Sometimes it pays to complain

On my last trip to Krakow, Poland I flew via Alitalia Airlines a Delta Airlines Sky Team partner. I am a Delta Airlines Gold Medallion Member, a status I earned from traveling to Krakow, Poland numerous times. I am usually treated pretty good by most of the airline reps, but on my last trip I did not have that luxury. I actually got yelled at for trying to board at a certain time.

Before boarding the gate attendant said, “We will board first Class along with Business Elite and all Medallion Members first in Zone 1.” Well being a Gold Medallion Member I assumed this meant me. They called Zone 1 and I walked over to the counter to start boarding the plane. The ticket agent yelled and said, “We are boarding Zone 1 go sit back down.” My reply was that the lady on the PA said Medallion Members board in Zone 1. To not cause problems, I listened and was boarded with Zone 3.

When I finally returned I emailed Delta Airlines to complain and was offered a Guest Pass ticket to the Crown Room Club. Only worth $25, but it will work.

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USA needs some better PR

O rat least that is what a group of US tourist attractions are thinking. So much, that they launched a website to try and get other countries to have a better taste of the USA.

To quote them ,”The Discover America Partnership is an effort led by some of America’s foremost business leaders to strengthen America’s image around the globe. “

Go to Power of Travel.

Outsourcing to the next level

I remember when I was in grade school and high school my parents would drive me to an after school tutor for about 1 hour 2-3 times a week. It was a great help and the one on one support made a difference. Well, if I read correctly parents will no longer have to drive their children to tutors as it can now be done online from India.

For more go to Yahoo News.

Read the article and let me know what you think.

Nascar

Last year I posted about taking some Nascar lessons back in December. Listening to the Howard Stern Show made me think about taking lessons again. It seems Robin Q from the show is going to race Bubba the Love Sponge.

You can take lessons and pay$300 for 10 laps at Race On just outside of Memphis.

Dead Grass

For over the past 4 years, my parents have been using Beauty Lawn for the yard and until recently we had the best lawn in the neighborhood. Not anymore. Beauty Lawn has made the same mistake they made on our yard a few years ago. The grass in our lawn is a fescue mix and from what Beauty Lawn has told us cannot have certain fertilizer used on it. They made this mistake a few years ago and it burned our grass completely. So bad that it made our yard look like a desert. Well, they did not learn from their mistakes because it has happened again. We went from the best yard in the neighborhood to the worst yard in 2 days.

To get our yard back to where it was it will take about 2 years for the grass to mature. It will also take a lot of work.

Below is a before and after picture of our grass. Actually the before is a picture of a section of grass that got spared from the death.

Bicycle Furniture

I was surfing the internet the other night and found this great bicycle furniture site called Bike Furniture Design . They have tables, chairs, and bar stools. The interesting part that Tony Roy will probably entertain purchasing the office chair. Heck, I would even consider the office chair as long as it did not cost an arm and a leg.

From what I understand you can even pick what bicycle parts manufacturer you want your furniture made out of by Bike Furniture Design. Of course this will cost you a little extra. My guess is that all carbon fiber furniture might be out of the questions. Sorry Tony, there just would not be anywhere to weld it together.

Festival

When I arrived in Krakow on August 25th, 2006, I was lucky to be greeted by another festival. This festival seemed to resemble the Art and Crafts Festival that is normally held in Memphis, TN. If was very interesting as I have never paid any attention to the one in Memphis. I might have to go at least once.

bertorini.com

I currently own both www.tuliobertorini.com and www.bertorini.com that redirect to the page you are now viewing. I have considered using www.bertorini.com to be the family web page both in the USA, Peru, and anywhere else. I am even tempted to set up a special Flickr account to where the entire family can post their fotos.

So what would be considered family for the web page. Anyone married to a Bertorini.

Questions I ask myself.

Would it be in Spanish or English and/or both?
Would would be able to post to the page?
Is this more than I can chew?

Not difficult questions to ask, but questions that need to be asked.

If you have other questions I need to ponder, please let me know.

Dance like Dynamite

Learn to dance by going to Albino Black Sheep. You pick the song and which move you want to practice.

You in a game.

Don’t have all the cash to spend and put yourself in a video game. Well, look no further.

Go to D. Lux Productions and add your favorite photo to 1 out of 3 games.

Check out My Game that is type of Whack-a-Mole.

I tried to embed the same on my blog, but had no luck. Maybe I will be able to figure something out another day.

I had my cake and ate it too.

I brought a Polish tradition back to Memphis, TN for my birthday. It all happened on September 15th, a day after my birthday as I had the day off on my birthday. In Poland the birthday person buys a cake or treat for their team to enjoy. So on my way to work on September 15th, I stopped by the Fresh Market to pick up an Empire State Chocolate Cake. This cake was chocked full of chocolate; chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, and chocolate cake.

Where the buffalo don’t roam.

This weekend, I was driving through Shelby Farms on Farm Road when I caught something out the the corner of my eye. Normally I look over toward the buffalo as they are usually next to the fence. Well, what I saw yesterday, September 16th was not a pleasant sight. What I actually saw was one of the 2-3 baby buffaloes laying on the ground. I stopped to get a better look to see if it was breathing or moving and no I did not go over the fence.

Bad news was that one of the baby buffaloes was now dead. I made a quick u-turn and made my way to the rangers station to give them a heads up. They were aware and were working on taking care of the deceased calf.

Good News. The baby buffolo is not dead. I just received an email from the Shelby Farms

Thanks so much for your concern for our buffalo. They happen to be my
favorite part of the park, and I was very upset to hear that one of our
babies might be sick.

I called today to make sure they were all
OK, and the Visitor Center has confirmed that all buffalo are accounted for and
alright. Apparently, they often lie down to sun themselves, sometimes for
quite a while!

A lady in the park superintendent’s office assured
me that the rangers would continue to go bye and check on the babies frequently
since one was lying down suspiciously this weekend. However, they are
all doing alright today.

Onion Soup

Tonight I made some Onion Soup. I snatched my recipe from Food TV. It turned out pretty good for my first try. Not as good as some of the onion soups I have had in Krakow, Poland but it was a good attempt.

Feed the baby.

Yes, that is me feeding little Nico, my nephew, last night on September 15, 2006. Had more pictures, but this was the only one that was not blurry.

La Caja China

A while ago I posted about a Rotisserie Grill, but the price was way to high. So doing a little more searching and watching a little more Food TV I was able to find a good inexpensive replacement. This is a pretty good alternative, plus it also has a rotisserie piece that can be added to it.

For more information go to La Caja China.

Pedicure?

A few trips ago while in Krakow, Poland a co-worker named Jim M. mentioned that everyone should get a pedicure. He said once you get one, you will want to get one all the time. I was hesitant when he told me about it as I thought it was a little too Metrosexual.

So today with plenty of time on my hands since I took the day off I decided to give it a try. I swung by Regal Nails inside the Wal-Mart on Germantown Road around 2pm. I walked in and asked for a Pedicure. The Asian lady asked me to have a seat and I did. I soaked my feet in some warm water. After that she started clipping and scrubbing my feet. Too my surprise, my feet did not require as much scrubbing as I expected. The best part of the whole visit was the 10-20 minute foot/calf massage. So good, that I almost fell asleep.

Would I do this again? Would I recommend a Pedicure? Am I now a Metrosexual?

The answers to the above are yes, yes, and maybe.

Happy Birthday to me.

Today, in honor or my 34th birthday I have taken the day off to take a break.

34

Years Old

Mini, Mini Ipod

Well, we all figured that the Nano was not the last attempt by Apple to go smaller. They have and it is the new iPod Shuffle. The Nano was also improved by making it look like the old iPod Mini.

Of course, this reminds me of the skit on Saturday Night Live a while ago where they made fun of the iPod and Apple. The actually skit can be found Here.

Swanky Salad

Just to show you how Swanky Pod Roza was the other night. Check out the below salad presentation. The actual bowl is part of a head of lettuce and the lemon vinaigrette was incredible.

Dad’s Birthday

Something else missed while I was in Krakow, Poland was my dads birthday on September 4, 2006. My mom surprised my dad by having a small little party and hiring a Mariachi Band to play for him. Of course, this is not the first time this has been done by the Bertorini family.

My dad actually did the same for my mom a while back. Of course he waited until she was asleep to have them come and serenade her. She woke up in a panic, but enjoyed it.

So below is a foto of my dad with the Mariachi band sipping on a shot of Pisco.

Ball Juggler

While walking in Krakow Saturday, September 2nd I caught a glimpse of this guy juggling a soccer ball for donations. I kid you not that this guy did not drop the ball once. That ball had to have hit every part of his body.

Me and Nicolas

Here are some photos of me and Nicolas. Yes, he has more hair than I do. More to come soon.

Back in Memphis.

I am back in Memphis, TN. I arrived last night after over 24 hours in airplanes and airports. Today is the day I actually get to meet my sisters son Nicolas Jayden Putman. For fotos of Nicolas scroll a few post down. I hope to be able to post a few more soon.

Duran Duran

Seems like I will be missing another 80’s band concert while in Poland. Duran Duran will be in Warsaw September 23, 2006. I saw an ad for the concert on a Smart Car. Why is it that I always seem to miss a good concert. I am even missing a Jay-Z concert a day or 2 after I leave. Yes, I could change my ticket but it would cost me $200.

Bicycle Mime

I was walking back to the hotel in Krakow off of Grodska Street and saw this mime on a bicycle. This is actually the first time I have ever seen a mime on a bicycle. He only moved if you put money in his little cup. So I put 2 Zloty in the cup and he did a left turn signal in a robot type motion.

Cycling in Krakow

This past Sunday, September 3, instead of going into the office I ventured out with 2 Co-workers Brian and Tracee W. Our original plan was to hop on a few of the hotel scooter for 5 hours at $20 . Unfortunately it had recently rained and we did not feel comfortable riding scooter in Krakow traffic and slick roads. So, Brian suggested we rent some bicycles for a few hours. We spent about 3 hours cruising tthrough Krakow, starting with the Planty and ending mostly on the Wisla River. We did stop at the Someplace Else at the Sheraton for a bite to eat and something to drink.

All in all it was a great day and am glad to have ridden through Krakow with others. Below is a photo of me with the Wisla in the background.

Uncle Tulio

Yes, you read it correctly. I am an uncle as of 1:15 pm (CST) on September 5th, 2006. His name is Nicolas Jayden Putman.

In the US Measurements: 7 lbs. 10 ounces and 19 inches long

In other measurements: 3.4585 kilograms and 48.26 centimeters

Pictures in order of appearance. Nicolas by himself, Nicolas with my mom, and Nicolas with my sister.

Hopefully, I will have more pictures soon as I am in Krakow, Poland at the moment.

Swanky Urinals

While eating at Pod Roza, I had to take a little bathroom break and noticed the urinals. This is the firt time I have ever seen a urinal with a lid. Very Swanky.

Elmo Cam

I was on engadget.com the other day when I noticed this new video camera. It is much smaller than the previous one I have posted in the past. It is even waterproof. It is called the Elmo from Suv-Cam. The batter life just needs to be longer as the recoding time. Hopefully, they will come out with a version that will be able to meet this and at a lower price. The current price is around $799.oo.

Timbuk2

Below are 2 links for some new Timbuk2 Bags that I would like to have in the near future. They seem to be better than the messenger type computer bag I currently have at the moment.

Track Day Pack

DataDump Daypack