The Beautiful Hawaii Sunset in July

Nature doesn't care what's going on in the world. Nature is an artist who delivers some beautiful sunsets to view. Every moment in time that goes by you witness a new view. 

I like to make an effort to capture beautiful moments in time that nature delivers. I'm just a romantic that loves sunsets. For a few minutes, you can be mesmerized by the beauty of our world.

Ala Moana Beach Park - Honolulu

Is the Aloha State going down for the count with COVID-19?

Waikiki waiting to welcome visitors back

The countdown to August 2020 to reopen The Aloha State to visitors is in jeopardy with the rise in daily COVID-19 cases. Hawaii was doing very good prior  to July. The carefully staged reopening of the businesses and parks is now yielding some undesirable results with a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Everyone did their part during the shelter in place period to have a low number of COVID-19 cases. It's now July and it looks like people are letting there guard down trying to live like COVID-19 does not exist anymore. I witness a lack of urgency to contain the virus daily when I see irresponsible individuals behaving like someone gave them the all-clear message that COVID-19 is gone.

The State really needs to open up to allow visitors to resume their vacations in the Aloha State, but it could come with a cost of sickness and deaths to bring in revenue to help re-boot a state in dire straits.

The plan to allow visitors to skip the current 14-DAY quarantine law is in jeopardy due to a lack of a clear plan that needs to be in place on August 1st. Everyone needs to be on the same page on how this plan will work. The plan is to have out of state visitors tested 72 hours at a site approved by the Hawaii State Department of Health and provide evidence of negative results upon arrival in Hawaii to skip the 14-day quarantine. This plan is not foolproof. What will happen when some visitors fall through the cracks and bring in COVID-19 and spreads it all around? Is Hawaii able to meet the demands of additional healthcare for visitors with the current spike in resident's healthcare?

By the way, the visitors are responsible for the cost of the testing. That will be an additional cost for their vacation, but a choice many will opt for. States on the mainland are currently seeing a big spike in COVID-19 cases. Is it too early or overdue to open the Aloha State? 

Many questions are awaiting answers with solid action plans while the clock is ticking with the State of Hawaii on the mat after receiving a deadly COVID-19 knock-out punch in the head causing massive hemorrhaging to it's Banana Republic economy that depends heavily on tourism to fund the state.

The Daughter He Never Knew

Daughter / Father

Being a father is a blessing that should bring joy to you. Well, I have a story about a father who did not know he had a daughter until years later when I told him. It's never too late to catch up on the lost years. I found out through DNA results that a person I grew up with has an adult daughter. I contacted the young woman and her story matches the timeline of her father. The young woman without a doubt is the daughter of the person that I will not name for privacy reasons. 

I was very disappointed with the responses from the guy I grew up with when I explained to him that he has a daughter. He was in denial at first and then relived his past and he remembered the timeline of meeting and spending time with a woman that produced a daughter from their encounters. I was told by the father that he parted ways with the woman and had no knowledge of her pregnancy. 

The woman ended up giving the baby up for adoption. The young woman told me she was adopted by a loving family. The guy I grew up with is married with adult children. I feel sad for him that he does not reach out to his daughter because he is afraid of what his family will think.

I will never forget the Father's Day, I broke the news to the guy I grew up with and the outcomes were very disappointing. I know it's a lot to process that you have an adult daughter, but be a father and welcome your daughter to your family.

Happily ever after ending, not, we do not talk to each other anymore, he unfriended me on Facebook. Do I regret telling him about his daughter? Hell no! She is a very nice person.

The Aloha State - Closed (Covid-19)

Waikiki - Covid-19

Waikiki hotels are dark, with hope and optimism that better days are ahead in the Aloha State. The state imposed a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving into the state. All visitors need to stay put in their hotels for 14 days and residents staying put in their homes for 14-days. Break the quarantine and you will be fined and arrested with jail time. Vistors that have been arrested have been sent home to avoid jail time. The 14-day quarantine is scheduled to end on July 31st, 2020.

The state is slowly re-opening now with a majority of hotels opting to keep their doors closed until the 14-day quarantine is lifted. The business that depends on tourism is hurting bad. The 14-day quarantine can be extended past July if the Governor feels that the state is not ready yet to handle a large volume of visitors that could infect the state. 

Hawaii is counting the days to welcome back visitors. Right now the state prefers visitors to postpone their visit until the pandemic is under control. 

Special Friends

Meeting a new person is a blessing that is just priceless when you make that initial connection and the two of you hit it off. Your friendship will grow over time as you learn more about each other. Friendship is all about respect and knowing each other's boundaries. 

The types of friends we have can be near you or far away with technology bridging the gap. We live in a busy world that limits us from hanging out with our friends so technology helps us stay in the loop with each other. Facebook and Instagram allow us to share our lives with pics from moments that we capture on our smartphone that is always with us.

There are really special friends that call you or send a text message to you. They are checking in on you to remind you that they are thinking about you. That is so sweet to know that you have a friend thinking about you and reaching out to you. 

Make a friend's day by calling or texting a sweet message to them. It will make their day!

Job Shadowing the Daily Work Routine

Job Shadowing in the Project Initiation Phase will provide a good view of a day in the life of a department. Business Analysts use job shadowing to gather requirements and document the workflow processes. You don't have to be a Business Analyst to job shadow; project team members need to wear many hats at times. 

Process Improvement is the goal of job shadowing when you are replacing a system. Information that is collected from job shadowing will be used to compile your project requirements to achieve the defined deliverables. This is also a good time to start defining Key Performance Indicators that will be used to validate that process improvement is being achieved. Start making notes on Test Cases that will be used to validate the KPIs.

The Project Plan should have the defined KPIs evaluated at the appropriate time in the project timeline when results can be measured in a controlled environment. If all KPIs meet expectations, then a project Milestone is truly earned. If KPIs do not meet the expectations, then it's time to stop moving forward on the project so an evaluation can be done to address the failing KPIs. That's why you need good Test Cases to flush out any possible issues. 

My Final Thoughts on Job Shadowing that is a valuable project activity that should be used as much as possible to avoid disappointed Stakeholders after a project is delivered and it cosmetically looks good, but that's it, no improvement achieved. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in May 2020)

A Serene March Sunset in Waikiki

Beautiful view from a balcony at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel - Waikiki

March delivers very beautiful sunsets in Waikiki. Always make the time to enjoy the beauty that nature creates. Set your mind free from all the craziness that is going on in the world and focus on those beautiful moments in time.