February 25, 2015
I do not need to call the credit card companies now. Just log into your account online and chat with a customer service
rep. They are extremely nice and will fulfill your request. Plus, you get to save the chat session to document
what was discussed. I am supposed to be in London beginning this weekend for work, but the trip was cancelled.
Our department is revamping our strategy and all projects have been put on hold, including overseas travel. Don't book
non-refundable airfare and lodging. If you press them hard enough and if you have given them a lot of business in the past,
they may go out of their way to offer you a full refund for the non-refundable purchase. After several attempts, Hotels.com
was able to obtain a full refund for me from the hotels in London and Prague. The hotel in Prague charged me for one
night's stay, but Hotels.com ate up the cost. United, however, stuck to their policy and allowed me to apply the
value of my ticket less the cancellation fee towards a future purchase. That's not so bad, but this created an
administrative nightmare to close out the advance. I was advised that I cannot close the advance until the United
Airlines ticket value is applied towards a future ticket. Therefore, the advance will sit on my account until it is
time to book the next airfare. I wonder if my peers are doing the same thing. Instead of eating my
banh mi last night, I ended up at Paris. The class was more of a discussion versus a one on one session. I like that
format because students can hear us and chime in when they can. We have four more classes to go.
February 24, 2015
Lara Fabian is getting it today. Happy Birthday, Chi Mai!
February 20, 2015
The past three weeks have been non-stop partying here and there. If it's not Paul's birthday, it was Valentine's
Day, Mardi Gras, and Tet. All four "holidays" in about a span of three weeks. It's not over just yet. TD is going to
perform this weekend. Sheryl backed out because of the Oscars. Mass is still on as scheduled. Instead of a complete
viewing party, some poker action will take place. Food at Paris just keeps getting better and better. I wonder
why they are dead at night time. They must survive on the lunch crowd and deliveries. I still like the fact that they
do not have a liquor license. You can BYOB and there is no corkage fee. It is super casual. Last night's walk back
home had to be the coldest of the season. Tonight will not be any better. Single digits are never fun. I am at a
standstill and sitting around for something to happen. The momentum has died down a bit. It is time to get down to
business and to show some meat. Apparently, we are too rigid. We are to smile more and do small talk. We don't have
time for that. Do we? I walked away with $2 to cash out and one quick pay. Paul got $10 and one quick pay. Nelson
didn't win anything. Happy 40th, Dat!
February 19, 2015
Happy lunar new year!
February 17, 2015
Just when you think you have it all figured out, life throws you a curve ball. It is a never ending, vicious cycle
with obstacles, challenges, heartache, and despair. It sounds quite intense but when is it ever easy? Let's take a
step back and think about the issue at hand. Identify, Analyze, and Conclude...
February 12, 2015
I think the buffer idea worked.
February 10, 2015
We have a new department head as of the first of the month. She has been great. I definitely see a big change
in the work that we do. The one on one session I had with the new department head lasted for about three hours.
We scheduled the session for one hour, but lost track of time. The audit approach will be different. We will focus
on risks and not necessarily the overall operations. Look at areas that would disrupt operations as opposed to the
entire operations. This would involve partnerships with Risk Management and Finance. Instead of being the
cop who comes in and swoops everything out, you are now the partner in management's operations. It has been a tough
week and a half, but it's been a great learning experience. Our reports no longer need to be 20 pages long. They
can now be concise, to the point, short, and sweet. Plus, adding color and tables will engage the reader even more. I always
thought we were stuck in the 80's and I was right. We are now changing for the better to keep up with industry
practices. At the upcoming workshop to take place on Friday, Enterprise Risk Management is one of the topics to be
discussed. I hear risks everywhere I go now. I feel like Ben Stiller in the "Along Came Polly" movie.
February 7, 2015
Happy Birthday, Paul! It's finally your big THREE OH. Should be a pretty awesome weekend...
February 2, 2015
All is well in Boston again.