The Motivation Blog

November 2009Monthly Archives

Restore Balance with Relaxing in a Hot Tub

As some time or another in your life, well, life may just become too much.  Overwhelmed with work or other obligations can cause an entire range of health problems, and that life seems to rapidly pile upon your shoulders.  Muscles become tense, you have a hard time finding a great night’s sleep, your appetite is affected, and many more consequences may occur, when you do not take the conscious effort to just relax and restore your own inner balance, the balance of your mind and the balance of your own body’s rhythm.

People’s bodies respond to high levels of stress in different ways, and to varying degrees, and one of the best ways to help alleviate not only the stress, but the imbalance as well, is by investing in a hot tub, and relaxing in the comfort of your own home.  Each year, the technology becomes more advanced and what was once just a luxury of the very wealthy, is now available in a variety of prices, and styles…one’s own back yard spa that is.

By searching online, one of the best sites has been continually that of choosehottubsdirect.com.  There are many ways to relieve stress, and what better way than to relax for a bit each night in your own well designed spa environment, and then finding your way very conveniently, close to your own comfortable be and enjoy a great night’s sleep.  Placing your hot tub or spa in the middle of a garden or a gazebo, will not only ensure privacy, but will give you the perfect, quiet space to find that balance again.  Some people choose to use the meditation techniques of deep breathing, or perhaps a bit of relaxing music piped in to make certain that your time will be uninterrupted and calm.  It is in this way, of constantly finding that balance again, that people can then find the energy to handle the future tasks at hand.

Lisa
November 30, 2009
Health, Home
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Retiring in Bali

Our last day in Kuta. Morley will be picking us up around 2pm so we can make our way back to Ubud. Before we left we booked a tour to see the Dolphins. We had to be in the lobby of our beach hotel Bali by 5:30am to catch a small traditional boat. There was another couple waiting with us. The traditional boat is this long narrow boat that have long bamboo poles on both sides for stability. The water was like glass and has we travelled to our destination, we watched one of the most beautiful sunrises, it was totally awesome.

The boat ride was only 30 minutes before we ran into dolphins everywhere. We weren’t the only tour boat there, about a dozen other bamboo boats filled with people were already there. The tour lasted about 45 minutes, which was perfect for us. These boats weren’t built for comfort, no padding and our butts were hurting, plus 45 minutes was plenty of time to just dolphin watch.

When we got back to shore, we grabbed breakfast and headed for the hammocks by the beach. We were determined to stay horizontal up until the last minute. We have another long day of driving and we wanted to soak up as much pleasure that Bali can offer.

The staff at the front desk have been very helpful. We had no idea where we would be staying for the next three nights and they gave us great suggestions. One front desk staff member even made the phone calls and helped us arrange the accommodations. Morley, as usual, was very punctual, early even. We left Kuta and headed to Udud. The area is just beautiful and our drive was nice. We literally fell in love with Bali. Island life is so different than the rest of the world. So, laid-back and un-stressful. We were seriously considering retiring here and maybe starting our own beachfront business. We have a few more years before we retire, but that will give us enough time to plan and save.

Lisa
November 25, 2009
Travel
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Lake Michigan is Short Drive From Grand Rapids

Lake Michigan is only about thirty miles outside of Grand Rapids. This is one of the favorite recreational areas for both the residents of the city and many of the guests who are staying in one of the Grand Rapids hotels. This was certainly true for Carl, who was born and raised in Grand Rapids. And though he went to school in Texas, he returned to his hometown after graduation. Fortunately for Carl, his original high school girlfriend Marla, who also happened to be the love of his life, also returned to Grand Rapids after she finished school in Colorado.

Carl and Marla had no idea that each had returned to Grand Rapids and it was quite by accident, or possibly fate as they later declared, that they ran into each other at the Fleetwood Diner. Carl was just taking his first bite of his bacon burger when he noticed the red haired beauty walking toward him on her way to the bathroom. He put down the burger and almost in shock said her name. She was instantly frozen by the sound of his voice and without turning her had said, “it can’t be.” Well, it could and it was. Unfortunately Marla was there on a date, which made the reunion slightly awkward thought they did exchange numbers and agreed to meet later in the week.

Carl called Marla the next day and the two spend three hours on the phone catching up. They made plans for the following Saturday to drive out to Lake Michigan, which is one of both of their favorite places. They had an amazing time that afternoon. They had a picnic in a rented canoe and remembered the days they used to talk about running off to Chicago, which was on the other side. Carl kidded that they should take their honeymoon in Chicago and Marla took him up on it. Without further discussion the two of them knew that they would get married and spend the rest of their lives together. And they did end up taking a trip to Chicago, though they didn’t spend their honeymoon there.

Lisa
November 25, 2009
Travel
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Hot Tubs: Daydreams into Realities

A hot tub is a great addition for any home, and it offers something wonderful to every member of the family.  They also tend to attract a lot of friends and neighbors, and people you may have not heard from for a long time may start to come calling.  Of course, having a spa in your very own yard is having your own vehicle to a perfect, splendid solitude, any time of day or night, but there is something very social about these as well.  In fact, the social appeal of getting into hot water with people you like is something that goes back a long way.  For many centuries, even millennia, people have been tuned into the social idea of bathing, and there are many cultures that have strong and developed traditions for ritual bathing.

Some places are more formal than others, and the Japanese and Finnish traditions for public spas are still very formalized to this day.  You may want to enter into these traditions, or you may want to keep it casual, but there are many spectacular reasons use choosehottubsdirect.com as your source for your own personal spa.  They have a wonderful reputation for being attentive to every customer’s personal needs, and offer fast and effective service that comes from their years of doing business with people just like you.   There are many decisions to make when selecting your own personal hot tub, but these selections are a pleasure when you’re working with friendly and seasoned professionals.  And while you’re deciding on the size of your tub, and the style to match your own sensibility, you can start to daydream.

The daydreams are every bit as good as the reality, and when you start hosting your own hot tub parties, you’ll see that it’s perhaps even much better than you’d imagined.  It seems as though nearly every enjoyable social activity becomes even better when water is involved.  Whether it’s an outdoor barbecue, or even a movie night, where you and your friends get together to watch your favorite films, the hot tub can become a wonderful centerpiece.  They offer a magnificent sense of relaxation, and make it particularly easy to enjoy each other’s company, and to also take in the enormous benefits of relaxing in the water.

Lisa
November 24, 2009
Entertainment, Health
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Serenaded in Hong Kong

The natural beauty of Yangshou only means that not only the locals flock here to relax, but so do all the tourists. Including us, the newlyweds who were in search of the ultimate photo. After an afternoon wondering down the river on this bamboo raft and a half a day of cycling about the country, we understood why so many flock here. Stunning mountains, cormorant fishing, and the most friendliest locals. Yangshuo became our favorite places in China. During our half day cycle ride, we were almost forced to abandon it due to Becky’s bike breaking down. Fortunately, a replacement was delivered within a half-an-hour.

Our final destination was Hong Kong. It took us 19 trying hours. Unfortunately, our last four trains suffered with ‘congestion’ on the tracks! This added to the length of our journey. So, we packed every second of our 1 and a-half days here with everything we could think of. We were lucky that one of the five star Hong Kong hotels were we were staying was centrally located. We managed to squeeze in a steep cable car ride to the peaks; an amazing view was had. We took a quick boat ride around Victoria Harbor. We finally had a proper white wine, it’s been weeks since we even poured ourselves a drink. We were to busy catching our own ‘happy’ buzz off a finally being married.

We managed to eat at most of the suggested restaurants our hotel concierge gave us. So, in 1 1/2 days we barely had time to breathe. Oh, and one of the hotel staff serenaded us our first night there. That was so totally unexpected and so totally romantic. We didn’t understand a word he sang, but we could tell he was very earnest and we felt he blessed our union with love and longevity.

Now, it’s off to Borneo. One week in the jungle, hanging out with the orangutans and who knows what else.

Lisa
November 24, 2009
Travel
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The Vampires Pop Singapore

In the past decade, Singapore has been rising steadily as a major force in world culture.  It’s one of the most cosmopolitan places in the world, and the island city state has a sense for what’s hot, and what’s interesting, in arts and pop culture.   It seems to have its fingers on the pulse of the world, providing a steady stream of new creative and practical works, feeding the world’s desire for technology as well as entertainment and fine art.  There’s always something going on in Singapore.  Car rentals are a great idea for anyone who has a complicated itinerary, where there’s too many places to be at once, or with a few too many things scheduled in one day.

Even without an itinerary, if you’re here and you have a natural capacity for being out on a town, jumping into the thick of it, or just have a natural curiosity about what’s happening in the world, having your own transportation can allow you to see some of the more out of the way events.  It also allows you a flexibility for your days and nights, making it possible to see and do more than you originally imagined.  There’s always more to see and do in Singapore, as it’s constantly revealing itself.  Looking into the music scene, or any scene, will take you down many different roads.  You can begin with the latest pop singer on your favorite tv show, and find your way back to classical music here with roots in different histories and cultures.

And along the way, you may come across some fun bands like The Vampires.  This was an all-girl band in the 1960s, and it’s hard to find traces of them beyond one EP.  But their Hun Yu Qu (Chilling Rain Song) is extremely infectious, and it leaves you wanting to hear it again.  It’s repetitive and easy music, but like a lot of the music of this era, it’s also extremely haunting.  It can remind you of a time that never was, or an almost time, as if it were referencing something important that was about to happen to you, documenting the moment right before your life changed completely.

Lisa
November 23, 2009
Travel
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Lanzorote and Penelope Cruz

Lanzarote, but it’s better known by the locals as the Conejera, land of 100 volcanoes. But, when a sailor, Lancelotto Malocello, from Genovese landed on the island, he was considered one of the first explores, so hence the name Lanzarote. The very original name given by the original inhabitants was Titeroygatra, ‘The Colored Hills’.

We managed to get much sightseeing done in a week. On one tour we learned that the volcanic origin created an amazing landscape with over 300 volcanoes. Lanzarote is the most eastern island of the Canary’s archipelago and it’s not too far from the African coast. The island is warm all year around, which make it a most ideal place to visit and to explore, because the sun shines almost everyday here, this island gets little rain. Another tour took us to the south side of the island. We got to see a huge volcanic landscape, which included lagoons and craters. Then we went to Timanfaya National Park to see the Montanas del Fuego and the El Diablo restaurants where they cook using the heat from the volcano! We when on a camel ride, Lanzarote has a dry climate, so camels come in handy for the locals.

Pedro Almodovar was shooting his latest film here. We heard it’s starring Penelope Cruz, so while we were at our airport hotel or wine tasting, we kept a sharp eye out in hopes of sighting her hanging around. No such luck. Every night we went to a different bar, mostly the one’s offering Karaoke. We got to practice windsurfing and kitesurfing, I kept worrying about running into all the palm trees while kitesurfing, but fortunately, all the palm trees are accommodating and got out of my way. We fit all this into one jam packed week. We feel we thoroughly experienced this lesser known island of the Canary’s and we’re glad we did. It’s peaceful, beautiful and fun

Lisa
November 18, 2009
Travel
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Emerging Art in Granada

For pure Spanish sensibility and style, mixed with the traditions and influences of the Islamic empire, Granada is a fantastic place to get to know the rhythms of the human heart.  There is a splendid sense of the past here, with a history that has seen Visigoths and Byzantines, and a present of unspeakable beauty.  It’s very difficult to say anything bad about southern Spain, and there is such a sumptuous vision of life here that is answerable only by the splendid surroundings.  With rich architecture and art all around you, it doesn’t take long to adjust to the lifestyles here.  In the true Mediterranean style, the pace is a bit more leisurely, but everything is done with style, and precision.  There are long and languid days, and the evenings often don’t get started until very late.  But the evenings here are famously exciting, and it’s one of the best places to find a fantastic party.

Most visitors don’t come specifically for the parties, but many do for the luxury hotels Granada offers.  The sense of hospitality here is particularly felt in the accommodations, welcoming visitors from all over the world and offering some of the finest gifts of the country.  Seafood and culture are in great varieties and quantities, and you can’t sample them all, but you’ll want to try.  You’ll also want to be engulfed in the visual splendor around you as much as possible, because the city seems to demand it, and one way to get immersed is to get into the local art scenes.

Sound art and video installation art are two forms that activate more of the senses than usual, and are fantastic ways to move to another world, or the multiple worlds that exist in this one.  There is a great culture for this work in Granada, and one of the organizations to check out is Miga.  Cultura Miga is devoted to the promotion and production of audiovisual artists here and in the world at large, and is a great place to begin looking when you want to see what’s on in town.  In the fall, their project on Emerging Museum Art is one of the most interesting and provocative, asking questions about what the galleries are showing these days, and looking into a future we all have in common.

Lisa
November 17, 2009
Travel
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Music Department at the University of Dayton

Cain was nervous as he prepared his audition piece for the music school at the University of Dayton. He had played the piano since he was five years old and while he loved playing and would apply to the university as a performance major, he ultimately wanted to write his own music, which he has dabbled in, and eventually create some musical theatre shows. For the last six years Cain had been studying the cello and really enjoyed playing it. He had thought about auditioning as a cello major, though he was much stronger with the piano. He worried about this decision or quite a while, but as he sat in one of the hotels Dayton and played through the Prelude to Bach’s Second Cello Suite, he felt that he had made the right decision by going with the cello. At least he hoped he did.

It was Cain’s uncle who strongly recommended that he go to the University of Dayton. He himself was an alumni and had a great experience there as an undergraduate. His uncle had studied history there before going on to attain his PhD in Medieval church politics. Cain and his uncle had always been close so the outcome of Cain’s audition was particularly important to both of them. His uncle remember spending many late nights at the Marian Library though he informed Cain that he would spend most of his time in the Roesch Library. He also told him about all of the great off campus pizza and hamburger places and where the best spots to find pretty women were. He hoped his information was still good, though Cain imagined he would do find seeking out his own special hangouts on his own. When Cain toured the campus he had coke at the Kennedy Union and thought about what it must have been like for his uncle when he was an undergraduate. He also wondered what kind of personal memories he might create there in the next four years.

Lisa
November 17, 2009
Travel
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Curious Palm Trilogy

Beach front property for everyone. Not just the few homes that paid extra for the best view in the neighborhood. Although, the price tag on all the home, condos and businesses are rather large for everyone. The islands in Dubai are truly amazing. Look at what all the money in the world coupled with lots of creativity can bring. I don’t think I am alone in wondering why these projects have been done. Its there some sort of statement to be made or are the rich just a little bored. These islands look to me like the water version of crop circles. They are so impressive from the air. I want to stay in a Dubai UAE hotel in the middle of the island somewhere. How about the Atlantis palm hotel. What a magnificant way to get the real feel of being on these man made creations.

The Palm Jumeirah consists of three huge palm-shaped islands along the coast line, that just a few years ago, had been a barren unbroken lip of sand. Along with the palm islands there are a cluster of 300 islets built to represent the shape of the world. Eventually, there will be a million people living ,working and vacationing on these islands. This is not where the building stops either, there are more islands coming in the future. The Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira have also been started. The Palm Jebel Ali’s ground has been pulled up from the sea and is almost 90 percent settled. When it has become a good solid ground, they will start building the next metropolis on it too. Looks like the Palm Deira has already started some with some new buildings.

Building these islands takes years of pulling the millions of tons of sand and quarried rock up from the Persian Gulf. The Palm Jumeirah has 32 hotels, a water theme park and even a Trump International Hotel. I suppose the answer to my own question is that all these creative islands are meant to be the main contribution to Dubai’s property boom. The Arab government sure has come up with an innovative way to attract tourists and foreign investors to this tax-free economy.

Lisa
November 16, 2009
Travel
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