Mergen Chuluun

North America Mongolia Business Council’s (NAMBC) 12th Annual Investor Conference & Prime Minister’s Roundtable will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 14-16, 2009.  Registration is discounted for Mongolian businesses, NGO’s, and professors/students with USAM.

About NAMBC & Investors Conference

North America Mongolia Business Council and the Investors Conference are two of the longest running organizations and events promoting business and trade with/in Mongolia.  The nice caveat about the Investors Conference is the opportunity to hear from the Prime Minister directly and to have the opportunity to have your question answered.

Discounted Registration Ends Soon

Additional discounted registration of 5% is available until July 24th, 2009.  After September 1, there will be a $50 surcharge.  Hotel group discount at the Kempinsky Khan Palace Hotel ends August 26th.

To learn more about NAMBC and about registering for the Annual Investors Conference, please visit: North America Mongolia Business Council website.

On Fourth of July, 2009, America’s 233rd Independence Day celebration took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  The event took place at the Star Apartments in the Embassy district from noon to 4pm and was open to Americans and locals alike.  The cover was 7,000 tugrugs (aka tugriks), which equate to about five US dollars.  Locals and non-Americans also had to have an American friend or acquintance in order to enter and enjoy the American Independence Day celebrations.  The cover included two drinks and a fair-style menu that consisted of bratwurst or burger with side potato salad and pork ‘n beans.  There were heavy dose of security around the perimeter.

Shortly after purchasing the ticket and walking in with an American friend (if you/visitor were not an American) and navigating through the secure pathway to enter the mini park / community lawn of the Star Apartments, the visitor was greeted with an “All-American” muscle car that is the Carol Shelby Ford Mustang.  I must say that it did look quite nice.

Carol Shelby Ford Mustang - can't get any more american than that!

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Airmarket, an airline flight ticket booking agency in Mongolia, opened a new location today in the country’s capital city Ulaanbaatar (UB).  The new location sits right across from State Department store on the south side of Peace Avenue.  I ran across the grand opening on the way to work this morning at around 9am.  Here are some photos of the grand opening.

Airmarket's newest location

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Recently, I worked outside.  I had my staff, my team, help me take my table, chair, and notebook outside, so that I can get some work done outside while hearing the birds chirp.  It was such a wonderful day and being inside in the office just didn’t seem quite as exciting.

So, there you have it: Mergen working at his outdoor office!

Who says you can’t be outside and at the office at the same time?

Working from my outdoor office

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What: A photography exhibition about Mongolia taken by an American over the past two years. A silent auction of the artwork will benefit local charity organizations.   (I should note somewhere that there were some very tasty airag, aaruul, and unexpectedly good Mongolian cheese at the opening ceremony)

Who: Chris DeBruyn, Photographer/Peace Corps Volunteer
Where: Xanadu Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
When: June 18, 6 p.m. (Opening Event) – June 23 (Closing day)
Price: free entry

Some photos from the Opening Ceremony

Chris DeBruyen with US Ambassador Mark Minton

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I have moved the page “/about/my-quotes” to “/category/quotes-mantras”.  Instead of adding everything into one page, I am now going to write a blog post for each of my mantras individually.  This is a repost of a page that was published originally in June.  I am going to backdate this.

“The difference between winning and whining is only two letters” – March 2009

I started to say this back in March when things were looking bleak.  US stocks had not seen its surge.  Mongolian travel and investor seasons had not started, and there still were hundreds of unfinished large construction projects here in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Long story short, I read somewhere that many of the current Fortune 500 companies were founded during economic downturns.  This really inspired me to want to emulate that.  My thought was this:

If we can be profitable and grow during the downturn, we can be profitable and grow during any economic period.  So, let’s do it.  Let’s stop the complaining and let’s start winning.

“Win big or go home” – June 2009

As I fought to keep my company afloat and running smoothly, I new set of thoughts really came to take over my thoughts: “WIN BIG or GO HOME”.  The thought behind is simply this:

As a business, there is nowhere to go, but up.  There must be constant progress and improvement.  There must be focus on winning in the given marketplace.  There is no way a company or a business that can survive with a survival mentality.  Companies that just hope to hang on will eventually lose.  This is exactly why, we must focus on winning big or just quit and go home.  If you are not focused on winning, you might as well go home because you are not going anywhere.  So, let’s win and win big.  Let’s think bigger and achieve more!

I am going to share a little secret with you: how to completely secure & protect your pc and do it for free.

In this post, I will cover pc security & protection software that you can use to protect your computer from viruses, trojans, keyloggers, spyware, malware, and even hack attempts.  All of these software programs are often considered the best in their class.  And best of all, they are all completely FREE.

So, if you ever had any issue with viruses, trojans, spyware/malware programs or if you never want to have computer protection issues again, this PC security & protection post on best software tips is just for you.

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7. The Emergence of J.R. Smith

Sharpshooter JR Smith (AP Photo/David Zalubowski/ESPN.com)

After a loss at the hands of JR Smith’s hot shooting and the Denver Nuggets, Deron Williams of Utah Jazz said it best, “Once he gets going offensively, he is one of the best players in the league.  He has unlimited range.”  In that game, JR Smith torched anyone trying to guard him.  On one play, he had a sweet turnaround and a three-point shot with taller Kyle Korver trying to guard him.  There was not a chance Korver could do anything but watch him hit the three right on him.  Watching JR Smith gets on a hot streak, it is a blast watching him make it rain or dunk on a fast break. Read the rest of this entry »

This is just plain BS.  It should be illegal to send SPAM like this.  Most SPAM’s I can just ignore without even giving it a second thought…. Why the (*&# would someone send me a SPAM that said something like this?

highlyregardedsalmon: Hey, I know this is weird, but I don’t know who else to turn to.  I’m thinking about. . .you know. . .ending it all.  Can we talk?

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Lebron James and Cavs Sweep Hawks in Five Games

Just right now, 9pm in Mongolia on May 12th, 2009, while I was watching Bloomberg, I saw for the first time in my life, Bloomberg cover sports.  The reporter on Bloomberg Asia showed highlights of LeBron James and Cavs and talked about how the Cavs have swept the Hawks in the second round… and then went on to say that Game 5 is on later tonight.

LOL. WOW, maybe Bloomberg SHOULD just stick to finances… maybe they’ll make better predictions!

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