Soon, many cultures around the world will be celebrating the festival known as Diwali. This is one festival that is practiced in many countries of the world, but remains relatively unknown in the United States. During this time, the cities of India, Trinidad, Nepal and Fiji will be celebrating with much merriment, and many fireworks. This is associated with gambling, but not in the traditional sense, it means taking a huge risk on the chance to welcome into their lives the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

The word itself is translated from Sanskrit to mean the rows of light. There are several differing myths surrounding the festivals depending upon which city you are celebrating in, the main myth in the Indian city of Goa is just the triumph of good over evil, the light over the dark. I chose to spend a few weeks surrounding this festival in one of the city’s four star hotels. Goa history fascinates as well as their love of and support of the arts, so I thought this would be a fine choice to experience this celebration for the first time.

In Goa, Krishna is also celebrated during the parties and the feasts and the dancing. This is one of the most joyous of the Hindu traditions and the people await the Diwali festival all year long. People light the town with thousands of candles and lanterns and the night just fills with the beauty of the vibe, and the magic of the lights. The feeling of this particular time is similar to the celebrating that occurs during New Year’s Eve or Christmas. Diwali is also a time of renewal, houses are cleaned and painted fresh, and again as in the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions, people vow to begin new lives. Lights of bright colors are draped over the houses and the stores, the fireworks light the skies, and a new time will be born. I will miss this celebration this year, but perhaps the opportunity will arise again before too long to make it back to Goa.

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I was on my way to Barcelona and made a quick jaunt to the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi, to get a few photos. I had reservations a one of the five star Barcelona hotels and I found it to be very nice. I had dinner at the hotels restaurant after I got all settled in my room. After dinner, I headed into central Barcelona for a walking tour. I fully agreed with my walking tour guide that this tour is definitely much better in the evening. Very haunting and beautiful, the history of the city is staggering. I didn’t to bring my camera with me because I headed to a couple of bars, and I didn’t relish the idea of losing my very expensive camera due to inebriation.

The first bar I stopped off at was cute, called “Fairy Bar.” It was pretty small and my tour guide described how he thinks the decor happened. A fairy threw up all over the building, covering it with fairy lights and greens of every shade. This bar has the ‘free pour’, which is so much better than those English pub control pour. Here the bartenders don’t even measure the shots! That’s the best way to keep customers as far as I’m concerned. The only thing lacking at this bar was the music. They really need a DJ. I ended up meeting these great Italian guys, they were so much fun! They ended up hanging out with our walking tour group all night, which only made me laugh the entire time. It was great to meet people who like to party as much as I do!

The second bar, was a club, which was a blast, I ended up dancing all most every song. I was being hit on by every Spaniard guy, it seems tourists are like a drug for them. I mostly just danced with the walking tour group, to play it safe. The club, though, really needs to clean their restrooms more often. Pretty disgusting.

Needless to say, I slept in that morning! I must say, by all means, take a walking tour in the evening! It’s so much fun!

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Brisbane is one of Australia’s largest cities, and enjoys an enviable position, being both a rich center for urban culture, but also having easy access to gorgeous natural areas, with the Barrier Reef, vinelands, and outback in close proximity. Being one of the great metropolitan centers, there is a wide range of five star Brisbane hotels to keep you in the very lap of luxury while you’re visiting. Seeing the city from such spectacular lodgings gives it another layer of polish that makes it very compelling. Not that it needs more polish. Brisbane is one of the most exciting places in the world, and is one of the really great music capitals.

The Brisbane alternative music scene is influenced today by its rich punk rock roots. It was one of the great centers in the world, very likely up there right next to New York City and London, for the immense creative output by the local music groups, along with the history of youth culture here that was very outspoken and active, and caught the attention of the local police. There was an awful lot of great music that came out the first and subsequent waves of punk rock from Brisbane, like the Leftovers and the Survivors, and then there’s the Saints, who are still considered to be one of the main forces behind this music in the world.

The second wave, riding on the gravitational pull of the first, was also a fantastic time to be living here. Most of the bands were socially rebellious, and interrogated the culture at large with large doses of wit and sarcasm. This was followed, in the mid-80s, by a more hardcore punk scene, like in the U.S. and the U.K., and gothic elements started to play a more central role. In some recountings, this is where the scene ended. It would be easy to make a case that it hasn’t really ended, and there is a fresh energy to the music right now that is just as vital and exciting, as evidenced by groups such as Escape from Toytown, whose career lasted from 1997-2004, with a sound that carries some of the best edge and grit from the second wave, with a technical precision that speaks to contemporary tastes. If music is your thing, there’s plenty to see here and see how history plays out as the musicians continue to rise out of the ashes of the previous generation.

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Leaving Mysore on another overnight train and heading to Cochin in Kerala. I’m not sure why, but the train was full of Swamis, they’re the Hindu religious version of a coach full of inebriated men. Almost like university supporters. For example, one Swami would shout “Swamiye” and another Swami would shout ‘Awooga’. This repeated all through out the evening. I found it very amusing to see a religion being more like a sport. They even wore the same colored clothes! It would’ve been so funny if when we arrived at a station and a rival Swami group came aboard wearing different color clothes.

My first impression of Kerala was that it was more touristy than I thought it would be, but Kerala is one of the richest states in India and has had tourists travelling here for centuries, so I shouldn’t be too surprised. I can’t even tell that the Tsunami. ever hit here, which is a testimony to how the people here love Cochin. Before I came here, I was warned very strongly that the place is in ruins. But, I found no evidence of this.

I found Cochin to be a wonderful varied town with many cultural sights. I went to see a Kathakali after I checked into one of the best hotels Kerala offers her travellers. Kathakali is a distinctly Keralan form of theater that performs ancient Hindu stories without ever using a word! They use intricate sign-language, facial expressions and musical rhythms to tell the tale. The one I went to lasted into the wee hours of the morning, I didn’t know about that part. After it was over is when I found they offer an abridged version for the tourists, which only lasts three hours. But, I’m actually glad I attended the full version, because I was so enthralled with all the detail and care that went into this production, this art-form.

So, I’ll have to change my plans for tomorrow, I mean today. I need some sleep, long sleep.

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I’m not doing so bad after a 10 hour flight from Honolulu to Sydney. The city reminds me of Vancouver, just a little. Sydney has a varied mix of older buildings and a lot of architecturally interesting skyscrapers. It’s also gorgeously set on a bay with a winding coastline. When I step out of the airport, the weather was perfect! Sunny and 70 degrees! But, I didn’t expect all kinds of flies to land on my face! Must be some kind of descendants of thirsty Outback insects.

I only had a brief time in Sydney, so I wandered about all the primary points of interest, like the Circular Quay. Ferries come and go from here, serving all the outlying areas. The Quay itself is an historic area with lots of 19th century structures that have restaurants and shops. Across the way is the famous opera house and the huge Royal Botanical Garden. This was definitely a very touristy day for me, and it was very nicely done. There was no tackiness about.

I really appreciated the public transportation system, very impressive and very effective. The ride is quiet and comfortable and the stations all appeared to be clean. Service seems to be about every 15 minutes for all the main routes. Sydney also has a bus and monorail system, but I didn’t get a chance to check them out.

The sophistication and scale of the accommodations here is staggering. I spent the night at one of the five star hotels in Sydney and it’s right in the center of town. I really enjoyed the restaurant and pool, oh and the sauna. The price was unbelievably reasonable for the location. I’ll have to recommend this to all my travelling friends. Most prefer to backpack it and stay at hostels, but I bet for this kind of luxury, one night would not be a bad thing.

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So, you have done was is necessary as far as years of preparation before even applying to the law school of your choice. Now what? Now how do you find a way to pay for this degree? A friend of mine attempted to work part time during her first year in the College of Law at Arizona State University, however, she almost crashed and burned. We didn’t have the Internet back then and information was not at our fingertips.

Now it is very simple to look up questions and find quick answers. She did not know that the first year of law school would prove to be the most demanding, not only of her time, but her effort as well. The next year she quit her part time job and started to look into other ways of funding her education, that would free up the time she required to continue on with her studies. Depending on which school you choose the range of tuition costs varies quite a bit.

And any college student becomes aware very quickly that not only is tuition an expense to be considered, so to is food, housing, books and just all around living expenses. Solutions to this problem are also varied. While work study is an option is generally advised to this only further along in your years of study. Grants are often a pain to apply for, a lot of paperwork, however this is money that you will not be required to pay back.

So to are scholarship applications daunting to fill out, however again, there is nothing better than graduating free of debt and ready to begin your life in anyone of the law offices throughout the country? So if neither of these apply, grants are based on need and scholarships are based on academic achievement the next and very viable option is the taking out of student loans. In the case of loans, it is best to have a financial advisor offer advice, as the interest rates may vary and in the end you may end up paying close to twice as much as your original loan.

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My friend worked for a while in a shoe store as a salesman. It was one of the more expensive stores, the kind that sells Gucci and Versace on a regular basis. He lasted there a while too because he took the things he had learned in his previous job as a sales manager in at a software company , and applied them to his job at the shoe store. It was an odd switch for him, but he like so many other people in this economic downturn, lost his job and took what he could get. He actually likes his new job. His wife however, probably loves it even more because it affords her the opportunity for better shoes and at better prices. Though some of them are still pretty steep, at two-hundred dollars.

Although sales managers in smaller companies cannot afford the pricey sales management training most top companies employ to help maintain great managers in their sales division, there are still things from those programs that are applicable to the smallest companies, from shoe stores to scrapbooking stores, from family owned businesses to small chains of restaurants. One of the things he took from his training in sales and other kinds of corporate team building sessions was the ability to adapt to change. That is the single most important quality to have in business, or so he says. He must be right, because he’s already had two promotions at his current job. You also cannot get more changeable than a software salesman to a shoe salesman.

Perhaps the other most important quality a salesman must have is the ability to inspire trust in people. This quality has become even more important due to his current job. He’s touching women’s feet all day, and there might not be anything more intimate than that. He has to earn their trust and keep it. He had to learn to act a little differently (at his last job, he could be more abrupt), but that was all a part of transforming to fit the job. So far, he has enjoyed the challenge, and appreciates the training his last job afforded him, as it is something he can take with him to any job he applies for now.

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Located between East 7th Street and East 10th Street, and between the Avenues A and B, in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan sits Tompkins Square Park. This is just one of the many neighborhood parks located throughout the city, and offers the communities that live here respite from a hectic lifestyle, a place to walk the dogs or let the children play, and provides a collective meeting ground for celebrations, concerts, outdoor movie nights and festivals. Most of the parks are either surrounded by or include within them some of the best restaurants New York City has to offer.

While Tompkins Square is not a large park, covering just over ten acres, it has quite a history and has become one of the nicer parks in the city over the last few years of gentrification. The neighborhood surrounding the park has always been a mix of eclectic cultures, everyone from fashion divas, to rock musicians, radicals, artists and poets. Many who live near this area have stayed here for many years, just because of this simple fact that the energy and the creative buzz is overwhelming and inspiring.

Some of the festivals that happen in the Square throughout the year include one that is honor of author Allen Ginsberg called the Howl Festival. Wigstock, the outdoor drag celebration has always been popular as is the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. But even when the special events are not taking place, there is still so much to witness and to experience.

The Farmer’s Market takes place each and every Saturday, as well as many other open art artist markets. And there is always someone performing, and they are good too, not just hacks out there with broken guitars, but string quartets, and groups of drummers accompanying break dancers. It is truly a great way to experience the vibe and the artistry that has been cultivated throughout the many years of those who have lived here at one time, or who are continuing to do so today.

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Damian became a vegetarian in the late 1980s. At the time he and some friends were studying at The University of Arizona and would have some cheap lunch when they got out of class. Their habit was to eat a greasy hamburger and fries and they would usually find themselves with greatly upset stomachs for the rest of the day. It was something of a coincidence that Damian and his friend Michael both decided on the same day to become vegetarians.

While making the decision and beginning the new lifestyle dietary choice was easier once they realized they would be doing it together, it was still 1988 and their were no companies such as Morningstar or Boca to help them along. Damian remembers clearly the afternoon he and Michael tried sat down at a new healthy café and saw the Garden burger on the menu. It sounded strange but they were both tempted to try it and instantly loved it. Most of the time when they were out, they would have to settle for ordering a salad or vegetable plate or some minor collection of side dishes. Also, they were both constantly asking if chicken or beef broth had been added to a dish and were often disappointed to find out that it was.

Those early vegetarian college days were difficult but both students were solid and committed to their choice. Michael moved out of state when they graduated and eventually they lost touch. They both went on with their careers and lives. However, last year, Michael was in Tucson visiting his family and went to pick up some soy ham slices. Surprisingly he ran into Damian at the market and they were extremely happy to see each other and catch up. Without giving it a thought, Damian asked if Michael wanted to have lunch at the local vegetarian restaurant and Michael eagerly agreed. After all that time and all they had independently been through, both men were still vegetarians and finally had restaurants and companies that catered specifically to them.

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Fall is fast approaching and as the weather begins to cool down our thoughts quickly turn to the holiday festivities. But don’t forget about your house. I’m not just talking about hanging some Christmas lights and setting out some cute lawn ornaments; there are several things you can do now to help get your house ready for those cold winter months.

One of the first things to check is the roof. Whether you are expecting rain or snow, it is always a good idea to check the roof for missing shingles or leaks. Most leaks, if caught early, can easily be repaired with some extra shingles and tar; however, if it has gone on too long you may need to call out a contractor for some more serious repair work. While you are on the roof, you can also check the gutters and make sure that they are clear of any debris. It is best to get that done now, as it is typically not a good idea to be climbing on ladders or the roof during the winter months because of the greater risk of injury. If you live in an area that gets particularly cold and icy, you will want to insult your pipes. Wrapping your pipes in insulation now is much easier than waiting till it gets colder or repairing one that’s broken.

Having stored all lawn and deck furniture for the winter, inspect the deck. If you have not treated it in awhile, now would be a good time. This is a fairly simple procedure that involves pressure washing the surface, letting it dry thoroughly and then coating it with water sealer. This will not only improve the appearance of your deck or patio but also add years to its life.

The last thing to check is the windows. Not only will you want to clean and check the windows themselves but also the seals. A good seal will help keep the warm air in and electric bill down. You can also use this time to check your blinds. Many companies like Next Day Blinds offer repair services. Next Day Blinds services will be much higher if you call them now, rather than the middle of a snow storm.

Preparing your house for the colder months is a lot of work; however, it is worth it to have a warm, uneventful winter.

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Regular upkeep on your vehicle is a must. Even though you do remain diligent, there will still be things that will need to be replaced from time to time, the motor oil, the wiper blades, the 26″ rims, or the brake shoes, and the tires. I have experience with each of these items “breaking down” in my many years of driving. These are items on your vehicle that simply wear out or become damaged over time.

Aside from the rims, all the other items mentioned play a large role in the safety of yourself and all those riding in your vehicle. If the motor oil is not fresh, or if there is too little, the motor of your car may freeze–or more accurately, burn into itself, causing the engine of the car to seize on the freeway. This happened to me in college and it was a frightening experience. Going at high speed, my car slowed down drastically and the power brakes and steering not longer functioned.

The wiper blades? Again, nothing worse than being in a Phoenix monsoon storm without properly functioning windshield wipers. Again, I was caught in a storm and had to pull over and hail a cab. Brake shoes, not only is it extremely dangerous to not have truck wheels and braking systems routinely checked, it can get expensive when the shoes or pads wear out and damage the rotors. A simple brake job, inexpensive, I neglected and after just moving to Los Angeles found it necessary to spend almost a thousand dollars to fix my brakes on my truck.

Next stop, a trip to Idyllwild, California. for a wedding. This time it was not my overlook that got us into trouble, but my boyfriend’s. We were going down Interstate 10 at about 80 miles an hour, and not one, but both of the two back tires actually shredded as we were driving. We all of a sudden heard a sound like burlap flapping against the side of tin roof. We pulled over to see what was going on. His tires were in need of replacement, last year.

So we got back into the Jeep, and slowly made our way to Palm Springs. We found a discount tire distributor, and had all four replaced at once. We were lucky. We experienced an inconvenience, but no one was hurt. We had a great weekend and vowed to always, from that moment on, keep up on the small and easy fixes that make such a difference when driving–in town, and cross country.

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One of the most spectacular places to visit these days is Dubai. It has become something of a magnet for visitors from all over the world, and has a special magic for attracting celebrities. The incredible beaches and fantastic night club scene are no doubt part of the draw, but there are many other sides of Dubai that are also equally splendid. It hosts some of the world’s largest and most exciting shopping malls, and also has a superb array of accommodations. Dubai specializes in luxury accommodations, and has a long tradition of hospitality, so that you’re assured to rest in heavenly comfort. Many hotels are also located in spectacular spots, so that you can enjoy some of the finest things that Dubai has to offer.

As a creative center, Dubai has really come into its own in recent years. Due to a large push by the government, there is now a fantastic gallery scene in town, and it does indeed rival even the music scene. Both are spectacular, however, and there is something here to certainly suit your tastes. For those who might like a bit of both at the same time, try to plan your visit to coincide with the Creek Art Fair, as there are almost always sound installations in the splendid offerings on display for your viewing pleasure.

The Creek Art Fair is the edgier sister of Art Dubai, and is held at around the same time of year. This is a chance to see the fringe of contemporary international art, and the players here are no less famous, perhaps, but the work is often in less tangible mediums, and is more for the culture than for the marketplace. Last year’s CAF saw new work by the likes of Jay Battle. Jay is a New York based sound artist who is quickly making his way around the international art scene, and is attracting attention for his sound work as well as his napkin and coffee stain drawings. This is exciting, contemporary work, that speaks about the heartbeat of the world as well as the pulse of Dubai.

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Reading that Madrid was recently in the run for hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, I couldn’t help but to think back twelve years ago to my honeymoon. My wife Elizabeth and I spent the whole month of October in Spain, and sometimes I think I’ll never have a more beautiful or special time in my life. It’s not that I haven’t experienced great joy and beauty since or prior to that, our time there simply was incomparably magical.

We were only going to stay in Madrid for three days, however, it was so incredibly beautiful and there was so much to do and see that we extended our stay in one of the Madrid best hotels and remained there for a week. It is not only the capital of Spain, but also the largest of its cities, and I can’t remember now why we didn’t think we would need more time there in the first place. Oh, of course, Elizabeth wanted to spend the bulk of our time in the Spanish countryside and stay at some of the rustic bed and breakfasts and just get a brief tour of the major cities. My perspective was to spend as much time in the city as possible and tour the country as we passed through. As it turned out, the honeymoon was a combination of both our interests.

Madrid, though, was absolutely incredible. I loved sipping coffee in a café in one of the historic neighborhoods. Madrid is greatly rich in political and social historic relevance, and sitting there in that small café on a rainy Tuesday with a piece of lit candle at our table was amazingly romantic. I wanted that afternoon to last forever. Another great moment occurred when we visited the Teatro Real, or Royal Theatre, which was a restored opera house from 1850. It sits across from the Royal Palace, which was the official home of the queen during its construction and opening. Among other great composers and famous personalities, Giuseppe Verdi is known to have attended the premiere of his new opera La forza del destino.

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In these days, when the global and the local mix in new and spectacular ways, places like Singapore have a special place in the minds of savvy world travelers. Its multicultural urban culture has always been attuned to the newest trends, and has a great respect for the best of world tradition. Singapore offers a cultural scene that is like none other, with a rich array of offerings in music, theatre, and dance, and also has a tremendous visual art scene. It is a place that accommodates the best of tastes, and to get the real flavor, it’s recommended to see it from a hotel whose rank is five star,Singapore has a great tradition of hospitality, and one can really experience it in luxury lodgings.

Our hotels are selected from Singapore’s finest, to give you the splendor you deserve while you enjoy the richness of the place. After a rest in our gloriously-furnished rooms, enjoy a fine meal served by our master chefs, and set out to see the sights in Singapore. There is a lot of visually stunning sights here, from the large-scale to the smallest detail, and it’s easy to find yourself looking for work by local artists, to see what some focus might do to these disparate images on the streets. If you happen to find an exhibition by the great visual artist Matthew Ngui, you may have to refocus a few times. His installations are famous for their ability to stun the viewer with its tricks of perception.

Matthew Ngui likes to play with how we see, as much as offering complex content to what we do see. His video works and sculptures have an ability to change shape, so that what they look like from far away is something altogether different than what they are up close. It’s a mastery of visual manipulations, but it reveals a much deeper agenda for the artist. He’s from Singapore and splits his time between here and Perth, where his instructor Ng Eng Tengalso lives. His body of work is dedicated to asking questions about knowing, and specifically about how knowledge is embedded in culture. Apart from sculpture and video, he is also known for his food performances, where preparation is part of the installation, and food becomes a cultural product which can be consumed by the spectator. Through these actions, he is asking the audience to ask questions back, to critically engage in how meaning and knowledge are shared, and often, confused, in a time of multiple meanings.

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Our vacation in Phuket is all about relaxation. On our first morning, we had breakfast at the Phuket best hotels, it was a delicious buffet, serving anything our hearts desired. The waitress came by and asked us if we wanted coffee and I thought I’d try out my Thai language and greeted her in Thai. She smiled and replied in Thai, but then she continued as if I was fluent, which I was not, but at least I knew I had successfully gotten my intonations right. Of course, I had this confused look on my face that told her I hadn’t a clue to what she was saying.

After breakfast, we decided to go to the beach, even though it was early in the morning. We rented two lounge chair with umbrellas from this guy on the beach. It was so nice knowing that no matter how much time we spent in the water that our umbrella and lounge chairs would always be there when we got back. We rented snorkel gear at a shack not too far from our lounge chairs and began our exploration of the ocean floor of Patong Beach. We spent the entire day, snorkeling, lounging and playing in the sand.

We thought about how not too long ago this beach was devastated by the Tsunami of 2004, because this beach, normally, would be completely full this time of year, but it was virtually empty. There were no jet ski’s to rent, which normally there would be. From what we could see, the beach has recovered but the tourism hasn’t. The toll of the Tsunami is still being felt. We saw a man carrying a basket on his head, he was selling fruit. He had been on the beach all day long, we didn’t know what kind of fruit he was selling, but we bought a few anyway, you know, to support the locals. The fruit must not have been ripe, we still couldn’t tell what kind of fruit it was but it most definitely wasn’t ripe.

There was a puppy on the beach, and he hung around us all day, we really enjoyed playing with him, he reminded me of my dog back home in the States being watched by my son. The puppy dug a hole under our lounges and had apparently adopted us for the day. It was hard to leave him on the beach, but we needed to head back to our hotel room and get ready to go out on the town tonight. He started to follow us, but we managed to get the security personnel to stop him. Sad, we really would’ve taken him to our hotel room, but of course that was impossible. Plus, we wouldn’t be able to take him back to the States with us.

After a long day on the beach, we showered and went to a local restaurant to eat. The food was absolutely marvelous. We headed back to our hotel room and decided to call it a wonderful day and night.

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