Wheels Down... Columbus Style

Today I touched down in Columbus after nearly two months away from home. When I stepped off the plane in New York to catch my connecting flight, I was immediately drawn back to the reality that it is nearing winter here in the northern United States. Despite the cold, it felt good to be back. After a stint through passport control and customs, it was an hour and a half flight to Port Columbus International Airport.

Broadway in Sao Paulo, UFC, and farewell to a friend

I spent my final night in Sao Paulo with Valerio and his family enjoying a great meal, good wine, and entertainment. We started the evening by eating at Brooklyn Restaurante located in the Brooklin suburb of Sao Paulo near Valerio's home and the Tecno Logys office. The restaurante was started in 1999 and features a casual dining atmosphere and a singing wait staff. Many of the waiters and waitresses have a theatre and Broadway background and about every 30 minutes or so, they break out in song and dance with some of "Broadways" most famous songs.

The Top 10 Things Airlines Don't Tell You

In honor of my recent travels and my upcoming travel back to Ohio from Sao Paulo, I thought I would share a recent article that includes the "Top 10 Things Airlines Don't Tell You".

Photo of the Week

This week's photo of the week is from our trip to Buenos Aires last weekend. When walking the European style city, we came across a street sign that hits home for Ryan and Katie as they live in New Jersey. The state and shoreline area has subsequently taken a bad rap as a result of the popular MTV show "Jersey Shore". Although Ryan and I don't spray tan, gel our hair, or have that accent, we tried our best at creating a "Situation" for our photo.

Audition for Jersey Shore. "Tslick" and "RyKy"

(It's important to mind that we do not condone the use of the word but are rather poking fun at the show.... and this street sign)

Week #7 Poll Results

The week 7 poll was "What is your favorite Holiday?" I thought Christmas and Thanksgiving would have a fierce battle however to my surprise Thanksgiving was a runaway winner. It must be the feast that is often robust the fourth Thursday of each November that set the holiday apart from Christmas, even though Christmas is often celebrated with large meals as well. Dinner tables are often filled with Turkey, Ham, stuffing, potatoes, salad, noodles (No one has better noodles than my grandma and I will pay $100 to the person that proves otherwise), dinner rolls, and more desserts that the eyes can handle but the stomach cant! Or maybe it is the overall message of the holiday which is to share thanks to those who are important to your life and the many blessings you enjoy each and every day. It is one day a year where thanks is set aside and made more visible in our culture, when it the concept of showing thanks should be an every day occurrence.

According to Wikipedia:

Thanksgiving in North America originated from a mix of European and Native traditions. Typically in Europe, festivals were held before and after the harvest cycles to give thanks for a good harvest, and to rejoice together after much hard work with the rest of the community. At the time, Native Americans had also celebrated the end of a harvest season. When Europeans first arrived to the Americas, they brought with them their own harvest festival traditions from Europe, celebrating their safe voyage, peace and good harvest.

While many are opposed to the celebration of Thanksgiving because of the treatment that the European settlers later inflicted on the Native people of North America, it should not get lost in the message of giving thanks for what we have.

Week #8 Poll: Which perk would you rather have? An extra week vacation, $5,000 bonus, Better Health Benefits, or Educational Assistance.

The views from the Taxi

This post is not like the others on the taxi rides where I depict detailed stories and events that are quite comical. This post is more of general observations along my ride from Jardins to Brooklin each morning and Brooklin to Jardins each night. I get to see one of the world's largest cities come to life each morning as gardeners, restaurant employees, gas station attendants, and people waiting for the bus all begin their days. I do not normally take a taxi back home, in fact typically only on the weekends when I am headed to a sporting event or a night out on the town, so sitting in the back of these small taxi's each morning give me a change to observe everyone in this foreign land.

The Real World: Sao Paulo

Today feels a bit like the final episode of an MTV hit series "The Real World". The concept of the show is to take a group of young people from all walks of life, areas of the country, races, universities, and etc and put them together in a house full of video cameras to catch how the "Real World" is. As you can imagine the results are often wild, racy, and highly entertaining. During the final episode of each season, each of the six strangers that lived together for a few months, departs to a slow song and reflects on their time together. They fought, cried, drank too much, had trouble with the Police, and tried to maintain their jobs amongst the craziness. Each cast, for the most part, ended as friends by the time their television fame was over.

The Best View in Sao Paulo

Last night Time Irado headed to our last dinner together at Terraco Italia Restaurant (click the link to see a panoramic view of the city) on the top floor of the Italia Building located near the center of the city. This restaurant and bar was recommended by one of the production managers at Tecno Logys, Halysson, and as we did not have a place picked out, we decided to meet Halysson and his wife, Patricia, for dinner and drinks. We were also joined by the finance manager from Tecno Logys, Vanessa, her husband Reinaldo, Amisha and Maria Juliana from Endeavor Brasil, and Amisha's boyfriend Dan. The restaurant boasts the best view of the city and it did not disappoint. Previously, views from the Skyebar at Hotel Unique had us awestruck but the view from Terraco Italia was much better. It was like looking at the New York skyline from across the river versus from the top of the Empire State Building. Both beautiful views, but there is nothing like being atop the Empire State Building looking down at the other buildings.

360 degree view of Sao Paulo from Terraco Italia Restaurant

Until Next Time Tecno Logys

Yesterday was the last day for me working at Tecno Logys. For the past 50 days I have called the innovative and fast growing company home. During my time I focused on and analyzed the company as if I was an employee, working toward the common goal of continued growth and prosperity. There have been many stories of the famous chair, the crazy taxi rides to get to and from work, and of course all of the factory and building site visits. Even more important than the work experiences, was all of the great people I was able to meet and add to my global network of friends and professionals. The day was a celebration of what both myself and the employees at Tecno Logys have learned and gained from our experiences in the seven weeks in Sao Paulo.

Video of the Week: Week 7

In honor of my return back to Ohio this weekend, I wanted to post a short video which portrays my childhood dream. Not of becoming an NBA superstar, or a Superhero, but rather to become a Tax Accountant.

Sao Paulo and Manhattan aren't so different.

Below is an article from the NY Times that speaks to Sao Paulo's housing boom, most notably high rise condominiums.  There is also high demand for office space as the city and the Country's economy continues to grow at a high rate. I wanted to include this article to give some perspective. For those of you I have talked to back home, this is what I have been talking about in terms of the size and feel of the city. I live in the Jardins area between Paulista Ave and Oscar Freire, Sao Paulo's versions of Madison Avenue. Also, I work in Brooklin which is near Itaim Bibi, these two areas of the city along with the Jardins Paulista areas are very nice to live, work, and play (at least until nightfall!). Despite the existence of a run down building or two every couple of blocks, all they are missing is Times Square and an Ernst & Young Office in the background of their New Years Celebration.

(Article by Simon Romero, NY Times)

São Paulo is almost beyond the imagination — a drizzle-shrouded megacity of almost 20 million that sprawls like Los Angeles and boasts enough skyscrapers to vie with New York. The gritty financial engine of the new Brazil, São Paulo exerts influence over commerce, media and culture. The Brazilian writer Roberto Pompeu de Toledo calls it an “urban labyrinth that reaches toward the infinite.” It might not have the palm-fringed glamour of Rio de Janeiro, but in the view of urbane Paulistanos, Brazil has only one truly global city: theirs.

Reader Mailbag: "Based on" ,"Inspired by", and a Star Wars reference

In one of my posts of crazy stories (How It's Made: High Rise Residential Buildings) I made the following comment:

The above events are real events, they are a documentary of sorts and not a knock off "Based on a true story" or "Inspired by a true story".

I received an email last week asking me to explain what I meant and what the differences were between real events, based on a true story, and inspired by a true story. I apologize for the time it has taken me to address this request, however as you can see I have been a busy man making my presence felt in Brazil.