Feb 23, 2009

Choosing The Right Travel Company To Find The Right Vacation For You

You can count on spending a good deal of time and attending to a long list of details when you are planning any vacation. Besides the fact that you need to book flights or other transportation, and find room to pack all those “must-have” items, you need to figure out exactly what you’re going to do on that perfect vacation.

That’s where travel companies come into play. Travel companies can arrange all the details and get you to the right destination for the right price based on the specific details you give them. Naturally, doing the usual “comparison shopping” research before choosing a travel agent or company can pay off for you in a big way.

Using a travel agent or firm can even eliminate the hassle of deciding where to go if you can’t make up your mind. Why not let an expert put the time into finding the right location by researching different places, as well as helping you to get the best deals that you might not know how to make for yourself? Due to the fact that they do this for a living, good travel agents have contacts with other people in the same industry all over the world.

Just their professional planning skills alone make agents valuable, and their experience and contacts help them get lower prices than you could yourself. They can save you money on hotels, get special tour deals, arrange for vegetarian and other special menus, and get you where you're going with cheaper flights and even discount cruises. Experience travel planners know how to get first-rate travel, accommodations and service at a discount because it is their job to do so. They also know that establishing a good relationship with you, the customer, can bring them additional business in the future, from referrals as well as your own next vacation.

It’s always best not to go for the first travel company that you come across. Do your homework on this to find out if the company comes recommended by others that have used them before. Ask around and check with friends and family that might have used a particular travel agent or company, and read the travel section of a big-city newspaper to find any possible tips or suggestions.

The Internet is also a great tool to use when searching for a travel company, of course. Make sure to check in with the various travel forums and websites and keep an eye out for satisfied customers talking about the best agents and firms. It is important to establish a good working relationship quickly, and discuss your plans with someone that is easy to talk to. Communication is key and you must ensure that whoever helps you plan your trip understands what your goals (and dreams) are. When you find such a person and establish a candid relationship, you may just have found someone to help you again and again over the years.

When looking for a travel company or agent it is a good idea to search for an American Society of Travel Agents ASTA) member. This is an organization that is, in fact, a sort of cooperative “network” of travel-related businesses from all parts of the country and all niches of the travel industry. It includes not only agents and brokers, but airlines, cruise lines, hotels and concierge (personal service) firms. ASTA members can handle your vacation with a quality and professionalism that is unsurpassed. Relying on one of these professionals is a great way to reassure yourself that your vacation will go smoothly, and the ASTA connection ensures a certain level of expertise (and ethics). The ASTA will also respond quickly to any complaints about its members, so you have protection there, as well.

Remember, it is not just “okay,” but expected, for you to have questions. After all, it’s your money and vacation that are at risk. If you have found the right travel company, they will have all the right answers for you or know how to get them. Some companies even offer you the opportunity to speak with some of their past customers, whose experiences can give you valuable insight as to what you can expect with the firm.

Your travel company should always invest its full attention to the details of planning the right vacation for you and your family. Though the travel company should, first and foremost, attend to the numerous details of transportation and lodging traveling, you should always discuss the “little things” about the vacation you’re planning. Anyone helping you plan a “dream getaway” will need to know exactly what you like and what you don’t, and no issue is too small to mention. This kind of open and honest communication not only makes the planning a good experience, but will likely result in a vacation that is cost-effective, custom-tailored to your exact needs – and memorable, as well.
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Feb 18, 2009

See How Easily You Can Skateboard Like a Pro

Even if you don’t become the next Tony Hawk, a multi-millionaire with video games featuring you as the main character, you can learn how to skateboard like a pro. It is not impossible as long as you have a clear understanding of what you are getting into, and how long it could take. You can’t be impatient if you want to be at the top level of any activity, whether sports, career or hobby.

If you happen to love skateboarding, and really are committed to doing whatever it takes to skateboard like a pro, or possibly even become one, then read the following steps. There is no magic to it, and there really are no secrets either. And to clear up any possible understanding about the headline, you can easily see how to skateboard like a pro, as the title says. There are plenty of books and websites to show you, and it’s easy to collect as many printed or “virtual” lessons as you need to get going with your practice. However, it will not be easy to succeed at it, because anything good (and hard to do) takes time.

Now, it would take many thousands of pages of writing and diagrams to teach you the 180 ollie, a shifty ollie, a frontside 360 and all the other moves. You can get all of that information at your own speed, and when you’re ready. For now, we’re talking about the basic action steps and attitudes that will get you a solid start. And this much is true, also, that the more disciplined, motivated and passionate you are, the easier it will seem. Even when you’re doing hard work, you don’t mind as much when you are sold out on the goal you’re working toward.

Action steps to pro skateboarding

Practice – Sure, it should go without saying, but in this day and age people seem to think that reading “a” book or watching “one” skater video is all it takes. The fact is that it takes practice, practice, and more practice. And after all that practice, you have to do one more thing – practice some more. You should skate http://www.ehow.com/how_2069886_become-pro-skateboarder.html to work, skate to school and back, hit the skateboard parks as much as possible and take your board with your at all times. You should be prepared to get in some skate time anywhere that skateboarding is allowed.

Safety – Pros are smart enough to protect their heads and limbs. You must always wear a helmet and pads (knees, elbows, perhaps gloves, too). Since you are on a mission, you will be excited at what you’re doing and may forget that the major part of learning is making mistakes. Remember, making mistakes when learning pro skateboarding techniques means falling down. Since you're going to experiment and try all kinds of new things, your need to protect yourself.

Watch videos, and make them, too – There are tons of YouTube clips and skateboarding videos to watch and study. Every one of the top pro skateboarders has videos, lots of them. While you’re learning all the moves, have a friend videotape what you’re doing so you can study yourself. Keep making videos as your skills keep getting better. Eventually, you may need to hire a real camera pro and editor so you can start posting your own clips online.

Attitude steps count, too

Have fun – You skateboard because you love it, right? If you are motivated by anything other than serious love of the board, you won’t make it to the top. And if that serious love of the board doesn’t have a big component of fun in it, you won’t make it even halfway. You won’t become a top skateboarder because you want a glamour life traveling around the world on your sponsor’s credit card. The joy in what you do, whatever it is, is infectious, and if you start moving up the ranks, it can make you really attractive to those sponsors.

First things first – Again, it seems like a no-brainer, but if you don’t have your priorities in order, you won’t make it. Practice, board knowledge, proper safety, correct exercise routines, healthy diet, clean living – all of this is part of the pro skater package. Keep things in order, and don’t forget that the only discipline that works is self-discipline. No one can do this for you, or give you what you have to practice for. The only way is hard work.

Stay balanced – Despite the fact that it is a hard road full of hard work and long hours and road rash and ankle sprains, you still have to keep balanced. Having fun, loving what you do, working hard, staying on track – all of these seemingly different things really can work together and get you where you want to go. It’s not easy to accomplish your dream, but it is easy enough to find out what to do. The difference with winners, as opposed to quitters, is that the winners take the difficulties as challenges to overcome, not obstacles to bounce off of.

Is it really you?

If you are really cut out to be a pro skater, you will be able to tackle all these steps and still be cool, still be yourself. Being centered and balanced, with family and friends behind you, is a powerful combination for success. These are the things that will help you in the long run and keep you going when times get hard, you become exhausted or you encounter new troubles along the way.

If you do start getting good, and standing out from the crowd skating around you, acting like you’re “all that” and being rude will only make you enemies. No matter how great your skateboarding http://www.ehow.com/how_2069886_become-pro-skateboarder.html skills become, there are always others who are just as good or better, so keep your ego in check. This is often difficult for young people who are also facing a lot of life changes during their teens and early 20s.

The bottom line is that you can learn to do anything you set your mind to, but you first have to find out if it’s “in your blood.” It needs to be more important than any other goal or activity if you want to work your way to the top of the pro ranks, and that’s true in business, entertainment and sports. For skateboarders working their way up, there will be dozens of moves to master, terms to know and techniques of their own to develop. With hard work and persistence, you really can do it.
Visit Skateboard-City.com to learn skateboard trick tips for guides, stances, cool moves & old school. Talk to others who share your passion for the grinds, slides and mini pipe. Bobo-Le-Forcat