By the same token, what does it say that after decades we cannot yet find a solution to build a new Guam Memorial Hospital?
How enticing is that to help retain residents? Or have people return to Guam?
Facilities on the other islands are also aging or have their own problems.
It’s all downright depressing.
A story about ambulances in this Journal might have depressed me even further, if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s about two businesswomen who recognized a healthcare problem and found a solution for it.
I know full well that it took a bunch of private sector people to sit on a board and launch the non-profit that resulted in the Guam Regional Medical City. And so does Ruth Gurusamy, who is one of those two businesswomen.
So maybe the answer is a public-private partnership for GMH.
Back to first impressions.
You can find my job title easily on the world wide web. (It’s also at the bottom of this page). It’s short.
On LinkedIn I saw this:
“Lifelong beer ninja. Devoted internet ninja. Extreme bacon fan. Alcohol lover. Amateur tv practitioner. Subtly charming zombie practitioner.”
Could “publisher” imply I’m reticent? Aloof? Unimaginative?
Instead, how about “Visionary, innovator, creative strategist, word wizard?” I could keep going. Who wouldn’t want to be “subtly charming?” Maybe I could borrow that. But share what I eat and drink? And to pare that down to two choices?
Then I researched job titles. There’s actually a definition for “creative strategist.” Creative strategists help find the right place for an idea to live. Nice. Maybe I could include an asterisk and give the definition underneath.
I checked further. “Knowledgeable and performance driven.” Sounds like a resume for a job application. Maybe not.
There are imaginative and not so imaginative choices for replacements for standard job titles. “Ninja” is definitely over-used, not to mention “evangelist.”
I’ll stick with publisher, since there’s only a few of us in Guam. The title can’t possibly be over-used here. But the exercise certainly took my mind off the hospital.
And before I forget, thank you to the reader who read the previous Plain English that referred to the David sculpted by Michelangelo and the issues with it in a Florida school.
Did I know that in 2014 there was an Uffizi Gallery virtual exhibit at the UnderWater World Complex, he asked? I do remember that — on the second floor of the Plaza area. I think Robert Fracassini, the honorary consul for Italy in Guam was instrumental in bringing it to the island. I’m pretty sure the exhibit featured the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, who also was pictured naked.
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Publications at Glimpses Media include the Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal, Guam Business Magazine, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas and Drive Guam.