Beautifully efficient. That is how I described Lou Berney’s writing style to my wife referencing his latest, and allow me to add the hyperbole of masterful, book November Road. Within November Road, Berney fashions the perfect genre mashup. The tale is a first-rate crime story, that’s also a chase story, joined with a love story,…
Tag: travel
Los Angeles – Day 5
“I hope I was able to serve your travel needs today,” said the outsourced voice on the other end of the connection. His accent placed him somewhere in South Asia, certainly not in a stuffy LAX terminal where I was standing making the call. I had a sharp intake of breath allowing me a second…
Korea – Day 4
I don’t know why Americans complain about the hassles at airports. Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport has it that you cannot leave the Philippines without paying a deportation tax. The cost was 500 PHP, which equates to just under $5 USD. Or the price of a Whopper. I turned my bill – among the last…
Manila – Day 3
Welcome to the 21st Century, where the Internet has made our world, our cell phones, and our attention spans smaller. From SMS IM-ing and digital communications to MySpace and YouTube to television adverts for web sites. If you are not online, well, you’re totally off. In the Philippines, however, a third world Asian country, where…
Manila – Day 2
Am I allowed to discuss clients’ names, work details, and meeting specifics in my personal blog? More importantly, do I want to have my work, which is already more invasive than kudzu, occupy a space that is supposedly designated for personal freedom? The answer to the latter is obviously no, however, certain events within have…
Manila – Day 1
Monday in the Philippines was considered to be an off day. Sent here to work, though, this potentially relaxing day of wishful sightseeing and recovering from a touch of jet lag was instead spent upgrading our soon-to-be sold-and-recently-downgraded-to-three-star Hyatt Hotel over to the very opulent five-star rated Pan Pacific deeper into town. Once set up…
Manila – Getting There
The lightning arced sideways in the sky; its electric white and hot blue appearing as a flashbulb pop at a birthday party. Being several hundred feet in the air while viewing this didn’t quite have the most pleasing affect however. Surprisingly, the flight remained quite smooth. Or perhaps going on twenty hours of flight-time, I…
