Page 22 - combine diario

PAGINA 22 DIARIO DIALUNA 19 JANUARI 2015

Continuacion pagina 21

FURTHERING MY EDUCATION I. I recently participated in a seminar courtesy of the Tax
Department, outlining the upcoming services of the E-Loket. Apparently a handful of companies on
the island was selected for enlightenment, including mine, asked to join the first phase of the Tax
Department’s online transition. The seminar was in Dutch, so I understood about 50% of what was
said, which was perfect because when it comes to 17 & 18 letter words such as belastingadviseur or
better yet bevestigingsscherm, that’s all I can handle. The venerated tax officials had no name tags
on so I have no clue who was babbling on and on about inloggen and verificatienummer, and who sat
at the table of panelists, but one thing was clear, it’s not gonna be any easier, and just to make sure,
I called fluent-Dutch-speaking, kind-hearted Julia de Ruyter who was wide awake right behind me
at the seminar. Julia promised to come over to my office and support me while I scan the mountains
of documents the Tax Department required, before inviting me for yet another meeting, this time
tête-à-tête at tax headquarters, to verify that it’s me and not an imposter. Later on the process will
involve a lot of e-mail back and forth and a unieke betalingskenmenk vermelden, the thought of
which left me totally verklempt and verblunget, with the situation verkackt!

FURTHERING MY EDUCATION SOME MORE. On Saturday I attended a seminar at the
Chamber of Commerce. A very Step Forward initiative. I came directly from exercise and the air-
conditioning was blowing, so two hours tops, by 11:30am, I was out. Perhaps it was an over-am-
bitious format, to keep us there from 9am to 1pm. Let’s face it, in view of the fact that we’re all
suffering from short attention spans, four hours is too much. While in the auditorium, I enjoyed the
presentation given by Daniele Ferrara, of the Gianni’s Group, titled Expansion story of an Entre-
preneur. Daniele described his family’s motives for continued expansion and shared his views, pep-
pered with charm and humor. You gotta be impressed, ten businesses, across seven different brands,
with 450 employees, directed by 15 family members -- that by itself would drive me bananas. But
apparently that is the source of the group’s strength, with each family member offering a different
set of skills and specialties. I was surprised Mom, Filomena Ferrara was not there, she would
have enjoyed her baby’s presentation. What made the biggest impact on the audience was Daniele’s
statement that the company seeks the help of psychologists in various areas of organization, and
that his own main focus is Human Resources, pulling all individuals working for the business, of
several dozen nationalities, different cultures and views, in the same direction. He was hiring people,
he explained, based on their communication and leadership skills, not particularly on their Food
& Beverage know-how. Food & Beverage can be taught, he reiterated when communication and
leadership skills are in place. As I already said, you gotta be impressed. Raymond Maduro spoke
briefly about franchising, as the owner of EQ3, a store left to him by his daughter. We usually leave
businesses for our kids, in this case, Raymond was handed the store, then he picked up the furniture
catalog and ran. Finally, I regret missing the Rishi Ramsoondae, Innovation to Grow seminar, it had
my name written all over it!

SMART TVs STUPID OWNERS. The super successful Crocs brand also makes water shoes and I
needed a pair, for the benefit of my Aqua Spinning exercise class. I took a trip down to the Renais-
sance Mall and found out the store was closed for inventory. Come back later, they said, as they were
counting the pairs, mid-morning, instead of selling them. So I strolled over to the square, visited
my friend Susana Montero at Aristocrazy, a gorgeous jewelry line from Spain. Took a tour through
Penha where Suelyn Dankerlui was dispensing smiles and beauty tips, enjoyed a delicious Mac-
chiato at the elegant Gelatissimo, Carolina makes good coffee, then strolled by Sam Electronics.
Bad mistake if you like shopping. I walked out with a smart TV sold to me by one of Manolo’s
students, Mohan. Manolo threw in a faux-crystal desk caddy for pens and business cards. I also got
a mouse and a keyboard. I have been thinking about a smart TV for a while, but in general terms
not anything specific, but now I am faced with the challenge of having to make it work for me. For
the next two days an efficient and respectful installation man occupied my bedroom running cables
both satellite and TV, making it all look presentable. But now the hard part. I have to figure it out by
myself. HELP. As I said, smart TV, not so smart owners.

LAS RAMBLAS SERVES FINE FOOD UNDER THE STARS. Las Ramblas, at La Cabana
Beach Resort & Casino is now a fine dining destination, under twinkling night skies, having been
totally renovated, it also received a separate entrance, coming in from the Eagle Beach boardwalk.
This weekend, the restaurant entertained the members of the Aruba Time Share Association as they
celebrated the beginning of 2015 over excellent food and wine at the al fresco Spanish grill. Starting
with delicious tapas, grilled bacon-wrapped scallops, and prosciutto-wrapped melon and Mozzarella
balls, the ATSA officials also enjoyed a choice of shrimp and avocado salad, escargots bourgui-
gnonne, charcoal grilled filet mignon with chimichurri sauce, surf & turf combos with Caribbean
lobster drizzled with butter, freshly caught grouper and a decadent crème brulée, which combined
nicely with the attentive table service and the mellow live guitar music. At 11pm, party-goers piled
into their cars in the direction of the California lighthouse to celebrate Joe Najjar’s birthday below
the faro, with open bar, firework and birthday cake. It was a super cool finale for a perfect evening,
as many of Joe’s friends and colleagues joined the midnight festivities on the wind-kissed hill. It was
Trish’s idea, and it was a good one.

CUTE HAIR SALON. Remember Alicia Moerman, a hair dresser with wild untamed hair and a
personality to match? She opened her own Hair Passion salon using organic color systems on the
second floor of Super Food. The space is nicely furnished by Plank Aruba, you should visit that
website, attractive and comfortable furniture made of recycled and weathered wood, by talented
craftswoman Marike van der Voort. Back to hair, Alicia carries Moroccan organics and Kera Green
products which are good for you!
HOOTERS HOSTS A MEETING. We pretended to have a meeting at Hooters last week over
heaps of chicken wings and Malibu rum & pineapple cocktails! We didn’t accomplish much as far
as work goes but we had a great time. Our Hooterizers also included commercial quantities of fried
shrimp which our awesome Hooters girl suggested, and she was right, we finished everything. RC@
visitaruba.com