Charleston...some info...

Charleston is a city in Charleston county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County.[2] The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location (Oyster Point) from a location on the west bank of the Ashley River in 1680; it adopted its present name in 1783. In 1690, Charleston was the fifth largest city in North America,[3] and remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census.[4]

Charleston is known as The Holy City due to the prominence of churches on the low-rise cityscape, particularly the numerous steeples which dot the city's skyline, and for the fact that it was one of the few cities in the original thirteen colonies to provide religious tolerance to the French Huguenot Church.[5]

In fact, it is still the only city in the U.S. with such a church.[6] Charleston was also one of the first colonial cities to allow Jews to practice their faith without restriction. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in 1749, is the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in the continental United States.[7] Brith Shalom Beth Israel is the oldest Orthodox shul in the South, founded by Ashkenazic (German and central European) Jews in the mid 19th century.

The population was estimated to be 118,492 in 2007, making it the second most populous city in South Carolina closely behind the state capital Columbia.[8] Current trends put Charleston as the fastest growing central city in South Carolina. The metropolitan area population of Charleston and North Charleston, which includes the entire populations of Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties, was estimated to be 603,178 in 2006.[9] This ranks Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville as the second largest metropolitan statistical area in the state behind Columbia. Nearly 80% of the Charleston metro population lives inside the city and its surrounding urbanized area (2000 pop.: 423,410).

The city of Charleston is located just south of the mid-point of South Carolina's coastline, at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Charleston's name is derived from Charles Towne, named after King Charles II of England.

America's most-published etiquette expert, Marjabelle Young Stewart, has recognized the city since 1995 as the "best-mannered" city in the U.S,[10] a claim lent credibility by the fact that it has the first established Livability Court in the country.

Moving to Charleston...a new Bridge to cross...

Here we go....after almost 3 years of "Big Apple" life, my luggages moved again....new destination South Carolina, Charleston. And...a new bridge to cross....looking forward to do that....

I'm here since 2 weeks and I'm still astonished between feelings regarding NY friendships and "life-key"...and the news to be in a more quite, clean and definetely warmer city.

Temperature are like during the Spring Time and every place is extremely clean. People are friendly and I love my job. This is a place mainly founded on the shipping industry and tourism and he is one of the most historical place of the country.

Probably this will be the time to know the real America. I'm sure it will be an interesting experience...and this means that this blog will become the place where to post all the pictures and news I will find on this place....So, keep in touch.

Enjoy your week end...and let me leave you with a quote I was reading this morning.

Take care

Gianpy

"There are no classes in life for beginners: right away youare always asked to deal with what is most difficult."-- Rainer Maria Rilke

One month later....YES WE CAN

Exactly one month later from my last post... and finally we can say: YES WE CAN.

We can try to make this world better.
We can try to live every day of our life as the best way possible.
We can say I love you to all the people we care about.
We can look at ourselves in the mirror and trust our soul.
We can look outside the box and find the best solution possible.
We can say thank you before it's too late.
We can think about the future without any predjudice.
We can say: YES WE CAN

YES WE CAN is not a simple slogan. It's behind any political parties, any race or colour, any age, any place in the world. Personally I'm happy on the America's choice. Now there are no more excuses for any immgrant, any people of colour, any citizens, any americans to say: "I can't get this because of my colour of the skin, I can't get this because of my status, I can't ...." This is an example on how this democracy can inspire every country, every people in the world.

WE ARE LIVING in a difficult time, economical crises, environmental issues, wars.... all matters that are influincing our daily life. The only way to get out of this, to stand up from this situation... is to react all together as individual, united as nation, as world. It will be tough...but I believe we can do it. I'm sure every single contribute will help to this common cause. It's time to create a different mentality in the world, it's time to think with a long term perspective. We cannot watch the TV and say that we have an energy issue and at the same time, we leave the lights on in rooms in which we are not. We cannot look the environmental problems and at the same time, we do not consider the way we can be more efficient in our house. We cannot keep watching the war on the TV and at the same time, have the same feeling in our families or working environment.

WE ALL HAVE A ROLE.

And I'm glad that the future President of the United States of America, can use his example to say: YES WE CAN. If you are a dreamer...you will easily understand that this is a common ground in which develop the CHANGE for the future. It's time to stand up and create little by little the change we need. No matter if your name is Obama or John... no matter if you are black or white, no matter if you are american or italian, atheist or religious... what matter is the way we change from NO to YES, from I to WE, from CAN'T to CAN. It's up to us.

Now, below video has more sense.

Yes we Can....

Simply enjoy....for everyone who loves dreams, who believe in change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fZHou18Cdk

Gianpy

Rent...No day but today

Waking up in the morning, having some fun with friends who slept over my house the past night and watching a movie found the day before by "suerte".

You will discover that....it's the beginning of the month and maybe...like in my case, you still have to pay the rent to the landlord. Let's do it before is too late ...:-)

Not sure if you had the chance to watch the movie Rent either the Broadway show. It's a mix of "normal life" in New York, well...probably normal for "artists" who live on their own world. But it has something in common with every single person who lives in this world. We often forget that we live only one life...so often our regrets take control of ourself and ...in the midtime, time is flying away. Then, when the day in which we lose the most important things in our life it comes, .... we do discover that we always had the chance to have them...but something was wrong inside us.

It's a written story, a brodway shows, a daily life. It's up to us to decide when stand up and live every day without regrets....not as a "normal day"...but as a "TODAY".

A mix of personal thoughts, a movie story, and a weblog ...a place to share whatever I think. It's time to measure our lives in love....and not on a calendar basis.

Enjoy your Sunday....

Gianpy

The concept of "mental inflaction"

Reading the daily newspapers give you the chance to catch every day a new concept.

Well, maybe is not completely new...but sometimes the way writers call an idea, it is simply phenomenal.

Yesterday I was browsing something in the "Daily New York Metro". Every time I see there is an article written by Elliot Kallan, I stop myself and enjoy his writing and way to exploit the reality around us.

At this time, he wrote sometime about the "mental inflaction". I want just to report what was in the newspaper. It definetely give you an idea of "big numbers", USA economy crisis...and..."the human mindset". Hope you will enjoy as much as I did. Take care Gianpy

"With the introduction of the $700 billion credit bailout plan, America now faces a major crisis. No, not the economy. That thing's dead, and we need to move on and leave it behind us. I'm speaking of the uncontrolled growth of numbers. Almost daily, America is being confronted with bigger and bigger numbers, 700 billion being only the most recent example. Numbers that size used to appear only in academic texts and horror movies. The average Joe rested easy knowing he'd never have to think in more than four digits. But those innocent days are over.

America has losts its ability to tell when a number is too big. The problem started when "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" moved from a prime time to a day time. Suddenly a million dollars was no longer an amazing, unattainable figure but just something handed out between Judge Judy verdicts. From there it's been a slippery slope. $10 billion once shocked us, but now it's merely the monthly rate for a midsized war. And until recently, nobody had every even counted as high as $700 billion, but after a few weeks of hearing it bandled about on TV we got used it. Now $700 billion even feel kind of quaint, like buying a hot dog for a nickel.

It's a process called "Mental inflaction" in which the brain becomes desenitized to large numbers and readjusts its awareness of scale. As a result, America is losing its understanding of proper amounts of things. A trillion dollar deficit? Hey, that' just one bad day on Wall Street, we will make it back tomorrow. I fear if this numerical inflaction continues, we'll soon see 74 hours movies, 30,000-page books and eggs sold in packages of 1.5 million. Because frankly, in the face of 700 billion, only numbers that big make sense.

There is only one solution. The government must put a cap on counting and cease our production of new numbers until a normale sense of magnitude returns. This won't be popular. Still, in this new era of increased regulation, I think people will accept such a drastic measure. Otherwise, our nation runs the risk of collapsing under the weight of these numbers, leaving us with nothing we can truly count on, except our fingers."

Inspirational quote of the day...

"Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way."

-- Douglas Pagels, Author

Life is a not a goal...is a journey

Have you ever heard sentences like: "I'm tired" or "I'm giving 100% of myself but I'm not getting the same back" or "there is no time to do everything"?
Well, probably this is what 90% of people says everyday. Find excuses is one of the most visible aspect of the modern society. This is the reason why people feel unhappyness and unsatisfaction.

Most of the time we miss an important detail:

LIFE IS NOT A GOAL, IS A JOURNEY.

Often, we badly want to achieve something, and by the day we do it (or not), we don't feel the desidered satisfaction. The main reason is because we are so focused on the results, that we miss the daily contact, emotions given by people around us, sounds and colors coming out from the environment in which we live.

Think about an artist who play music. A song is a final result of a creative and inspirational moment. Behind a song, there is always a story, a though, an emotion, a mind, a path. The way songs are created make them uniques.

This is the same logic valid for anything else in life.

"Wedding is a result of love, not a goal to achieve. Being manager is a result of doing a good work and having a nice attitude, is not a chair to sit on top. Dream is live our life with open eyes, is not something to balance with the unhappiness of every day".

So, does it means that we can simply dream and live without goals and plans? Definetely no. Dreams without actions are like to have a roof of the house without foundations. We need both, for the right purposes.
Final goal is needed in order to visualize the path. Our mission is to live this journey smiling to everything around us. This is what I believe is bringing happiness to people. At least, it ensure that we are not spending our life time without living it.

Enjoy your day, life...and always smile.

Power of inspiration...

Simply read them!! Enjoy

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. - Edmund Burke

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.Henry David Thoreau

Attitude determines altitude. - Anonymous

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. - Roy Disney

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man adapts the world to himself. All progress depends upon the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw

A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. –William Shedd

Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny. - David O. McKay


Some men see things the way they are and ask, "Why?" I dream things that never were, and ask "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

J F Kennedy....Arts and Quote

Do you know that today is the birthday of John F. Kennedy Center forPerforming Arts?

In 1971, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in Washington, D.C., with a performance of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."

Today we can start with an Inspirational Quote of John F. Kennedy:

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity"

Have a nice Monday

Growing fast or growing well...

Another year is flying away and some of the questions are always the same.

Economy is changing, Far East is taking the lead, USA are trying to keep their leadership awake, Europe is still trapped in political divisions, Russia is consolidating interests of the past in a modern way, Africa is full of wars and social problems. Australia, who knows what is happening over there!

In this scenario, global firms are positioning themselves as imporant agent in this society. If you think a second, you will probably realize that most of them move annual capitals bigger than most of what worldwide countries. do Acting in different countries make them aware of what is happing around the world. Often, they know cultures, laws, habits and economical trends better than local governments.

So, is the global growth passing trhough these entities?

In my opinion they have an important role. However a well structured growth can be achieved only if these entities will combine their role with the one that Institutions and Social Parts have. Is probably between those interactions that we can find some interesting examples on how to lead our society in the years ahead of us.

But please, do not leave the system doing that. Everything starts from a point that everyone knows really well: OURSELVES.

Find your path and keep going on it.

Gianpy

Little Mozart...

Good morning to everyone,

today is the day in which discover interesting things on the web.

If you would like to know something more about a young pianist (9 years old) who plays Beethoven in the same way he use to have breakfast in the morning and, who talk about his 2 years old start, well, you can click on below link and maybe, get inspired for your future carrier..:-)

For sure, you will have an ambitous competitor in this field!! Enjoy

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/09/05/nat.uk.little.mozart.cnn

Gianpy

Sunday Quote....

Jumping around the web I did find below quotation. Because we are living in a world where often, everyone's expectation is to became a manager or a CEO, let's give some inputs to reflect about Management and Leadership.

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things".
Peter F. Drucker

Sometime, order makes the difference.
Enjoy your Sunday

Leadership and politics

Days of conventions....Democratic first, Republican later. Who ever feel to be part of a country, or living on it, cannot ignore what is happening on the political side.

Often, people thinks that politics is not something that affect your daily life. Maybe is because we don't like the way Institutions are running, maybe because is too easy to identify in the political side the reason of our faillures.
But, politics reflects the society and everyone has to be part of it.

During the past week, I watched the Democratic Convention. I'm not going to hide that I was positively impressed from some of the speaches delivered, like Clinton, Obama.
The fact that USA, land of opportunity, is having difficulties to keep this role, is bringing everyone to a further step called: CHANGE.

We heard this word more than one time in the past. Most of the time it never happened. But everytime this was true, we experienced historical phases of our society development. World is full of wars, interests, divisions....but it is also full of leadership, people who want to change, people who loves.

I do agree on the fact that change has to come from the bottom to the top and not on the opposite way. This is what is behind the dream to lead a life, a family, a company, a nation.

Awaiting for the repubblican convention, I'm glad to have seen all the above in the first candidate to the Presidential elections.

Gianpy

Monday morning quote: experience

Happy Monday Morning to all....:-)
Another week... another quote. Enjoy your time

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted"

Happy Feet now...

Happy Happy Happy Feet :-)
Few days ago I did receive a movie as a gift for my birthday.
My turkish friends were keep telling me that I was looking like "Happy Feet". I'm not like a pinguin but I definetily love to dance.

Today we had lunch together and we had the chance to watch the movie.
I simply love it. It's a great story and Mumble is now part of my best collection :-)
Keeping faith in our dreams, discovering our talent, not imitating what other people does, understanding our feelings, letting them get out, as natural as they are.
That's the main message I will take from the movie...Thanks for this gift...full of energy...:-)

I guess is time end this week... with an Happy Happy Happy Feet Ending :-)

Monday Morning Quote

Gooooooooooooood morning New York...:-)

It's Monday morning again....and it is raining outside.

Perfect day to be in the office :-)

It's time to leave you with the quote of the week:

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible" Walt Disney

Enjoy your week :-)

Gianpy

Happiness only real when shared

It was September 2007 when I was travelling around West Coast of the USA, reading at the same time the book "Into the wild". Well, today, after 10 months... I watched the movie... I was not on the rock of the Grand Canyon, nether sleeping in a bus....

but...emotions, ideas and thoughts were the same....we need to understand what is the sense of our life...why we are on this planet...which is our personal mission....

Maybe we need a similar trip...with the only difference...to come back and live our life without hipocrisy.

"Happiness only real when shared"Christopher McCandless

Spinning....climbing the mountain

Music, good people, inspiration, energy, efforts, sport.... all in the wonderful experience to take spinning class...

Close your eyes...find your equilibrium...listen your body, find your resistance...it's time to rock.

A new hill is at the door....keep moving forward....give a small touch of resistance...keep moving...the hill is there...you can move forward....give a small touch of resistance...don't give up....keep going..... breath...give air to your body and relax your shoulders....keep going....breath.... the hill is almost at the end....give the final touch of resistance....5 4 3 2 1...go up....give everything you have...not too much...not too slow.... but give what ever you can...3 minutes to go.... a new hill is a the door....at this time... we will reach an higher level of resistance...make up your breath, drink some water... once ready, let's climb the next one... 5 minutes to go....

Spinning....The experience just began....

Gianpy

Good luck AIESEC in Italy - A new year is starting

Not all the people knows... that June 30th is a special day. Is the last day of the AIESEC Term.
For 60 years, generation of AIESECers are celebrating this day. It's the time to say thanks to the past generation of leaders.
It's the time to welcome the new ones....to take place in each small office all around the world...to feel the responsibility, the passion, the feeling to be together for a new challenge....

Good luck guys, where ever you are....I'm sure the dream will come true...

Gianpy

"Mary Poppins: Anything Can Happen If You Let It"

so so so long time I'm not writing on this space.... long time that I'm not sharing with you my toughts, my dreams....I guess is time to start again...honoring the name of this blog....walking again on the bridge of life...

Few days ago I went to a Broadway show...everyone probably knows the story....I'm talking about Mary Poppins. Well...if you are in good company, this is the prelude of a good night. If you are in Broadway, the success is guaranteed....

So, here we go.... actors are on the stage....Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...the show begins....and end with a flying Mary Poppins....

One sentence I will bring with me: "Anything Can Happen if you Let it"

Just let's do it.....

Gianpy

The tie, the old woman and the child...catch the moment

It's a cold morning, the sun is arising and the City is waking up. Soon, this amazing quite will change.
Underground, thousands of ants are moving fast, walking and traveling through those modern caverns, called tunnels or subway tracks. Small shuttles are running towards the city...cars and bus are ready to jump from each of the outstanding bridges...
It seems to be at a parade, millions of people who move to the center of the city, ready to manifest itself at the first sun light of the day.
Instead, it's a normal waking up of New York, a city that found its own way to sleep and to be awake.
But, this morning has something special.
At the bus stop, there are 3 people.... all of them in suit and tie. They represent the society, the production, people who make the economy grow.
In few seconds, this image has been broken!!! And it becomes incomplete at my eyes.
An old women, with an orange jacket, decides to litterally stop the time. She show up with a STOP signal in her hands. At that signal...Cars hold on their running!!!
A children, with a bag on his shoulders, cross the street and say: "Goodmorning, thanks".
She smiles.... proud of her role, proud to have done her part.

Now, it's time to go back to normal. Time starts to move again, cars begin to speed up, the children is on his way to school.
After few moments, my small shuttle jumps in the city..... I guess now it's time to do my part!

Italian version
La cravatta, la vecchietta e il bambino...cogliere il momento
Freddo mattutino, primi raggi del sole che scaldano una città ancora addormentata.
Tuttavia questa quiete è ben presto destinata a terminare. Nell'entroterra ci stanno tante formiche che percorrono i vari cunicoli sotterranei. Tante altre sono a bordo di piccole navette che si dirigono verso il centro, pronte a sbucare da tunnel, a saltare giù dai ponti....
Sembra quasi di assistere ad una radunata, un corteo che converge al centro, pronto a manifestarsi alla prima luce del giorno.
E invece, è un normale risveglio di New York, una città che ha trovato un modo tutto suo di dormire e di svegliarsi.
Eppure, questa mattina ha qualcosa di speciale.
Alla fermata del bus, ci stanno 3 persone in giacca e cravatta. La società che produce, che fa andare avanti il mondo. Ben presto però, questa affermazione diventa incompleta. e si scioglie come la neve sotto i raggi del sole.
Una vecchietta, con addosso una di quelle giacchette arancioni a strisce argentate, ferma il tutto. Un cartello nelle sue mani dice "STOP".Le macchine interrompono la loro corsa.
Un bambino con la sua cartella in spalla, attraversa la strada e dice: "Buongiorno, grazie".
Lei... sorride, orgogliosa del suo ruolo, di aver fatto la sua parte.
Adesso, il tempo può ritornare alla sua normale corsa. Le macchine ripartono, il bimbo si avvia a scuola....la mia navetta sbuca a Manhattan, ...mi sa che è ora di fare la mia parte!!!
Gianpy

Arieu and Leadership

Inspiration from the web:

Leadership is a quality a person may have. One can categorize the exercise of leadership as either actual or potential:

• actual - giving guidance or direction, like a teacher being a leader to a student, as in the phrase "the emperor has provided satisfactory leadership".
• potential - the capacity or ability to lead, as in the phrase "she could have exercised effective leadership"; or in the concept "born to lead".

Leadership can have a formal aspect (as in most political or business leadership) or an informal one (as in most friendships). Speaking of "leadership" (the abstract term) rather than of "leading" (the action) usually implies that the entities doing the leading have some "leadership skills" or competencies.
Arieu defines a leader as "someone able to inspire another associate with a dream."