book and saw the price on line – $8.75. I was driving home from work and thought I would just go in and buy the book at Chapters. In the store, the book was $17.50 which was the price on the back cover. When I found the salesperson and asked about the price differential, her reply was “well, online we have to compete with Amazon”. In the store, you can ask for help, guidance, someone’s opinion, “did you read this, what did you think”….at home staring at the screen, you are on your own. I did end up ordering the book on line, because I ended up with 2 books for just over what it would have cost me for the one book instore.

Another true story:
About a month ago, I was at a family get together and the topic of travel came up. “We have a week off next week, what’s a great spot?”. Great question, I had recently been selling quite a bit of a name branded hotel in Punta Cana that has 15 pools, 11 restaurants, casino on site, huge spa and fitness facility, golf AND a $1500 resort credit you could use while you were there for a week.

This intrigued them, they went home and looked at the website for this resort, I provided them with dates and rates, and they booked.

I just followed up with them in a welcome home email. I received a wonderful long reply describing the resort, the food, the spa, the amenities. Now, they were travelling with an infant, so some of the amenities that they “may” have used if they didn’t have their baby with them, they didn’t use. But it sounds like they took advantage of what was on the property and really had a good time.

The real story is that they could have found this resort online on their own, of course…BUT they asked a professional their opinion and based on that, did their homework, made their own conclusions, and then decided to book.

Another direct quote from the email:

“Thanks so much or the recommendation and booking! We had an amazing time.”

That is really what I needed to hear. It makes it all worthwhile.

Thank you for hanging around to read my stories and my life the way I see it. It really makes a difference to me!

Have a great day everyone!

Reflecting

On December 30, 2011 By thestampsinmypassportIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about 2011, and how I really wanted this year full of ups and lots of downs to end. I even commented to a friend the other day that I was really looking forward to ending this year and moving on to 2012 and hopefully a better year.

This friend, who is very wise and highly respected by me, replied to my email and kindly kicked me in the butt with a reality check. I hope this person doesn’t mind if I quote directly from the email, but I am going to do it anyways, because I think it has a purpose.

“The truth is, “years” don’t bring us good or bad. Life is life. There will be bucket list moments. There will be deaths of those close to us. There will be medical diagnoses. This is all part of life. If you have diabetes on December 31, 2011, you will have it January 1, 2012. The year doesn’t change that, and it doesn’t change anything else.”

The email went on to talk about all the amazing things that were part of my life in 2011 – an amazing trip in the spring to California and Vegas, and then another trip to Vegas and then of course my most recent bucket list trip to see the tree in New York city. And there are so many more moments that are not just travelled related, like having my niece sleep over at my house for the first time last week. My amazing birthday party, where almost 75 people came and celebrated on a very snowy February night, my 40th birthday.

I am putting all of that into perspective and thinking that maybe 2011 wasn’t that bad afterall. I have had some experiences that have helped me learn and grow, personally and professionally. My full potential isn’t even realized yet. I am just starting to realize my potential and hopefully see brighter lights in my future in 2012.

So, tomorrow I am going to end 2011 singing and dancing in my seat to Hair at the Royal Alex. Last year I ended my year singing and dancing with Pricilla Queen of the Dessert. I think it is a great new tradition that I have started…I wonder what will be in town for new years 2012? Who knows….next year has yet to be written.

Happy new year everyone. Be safe and happy and most of all next year…healthy!