12 white Zimbabwean famers have managed to relocate to Nigeria on an inviatation from the state and have been given a fresh start.

Humble Beginnings: How a Small Settlement Called Morristown Became the City of Asheville

In 1792 and 1793 Buncombe County was established and in the county seat was are we missing a word here? Sentence doesn’t read right. named Morristown. According to city documents, 5 years later in 1797 Morristown’s name was changed to Asheville, in honor of North Carolina governor Samuel Ashe. (1) According to the Western North Carolina Historical Association, “by the 1790 United States Census, there were 1,000 settlers in the region, not including the Cherokee.” Since Asheville’s humble beginning as a small mountain town over 200 years ago, the city has grown into a thriving, culturally diverse metropolitan area. The Asheville Metro Business Research Center estimates that Asheville is now home to approximately 75,000 residents and the Asheville MSA population, which includes Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties, is approximately 416,000. (2)

Photo by MSB

The Healing Power of the Asheville Mountains

Asheville, North Carolina has always been considered a place where people can recuperate and heal. According to the National Park Service web site, “As far back as 1795, records show that the Asheville area was regarded as a place to come heal oneself of ills. American Indians used the area as a neutral ground for their sick, particularly the area around Hot Springs (30 miles north of Buncombe County). The climate was regarded to be optimal–the components (temperature, barometric pressure, etc.) were actually measured by physicians who wanted to determine the best place for patients to recuperate.” (3) Many of the city’s buildings and homes, especially those in the historic Montford district, began as boarding houses and sanatoriums where patients were housed as they recovered from various illnesses.

Modern Asheville continues to carry the torch of healing handed down through history. Asheville is home to Mission Health System, which includes 2 state of the art medical facilities located downtown: the Mission Hospital Campus and St. Joseph Campus. Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Mitchell County and the McDowell Hospital in Marion are also part of the Mission Health System. (4) Asheville also has a strong, well-recognized alternative health and preventative medicine community. Visitors and residents can enjoy the services of massage therapists, spa professionals, acupuncturists, Chinese medicine doctors, naturopathic physicians, herbalists and other holistic practitioners.

The Arts Community in Western North Carolina

Many well-known American musicians, writers, photographers, artists and performers have made Asheville their home over the years. Roberta Flack was born in Asheville in 1937 and F. Scott Fitzgerald frequently stayed in the area with his wife Zelda. Zelda died in a hospital fire in the Montford neighborhood. Musician Warren Haynes, actress Andie McDowell and music icon Robert Moog have all made Asheville their home in recent years. In the heart of downtown residents and tourists alike can enjoy a wide variety of art galleries, the Asheville Art Museum, the Fine Arts Theater, the Diana Wortham Center, Asheville Community Theater, the Asheville Symphony, the Grey Eagle Music Hall, outdoor venues and more. (5)

Moving to Asheville, NC? Here Are Some Valuable Relocation Tips

Tip 1. Although some people still call Asheville “small”, each area of the city has advantages and disadvantages homebuyers must consider. Asheville is separated into East, North, West and South sections. Get to know the neighborhoods, local resources, price ranges and problems before you make a final decision about where to buy a home.

Tip 2. Always hire a full time real estate agent that knows how to get around the city and fully understands the different sections of Asheville. This will help you make a sound real estate investment. Avoid real estate professionals that are after the short sale, find an agent that is invested in your success.

Tip 3. Make a list of your criteria before you start your home search. How many bedrooms do you want? How far are you willing to commute to work? How close do you want to be to schools, hospitals or shopping? All of these questions help narrow down your search and, in a buyer’s market, save you time.

All in all getting to know Asheville is why so many people have come to love it throughout history. Buy a piece of mountain property or real estate and experience the joy of mountain living. To search the local MLS system please visit my real estate website.

Sources:

1. http://www.wnchistory.org/museum/droversroad.htm

2. http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economicdevelopment/demographics.asp

3. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/asheville/health.htm

4. http://www.missionhospitals.org/body.cfm?id=642

5. http://www.ashevillenc.com

*Jakarta Globe, 6 February 2009

A man climbs quietly from a grave and closes a white burial cloth that shrouds a skeleton. The bones are the color of burned earth and in pieces. A maggot scuttles to hide behind the empty eye socket of the skull. After more than 30 years of interment, all that is left of a once middle-aged adult now fits into a small bundle.

A weathered, wooden plaque with jagged edges bears the name the skeleton once answered to.

At Menteng Pulo Public Cemetery in South Jakarta, the air is fresh with the scent of blossoming trees and rich earth. A lone mottled mutt threads cautiously among the graves, its skin matted and reddish from the rain and earth. She sits on top of a grave, observing as 50 gravediggers calmly go about their work. They are not burying the dead but raising them, literally, from their graves.

Along a large strip of land near the Cideng River, 10,600 square meters to be exact, emptied graves with ragged edges line the cemetery. The workers have been commissioned by the city administration to unearth about 3,500 plots to make way for a highway linking Jalan Soepomo and Jalan Rasuna Said.

“Traditionally, you cannot disturb the dead,” sayd Entong, the head gravedigger. “But this is a city that is developing, and they need to expand the road.”

Inside an open grave, Entong breaks up the damp soil with a rusty hoe. His black jeans and feet are encrusted with red earth. He hands the last of the unearthed bones to his assistant to wrap in cloth and take to another burial plot that has been allocated for the exhumed bodies.

“This one was buried in 1962, so there are very few bones left,” Entong says, pointing to the decomposed bundle of bones about the size of an infant.

Entong climbs out of the grave and begins to break the gray headstone with his hoe. Pieces of stone fly around him. He has to remove the name plaque embedded in the stone so it can be placed with the remains for identification. His skin is burnished from the 32 years he has worked outdoors as a gravedigger.

“People call me first when they want to bury someone,” Entong says.

On this overcast morning, no weeping or hushed prayers for the displaced dead are heard, only the thud of hoes hitting the soil. Entong says it has been two months since the excavation of the graves commenced and it is scheduled to end next week.

“At the beginning there were more relatives,” Entong says. “Now it is rare for families to come even though we have informed them we will be digging up the graves. Maybe they have moved. Maybe they can’t bear the process.”

The majority of the graves are Muslim but Entong estimates 800 Buddhist graves will also be uncovered this week.

The remains are being moved to new burial plots further down the road. Unclaimed remains are moved to a cemetery at Kampung Kandang in Cilandak or to Srengseng Sawah Cemetery in South Jakarta, Entong says.

The ground is soft as paste from the ongoing Jakarta showers and he flings it around him as he hoes. An errant and persistent fly flits around his bare feet.

“We take the remains out, wrap them up and then knock down the gravestone,” explains Suroh, a caretaker at Menteng Pulo since the ’70s. Wearing a red shirt, a large mole jutting from his chin, he watches Entong work in the distance.

“I do not cry at anyone’s funeral,” Suroh says. “I am used to them.

“We are here to fix their homes, their final resting place.”

It is noon when Entong rests inside a makeshift wooden hut in the middle of the cemetery. The soiled clothes of the caretakers hang to dry nearby on headstones and from overhanging trees.
A caretaker chugs on a motorcycle down the narrow dirt road that runs through the cemetery, ferrying four white bundles to an ambulance for relocation.

“It is funny. Kaplok, kaplok, kaplok is the sound of the bodies flapping,” says Suroh as he watches.
“We are all the same. In the end we will die,” he adds as he deeply inhales from a clove cigarette.
Under the cool shade of the hut, the men sit in their mud-caked clothes, sipping hot, milky coffee and talk lightheartedly about death. Entong recounts a time when he had to break the legs of a corpse.

“If I didn’t, they wouldn’t fit into the cloth,” he says.

The kain kapan, or burial cloths, are rough pieces of white cloth two meters in length. “These ones cost Rp 12,000 [about $1],” Entong says, pointing to a pile of fabric in a cupboard. “Cheap ones.”

The hush is disturbed by the arrival of Iwan Suwandi and his family. Together with his wife, Suwarti, his sister, sister-in-law and grandson, he has come to rebury his son Rachmad.

“I was shocked to get the notice from the cemetery,” Suwandi says, of being notified of the disinterment. “I found out at Lebaran,” he adds.

A gentle-looking man with glasses and specks of grey through his hair, Suwandi had been ill for the past three months and unable to come to Menteng Pulo earlier.

Wearing a tan fishing hat and checkered shirt, Ali greets Suwandi, whom he knows. The caretaker has been tending Rachmad’s grave since he was buried here four years ago. An old hand, Ali has worked at cemeteries since 1948 and takes care of 100 plots in Menteng Pulo.

Rachmad, Suwandi’s third son, died of liver problems at the age of 24. “I wanted to move him to Bogor but we have no family there,” says Suwandi, who instead asked for his son’s body to be moved nearby within the Menteng Pulo cemetery.

Entong is called upon to dig up the body.

“It is his job to dig. We each have a duty,” explains Suroh, whose own position is caring for the graves, like Ali.

Entong alternates using his hands and the hoe to scoop out the earth. The burial cloth is laid on the ground beside the grave and he begins to place the unearthed chunks of bone on it. Two assistants crouch nearby to lay them out on the burial cloth. Standing above his son’s grave, Suwandi’s face is placid as he calmly inquires about the whereabouts of his son’s skull.

The wooden headstone reads, Rachmad H. bin Iwan Suwandi, etched black upon painted white wood. Slivers of the skeleton’s rib cage are taken out one by one. Entong continues to dig and finds a hipbone. Finally, he finds the skull. Suwandi places his hand over his mouth and lets out a small gasp. The family begins to pray. A sniff escapes Suwandi as he continues to look at Entong in the grave.

“His legs aren’t here yet,” Suwandi says.

Entong clears the mud from his hoe and continues digging.

The air is hushed and the smell of rain is heavy on the breeze. “We forgot to bring an umbrella,” Suwandi says to his wife, who nods agreement. Their 7-year old grandson, dressed in blue, has his hand on his knees and keeps his gaze intently on the open grave. The women look distressed.

When Ali comes over to help wrap the bones, Suwandi asks if the bundle is heavy. Ali says it isn’t. Three men wrap the bundle tightly and hand the bones to Suwandi. With steady steps on the slippery, rain-soaked earth, Suwandi carries his son to a prepared burial site, mouthing a silent prayer.

A little way up the road from where Rachmad was originally buried, a gaping hole six feet deep awaits. The small congregation stops, and Suwandi hands the bundle to a gravedigger as he jumps in the grave. The body is gently returned to him and the gravediggers tell him to open the bundle. “All of it,” says one as the other balls up chunks of soil with his hands. “It is to prop up the body so it does not overturn,” he explains.

Suwandi carefully tucks his son into his resting place and two men start to fill in the grave. An imam in a black velvet skullcap, propping himself up with a multicolored umbrella, asks for the name of the deceased and begins a low chant. Only the boy’s name, Rachmad, rings out as the imam crouches by the grave. All else is quiet save for the sound of hoes hitting the ground.

The mother opens a prayer book, her face partially hidden under her black jilbab as she prays along with the imam. Her grandson stands behind her, holding her arm.

Suwandi straightens his son’s old headstone and turns his palms up to the sky. The imam moves toward him and they pray side by side. The earth atop Rachmad’s new grave is choppy and uneven but Ali explains it will be tidied later. He takes out a clove cigarette, lights it and stands before this new grave he will also care for.

A warm wind blows. From a nearby mosque, the resonant call to prayers rings out, echoed softly by surrounding mosques.

(photos: JG/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

In the last year real estate professionals have not only seen changes in the market but also in the economic landscape of the United States. In conjunction with the emerging buyers market, the real estate industry also experienced a greater shift towards technology as a means of communication between real estate agents, homebuyers and sellers. Most people already know the majority of buyers start their real estate search online, but real estate technology isn’t just about web sites.

Real Estate News: Billboard and Cell Phone Technology

In July of 2009, from July 6 until August 2, 2009 Coldwell Banker Real Estate hosted an interactive billboard in Times Square. This billboard, driven by cell phone text requests sent by interested buyers, displayed requested home listings in real time. By simply using a mobile phone to text the word “homes” and any U.S. zip code viewers could see the highest, median and lowest priced real estate in the designated area. In a July 2009 press release Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC stated, “Consumers want quick access to online listings and this campaign reinforces how easy it is to find listings and information, anytime, anywhere.”

Real Estate Channels on Youtube.com

Youtube.com has become a valuable tool for anyone interested in buying, selling or investing in real estate. All over the country real estate agents are creating Youtube.com videos to educate clients and provide them with in depth details about small towns and metropolitan cities everywhere. In addition, official Youtube channels are being created to make searching online even easier. Some Youtube channels service regions like the Homefinder 100 channel, a Youtube channel that supports a real estate cable channel dedicated to the market in Toledo, Ohio. Other channels feature specific agents like the Sam Valadez Group channel.

National real estate agencies like Coldwell Banker have also created Youtube.com channels. In May of 2009 Coldwell Banker launched Coldwell Banker on Location, a channel “designed to offer consumers a new way to search for and interact with real estate information and listings”, according to a May 4,^, 2009 press release entitled, “New Coldwell Banker ‘On Location’ Youtube channel first in Industry to Fully Tap Power of Video for Real Estate Search and Insights.” According to the release, “To create On Location, Coldwell Banker Real Estate closely collaborated with both YouTube, a Google subsidiary, and Google to develop a customized framework and user experience…On Location is the first branded YouTube channel to use dynamic IP lookup to search for videos, which automatically serves up local results when visitors first hit the site.”

Innovative Website Design and Online Real Estate Tools

Real estate websites are still one of the most important tools on the Internet today. A great website makes choosing a real estate agent, learning about a specific region and reviewing the MLS simple. According to KW.com, in January of 2009 Keller Williams created a “powerful new home valuation tool”, which displays home value estimates from both www.Zillow.com and www.Cyberhomes.com. An instant price comparison can be generated for any address in the U.S.

Coldwell Banker plans to launch a newly designed website during the first quarter of 2010, the beta version will be released in early December. The new web technology has some excellent features including a more precise keyword search for property results, a more prominent video display for listings, a “You May Also Like” feature and the first totally visual real estate search-BlueScape. The new search technology will allow homebuyers and sellers to come to a real estate agent of their choice much more prepared than in the past. The website is meant to empower buyers and sellers to become even more involved in the real estate process.

Why Technology Matters in Real Estate

Technological advancement in the real estate industry is important because buying or selling a home is a huge decision. Now more than ever real estate professionals, homebuyers and sellers can participate in mutually beneficial partnerships. Buyers and sellers are an essential part of the search and real estate agents now act as leaders, trusted consultants and experts in their market. In addition, online exposure as a buyer or a seller is necessary to achieve real estate success. One of the most well recognized websites, Realtor.com, has approximately 6.6 million unique visitors per month. There is no denying that technology plays a powerful role in real estate these days. For more information about Asheville real estate or to search the MLS visit my website www.NoraHallRealtor.com.

SustainDex (environment|sustainable|clean/bio tech)

Eastside

RePower – 158th Commerce Pk | 16035 NE Cameron Blvd | 12,750 SF

GeneralBizDex (consulting|finance|insurance|legal|other)

Central Business District

Construction Systems Mgmt – Spalding Bldg | 319 SW Washington | 615 SF

Principal Real Estate Investors – NW Corp Park | 3481 NW Yeon | 13,200 SF

Eastside

C&P Attorneys – Sunnybrook Corp Ctr | 9200 SE Sunnybrook | 2,539 SF

Columbia Pacific Maritime – 2410 SE 121st Ave | 1,085 SF

Rose City Blue Print & Supply – Airport Center I | 5835 NE 122nd | 4,421 SF

Westside

Myatt & Bell PC – 1 Lincoln Center | 10300 SW Greenburg Rd | 1,967 SF

Merrill Lynch – 4004 Kruse Way Place | 4,325 SF renewal

Forest City Trading – 4 Lincoln Center | 10250 SW Greenburg | 12,228 SF

Beaverton Public Library – Murray Scholls Town Ctr | 11200 SW Murray Scholls | 7,032 SF

Bluestone & Hockley – 9320 SW Barbur Blvd | 13,704 SF

Vancouver

Great Western Malting – Port of Vancouver | 2501 Kotobuki Way | 43,500 SF

Westside

Epic Land Solutions – Plaza West | 9600 SW Oak – Tigard | 1,413 SF

TechDex (apps|provider|hardware|var)

Central Business District

Crowd Factory – Oregon Trail Bldg | 333 SW Fifth | 4,095 SF

Systems Management – Willamette Park Plaza | 6420 SW Macadam | 1,973 SF

Westside

Transcore – Creekside 4 | 1100 SW Stratus St | 38,065 SF

MediaDex (traditional|digital|research)

Central Business District

McClenahan Bruer – Water Tower | 5331 SW Macadam Ave | 5,536 SF

Turning A Corner

There’s only one thing left, welcome home Austin family

…used to be here but it was moved to city of Kotka in 2007. You foreigners might think that this is a B&W photo but it is in full color.

This location wasn’t very accessible so it made sense to relocate the museum but on the other hand none of the original workers moved with the museum to Kotka according to this article in Finnish.

This is not the only controversial case where the government has moved jobs from the capital region to other areas of the country.

The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit: The Basics for REALTORS, Homebuyers, and Home owners from the National Association of REALTORS..

Brokers for Charity matches property buyers and sellers throughout the US and Canada with qualified realtors and donates 10% of the commission to the nonprofit of the the client’s choice.
Combining real estate transactions with social responsibility, it’s an easy way for families and
companies to support their favorite charity without any additional costs.

Brokers for Charity, LLC donates 10% of residential and commercial real estate commissions to the nonprofit of the client’s choice. Buyers and sellers get to choose the nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization that will receive the donation when their transaction closes.

“Regardless of our individual motivations, there is a common desire in all of us to help others,” says Janae Jaynes-Learned, Designated Broker and Managing Partner of Brokers for Charity. “We have taken the concept behind Newman’s Own and Bono’s Red Brand into the real estate market. We provide an additional opportunity for people to make a difference combining real estate transactions and social responsibility.”

How Brokers for Charity works: When a business or consumer wants buy or sell a property anywhere in the US or Canada, they give Brokers for Charity their criteria and they are paired with a qualified broker. When their transaction closes, Brokers for Charity receives a referral fee from the broker and makes the donation to the nonprofit of the client’s choice. The donation is 10% of the referred agent’s commission. For example, on a $400,000 transaction if the agent’s commission were 3%, or $12,000, Brokers for Charity would donate $1,200 to the chosen nonprofit.

“Right now our service is even more critical to charities, and we’ve had so many contacting us,” says
Jaynes-Learned.  “Many nonprofit organizations are really feeling the impact from our current economy.”  Statistics reported for the last three months alone by Guidestar, a nonprofit resource organization, show that over half (52%) of nonprofits have received fewer contributions, and eight percent are nearly closing their doors.  Individual contributions have fallen, and so have grants.

Brokers for Charity intends to encourage change in the way businesses and consumers buy and sell commercial and residential real estate. While providing quality real estate referrals, new business to real estate professionals, and donations to nonprofit organizations, the ultimate goal of combining real estate and social responsibility will be achieved.

With the billions of dollars in real estate commissions paid annually, the potential for Brokers for Charity to have an impact on nonprofit organizations is tremendous. “The key is really to get the word out to consumers and businesses,” says Jaynes-Learned. “If people and businesses can support a worthy cause through their real estate transactions, without paying extra, why wouldn’t they?”

Relocating to Spain?

Moving to the Costa del Sol?

Help in Spain is a one-stop shop for all your relocation needs to the Costa del Sol and Gibraltar in southern Spain.

Whether you are planning to move permanently to the Costa del Sol or you have a holiday or investment property in Spain their team will guide you through all the services you will need.

Derek and Isabel founded Help in Spain and between them they have many years of experience in full project management, they are bi lingual and will advise and guide you through any process you require, making sure your move is enjoyable and stress free.

Their services include:

• Full project management

• Full relocation services to Spain and Gibraltar

• Removals and transportation assistance

• Pet transportation

• Residence permit and NIE assistance

• Town hall registration

• Assistance in utilities and phone set up

• Internet connection

• Driving licence and learning to drive in Spain assistance

• Assistance with household and car insurance

• Opening a bank account

• Accountants

• Tax advice

• Legal advice

• International schools and nurseys advice

• Setting up your own business assistance

• Foreign exchange help

• Property management

• Property rentals

• Vehicle purchase

• Property purchase

• Assistance in medical care

It is very daunting when moving to a foreign country and you do not speak the language with so many things to organise.

Help in Spain offers a personal service to individuals and families who are moving to the Costa del Sol and Gibraltar in Southern Spain. They will listen to your requirements and criteria and will tailor make a relocation package for you and your family.

They offer a comprehensive consultation before carrying out any work for you.

Help in Spain was established to meet the great demand for expats who are moving abroad.

Guidance and support is offered even after you have made your move to southern Spain, they can help you communicate with local authorities, builders, architects, doctors, dentists, schools and any other local service you may require, so your life is made simple and easy abroad.

Contact their friendly team today for a free consultation or go to www.jigsawoverseas.com

Technorati : costa del sol, move, moving, relocate, services, spain
Del.icio.us : costa del sol, move, moving, relocate, services, spain
Zooomr : costa del sol, move, moving, relocate, services, spain
Flickr : costa del sol, move, moving, relocate, services, spain

The new reality for today’s employees who are asked to move and offered scaled-down relocation packages, is that the relocation package may barely scratch the surface of the full cost of the move. This presents a tremendous dilemma. The employee may swiftly accept the transfer to keep the job or he/she may want to relocate to the new location. However, once the economy improves, employees who had scaled-down, company-initiated relocations, may leave a company.

Companies should recognize that there are a number of overlooked effects to consider, including:

1. If the transferring employee has relocated with the company before, he/she is likely familiar with (or may expect) a standard relocation package which was offered on a prior move. This may lead to a lower acceptance rate, disgruntled employees, or both.
2. An employee with a family who owns a home may not be able to afford the move on a limited relocation package. The cost of moving household goods or selling a home may exceed the company-offered relocation package.

What is the alternative? Stay in touch with the new reality and be more innovative!

For example, employees may not be able to sell their home with current market pricing so packages can offer other services such as property management instead.

Another good idea is to focus on the move’s bare-essentials (IRS non-taxable items) such as the movement of household goods and final move expenses. These components maximize the net benefit to the employee and will save both on tax gross-up or withholding costs, which are due on other, taxable benefits.

This is my first post and I hope to blog a lot from now on.

I’ve decided to relocate my blog from tumblr to here because of certain posting restrictions.

I hope you will love me more in the future! ♥

Due to some restrictions in Tumblr, we have decided to move our fan blog here.

Expect more updates on the latest and the freshest otaku buzz.

Please love us some more in the future! ♥

Are you ready to retire somewhere you can enjoy exceptional quality of life? Would you consider relocating to the North Carolina mountains? Check out this report on affordable places to retire.

U.S. News: Best Affordable Places to Retire
U.S. News & World Report released its picks in its October issue for the best affordable places to retire.

Most of the choices aren’t conventional retirement havens. Emily Brandon, the business reporter who put the project together, says that the key factors in this year’s choices were reasonable median home prices and an affordable cost of living. Beyond that, the locales were chosen because they have good resources for healthcare and recreational activities. “Lots of these places are college towns with lots of things to do, including sports. Sports are big,” Brandon says.

Another consideration was availability of jobs and a low unemployment rate. “People we surveyed said they want and need to work,” Brandon says.

Here are the magazine’s top choices listed alphabetically:

• Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Asheville, N.C.
• Aurora, Colo,
• Columbia, S.C.
• Columbus, Ohio
• Eugene, Ore.
• Fort Worth, Texas
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Tucson, Ariz.

Source: U.S. News & World Report (09/29/2009)

I must say that I am continually amazed at what my little town has to offer! As an ex-city-dweller (both NYC & L.A.), I came to South Carolina with definite pre-conceptions about what it would look like here, what the people would be like here, and how much I would not like it. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I have been surprised at the diversity, the culture, and beauty. Tonight’s Fall Festival was another surprise for me. Hosted by the Simpsonville branch of the YMCA, I fully expected a sparse turn-out and did not know what to expect in way of entertainment for my boys, aged 4 & 2. But there was a Chili Cook-off wrapped into the evening, so I was in! I arrived with my boys and my pot of Mexican Mole Chili and couldn’t find a parking space, people were pouring out of the front doors, and the biggest grill on the planet was full of roasting hot dogs. I lost both children immediately. After dropping off my chili, entry #9, I found my children lost in a huge crowd. We ate chili and hot dogs. There was a huge air jumper and an air slide in the gym, along with what looked like a huge igloo but it was actually a portal planetarium! Inside they were learning about planets and looking at star formations. They also had a hay ride, pulled by a John Deer tractor (of course). The line was so long that we may have waited 45 minutes to finally board! There was a Halloween Hike through the woods and a bonfire with Smores. The bonfire was being overseen by two friendly firemen from the station across the street. The air was full of young children giggling with delight and older children hollering with joy. It was such a wonderful event that my oldest cried when it was time to leave, but not before we found out who won the cookoff… Mexican Mole Chili- 3rd place! I’ll take it!

Today is my grandfather’s birthday.  Were he still alive, he would have turned 100 today.  Though he passed 7 years ago, I still think about him often.  The way his blue eyes always illuminated whenever I came for a visit, and the way he was always proud of even the smallest things I did.  In fact, I realized that he is my inspiration for meeting new people and making new friends.

My grandpa, no matter where we were, had this amazing ability to appeal to everyone around him.  He would always smile, and want to get to know you, and make you feel like an important person.  In fact, when I would visit him in the hospital, he had made friends with the entire staff of doctors and nurses.  I was always in awe!

What he tought me is that a warm smile, a sincere question, and laughter, are simple, and important, steps whenever you want to meet someone new.

Because it is my grandfather’s inspiration that helped me create them, in honor of my his 100th birthday, I’m offering you 50% off either my “Learn to Feel at Home Anywhere in the World” program (gives you an introduction to the core steps of relocating and making friends, satisfying your personal/emotional needs, and adjusting to professional changes) or my “Social Success Strategies” eBook (which is a deep-dive into how and where to make new friends and create a new social network after relocating.)

Just use code GRAMPS100 at checkout.  Offer good through Sunday, October 11th, 2009.

Happy birthday grandpa, and may his inspiration equally help and inspire you to make more friends.

Today’s Google logo, in case someone somewhere hasn’t noticed, is a barcode. It’s to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the first patent on the barcode (source: Washington Post).

Google is frequently changing its logo around to reflect calendar events and holidays: most recently the birthdays of Gandhi and HG Wells. They usually bear some similarity to the original.

However, while today’s barcode is technically the same (for those of us with barcode readers or a checkout job in Waitrose), to most of us is just, well, a barcode.

What a fantastic position to be in – Google has been the most powerful brand in the world for several years; an amazing feat considering that the brand itself isn’t even consistent (the designer’s number one rule).

Predictably, the new logo is attracting a lot of chatter on Twitter, where even this article will appear shortly.

So, for the purposes of completeness, here is the Google logo as a new(er) type of barcode – the QR code. It allows camera-and-Internet-enabled mobile ‘phone owners to browse to an exact URL (or upload contact details) based on the content of a 2D shape, much like the 1952 version.

For comparison, to its right is the QR code for inward investment agency Into Somerset – a code that has been popping up around the London Underground, encouraging businesses to relocate to the Westcountry.

QR codes are essentially a free technology – the better generator in my opinion is this one.

To me, the word ‘Family’ means more than anything as black and white as blood relations or DNA.  It means being there for someone through thick and thin, supporting their decisions, and being completely honest with them.

Furthermore, I feel that a sense of  ‘home’ is a state of mind,  a place where you feel the most comfortable and safe.  I like to think that I can always find the good in people (family), and always manage to find a place that I can call ‘home’ wherever I happen to be.   I think that it shows great maturity when a person can be seemingly alone in the world, and yet always manages to carry with them their own sense of ‘home’, and make their own ‘family’ (through friends, collegues, etc.)

I have had a frustrating weekend in regards to family, but I still hold no ill feeling towards any of them whatsoever.  I would be luying if I said that I was not at all dissapointed; however I am well aware of how and why I am the way that I am, and am so thanful and greatful for everything that has helped shape me into being the independant young man that I am.

I tend to move around alot, and yet always seem to feel at home.  I feel safe and comfortable, even when starting out afresh somewhere completely new.  As long as I have myself, I know everything will be fine.  Although I may not nessecarily have the best relationship with biological ‘family’; however I am sure that wherever I am, I can always meet new people and find a ‘family’ (of sorts) through friendships and relationships with the people that I meet.

Many appologies for my poorly written ramblings, I was just in the need of a Ye Olde fashioned vent.

“Rehh, Reehh, Reehhhh!”

NB:   Bjork – Declare Independance (Volta, 2007).  Wicked song.

Visit: www.relocatetoronto.com

Welcome to the new home of The Breeze Blog!  Here you will find information on Raleigh real estate news, goings-on around town, and commentary that will be useful to people living in Raleigh or thinking of moving here. 

We’re a real “21st Century” city, but we still have a ways to go to feel more connected to one another, from Downtown to North Raleigh.

I hope you enjoy the ride!

BTW, you can find all my archived Breeze Blog posts on my full-service Breeze Realty Network website.