The Joy of Business Trips

Started by springrite, May 20, 2010, 01:45:59 AM

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springrite

Quote from: Greg on May 31, 2010, 03:09:54 PM
Ugh... now you just left me curious. Is it also kinda tragically funny?

Not really. It is no different than in a opposite sex situation. If a girl says she loves you, and you don't love her, does it mean you have to hate her now? Of course not. I politely told him I do not feel the same, but has a nice talk with him just like a good friend and put him at ease. In fact we had lunch together, at my proposal.
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

greg

I say, hate them all, steal their money, and buy yourself drugs for yourself, instead of lunch.
I don't quite understand your style of counseling...  :-X



;)


springrite

I will be giving some workshops to volunteers at a small town in southern China between June 15 and 17. Since I am doing it as charity work, I have refused payment. But they felt that I should get something for my work. So they will be giving me a Gu Qin as a gift. I will have a few quick lessons before I get back. Then I will practice and figure out the rest.

It should look (and sound) something like this:

http://www.yzxqgq.com/html/p_20091201144588.html

I love this!
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

karlhenning


secondwind

I couldn't connect to your link this morning, so I looked up gu qin on wikipedia.  Beautiful!  Have you ever played one? 

oabmarcus

That's interesting, that part of China is really backward, and I imagine they need all the help in the world to catch up to the rest of China.

springrite

After my sister's funeral, I am physically and emotionally near the breaking point. I planned to rest for a couple of days. But I spent much of last night and most of today taking care of a friend's business. It went like this:

Helena is a Chinese American psychologist. After the Sichuan earthquake last year, she and her entire family moved to the earthquake area to do volunteer work. They plan to be there for 5 to 10 years. I have worked with her extensively on this.

Last week, she went on a business trip to Madrid, Spain. Last night, I got an SOS email from her. She lost her purse\wallet and the hotel is holding her passport until she could settle her bills. Her flight out of Madrid is tomorrow.

Requiring someone to pay the bill before they can go is normal. BUT, the hotel also would not let her use the phone, use the internet, or have access to any means to contact anyone. This is plainly stupid. Last night she got the manager to allow her to use the Internet for 5 minutes, and sent me an email. But they would only give her another 5 minutes to use the Internet this morning.

This morning, I used Western Union to send her $3500. As a foreigner, she needed to take her passport in order to receive the money. The hotel would not let her have her passport. And they would not send someone to go with her. Finally, she went herself and convinced the manager at the Western Union to call the hotel. In the end she got her money.

I felt like I just negotiated the release of a hostage. She's near a breakdown now. She's been held for 2 days, with them giving her a piece of bread and a glass of water once in a while. She was hardly treated with any sense of humanity.

She said she will NEVER go near Spain again.
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

karlhenning


oabmarcus

Quote from: springrite on July 20, 2010, 05:09:00 AM
After my sister's funeral, I am physically and emotionally near the breaking point. I planned to rest for a couple of days. But I spent much of last night and most of today taking care of a friend's business. It went like this:

Helena is a Chinese American psychologist. After the Sichuan earthquake last year, she and her entire family moved to the earthquake area to do volunteer work. They plan to be there for 5 to 10 years. I have worked with her extensively on this.

Last week, she went on a business trip to Madrid, Spain. Last night, I got an SOS email from her. She lost her purse\wallet and the hotel is holding her passport until she could settle her bills. Her flight out of Madrid is tomorrow.

Requiring someone to pay the bill before they can go is normal. BUT, the hotel also would not let her use the phone, use the internet, or have access to any means to contact anyone. This is plainly stupid. Last night she got the manager to allow her to use the Internet for 5 minutes, and sent me an email. But they would only give her another 5 minutes to use the Internet this morning.

This morning, I used Western Union to send her $3500. As a foreigner, she needed to take her passport in order to receive the money. The hotel would not let her have her passport. And they would not send someone to go with her. Finally, she went herself and convinced the manager at the Western Union to call the hotel. In the end she got her money.

I felt like I just negotiated the release of a hostage. She's near a breakdown now. She's been held for 2 days, with them giving her a piece of bread and a glass of water once in a while. She was hardly treated with any sense of humanity.

She said she will NEVER go near Spain again.
damn, things would worked out so much easier if people just had a little more trust on others.

Umbrella166

#49
I recently went on a business trip to Germany.
  The flight was complicated for some reason, so I decided to book a transfer here https://limousine-service.com , but in principle Germany, as it turned out, is very beautiful.
  Usually, I spend all my business trips in the boardroom, but this time I also got to see the city we flew into.
  It pleased me)

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: springrite on July 20, 2010, 05:09:00 AM
After my sister's funeral, I am physically and emotionally near the breaking point. I planned to rest for a couple of days. But I spent much of last night and most of today taking care of a friend's business. It went like this:

Helena is a Chinese American psychologist. After the Sichuan earthquake last year, she and her entire family moved to the earthquake area to do volunteer work. They plan to be there for 5 to 10 years. I have worked with her extensively on this.

Last week, she went on a business trip to Madrid, Spain. Last night, I got an SOS email from her. She lost her purse\wallet and the hotel is holding her passport until she could settle her bills. Her flight out of Madrid is tomorrow.

Requiring someone to pay the bill before they can go is normal. BUT, the hotel also would not let her use the phone, use the internet, or have access to any means to contact anyone. This is plainly stupid. Last night she got the manager to allow her to use the Internet for 5 minutes, and sent me an email. But they would only give her another 5 minutes to use the Internet this morning.

This morning, I used Western Union to send her $3500. As a foreigner, she needed to take her passport in order to receive the money. The hotel would not let her have her passport. And they would not send someone to go with her. Finally, she went herself and convinced the manager at the Western Union to call the hotel. In the end she got her money.

I felt like I just negotiated the release of a hostage. She's near a breakdown now. She's been held for 2 days, with them giving her a piece of bread and a glass of water once in a while. She was hardly treated with any sense of humanity.

She said she will NEVER go near Spain again.
Hello Springrite,

I just stumbled across your posting now after someone had updated this thread (I hadn't read it before now).  I feel so saddened and dismayed and angry about how your friend was treated.  That was so incredibly kind, trusting, and loving of you to send her the money.  What is she up to these days?  And I hope that you are well?  Haven't seen you posting here in a while.

Best wishes,

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Artem

That story is a nightmare. I can't believe something like that could happen to a person in a major city.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Umbrella166 on December 20, 2021, 10:38:31 AM
I recently went on a business trip to Germany.
  The flight was complicated for some reason, but in principle, Germany is very beautiful as it turned out.
  I usually spend all my business trips in the boardroom, but this time I also got to see the city we flew into.
  It pleased me)
Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you.  So glad for you that you were able to see things despite Covid restrictions.  May I ask as to what city you were able to see?

Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter


QuoteI recently went on a business trip to Germany.
  The flight was complicated for some reason, but in principle, Germany is very beautiful as it turned out.
  I usually spend all my business trips in the boardroom, but this time I also got to see the city we flew into.
  It pleased me)

Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you.  So glad for you that you were able to see things despite Covid restrictions (hopefully safely).  May I ask as to what city you were able to see?
Quote from: Artem on December 20, 2021, 11:42:09 AM
That story is a nightmare. I can't believe something like that could happen to a person in a major city.
I know....I would have thought that the hotel would have been more helpful, kind and giving her the benefit of the doubt.   :( So, is this the world that we're living in now?

PD
Pohjolas Daughter