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Working Relationships
Aug 28th
As I believe I’ve written previously, all of us on Global Traveler‘s editorial staff (editor in chief Lisa Matte, senior editor Janice Hecht, art director Tracey Cullen and I) work from home offices. What’s more, we live in four different states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Oregon — and two different time zones. Through the wonders of modern technology, though, we’ve developed a very efficient process for producing a beautiful and informative magazine every month (as well as a number of supplements each year).
We’ve only all come together once, on the occasion of GT‘s fifth anniversary celebration, so you might think that ours are strictly business-like relationships. However, over the years we’ve interspersed work-talk with more personal matters, and shared aspects of our lives and interests apart from the magazine.
Working alone at home can be a somewhat isolating experience, so it’s nice to be able to develop a warm and friendly partnership with those linked to you by computer and phone. We swap stories involving families, trips and gardens and commiserate with each other over weather (too cold, hot, wet or deep!) and car and home repairs.
I especially enjoy the sharing of just-this-moment bits of interest. Earlier this summer Jan reported she was under a tornado warning (in Connecticut?!), and we waited to hear that she was in the all-clear afterward. This week, Tracey sent a great photo she’d just taken in her backyard. She reported having heard a lot of commotion out there in the preceding days, with the birds being literally all a-twitter over something. That morning she discovered the cause of all the ruckus: a hawk had been hunting, and she snapped him in a tree feasting upon an unlucky mole. (Tracey actually had little sympathy for the mole, as her husband had been trying to eradicate them from the yard for weeks.) Jan then replied with a possible identification of the bird (complete with a description of its cry) and stories of her own encounters with the raptors. I shared my own humbler version of backyard battles: I’d been distracted that day by aerial dogfights, that would have made the Red Baron proud, between two hummingbirds battling over the choicest flowers.
These little tidbits from our daily lives are hardly earth-shattering, but they comprise the building blocks of a positive working relationship between far-flung individuals. I have no doubt that this same kind of sharing occurs between business people on every continent all over the world – the exchange of children’s pictures at dinner, the swapping of battle stories across the aisle on a jetliner, a tip for a great place to visit as a meeting adjourns – bringing each of us a little closer to another.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
NBTA Day 2
Aug 10th
I joined my colleagues yesterday at NBTA in Houston. I look forward to seeing the booths Fran mentioned yesterday and to seeing what the travel industry has in store for 2011.
We will be sitting down to lunch soon to hear Condoleeza Rice speak. It is exciting to be at an industry conference that brings everyone together to hear about business, but having a speaker like Condoleeza Rice reminds us how all industries are interwined and dependant upon each other in this global world. Decisions made in Washington affect the globe and the travel industry.
Recently, we have been reading announcements that airlines are boasting profits and people’s spirits seem higher than they were at last year’s conferences. I am optimistic that we will see this continue and the level of travel from small business to large corporate travel will continue to pick up its recovery pace, despite challenges that still lay ahead. Stay tuned to hear more from GT‘s bloggers about NBTA and the exciting news the airlines and hotels of the world will have to offer you!
– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
Girls’ Weekend
Jul 25th
Nearly every year, the women of my family come together to enjoy a weekend of fun and relaxation. No menfolk, no counting calories, no rigid schedule or rules. We’ve been doing this since my daughters were young, and now the girls of their generation (who were all too young to come along on those first excursions because — another requirement — there is no whining or being taken care of on these trips) are young mommies themselves. They have come to discover the joys and blessings of leaving kids, husbands and responsibilities behind for a few days of just hanging out with the girls.
Perhaps we are unique, but our group is blessed with very little drama and a bountiful appreciation for each other. A quick wit and the ability to laugh at oneself are hallmarks of each of us, whether daughter, sister, aunt or mom. Usually, we find a big house at the beach or a lodge in the mountains to rent for a long weekend, and a dozen or more of us will trickle in over the course of a Friday (depending on work schedules and the distance from home). We bring along beverages and goodies of choice, perhaps a game or two, and a store of family news and chat to share. There are always those who stay up late and others who rise early and get the coffee on; those who head out for a walk in the cool of morning and those who prefer to just find a cozy corner to curl up in with a good book.
That is the charm of a girls’ weekend: Everyone is comfortable with doing her own thing without pressure to take part in any group activity, but there is usually at least one other person prepared to join you when you want company for a shopping excursion or a little outdoor activity. We share cooking duties or, more often than not, let someone else do the cooking for us with take-out or a restaurant meal. Most of us are avid readers, so there are often lively book discussions as well.
This year, for the first time, the venue for this much-anticipated event was held in a family home . . . mine, to be exact. It gave me the opportunity to share our new place with a bunch of my female relatives, most for the first time. With cute shops to peruse in nearby Grants Pass, Ashland and Jacksonville; outdoor activities galore; and an assortment of other avenues of entertainment, ours seemed to be the right place to host our gathering. Today, seven of us enjoyed an exhilarating (and wet) jet boat ride on the Rogue River (a nice way to spend a 100-degree afternoon) while the rest partook of a little shopping and a leisurely lunch in historic Jacksonville. Tonight we shared Lemon Drops and dinner together, followed by a new event, a book swap where we traded off our favorite reads with each other. Tomorrow we’ll enjoy brunch and a shower for my niece and her first baby before everyone (except me, of course) returns home.
We’ll all come away from this time together refreshed and recharged for our daily lives and responsibilities. We will also have tightened the bonds that tie us together through blood or marriage, thankful to be part of this loving and lively family.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editorÂ
A Great Birthday Weekend
Jul 24th
Last weekend we traveled to Portland to celebrate my birthday and spend time with family and long-time friends. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need a bunch of presents or a big event to mark the day. Give me a great dinner, a nice bottle of wine and pleasant conversation and I’ll call it a perfect celebration. My husband and I had a delicious meal at Wildwood restaurant in Northwest Portland (fresh, locally sourced ingredients prepared simply but perfectly) and brought our own bottle of wine (though Wildwood has a very nice cellar). The 2000 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was lush, complex and a perfect complement to the meal.
We then stopped in at Papa Hadyn to pick up an absolutely decadent cake (they have several to choose from; choosing just one was quite a chore!) to take back to my mother-in-law’s house to share. Harry’s brother and his family were visiting from Texas, and we spent a couple of hours over dessert on the patio sharing news and old stories under a clear, warm, summer night sky.
The next morning we visited one of the best farmers markets I’ve ever been to, anywhere. The Beaverton Farmers Market covers a full city block and spills over into side streets beyond, chock full of vendors of everything from organic buffalo meat; fresh tuna, halibut and salmon; artisan cheeses and honey to herbs, perennials and fresh produce. There aren’t many crafters or artists; virtually everything on offer here can be eaten or grown — or both. I never visit without coming away with at least a few plants for the garden, some ingredients for a great meal or two and something I need to eat immediately (berries, a fresh fruit empanada, some German sausage). There’s always live music, whether it be jazz, blues, folk or country. On this particular day the group played “Galway Girl” and nearly brought daughter Jenny to tears as it transported her back to her trip through Ireland this past February.
That evening saw us gathering with our group of friends that began meeting as young married couples nearly 30 years ago over wine and good food. It is rare these days when we are all in the same town together at the same time. That evening we shared a unique and wonderful collection of wines that had been purchased about 20 years ago when jobs and moves made it impossible for us to keep up our bimonthly get-togethers. Leftover funds we had used to purchase wines for those tastings were used to buy up wines from the 1988 and 1989 vintages of Bordeaux (including Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut Brion). While some were certainly past their prime, all were still drinkable, and some were still amazingly balanced, complex and delightful. The entire collection, which originally cost us $835, would require an investment of well over $5,000 at retail to replace today. What made the evening most special, though, was the time spent with such dear friends. We sat overlooking the Willamette River, watching all manner of watercraft plying the waters as Mt. Hood glowed pink in the dusk and the lights of the downtown towers and bridges twinkled on. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday, without a doubt.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor  Â
