I have been on the road the past two weeks and haven’t had time to post.

I was in Seattle for a few days the end of February at a Brian Buffini conference.

Brian is a very motivational speaker. His company, Buffini and Company, coaches small business owners like real estate agents, lenders and financial planners how to grow their business through a focus on referrals and business to business networking. His approach will really work for any kind of small business. Brian gives about 14 two day conferences a year and then a Mastermind Summit for 3 days in San Diego in late August. I give these conferences two big thumbs up. Outstanding and uplifting material.

Seattle is a beautiful city – one I could see myself living in.

The Washington State Convention Center is a fabulous venue for a conference.

My buddy, Dan Robinson, has family in Seattle and he joined me at the conference. One of the local ladies turned us on to a cool place called HWY 99  Blues Club. We spent Monday night there having a great time. Fantastic live music venue along the waterfront. If you are in Seattle, check it out !

I came home for a day to make sure my house was still standing and then headed to the Big Island for my first stay at my new vacation home at Hali’i Kai at Waikoloa Beach Resort. There, were of course, a few glitches: one mini-blind was broken, the hall bath had the hot and cold water reversed and the oven door handle was loose (but who goes to Hawaii to bake a turkey?). But in true Island spirit, I just hung loose and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery along with some very pleasant company. I played golf most days at both Mauna Lani and Waikoloa Beach. Hali’i Kai has a beautiful Ocean Club with pool, spa, open-air gym, bar and restaurant. If you are interested in spending some time in paradise, please check out www.vrbo.com/159481.

My buddy Kevin Boer of 3 Oceans Real Estate a Palo Alto real estate agent and blog guru has just tagged me in a meme chain.

This is the first time I have been tagged by one of these silly little memes  that circulate around the web from time to time.

 The rules are:  list 7 things about yourself, then tag 7 people. 

Pretty straightforward. 

Here I go:

1. My first name ARN is just plain Arn – 3 little letters. It is not Arnold or Arnie. It is OK to call me Arnie if you feel protective towards me but never ever call me Arnold.

2. I am not Scandinavian even though Arn is a Scandinavian name. Family legend indicates that I was named after Prince Valiant’s son, Arn. Many of you are too young to remember the Prince Valiant comic strip series. But that is where my first name came from.

3. My last name, Cenedella, is Italian and my father’s side of the family did come from Italy. So my last name is indicative of some of my heritage but my first name is not.

4. I was emotionally scarred as a little kid because of my name. Every year the first day of school, the teacher would call roll and ask whether Ann was here. There was no Ann just little ol’ Arn.

5. In 7th grade, I was 4′11″ tall and weighed 65 lbs. I was on the wrestling  team but the only matches I ever won were by forfeit. My girlfriend at the time Celeste rode me around on her bike handlebars.

6. I started college at Colgate University when I was still 16 but that did not stop me from drinking beer (At that time, 18 was the legal drinking age)

7. I have a Master’s Degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Michigan but never worked in the field. I returned to the SF Peninsula where I grew up right after I graduated and went to work in my father’s real estate company, Cenedella and Co.

So that’s a little about me – Kevin has been tagged and I need to tag 6 more or I will live in eternal damnation.