Reflections for 2013

Last year at this time I was in the hospital in Miami, waiting for the fireworks to start so I could watch the display from my hospital window. My sons even bought me a non-alcoholic champagne to celebrate . I had an angina attack, and after some preliminary treatment in Belize City, I decided to go to the USA for further review and analysis. I was immediately admitted and stayed in the hospital until the 9th of January 2013. I returned to Belize City two weeks later.

Today a year later I am much better but in desperate need to return to my exercise that I have been used to. I started a couple of times to workout on the treadmill, and wanted to progress to weights, but have not done so. It is my sincerest desire to return to my exercise routine and my healthy diet.

This year I concentrated quite a bit of my time with the Belize Institute of Management assisting with a part of their marketing and public relations effort as we celebrated 20 years since the construction of the Training and Conference Center. As a part of the celebrations of this milestone, we repainted the building and now it has a new look. I also set up their Facebook account, and have been posting on it over time. I also have been working on BIM’s  website and hope to continue and finish it during 2014.

 I do hope to do more work in other areas of Social Media Marketing which I have been delinquent on. I established my Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Linkedin accounts over a year ago, and while I have posted some pics on Pinterest and Instagram, I have not been serious about it.

This year I bought over 80 business and management books from Amazon and have been going through them through my kindle app on my Ipad and PC. These are primarily to continue my research and training development for 2014. It is my intention to purchase another 50 or so during this year.  The subjects cover Social Media Marketing, Customer Service, Problem Solving, Communication, Strategic Planning, and many more.

This year I also planted over 1,000 trees including 650 cashews, 200 Suriname Cherry, 250 Black Berry, 50 Custard Apple and Sour Sap and some 50 or so coconuts. My fruit crop for this year was poor but was able to get a fairly good supply of mangoes from the farm on the Sibun River, although this year has been one of the toughest in terms of floods. I have never seen so much water over such a long period of time; almost 6 months of rain.

 This year I also made countless trips to Merida for medical treatment for my daughter but who thankfully is doing much better. The family is sincerely thankful for the hospitality and assistance provided by my nephew Dr. Gustavo Suarez and his family in Chetumal as well as his two daughters in Merida, Berenice and Viviana Suarez as well as their fiancees Juan and

Edwardo.

I am also thankful for the visit Andrei made to Belize with his family for

my birthday and I was able to share with them lots of their vacation time. I especially enjoyed the cave tubing, and the trip to San Pedro and Caye Caulker. However it rained a lot during this period and could not enjoy more time at the cayes swimming and diving as planned.

The year ended with a big bang as the family celebrated my sister’s 50th wedding anniversary and my brother’s 64th birthday. Great party, great hospitality and lots of laughs on both legs of the journey.

Finally, I want to say a big thanks to my friends and family who have supported me during my trials as well as during the fun times.