ProBiz Partners Blog

Sangria is quickly becoming a drink that a Spaniard wouldn’t be caught dead drinking. Not because it’s not good, but because the tourists like it too much! Most of my friends roll their eyes if I order Sangria. But in the summer when it’s 110 degrees in the shade, this fruity, not-too-sweet wine concoction is just the ticket.

The fast and easy way to make Sangria is to simply purchase a cheap bottle of red wine, pour it into a pitcher, add an equal part of your favorite lemon/lime soda, drop in a few slices of orange and apple, and serve over ice.

But then, again, you can drink the real stuff. I’m still debating whether or not I want to share this recipe in its entirety…

One night we went to a wonderful seafood restaurant on the beach in Javea. My friend wanted to crawl under the table when I ordered Sangria in a fancy restaurant. But when I insisted that she taste it, she quickly changed her mind. Now THAT is Sangria! I asked her if she thought they might share the recipe. She thought I was nuts. Nevertheless, when the waitress returned, I said (wearing my sweetest “I’m a stupid foreigner” grin and stammering in broken Spanish) “This Sangria is the best I have ever tasted. Can you tell me how you make it? Please????” She smiled broadly, disappeared, and quickly came back with the full recipe scribbled on a napkin. SCORE!!!!!!!!

OK, so I’ll share. But when you drink it, you have to toast the source: Los Remos in Javea.

Sangria from Los Remos (The Rower)
Javea, Spain

1 bottle white wine
1 bottle rosé wine
1 bottle red wine
½ bottle Cointreau
¼ bottle Brandy
1 bottle Vermouth
Add pieces of fruit & soda

Serve over ice. Be prepared to sit around for hours, eat tapas, and RELAX, you wired up Americans!!!

I’m one of those people who drives everybody else nuts trying to figure out every possible scenario. Travel is no exception. What if my computer dies? What if the Internet connection doesn’t work? What if I want paella but my friends want fish? Oh, sorry, it’s always about the food, you know….

To prepare for a trip, I mentally walk through every potential obstacle I can imagine. I know where and how I can buy a new laptop if the worst happens — if I lose it (the computer, the computer!) or it dies completely. To prepare for a loss of data, I have two really important resources; an online backup service and a portable external hard drive.

There are many choices for online backups, and I highly recommend that you find one AND USE IT! Some are quite expensive, some have more bells and whistles. My choice is Mozy, a service that is free for 2Gb of storage, but I pay $4.95 per month so that I can backup all of my data. The advantages of online backup are many, not the least of which is that you can access and restore your data from anywhere that you can access the Internet. Then there are the redundant servers that they use to ensure that your backups are always there. One note, though: online backup services are NOT a place to store and share files. You cannot browse the files and simply choose which one to download. It is meant for restore purposes, and it does that job very well.

Since I’m paranoid and don’t ever want to have to explain to a client: “Hello, Wanda? You know your database that has 5,000 contacts and all their sales data? Well, my computer went down….” No thank you. So in addition to backing up data, I use an external, portable hard drive when I travel. After much research and a heart-to-heart with my tech guy, I settled on the LaCie Mobile Drive that can store 160Gb, and is very small and light. Weight becomes a significant factor after you’ve been stuck in 5 airports in 1 day. No exaggeration.

For me, the thought of losing my computer and everything on it is my worst nightmare. The idea of having my data backed up is comforting, but if my computer dies, I don’t want to reinstall the operating system, all the software, and all of my settings. It’s incredibly time consuming. There is an advantage to starting all over with software, which is the rough equivalent of cleaning out the garage. But I don’t have time. So I use Norton Ghost to clone my entire system. It surprises me that more technical people don’t share this little tidbit with their clients. The difference? My computer dies, or I buy a new one. Option A: Install all my software, re-set all my settings (as much as I can remember), then restore all the data. Option B with cloning software: Install cloning software, click restore, and walk away. Come back to a computer that is exactly like my old one. For me, it’s a no-brainer. Ghost is $69.99, and for that price I can save hours of time and frustration.

Remember, no amount of software or hardware for backups will help you if you don’t use it religiously!!!!

Join us next time when we explore the exciting world of… never mind. Next time we’ll talk about food.