March 27, 2008
Ben Dolven Becomes a Dad!
On March 18 BBA added a new member to its team! Eliana Sydelle Dolven-Miller was born clocking in at 5 lbs 4 oz and 19.5 inches. Mom and Dad are doing wonderful and are glad to be home with their smiling (see below!) daughter!
February 22, 2008
BBA & FRIENDS SERVE UP CEREAL FOR THE HOMELESS
BBA's extended family bonded together and collected well over 100 boxes of cereal for Miriam's Kitchen (www.miriamskitchen.org). The clients of the Kitchen eat about 20 boxes of cereal a day, so our contribution will provide breakfast cereal for a whole week -- and with the weather coming in like it is -- cold and wet -- breakfast in a warm place served by polite and friendly folks can make all the difference in your day if you are homeless and seeking some nutrition and a bit of humanity.
Ali and Ernie delivered the goods on the chilly morning of February 20 into the caring hands of Steve Badt (see pics below), a modern day hero who donates all of his time to run the breakfast program at Miriam's Kitchen.
The cereal was donated by BBA's team and our extended family. Notable contributions were made by Matt Miller and Miller Consulting Group, who worked with Matt's son's classes to collect over 50 boxes of cereal for the drive, Evolve Technologies, our IT gurus, and Ernie's neighbors from Breconridge.
For those of you who wish to join us for our regular volunteer work at Miriam's Kitchen, where we team up to serve a darn good breakfast about once a month, please contact Ali at awines@brooksbowerasia.com. Our next serving will be around mid-April.
Think globally and ACT LOCALLY!
January 26, 2008
Jimmy Buffet at the Long Bar in Singapore
TPG hosted an amazing party party featuring the fabled Jimmy "Cheeseburger in Paradise" Buffett. The party raised funds for local charities and was held at the historic Long Bar in the iconic Raffles Hotel.Buffett and his band played for about 100 of the region's top business leaders including many members of the BBA posse'. Ernie had the good luck to be in Singapore on Friday night and had the honor to represent BBA in the mosh pit!
Mr. Buffett had never played in Singapore before and the Long Bar was a fitting venue for the evening. The King of Key West rocked SQ with his all time favorites including Margaritaville, Changes in Latitudes, Son of Sailor and wrapped up with a raucous version of Fins! And then he joined the guests for the party. An amazing night in the Lion City!
January 24, 2008
Cham Island
Vietnam's central coast is booming -- in terms of both investment and tourism. The focal point of new investment has been Danang. It's leadership, the Danang People's Committee has been ranked by academics as one of the business friendly provinces (Vietnam has 64 provinces).
Danang is also home to an enormous strand of beautiful beach front property. Many of the world's best luxury hotels are looking at developing sites there. BBA is looking at these opportunities for its clients, and Ha and Ernie spent some time there in January (with respective spouses) including a trip to Cham Island -- a beautiful treasure that is just a 20 minute boat ride off the coast.
Also nearby is the World Heritage site, the ancient city of Hoi An.
January 22, 2008
The Merger - VN-Canada in Blockbuster Merger!
WEDDING IN HANOI – Ha & Alex
On a spectacularly crisp day in Hanoi, with the beautiful red leaves of the ancient sua trees glimmering under the clear blue sky, BBA’s own Nguyen Viet Ha wed Canada’s Alexander Legendre. Ernie and Sam hurried to Hanoi after the New Year to witness the ceremony and then joined the newly-weds for their honeymoon in Hoi An.
Ha was a stunning, wearing traditional Vietnamese wedding dresses – one red, to greet the gleeful throng of guests that ranged from octogenarian uncles to exuberant nephews and nieces and a cross section of Hanoi’s most interesting and charming denizens – and one white, for the ceremony, speeches, cutting of the cake and zither riff.
The ceremony took place on January 6, a date divined by the keenest of the Ba Dinh District’s astrologers. The event was the other half of the Montreal part of the wedding that took place in November. Ha and Alex are now official!
Between them, Ha and Alex speak six or seven languages, hold half a dozen degrees and harbor two of the meanest top-hand forehands that international tennis has ever witnessed. Their children will not only be beautiful and smart, but they are sure to be curious, worldly and aces on the courts.
Love was in the air in Hanoi, and the crimson leaves of Hanoi glowed all day – no doubt honoring their maple leaf counterparts in Montreal. A good omen for a fantastic couple!
The ceremony took place on January 6, a date divined by the keenest of the Ba Dinh District’s astrologers. The event was the other half of the Montreal part of the wedding that took place in November. Ha and Alex are now official!
Between them, Ha and Alex speak six or seven languages, hold half a dozen degrees and harbor two of the meanest top-hand forehands that international tennis has ever witnessed. Their children will not only be beautiful and smart, but they are sure to be curious, worldly and aces on the courts.
Love was in the air in Hanoi, and the crimson leaves of Hanoi glowed all day – no doubt honoring their maple leaf counterparts in Montreal. A good omen for a fantastic couple!
December 18, 2007
Intruder in Jakarta
You will NOT believe what just happened at Casa KBB in Jkt!!!
There is a huge storm here tonight. I was driving home in it and the city was flooded and you could barely see two feet in front of you. Even by monsoon standards, this one was a doozy. So I’m in my apartment, listening to massive thunderclaps and having lightening light up my room while I change clothes when I hear a weird noise out in the common room.
At first I ignored it – thought it was storm related. But it persisted. A sort of chattering, high pitched noise. I peeked outside my door into the common room and saw this black blur whirring back and forth in the air. A bird I thought. A bird got into my apartment and is trapped. I started to get that “aw poor little confused thing” feeling and just then it landed on my curtain.
I took a few steps toward it to see how I could rescue my fine feathered friend. And as I did so, it became clear: It was not a bird. It was a BAT!
A BAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as I saw it’s little face and its claws gripping the curtain, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.
OUT.
I’M TALKING PITCH BLACK OUT.
Then, right on cue, a thunderclap cracked. I SCREAMED and ran and bolted myself in the bedroom. A lightening bolt lit up the room and I screamed again. Grabbed the phone.
IT WAS DEAD.
The only thing missing from this scenario was ominous organ music, but no matter, because I heard it in my head anyway.
Now what??? I was NOT going to stay in that room with that thing right out there. Cell phone. Need my cell phone. Have to call in back up. But my cell phone was in the living room. I WAS TRAPPED. The generator kicked in and the lights came on, enabling the panic level to retreat from from sheer hysteria to just totally freaking out.
I opened my door. Peered out. Got a visual of my cell phone. Got a visual of the bat still clinging to the curtain fluttering its webby wings.
Uchk!!!!!!!!!! How GROSS is THAT?????
Decided to make a run for the phone. Got it. Retreated at the speed of light (or was that just another lightening bolt?), barricaded myself in my room, and called the front desk.
Unfortunately, I blanked on the word BAT in Indonesian. Havent really needed that one much over the years. “There’s a bird in my room,” I shrieked! “And not just any bird... It’s the black one with wings that only comes out at night!!!”
He started naming a bunch of random birds, “Blackbird? Crow? Owl?”
“No no no no NO,” I responded. “It’s the one that drinks blood like Dracula!!!” I insisted.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” he said, a bit freaked out himself now, “kelelawar.”
“YES, KELELAWAR” I responded. “That’s exactly it.” I felt my grad school Indonesian vocab list flowing back to me now. I almost felt happy for a split second, but that feeling quickly passed.” NOW G-E-T I-T O-U-T O-F H-E-R-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled!!!
Security came up armed with – A DISHTOWEL. I asked them if they were raving MAD. It’s a BAT, not a cockroach. Apparently they hadn’t believed the crazy bat story.
They inspected the curtain but couldn’t find it. I insisted it was there. They shook the curtain and peered and poked and found nothing. They proceeded to search the most bizarre corners of the apartment, like under the rug and behind the pillows. They were obviously doing this just to humor me, assuming that the drama of the storm must have knocked a screw loose or something and that I had imagined the bat.
I was not amused. In fact I was exasperated beyond description. That thing was nanoseconds away from flying at me like the proverbial bat outta hell, and these guys were inspecting the marble. I lost patience and ordered them back the curtains. They went back, smiling, obviously expecting not to find anything.
And then came the fluttering sound.
There was a deafening silence as we all stared at each other. The smiles disappeared.
They went back at the curtains more earnestly but also with more caution, like a Tiger might just jump out any second. More fluttering sounds. They looked up behind the curtain and THERE IT WAS, hanging from the bar on the ceiling.
Let’s just say that my screams as they wrestled that thing out of here are still reverberating in East Java.
So now that the creature of the dark is gone, the obvious question remains: WHAT WAS A BAT DOING IN MY APARTMENT AND HOW MANY OF ITS SIBLINGS ARE STILL HERE?????????????? Tonight is going to be a LONG night!
There is a huge storm here tonight. I was driving home in it and the city was flooded and you could barely see two feet in front of you. Even by monsoon standards, this one was a doozy. So I’m in my apartment, listening to massive thunderclaps and having lightening light up my room while I change clothes when I hear a weird noise out in the common room.
At first I ignored it – thought it was storm related. But it persisted. A sort of chattering, high pitched noise. I peeked outside my door into the common room and saw this black blur whirring back and forth in the air. A bird I thought. A bird got into my apartment and is trapped. I started to get that “aw poor little confused thing” feeling and just then it landed on my curtain.
I took a few steps toward it to see how I could rescue my fine feathered friend. And as I did so, it became clear: It was not a bird. It was a BAT!
A BAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as I saw it’s little face and its claws gripping the curtain, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.
OUT.
I’M TALKING PITCH BLACK OUT.
Then, right on cue, a thunderclap cracked. I SCREAMED and ran and bolted myself in the bedroom. A lightening bolt lit up the room and I screamed again. Grabbed the phone.
IT WAS DEAD.
The only thing missing from this scenario was ominous organ music, but no matter, because I heard it in my head anyway.
Now what??? I was NOT going to stay in that room with that thing right out there. Cell phone. Need my cell phone. Have to call in back up. But my cell phone was in the living room. I WAS TRAPPED. The generator kicked in and the lights came on, enabling the panic level to retreat from from sheer hysteria to just totally freaking out.
I opened my door. Peered out. Got a visual of my cell phone. Got a visual of the bat still clinging to the curtain fluttering its webby wings.
Uchk!!!!!!!!!! How GROSS is THAT?????
Decided to make a run for the phone. Got it. Retreated at the speed of light (or was that just another lightening bolt?), barricaded myself in my room, and called the front desk.
Unfortunately, I blanked on the word BAT in Indonesian. Havent really needed that one much over the years. “There’s a bird in my room,” I shrieked! “And not just any bird... It’s the black one with wings that only comes out at night!!!”
He started naming a bunch of random birds, “Blackbird? Crow? Owl?”
“No no no no NO,” I responded. “It’s the one that drinks blood like Dracula!!!” I insisted.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” he said, a bit freaked out himself now, “kelelawar.”
“YES, KELELAWAR” I responded. “That’s exactly it.” I felt my grad school Indonesian vocab list flowing back to me now. I almost felt happy for a split second, but that feeling quickly passed.” NOW G-E-T I-T O-U-T O-F H-E-R-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled!!!
Security came up armed with – A DISHTOWEL. I asked them if they were raving MAD. It’s a BAT, not a cockroach. Apparently they hadn’t believed the crazy bat story.
They inspected the curtain but couldn’t find it. I insisted it was there. They shook the curtain and peered and poked and found nothing. They proceeded to search the most bizarre corners of the apartment, like under the rug and behind the pillows. They were obviously doing this just to humor me, assuming that the drama of the storm must have knocked a screw loose or something and that I had imagined the bat.
I was not amused. In fact I was exasperated beyond description. That thing was nanoseconds away from flying at me like the proverbial bat outta hell, and these guys were inspecting the marble. I lost patience and ordered them back the curtains. They went back, smiling, obviously expecting not to find anything.
And then came the fluttering sound.
There was a deafening silence as we all stared at each other. The smiles disappeared.
They went back at the curtains more earnestly but also with more caution, like a Tiger might just jump out any second. More fluttering sounds. They looked up behind the curtain and THERE IT WAS, hanging from the bar on the ceiling.
Let’s just say that my screams as they wrestled that thing out of here are still reverberating in East Java.
So now that the creature of the dark is gone, the obvious question remains: WHAT WAS A BAT DOING IN MY APARTMENT AND HOW MANY OF ITS SIBLINGS ARE STILL HERE?????????????? Tonight is going to be a LONG night!
November 27, 2007
BBA Hangs With BEP
On a recent business trip to Jakarta (we promise a little bit of business was done) Ernie, Karen, Ha and Lauren hung out with the Black Eyed Peas. Thanks to Karen's (cough) connections we were able to chill back stage with the band, watch the concert from a prime location (getting high fives as band members and dancers went on to perform!) and rolled out after the show like VIPs! Below are a couple of pictures to memorialize the night:
Will Adams of the Black Eyed Peas with Karen backstage
Lauren, Karen, Ha and Ernie hang backstage with Will Adams of BEP
Ha and G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S Fergie
The Black Eyed Peas on stage in Jakarta, Indonesia
Ernie and Lauren with the BEP on stage behind them!
November 26, 2007
What the Pho?!
Reporting in from Hanoi where the breakfast of champions is Pho (pronounced Fuh). It is steaming hot Vietnamese noodle soup that costs less than a couple dollars but starts your day with a powerful combination of wonderful smells, a terrific source of protein and just the right number of carbs.
Hanoi's citizens believe, I think rightly, that their pho is the world's best. Two spots rule here, Pho Ga (on Ly Van Huu Street) - the name of the restaurant means "chicken pho" it has the world's best chicken soup or Ly Quoc Su (on Ly Quoc Su Street) for the premier beef based pho.
Pho is best consumed boiling hot, with a lime squeezed on top and healthy dose of chili sauce. While you eat it, don't forget dip regularly with a kind of Vietnamese doughnut that any good pho shop will provide on the side.
Visitors to Hanoi will benefit from this tip - Eat Pho every morning! Your business will be good, and you will feel strong throughout the day!
Hanoi's citizens believe, I think rightly, that their pho is the world's best. Two spots rule here, Pho Ga (on Ly Van Huu Street) - the name of the restaurant means "chicken pho" it has the world's best chicken soup or Ly Quoc Su (on Ly Quoc Su Street) for the premier beef based pho.
Pho is best consumed boiling hot, with a lime squeezed on top and healthy dose of chili sauce. While you eat it, don't forget dip regularly with a kind of Vietnamese doughnut that any good pho shop will provide on the side.
Visitors to Hanoi will benefit from this tip - Eat Pho every morning! Your business will be good, and you will feel strong throughout the day!
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