Celebrating 15 years as SoundBroker.com

I am happy to be celebrating my first 15 years doing business as SoundBroker.com.

On Sept 4, 1998 (15 years) I Registered the name SoundBroker.com with ICAN and the rest is history. I want to thank all the people that took a part of our growth. SoundBroker.com is the original and will always be the first and since that day, I have lived with the philosophy : If you are not the lead dog, the view never changes.

Family: Blood is thicker that water, but then so is..

For the Labor Day holiday, I went on a trip from Las Vegas, to Baltimore, MD to attend my cousin's second wedding in less than seven months. But more on that later, for now I am just covering the trip itself.

First, I had to buy the ticket and as I was not sure if I was going that took me a good month to figure out. As this was his second wedding. His first one was on December 12, 2012. 12/12/12. And the second one to the same woman I might add was scheduled for September 1, 2013.

I live in Las Vegas, and the wedding was going to be in Baltimore. In flying across the country, you need to not only schedule your transportation, but you also need to plan your lodging. The lodging was simple, as with most weddings the Bride and Groom usually block off a set of rooms for the out of town guests at a local hotel, where all the relatives and friends stay at a discount rate. I didn't like the discount rate and it turned out that I did better y booking through Hotels.com. I saved 7 dollars and night or so I thought at the time. I highly recommend that you do not do that or you may not get your welcome bag that your hosts put together for you. It took some work and time, but I was able to get mine.

I left my office on Friday at 11:00 AM to catch 1:20 PM AirTrans flight. Despite all you have heard, about AirTran, it is not as bad as I was expecting once I got over the shock of traveling steerage class and not being able to pick my seat. The computer picks it for you. I lucked out, 17D. I got an isle seat in front of the emergency row. That is not good news, that means that the seat does not tilt back as to not block the emergency row. I thought I might be able to get myself moved, but that was not the case. Although by accident I sat in 17C. At the when I sat down, my actual row 17D, E, F was empty and it was a legit mistake on my behalf, even though, in seats A & B, where 2 teenage girls, sisters, I might add, and very thin. That was to make a pleasant flight.

As the plane was boarding, seats 17 D-F the flight attendant happened to be right there when the overweight Asian women took there window and middle seat, the Asian man who commented, ” I think that he is in my seat” the flight attendant responded, don't you want to sit with your party? He answered I do not know these women and he is in my seat (pointing to me). It bothered me that happened for a few reasons, one is I was happy sitting next to thin women so I could have more space in my seating area, where there is very little as there is, and secondly the nerve of her type casting the Asian man, and not type casting me with the thin women!!!! Where as it was impossible for me to be traveling with young thin teenage women.

Some how he decided to sit next to the Asian women and I had a nice comfortable space thanks to the fact that the one sitting next to me was so thin. One other interesting thing happened on that flight that fate took a role in. When I went to put my iPad in the seat pocket in front of me, I found the latest issue of the Robb Report that the passenger traveling in 17C from the previous flight left behind. Made me think, who would fly AirTrans and read the Robb Report????? Talk about a wishful thinker.

The flight left on time and took only 4 hours and 10 minutes, rather than the scheduled 4 hours and 15. But not worry, the luggage took for ever to arrive.

Caught a taxi and 30 minutes later I was checking into the Marriott Waterfront Hotel at the Baltimore waterfront district, Beautiful location. Right on the water, next door to the Four Seasons and upscale shops. Checking in is where I had my first snag. By booking through Hotels.com, I was not confirmed to a king bed. Reading the fine print, it said, something like Blah, blah blah, king or full size bed. Full size is really not full sized. Full size is really a single and for what I was going to be paying, I wanted a King. I got the King but I had to pay an additional $50 a night. Not sure if it well worth it, but I had a nice Jr. Suite which I was told goes for $450 a night, and I was no where near that, so I guess I got a deal after all.

Okay, now for the inner story of the 2nd wedding. My cousin an American, who grew up in of all places, Baltimore, MD married a Brazilian woman that lives in São Paulo. My cousin also lives in São Paulo. So they go married in São Paulo on 12/12/12 and because most of the family could not afford the the excursion to Brazil for the wedding, they decided to get married in city where my cousin grew up for those family members that did not make it to Brazilian wedding.

I do not have much family and after this weekend I would have to report that I am right. In life they say, that 90% of the people you know do not care one iota if you live or die, 3% want to see you do well and support your efforts and the rest what to see you fail and do worse then them. Most of my family fall into the 90% category, but a few of them are in the 3% and those are the ones that I was looking forward to see and spend the weekend with and now that I am heading from Baltimore to New York City on the AMTRACK, I am so glad that I came to this event. I had a great time and was able to bond with my family.

I also had a great business meeting with one of SoundBroker.com's major vendors so all in all this weekend was one that I will think back fondly on.

On the Amtrack, it seems that they lost power on the tracks in front of us somewhere outside of Newark, DE and the train is moving at about 5 miles an hour and has been going that speed for the last 40 minutes.

If you ask me what the highlight of the trip was, it would be a no brainer. Bonding with my 3rd cousins, Isabella and Sam. Twins that just turned 6 months old this weekend. I need to say, that I have no recent experience with babies of any age, much less ones this young, but let me tell you, these babies were great and I loved playing with them.


More to follow………