Ode to Tremblant 9/2007
"As we transition from this rainy summer day into fall, picture a
pristine white snow-capped mountain. Picture if you will all the
comforts of Mont Tremblant except a mountain that is a few times
larger with unbelievably wider trails.
Envision with me all the creature comforts that we have been relished
with, the beavertails, the jacuzzi's, fireplaces, and beautifully
furnished homes and of course the town itself. We have arrived at a
crossroads to which winter herself beckons us to bid Tremblant adieu.
Ladies and gentleman stand with me and give due homage in a moment of
silence. For to that gracious mountain we have called home shall sit
patiently awaiting our return.
O'Tremblant! Thou art fair and majestic. Laid upon the earth between
the Lauretian Mountains and blessed with the Francophonic tongue, you
have been the keeper of our snowboards for three seasons plight.
Remember us this season as we traverse Vail, Colorado."
That was in September 07', this week I return to tell the tall tails of Vail, Colorado.
Elevated beyond the reaches of mere mortals juxtaposing the Colorado Rockies lay a sheath of pure adrenaline.
To that of which my compatriots and I spent six consecutive days funneling in the regal granduer of Vail, CO.
No one can dispute the sheer vastness that makes up the Vail mountain range streching across seven miles. It is unadulterated snow bliss to the junkies for whom it matters most. I have never in my life experienced deep powder so deep as to wish for less snow. I felt for the first time alien sensations of riding down pure immaculate untamed terrain in wide open backcountry. And if the conditions were not perfect already, God called down snow from heaven to fill the mountain brims each and every night. And this Snow was awakened to the soft "swoosh" sounds each morning by my Shawn White Burton Board. Amen, Hallelujah!
It took two full days to acclaimate to the high elevation of 11,570 ft. Taking a shower was an effort at first, nevermind snowboarding. Each breath I took on the first day felt like my lungs were burning and it always took me a few seconds to gather myself after walking. Even with slight nausea, the experience was second to none. The advantages of having backcountry terrain available at Vail speaks volumes for its prestige. The experience could only be duplicated through Heli-skiing or backcountry outfits that lead those expeditions. When I say the conditions were perfect, I mean it. Getting from the base of Vail mountain to the backcountry range which was called "Blue Sky Basin" takes an expert roughly an hour on high speed lifts. On more than one occassion I had to reconsider my disposition because I was entangled in thick glades. So numerous were the trees in the backcountry that I had no choice but to take off my gear and hike to marked trails.
If you have any inkling of doubt regarding my excessively biased view of Vail; I invite you to consider my proposal and visit Vail for yourself and pray to God he bless you with the same conditions that he granted me.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Shedding Baggage
“One does not accumulate but eliminate.
It is not daily increase but daily decrease.
The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.”
- Bruce Lee
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
- Philippians 1:21
-Warning: Long blog
It is unimaginable the stresses of constant moving while on expat assignments until you actually have to do it yourself. I’m already on my second move this year and there are at least two more to go before the end of 2009. Moving is tough enough as is, moving around the globe on multiple assignments for six months at a time really becomes an art of Zen. Luckily I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as I become more savvy and join the ranks of the globally mobile.
Given the stresses of moving why do people do expat assignments? Actually expat assignments are considered career catalysts and in today’s global environment it becomes a requisite for senior leadership. Expat assignments are much more rare today than in the past because of the costs and fundamental shifts in management philosophy of empowering the local staff. It costs a whole lot less when managing your empire from your comfortable offices in Connecticut vs. sending all your executives overseas and having them manage the business. There are obvious cultural advantages in employing locals as well as shifting power from headquarters to the business in order to make fast market driven decisions. The traditional model of growth in new markets is to purchase a few businesses and then consolidate them into a platform that utilizes your firm’s distinct competitive advantages. When you first enter a new market that is when you have to “import” U.S. executives.
Of course many of you will go and start your own firms but I’m always of the adage that you should learn on someone else’s dime before you start making your own costly mistakes. Back to the “Expat blog”, I’ll probably have to find a better medium than xanga and facebook to track the changes to come. But I can begin sharing some of the things you will or already have encountered as you go through that process. I haven’t organized my thoughts for publishing yet (publishing doesn’t pay enough for blogs), but I will say that its one of my dreams to publish an expat/travel guide (I’m still working on the business book and fiction novel). For those doing assignments for large firms, you’ll probably have an army of folks helping you all the way from moving to visas to setting up internet at the local destination. Here are some thoughts to guide you along:
One point of Contact
Cartus International is the one stop shop for all my relocation needs. GE assigns me a partner which takes care of everything else. They are the gatekeepers which deal with every vendor that you do not want to deal with. If you’re relocating on your own because you have decided to quit your job and travel the world, look for other cost effective concierge services that you can call from anywhere in the world. They coordinate moving my furniture, shipping, storage, assigning me a local real estate agent, contact law firms, tax agencies, transportation to and from destination, car purchase (if you have that worked into your expat package), and insurance.
Visas
It pays to employ a professional agency to handle this for you. Time is money. CIBT is the firm handling all my visa apps.
Housing
Always look for housing once you have arrived locally. Refrain from trying to use the internet to search for a place. Employ a local real estate agent.
Communications
Use a quadband phone while traveling and sign up for Skype’s forwarding service. You then instruct your local wireless company to forward your calls to the Skype number and then have Skype forward those calls to your international number. This is the most cost effective method to have someone call you without knowing that you’ve ever left the country. The only phone on the market today that allows for both international calling and data is the Blackberry 8800 series worldphone which is unlocked.
Documents and files – Elect to have all your documents delivered electronically. Signup for a virtual drive such as Box.net and scan your documents to be uploaded to the virtual drive. This will eliminate having to carry hardcopies of any important documents while you travel the world. Make sure you scan all your travel docs, receipts, and tax information before you go because you’ll still have to file for taxes in the U.S. Eliminate all clutter by filing those scanned documents to your virtual drive.
Taxes
Don’t play around with this, use professionals. While abroad you still have to pay Uncle Sam and are responsible for local taxes. If you work for a multinational, your firm will pay the local taxes that you owe. Ernst & Young is the firm that will prepare my taxes.
Legal Matters
You absolutely want to employ the services of a well-known international law firm. Imagine you get into some fight in China and get sent to a local holding cell, you’re not going to receive the same treatment as in the U.S. You also have visa issues, resident and working permits that you need to worry about, or shall I say don’t want to worry about. I use Fragomen International for legal matters.
Insurance
Medical insurance shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re just relocating for travel on your own you can purchase local insurance and you can find out once you get to your destination how much the locals pay.
Emergency Services
Most of us will never have to employ the services of an emergency service provider, but God forbid something happens, you need to have it. Sign up for AMEX Gold or higher and you will receive the use of their travel centers which help in procuring emergency medical evacuation services. In the event of civil disorder or other emergencies it will be quite hard to procure private charter unless you already have that worked out in advance. Don’t laugh, situations like these really do happen. Think about the Philippines in the 80’s, Taiwan in the 80’s, China in 88’, the entire central and eastern European bloc during the late 90’s, Argentina in the late 90’s, and so forth. You may want more than the protection the U.S. embassy can provide you during that emergency. The number one priority of U.S. Marines are to evacuate diplomatic personnel first, and U.S. citizens second. I made sure that I had emergency Civil evacuation by charter built into the package.
Vaccinations
Get everything that is recommended for your local destination.
Get Organized
Consolidate all your contacts into one database, use Google Sync to synchronize all your work events along with your personal events. Use every google service available.
Personal Assistants
I don’t have a dedicated corporate personal assistant and even if I did most of us know they aren’t very helpful. So if you’re like me where you need a personal assistant but haven’t reached the echelons to receive one yet, hire your own. Go to elance.com or post a job description on monstertrak for grad assistants.
The idea of this whole process is to shed weight and travel light. Once you can have everything automated and electronic you can travel to any destination and truly enjoy your time abroad.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Gluppy!
It is not daily increase but daily decrease.
The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.”
- Bruce Lee
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
- Philippians 1:21
-Warning: Long blog
It is unimaginable the stresses of constant moving while on expat assignments until you actually have to do it yourself. I’m already on my second move this year and there are at least two more to go before the end of 2009. Moving is tough enough as is, moving around the globe on multiple assignments for six months at a time really becomes an art of Zen. Luckily I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as I become more savvy and join the ranks of the globally mobile.
Given the stresses of moving why do people do expat assignments? Actually expat assignments are considered career catalysts and in today’s global environment it becomes a requisite for senior leadership. Expat assignments are much more rare today than in the past because of the costs and fundamental shifts in management philosophy of empowering the local staff. It costs a whole lot less when managing your empire from your comfortable offices in Connecticut vs. sending all your executives overseas and having them manage the business. There are obvious cultural advantages in employing locals as well as shifting power from headquarters to the business in order to make fast market driven decisions. The traditional model of growth in new markets is to purchase a few businesses and then consolidate them into a platform that utilizes your firm’s distinct competitive advantages. When you first enter a new market that is when you have to “import” U.S. executives.
Of course many of you will go and start your own firms but I’m always of the adage that you should learn on someone else’s dime before you start making your own costly mistakes. Back to the “Expat blog”, I’ll probably have to find a better medium than xanga and facebook to track the changes to come. But I can begin sharing some of the things you will or already have encountered as you go through that process. I haven’t organized my thoughts for publishing yet (publishing doesn’t pay enough for blogs), but I will say that its one of my dreams to publish an expat/travel guide (I’m still working on the business book and fiction novel). For those doing assignments for large firms, you’ll probably have an army of folks helping you all the way from moving to visas to setting up internet at the local destination. Here are some thoughts to guide you along:
One point of Contact
Cartus International is the one stop shop for all my relocation needs. GE assigns me a partner which takes care of everything else. They are the gatekeepers which deal with every vendor that you do not want to deal with. If you’re relocating on your own because you have decided to quit your job and travel the world, look for other cost effective concierge services that you can call from anywhere in the world. They coordinate moving my furniture, shipping, storage, assigning me a local real estate agent, contact law firms, tax agencies, transportation to and from destination, car purchase (if you have that worked into your expat package), and insurance.
Visas
It pays to employ a professional agency to handle this for you. Time is money. CIBT is the firm handling all my visa apps.
Housing
Always look for housing once you have arrived locally. Refrain from trying to use the internet to search for a place. Employ a local real estate agent.
Communications
Use a quadband phone while traveling and sign up for Skype’s forwarding service. You then instruct your local wireless company to forward your calls to the Skype number and then have Skype forward those calls to your international number. This is the most cost effective method to have someone call you without knowing that you’ve ever left the country. The only phone on the market today that allows for both international calling and data is the Blackberry 8800 series worldphone which is unlocked.
Documents and files – Elect to have all your documents delivered electronically. Signup for a virtual drive such as Box.net and scan your documents to be uploaded to the virtual drive. This will eliminate having to carry hardcopies of any important documents while you travel the world. Make sure you scan all your travel docs, receipts, and tax information before you go because you’ll still have to file for taxes in the U.S. Eliminate all clutter by filing those scanned documents to your virtual drive.
Taxes
Don’t play around with this, use professionals. While abroad you still have to pay Uncle Sam and are responsible for local taxes. If you work for a multinational, your firm will pay the local taxes that you owe. Ernst & Young is the firm that will prepare my taxes.
Legal Matters
You absolutely want to employ the services of a well-known international law firm. Imagine you get into some fight in China and get sent to a local holding cell, you’re not going to receive the same treatment as in the U.S. You also have visa issues, resident and working permits that you need to worry about, or shall I say don’t want to worry about. I use Fragomen International for legal matters.
Insurance
Medical insurance shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re just relocating for travel on your own you can purchase local insurance and you can find out once you get to your destination how much the locals pay.
Emergency Services
Most of us will never have to employ the services of an emergency service provider, but God forbid something happens, you need to have it. Sign up for AMEX Gold or higher and you will receive the use of their travel centers which help in procuring emergency medical evacuation services. In the event of civil disorder or other emergencies it will be quite hard to procure private charter unless you already have that worked out in advance. Don’t laugh, situations like these really do happen. Think about the Philippines in the 80’s, Taiwan in the 80’s, China in 88’, the entire central and eastern European bloc during the late 90’s, Argentina in the late 90’s, and so forth. You may want more than the protection the U.S. embassy can provide you during that emergency. The number one priority of U.S. Marines are to evacuate diplomatic personnel first, and U.S. citizens second. I made sure that I had emergency Civil evacuation by charter built into the package.
Vaccinations
Get everything that is recommended for your local destination.
Get Organized
Consolidate all your contacts into one database, use Google Sync to synchronize all your work events along with your personal events. Use every google service available.
Personal Assistants
I don’t have a dedicated corporate personal assistant and even if I did most of us know they aren’t very helpful. So if you’re like me where you need a personal assistant but haven’t reached the echelons to receive one yet, hire your own. Go to elance.com or post a job description on monstertrak for grad assistants.
The idea of this whole process is to shed weight and travel light. Once you can have everything automated and electronic you can travel to any destination and truly enjoy your time abroad.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Gluppy!
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