the 5 minute management course

a colleague forwarded me this clever short course in management.

lesson 1:

a man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

the wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

when she opens the door, there stands bob, the next-door neighbor.

before she says a word, bob says, 'i'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'

after thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of bob, after a few seconds, bob hands her $800 and leaves.

the woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

when she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'who was that?'

'it was bob the next door neighbor,' she replies.

'great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'


moral of the story: if you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

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lesson 2:

a priest offered a nun a lift.

she got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

the priest nearly had an accident.

after controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

the nun said, 'father, remember psalm 129?'

the priest removed his hand but, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

the nun once again said, 'father, remember psalm 129?'

the priest apologized 'sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

on his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up psalm 129. it said, 'go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'


moral of the story: if you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

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lesson 3:

a sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

they rub it and a genie comes out.

the genie says, 'i'll give each of you just one wish.'

'me first! me first!' says the admin clerk. 'i want to be in the bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'

puff! she's gone.

'me next! me next!' says the sales rep. 'i want to be in hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life.'

puff! he's gone.

'ok, you're up,' the genie says to the manager.

the manager says, 'i want those two back in the office after lunch.'


moral of the story: always let your boss have the first say.

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lesson 4:

an eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

a small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'can i also sit like you and do nothing?'

the eagle answered: 'sure, why not.'

so, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. all of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.


moral of the story: to be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

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lesson 5:

a turkey was chatting with a bull.

'i would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but i haven't got the energy.'

'well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. they're packed with nutrients.'

the turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

the next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree..


moral of the story: bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..

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lesson 6:

a little bird was flying south for the winter. it was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

while he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

as the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

the dung was actually thawing him out!

he lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

a passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.


morals of the story: (1) not everyone who shits on you is your enemy. (2) not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. (3) and when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

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thus ends the five minute management course.

the homie shot

i was introduced to the homies brand through work & since that initial introduction i have become a fan of what the homies brand represents.

i had the pleasure of having dinner with david gonzales, the brand’s creator a few months back. david’s stories about how the brand started & how it has matured through the years are fascinating. he has put a whole lot of heart & soul into creating this brand, the characters, & he works effortlessly to ensure a positive image surrounds his brand.

the breath of products that have been built around the homies brand today & that are possible for the future are vast. combine david’s super creative & amazing artwork, with the personality he gives each character it’s no wonder why the brand has been so well adopted & could fit with so many products.

being a big fan of caffeine & all that it does to “make a body good” i was thrilled to see the homie brand used in marketing a new energy shot. this little homie shot packs a BIG punch. it's full of lots of vitamin B & enough caffeine to wake elvis from the dead :) if you like those 5-hour energy shots, then you are going to go crazy over the homie shot because it’s a very similar product, but these little jewels actually taste good.

check out this homie shot video featuring homie character's macho & sancho. even if you don’t speak spanish, you’ll get a kick out of this short clip.

3 movie strikes

we are batting 0 for 3 on movies right now. i’ve given up TV, do i have to give up movies too :)

it started with surfer, dude, which was directed by S.R. bindler. bindler was known for his hands on a hardbody documentary which i think was hilarious & unfortunately real – i now know a little more about longview, TX than i’d like too. surfer, dude didn’t make any sense to me. it was a hour & a half long movie with matthew mcconaughey running around with his shirt off looking for waves while the “bad-guy” producer was trying to cast his character in a “real-world” TV/video game. from time-to-time woody harrelson & willie nelson would make appearances as pot smoking weirdos & hot chicks would run around with their tops off wearing nothing but bikini bottoms. i couldn’t categorize this movie. was it a surfer movie, a T&A movie, a pot-smoking movie? i think it was just the worst of all three movie types & now i’m going to try & forget that i watched it.

bad movie #2 – nights in rodanthe: this isn’t just me not giving into a sappy love story; kristin couldn’t stand it either. there was little to no dialogue in the entire movie, yet this couple played by richard gere (how did he ever end up with cindy crawford) & diane lane (i think she’s hotter now than she was when she starred as cherry valance in the outsiders more than 25 years ago) fell madly in love. the director, george c. wolfe, was all over the place with the camera & cut ever little bit of dialogue or story telling short. it was a disaster of a movie.

we capped our bad movie experiences off with 2 days in paris. there was a story (opposite of surfer, dude) & there was dialogue (opposite of nights in rodanthe); however, the characters didn’t fit one bit. adam goldberg’s (i remember him from dazed & confused) character was this jerk-off interior designer from NY with a bunch of mean one-liners awaiting his girlfriend played by julie delpy. goldberg’s character was allergic to & got sick by everything in sight, yet he lived in NY, one of the “dirtiest” cities in the U.S., had tattoos all over his chest, arms, & back, & he smoked, & to top it off here he was back-packing across europe with his girlfriend who was from paris. his character just didn’t fit the part. if he just wouldn’t have gotten so sick by everything in sight i would have felt completely different about this movie.

juno awaits us courtesy of netflix – wish us luck because we can’t take another bad movie.

cutting the cord

no we didn’t just have a baby, or go totally green & move completely to wind power. i (hopefully kristin will tag along too) am cutting the cord from the TV for the next month. i’d like to think that cutting the cord will last longer, but i’m not willing to say forever just yet.

i’ve suggested time & time again that TV is a huge waste. although we have one of those super high-def, xyz P resolution, flat & wide, etc. type TVs, i have to laugh a bit internally when anyone talks about their TV specs. when did it become normal to spend thousands of dollars on a TV? folks are so hard-up about their TVs, DVD, & blu-ray players. they talk about how crisp & clear the picture is & how the people they are watching look real – if you want real people get your ass (i’m talking to myself here too) off the sofa & go & be social with real people – it doesn’t get any crisper or clearer than that!

so what am i hoping to accomplish by cutting the cord from the TV during this next month? no, i don’t expect my life to get fantastically better, or that i’ll be speaking 5 languages, etc. i do however hope to enjoy the simple things in life – like spending quality time with the love of my life kristin, relaxing with peace & quite, really be able to focus on something versus having the noise of a TV in the background, getting back in touch with music, accomplishing more of those home to-dos during the week so my weekends are spent crossing items of a check-list, & while it may not seem a big deal to many getting more sleep. if that’s “all” that i gain from this no TV thing, then i think those things alone are reason enough to cut the cord permanently.

since being home today after work (6:30 PM) i spent an hour playing with payton, took payton on a walk to grab the mail, rid the backyard of payton’s poop (while not attractive or exciting it needed to be done & i’m simply being honest about what i’ve done tonight), listened to a many long lost CDs to include a girlie mix that eryn compiled for me & then i reconnected with the smiths & james taylor. i “read” the march issue of bon appetit, did all the dishes which included giving the stove-top a good scrubbing, prepared the coffee for tomorrow morning, & finally dinner for myself.

kristin arrived home about 30 minutes ago (8:50 PM) after a long day of work & volunteering at the resale shop as part of her junior league provisional year. we shared the news from our day, then i proceeded to check & respond to a few e-mails, & now i am writing this post. next, i plan to prepare a water bottle for an early morning spin class i’m going to take at the gym – it’ll be my first spin class in 5+ months. see, this no TV thing is already paying off!

prior to falling asleep i hope to turn a few pages of the wisdom of crowds, by james surowieck which kristin was kind enough to pick up for me at Barnes & Nobles today while grabbing another one of those vampire books for herself.

ask yourself, what you would be giving up if you too were to cut the cord on the TV. i’m confident in saying that you'd be missing nothing as important as the things you are already giving up by leaving it on.

january 20, 2009 - obama day

regardless of where you were today when obama took the oath of office as president of the united states, you must have felt the positive energy that surrounded this occasion. as i sat with kristin by my side in a hotel room in hawaii this is the most historic event in american history that i have had the pleasure to witness & i will never forget this moment.

god bless america!

a true bears fan

this year's football season is rolling to an end. unfortunately the season for the bears has already come to an early close. like a true bears fan i must keep my spirits high & hope that next year will be different. one fan, my boy payton, is showing his true colors & keeping all of us bear fans excited for what the future may hold.

you should have seen him tear up that green bay packers koozie!

"catching up"

tomorrow a number of employees will return to their office after holiday vacations. i suspect that a high percentage of these people will answer to their bosses, colleagues, etc. with updates something to the effect of, “i’ll be catching up on things since i’ve been out.”

i hate hearing things like that. when i hear people gives those types of updates all i hear them saying is:

- i didn’t plan very well before leaving for vacation.
- i haven’t spent any time staying in touch with what’s been going on while out.
- i don’t have a clue what going on so i’ll just make it sound like i have a lot of work to do.
- i’m not sure what i’m supposed to be doing now that i'm back.

when returning from vacation i expect people to have a clear list of action items to deal with. vacation time is one’s opportunity to get away from it all so when they return they can hit the ground running with a plan. the vacation breaks up the monotony of everyday work & allows one to come back with some focus & purpose.

as i participate on my morning call with our CEO i hope & expect to hear clear-cut action items from my colleagues & no “catching up” type of statements.

a new fan of used

until last year i didn’t realize how much more sense it made to buy used versus new. it was the ’99 4runner that i purchased that opened my eyes to this revelation.

last christmas i sold my a4 almost as soon as the warranty ran out. i loved the a4, but the idea of driving a german car w/out a full warranty is just a bad idea in my opinion. not to mention i was riding a lot back then, we had just gotten payton & a 4runner just seemed to make more sense. i decided to go after a used 4runner because i trusted toyotas, i liked the 4runner, & i wanted something that i could pay cash for.

after selling the a4 i was able to pay for the 4runner with cash & even stick a few bucks in the bank. after buying the 4runner i took it to toyota & gave them a blank check to fix anything & everything that was wrong or could go wrong with it. they suggested i get an oil change, rotate the tires, & change the transmission fluid & in the next 10K miles they said i should get the front brakes replaced. that was it; all that it needed!. that first visit to toyota cost under $200 bucks & it wasn’t until 9 months later that i had the front breaks changed along w/ another oil change (had one other oil change before then) all for less than $300 bucks. in the year i’ve driven the 4runner i have put over 12K miles on it & spent less than $600 in maintenance costs (included 3 oil changes & 1 air filter change). that $600 bucks was only a $100 more than i was paying each month for the a4. used wins!

just this last week kristin & bought a house. it was built in 2006 & the previous owner took excellent care of this home & upgraded it from floor to ceiling. wood floors, new tile, travertine tile & granite counter tops in the bathrooms, recessed lighting w/ dimmers throughout, converted the patio to an office, stained the garage floor & finished the walls, garage door opener, fans throughout, stone built flowerbeds, stained fence, upgraded hardware on all doors & in the bathrooms, replaced carpet in bedrooms with upgraded berber, painted walls to include accent walls, sprinkler, gutters, security system, blinds, curtains, & the list goes on & on. after moving in last friday, kristin & i have only had to make one run to home depot & that was for new bed slats & a new battery for one of the garage remotes. when we moved into our first house, which was brand new, we spent the first year at home depot almost every weekend. we had to install, paint, configure, & setup everything. it made home owning a disease & it consumed much of our free time.

not anymore. this place is like a dream. nothing to do except move in & enjoy. that’s what we plan to do & not to mention we saved thousands of dollars by taking the used versus new approach.

lakeline watersports going big

a big congratulations to my bro roland who has busted his ass for a couple years straight in an effort to make lakeline watersports a reality. today he & his family (heather, zoe, evie, roland's sister, & heather's dad) cracked a bottle of champagne on their new brick & mortar store.

it's been truly impressive watching roland put this together. it began with roland spending early morning hours for many months before "work" at einstein's reading business books & building a business plan. then shelling out cash to attend his first outdoor retailer show in salt lake city, utah to meet with kayak dealers & begin the buying/distribution process. then selling kayaks from his garage via craigslist. then came the website (very well designed) & then the move to a storage facility. as business continued to grow roland moved shop to a larger storage/office facility. now fast forward to today with the grand opening of lakeline watersports.

my take on the time-line of lakeline watersports doesn't even begin to tap into the reality of the hard work, early mornings, late nights, & the many things that were given up to make today's grand opening a success.

if you know anyone that is even slightly interested in kayaking & fishing i recommend you send them roland's way. i can assure you roland is a good guy who will do everything he can to help them out.

again, big congrats to roland & his family. i wish them all the best & i believe that lakeline watersports will be a success!

23.43

an unfinished post (fitting for the topic) i found in my e-mail inbox (often i'll send myself an e-mail reminding me of something to write about or a post that i began).

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since returning from the half ironman in california a few weeks ago i began questioning why i signed up for ironman coeur d' alene which is now only 9-weeks away from today.

i have not once questioned whether i can complete the race. funny for some to imagine that the 140.6 miles that make up an ironman don't scare me. if the race was tomorrow i'd be happy to wake up & do it. the training time i have put in both by myself & with t3 up until this point has prepared me physically for the ironman.

regardless of the physical aspects associated with the ironman there are just so many other things that an athlete must do & in many cases not do to prepare for this type of race. dedicating the time to train both during the week & on the weekends has been the biggest struggle for me. at this stage of training it requires 10+ hours during the week & another 10 hours on the weekends. these 20 hours only include training time too. so many folks don't realize the time that goes into training when you aren't actually training. i'm referring to the time spent washing water bottles, filling & mixing water bottles, packing nutrition, giving up nights out so you can be in bed early & on the flip side up super early in the morning, driving to & from workouts, shopping for workout stuff, equipment tune-ups, planning travel (air, lodging, car) for races, reading about tri training, & because the weather is ever changing you have to have cold & warm weather gear ready to go at all times, & of course there is an abundance of laundry to do. the list goes on & on.

this is why i've been questioning the value of dedicating so much time to these activities. what am i & the people (kristin, family, friends, co-workers) around me getting out of any of this? if it isn't rewarding & it's no longer fun then why continue forward?

it easy to argue that because you signed up you should do it. i had one guy in the gym tell me to "just man-up & do it." isn't part of being a mature adult (man or woman) knowing when it makes more sense to call something to an end? why remain bullish to prove a point or to simply finish something you started? identify something (an ironman in my case) for what it is, waste no more time & energy, & turn your focus toward something that does offer value instead. the opportunity costs to continue my ironman training do not outweigh the other items in my life that do matter right now.

this past week i was still in it. although i was following my own (not t3s) less structured training plan i was still getting the time & miles i needed. this weekend however included a 100+ mile ride for which i knew i'd be better off doing with the team. it's these 5+ hours training rides (which turn into 8+ hour days) that drive me absolutely mad these days. i met up with t3...

boo hoo retail

a colleague e-mailed our entire company the following list of retails stores that are either closing all stores, a specific number of stores, or just some unknown number of stores between oct. '08 & jan. '09.

closing *all* stores: linens & things, cache, wickes furniture, bombay, levitz, talbots, wilson leather, sharper image, j. jill, piercing pagoda, whitehall, movie galley

closing "x" many stores: the gap (85), ann taylor (117), footlocker (140), eddie bauer (27), zales (82), ethan allen (12), home depot (15), pep boys (33), disney (98), sprint/nextel (133), KB toys (356)

closing "some" stores: loews, dillard's, circuit city, lane bryan, fashion bug, catherine's, JC penny, pacific sunware

the e-mail was to serve as a list of retail stores that we should avoid buying gift cards from during the holiday season as gifts.

it is evident from some of the names in this list (see linens & things, the gap, ann taylor, footlocker, lowes, home depot) that things aren't right side up in the economy. luckily everyone i know still has a job & for the most part it sounds like everyone's company is doing well. so kudos to those of us in austin for now at least.

of course you didn't need this list of retail stores to realize something wasn't right in the economy. unless you've been living under a rock you know what i'm talking about. think freddie & fannie, the $700 billion bank bailout, & now the BIG 3 detroit auto manufactures are on their knees looking for $25 billion from the government. lucky for me & kris right now mortgage rates are looking good & we are hoping to lock any day now.

i've digressed to far from where i wanted to go with this one. back on topic.

so my initial thought when i saw the list was wow, the ripple of effect of a down economy is just beginning. my other thought was what little value these stores added to begin with & how i wasn't going to miss any of them.

when i drive between austin & dallas (almost once a month now) it's evident to me that there are way more BIG box stores than we need. hell, it's evident when i drive to & from work each day that there are too many BIG box stores. it drives me nuts to see so many of these stores. the stores take away from the personality of a city/town in my opinion. many will argue that they offer convenience & low costs. convenience is one of the last things i'd suggest that the offer. shopping in my opinion is one of the most inconvenient things we could do with our time. internet shopping, that's convenient. too many folks are running around shopping after work & on their weekends versus spending "real" time with their family & friends, traveling, going to the park, exercising, cooking, enjoying a nice meal, reading, drawing, you get the picture by now. as i walk through most department stores & grocery stores the isles are packed with 5 or more of the same item. take for example laundry detergent. there is an entire isle in the store full of detergents with 15 or more scents, some with bleach added, some powder, some liquid, different sizes, etc. --- give me a break --- i just need laundry detergent. do we really need that many choices? does what type of laundry detergent we buy say something about "who" we are?

maybe i'm a bit of a socialist but i'd be just as happy as i was when i was a kiddo in school. remember when you got a list of what you needed for school? i'd be more than happy if i got my home supplies determined for me based off the square footage of my home, number of rooms, bedrooms, pets, number of people living in the space, etc. just ship me my supplies once a month & let's call it good. does anyone really enjoy shopping for groceries, cleaning supplies, or anything at stores like walmart, target, etc.?

i think what's happening in the retail market right now is more than just some economic disaster. it's a sign of excess being cleaned up. we never needed so many retail stores to begin with. it's urban sprawl to the extreme.

what scares me most right now is what will come of these big & empty stores (warehouses). will our strip malls begin to look like ghost towns? how long will these building that don't have any architectural character sit emtpy? if i had my choice i'd like to see them all torn down & have them replaced with parks & the wild/natural areas they once were.

i could go on & on about this. so many parts of retail frustrate me. maybe i should just say, oh goodie thanks for the e-mail b/c now i won't buy a gift card (what kind of gift is that anyway - tis this season to be shopping versus finding something that will have some meaning to someone) from one of these stores.

while i'm hating on shopping for the holidays for a moment. has anyone else noticed how quick the retailers have moved to hang christmas lights, reefs, etc.? can't we wait for thanksgiving to pass before putting this stuff up? if you are a UT fan you have to wonder if the UT/ATM game was moved this year from the day after thanksgiving (black friday) to thanksgiving day so no one (to include men) have an excuse for not being out shopping.

bah humbug :)

my take on dubai

i was in dubai for work & as far as a work trip goes it was great. as for a hot travel destination, my recommendation is that you save your money & time. dubai was much like a vegas w/out casinos, it's a non-walking city, unless you were shopping at a local market you weren't getting any type of deal, & the hot restaurants & bars were full of waiting lists & food & drink minimums. i'm tired of wasting my time talking about dubai so i'll wrap things up with a quick list of my take on dubai:

- it's not a walking city
- so much construction!
- outside of traditional items, nothing is cheap!
- the cost of a coffee is the same as a cappuccino or latte - $4 to $5 bucks
- traffic is horrific
- it's a safe place
- unique smells (good & bad)
- you can find hummus & french fries on every menu
- the amount of construction workers are insane
- strict laws
- it all started with the crowne plaza dubai
- a rail is badly needed; it's under construction
- most good restaurants/bars have minimums on what you spend
- alcohol is super expensive!
- it's all about having the biggest mall, building, island, just fill in the blank.

london surprised us both

kristin & i weren't sure what to make of london. we'd talked about going to london in the past but neither of us had any real desire to make those discussions a reality. there were still so many great destinations in this world that we'd yet to enjoy & london simply didn't rank high enough on our list to deserve it's own trip.

my take on london was pretty simple. it was a big city, much like a NY for example with the downside of everything being two to three times more expensive. kristin & i also had a horrific layover in heathrow when returning from prague a couple years back & ever since we've had a bad taste for london.

the good news is that our trip to dubai landed us in london & we decided to give london a go for a couple of days. the outcome was that we both loved it. granted we spent a lot of time in/out of different pubs, but we both really dug the history, the city, & the people.

from the moment we hopped in a cab from paddington station to our hotel we were hit with the common question from the locals, "are you both happy about obama?" regardless of whether we were in a cab, a pub, or a restaurant there was a happy stir about obama just winning the election back home. it made us both feel really good that our UN friends were as happy about obama as we were.

beyond the drinking at the pubs & obama talk we took a ride on london's eye, watched the changing of the guard at buckingham palace, experienced the typical dark & rainy weather london offers, we enjoyed tea & coffee at some local eateries, we walked through both st. james & hyde park, & we saw big ben which reminded us that we needed to get out of town & catch our flights to dubai.

in the future we'd both like to use london as a transition point for a couple of days before reaching our final european destination. i'm thinking greece, ireland, &/or istanbul will be where we travel next in europe. before europe we owe a visit to south america (chile, peru, brazil, &/or argentina).

wiping the posting slate clean

personal blogging has slowed for reasons you would imagine - time is precious & blogging simply doesn't rank. even though i'm not blogging regularly i often think of all the interesting & fun topics that i would like to write about. as a result i found myself creating a list of topics (beginning feb '08 - oct. '08) that i hoped i would one day return to write about. the list of topics has grown to almost 100 & knowing that it will continue to grow further & cause me even more frustration i decided to share my "to blog about" list with you in a single blog post. the majority of these thoughts are just one liners on the topic & a quick reference to where the thought originated from, while a few are almost finished posts.

anyhow, i'm happy to wipe my posting plate clean (minus the two pending about our london/dubai/chicago trip we just returned home from) & i hope you find a little humor & interesting points within my list.

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pick your battles (reference to something mitchell pointed out to me related to trash in the office)

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show attire – jeans & sport coat versus the traditional business suit (reference to what folks wear at tech conferences (mobilize08 for example) & why i prefer this style of dress)

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IVRs versus scripted customer service agents (reference to how an IVR can actually provide a better customer experience than CS agents who just read through a scripted list & have no personality)

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food photo log – – dinner (reference to my way of sharing foodie experiences)

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title: cereal has become a food group

i had a fun conversation with some friends this past friday while eating lunch at the clay pit. the conversation was about cereal & how 3 out of the 4 of us at the table saw cereal as a staple in our diet.

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apartment raised dogs (reference to the behaviors of dogs that live in apartments & how it's correlated to the demographic of folks living in apartments)

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3^rd story apartment move-ins (reference to the inconveniences of apartment stairs)

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lucky to be raking leaves (reference to brent describing what it means to him to be thankful)

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title: 7 years later

these past 7 years with you have taught me…

year 1 – what i thought was fun really wasn’t healthy for the long term

year 2 – learning to share

year 3 – respect

year 4 – not to take each other for granted & to communicate

year 5 – how

year 6 – the importance of traveling the world together

year 7 – together we can control our destiny & that you are my biggest fan & supporter

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stumbling on happiness (reference to how happiness can appear when you least expect it)

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title: first time in salt lake city

all & all i wasn't to impressed with salt lake city, utah. the focus of the trip of course wasn't to "enjoy" the city, rather to learn as much as i could about the outdoor retail business. as far as that effort is concerned the trip was a huge success.

for the past couple of years roland has attended the outdoor retailer show & i had remarked that it sounded like a good time. roland knowing that i would enjoy the vibe of such a show, all the free health bar swag (probably too much), & the opportunity to feed the entrepreneur spirit within me invited me along this year.

the show was great & really opened my eyes to the business of being a retailer. regardless of industry, retailers are offered goods at a minimum of 35% less than the product will retail for. it seems the smaller the product, the higher the profit margin. along those same terms, the more you buy the greater the discount. the next time i purchase cliff bars for example i will try & block out the fact that the place I am buying them from most likely paid $0.35 to $0.45 cents for them.

of course the retailer needs to make profit b/c he/she has to pay to keep the lights on, pay salaries, pay for insurance, pay rent, etc. i know running a retail shop isn't a sure fire plan to make it rich & like anything else there are risks involved. if it was so easy to prosper in this business we would all be doing it.

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if at first you don’t succeed (reference to a story that aired on CBS sunday morning 2008/08/03)

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how low does ford's stock have to go before they'll see the light (reference to an article in the WSJ titled, "finally, ford sees the light"

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title: are imported cars just better?

i don't watch a lot of nascar (anymore). as of today, july 24th 2008 the nascar leader board according to car manufacturer is as follows:

points wins

toyota 124 8

chevrolet 105 4

ford 99 3

dodge 90 4

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never know who you are going to touch (reference to the leukemia & lymphoma society & someone i met at the gym who had survived leukemia)

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but i tried didn’t i, GD. at least i did that. (reference to a quote i read somewhere about trying)

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title: surprise food find in ORD

just as i begin to think there is no hope for finding anything descent to eat in airports i find myself enjoying a wonderfully prepared meal in chicago’s ohare airport.

i can’t even complain about the price. i think $16 bucks (plus tax & tip) for a nice piece of salmon, 5 nice sized pieces of broccoli, & 5 asparaguses that are cooked very well is reasonable. maybe, i’m just becoming immune to the prices of food when travelling… last week i was charged $19 bucks at the hotel breakfast buffet for which i had a bowl of cereal, fruit, & coffee. just two days ago i paid $14 dollars for a turkey bagel sandwich with no cheese!

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starbucks says sorry in the right way (reference to starbucks apologizing for loosing gift card balances for a day & then sending every card holder a free bag of espresso beans)

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title: hotel gyms

hotel gyms are not the best place to workout, but they at least provide you a free way of getting free water & fruit (apples) while on the road.

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i didn’t know that tucson stood for “the lack of possessing color & life” (reference to the lack of color i saw while in tuscon in april of this year)

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free espresso & apple & bread just by being friendly (reference to a free treat a barista at starbucks gave me just for being friendly)

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starbucking (reference to a movie about a dude who attempted to visit every SB in the world)

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dear starbucks, (reference to a letter i began to write (obviously didn't get to far) to starbucks about them not offering plain soy milk & their new & crappy ice drink tops that crush the straws)

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a casa de luz in san francisco (reference to ananda fuara)

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what you can do with the iPhone (reference to all the things i was able to accomplish with my iPhone in an hour)

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siphon coffee at the blue bottle (reference to my love for the siphon coffee made at the blue bottle coffee company in san francisco)

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only three timewarner women technicians (reference to a conversation i had with a super friendly CS agent at TWC)

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schlotzsky’s 5K run w/ the family (reference to my race experience with my family to include my mom who just ran her first 5K the week prior)

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coffee shop review (reference to me beginning to write a coffee shop review only blog)

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title: mom, the runner!

yesterday, april 5th 2008 my mom (sandra) kicked some butt! she ran the seaton soles 5K & took 2nd place in her age group. after my folks came down to watch kristin & i run the 3M 1/2 marathon in january of this year my mom decided she wanted to start running.

after returning home (garland) from austin, she immediately bought a real pair of running shoes & signed up with run on, a local running group in plano. she began meeting with the group 3 times a week & was loving every minute of it. my mom has always maintained a very strict diet (she's the reason why i don't eat sweets) & maintained a love for...

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kristin’s bday (reference to the good times i enjoyed with kristin on her 28th bday)

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title: value of your purchases

casa breakfast vs. a traditional café latte or a $2 smoothie or a $1 coffee at lift.

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starbucks as a business (reference to how evaluating starbucks provides a plethora of business material)

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30% more time to first-borns (reference to an article that suggested that parents give 30% more time to first-borns than there other children)

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title: the B’s of interviewing

a fellow t3er posted a question to the t3 message board the other day on a topic unrelated to triathlon training. he has a friend who is going to interview for a personal trainer position at pure austin (a locally owned gym here in austin – kristin & i workout at pure) & she was asking about what the appropriate dress attire for such a position warranted.

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male synchronized swimmer in the olympics (reference to a story about a male synchronized swimmer who is on a women's only team)

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spin on obama following race speech courtesy of FOX news (reference to just how bad FOX news can be)

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title: just living in a city isn’t enough

moving back into austin proper was the best move for kristin & i yet. each day of the week is treated differently all due to our new location. while owning a big brand new home in round rock had its perks from time-to-time it did not satisfy our active, healthy, & adventurous life styles.

kristin now works downtown for starters & can drive to work & home in less than 10 minutes each way. we can both make it to the lake in less than 10 minutes. we’ve discovered new restaurants all around us. we are getting to know the neighbors. we were able to get a dog because it’s now possible to swing home during the day to let him out. we can bike run from our house, running in this area is great too. we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, & bars. our grocery shopping is now pleasurable versus painful.

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nokia food (reference to the food we had while visiting with nokia earlier this year in NY)

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nokia offices (reference to impressive nokia officies in NY)

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dd1 (reference to something that i don't even remember anymore)

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why is resting so hard? (reference to it being difficult for me to rest)

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title: ironman training time – i want my hour back!

today turned out to be a much longer than expected training day. i woke at 5:15AM & did not return home from training until 5:30PM...

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military rank pay vs. the corporate system (reference to the pros & cons of the corporate structure following the military structure for pay & rank)

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floating plastic island (reference to the debri/trash in the ocean that has accumulated to form a small island.

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postum (reference to the coffee substitute that is no longer sold in the states)

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malachi 3:10 (reference to this chapter/passage in the bible)

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title: addicted to being honest…

i was just faced w/ having to present a very bad review to one of my employees (who is also one of my best friends) & it turned out to be one of the most liberating experiences of my life. i was quite nervous & anxious about this review & it turned out to be my high of the day. how good it feels to be honest & open w/ people. my employee (i think of him as a friend first) responded so well & actually was very appreciative of the feedback. it was amazing how it helped not only our professional, but personal relationship too. i recently read an article in the new york post…

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austin makes you happy (reference to how austin really does rock)

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new gravel dropped at the trail (reference to the simple things that make me happy)

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6AM concert in austin? (reference to a concert that i noticed during an early morning run w/ ed)

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the netflix game (reference to the game kristin & play with watching & returning DVDs to netflix)

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delorean’s in humble texas (reference to a company in humble, TX that restores deloreans)

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on my way home from dallas wednesday i passed this restaurant in temple called BJ’s brewhouse (reference to the name of this place, i don't buy the answer they gave me for naming this place BJ's)

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don’t judge a person by looks alone (reference to a person i met on a plane)

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vita spelt wins! (reference to my own pasta taste/health off)

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title: the best pinot noir to date

last night kristin & i enjoyed the best pinot noir to date. it was a bottle of 2003...

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office fax machines (reference to being the only guy in the office that knows how to work it)

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title: athlete hangout

i had my first visit to performance wellness this past friday. my left cheek (not on my face) was giving me grief. the pain/stiffness had become...

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president maybe? (reference to the likelihood that obama will win the election)

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SOCO on a saturday night (reference night out with eduardo/jennifer & eryn/alex)

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own your city (reference to running early in the morning)

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working(out) from the gym (reference to how i brought my work with me to the gym)

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jesus on our tree (reference to kristin seeing jesus's face on the trunk of our tree in rosedale)

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single ply = BIG mistake (reference to the trouble i was in for brining home single ply TP)

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monarch – apartments, homes, apartments (reference to the loft market here in austin)

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carbotarian or vegetarian (reference to how i see most vegetarians as people who eat a lot of carbs, cheese, & sugar & not a lot of veggies)

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interesting new years resolution – don’t knock yourself (reference to something angela gave up in 2008)

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grub after a swim (reference to how hungry you are after a long & hard morning swim)

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title: healthy vegetarian indian curry dish

it’s quickly becoming a favorite for us. at least once every two weeks we have this super healthy vegetarian indian curry dish. it’s super spicy (just the way we like it!) & also very good for you (considering it’s curry & most curry dishes are super fatty).

we all know coconut milk can be heavy, yet it is super healthy for you too so what we do is buy the lite version so it isn’t as "bad" for you. we also use brown basamati rice which helps add to the nutritional value (& fiber). the tofu rocks because it just absorbs all those wonderful indian spices & because it is so high in protein i love the stuff. we usually make a large pot so we each have enough for one dinner & then one left over lunch for me.

ingredients that go into this dish:

- 2 whole packages of firm tofu

- 1 cup of brown basamati rice

- ½ a can of lite coconut milk

- 1 cup of fat free vanilla yogurt

- 1 – 2 chopped up mangos

- & as much indian spice as you like!

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roasted nuts (reference to a discussion i had with brent about nuts loosing their nutritional values during the roasting process)

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ironman nutrition - calories, calories, & more calories! (reference to the amount of food it takes to fill an ironman)

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title: recycling made simple

- use paper towels instead of plates

- re-use paper bags

- re-use plastic bags

- wash plastic forks

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the four P's (reference to covey describing items as pressing, proximate, pleasant, orå popular)

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volunteering (reference to the importance of giving back)

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title: car buying pattern for males

age:

16 – 18

18 – 22

23 – 24

25 – 29

30 – 34

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italian dinner at home (reference to an amazing italian dinner we made at home)

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title: me & my cell phones

as far as electronic devices, cell phones are turning into...

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history of the name kirk (reference to tracing back my family name)

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title: constructive criticism leads to free stuff

in the past month i’ve been pleasantly surprised by the response i’ve received from a few business for which i’ve given them some constructive criticism on my experience working with them.

it started first with california pizza kitchen i met my friend amber there for lunch a couple of months ago. we both ordered pizza with honey wheat crust. when our pizzas arrived neither of them had honey wheat crust on them. so the waitress offered to leave us with these non-honey wheat crust pizzas free of charge & would make us two honey wheat crusts as we ordered to go. i wasn’t feeling much like eating a pizza i didn’t want so the waitress then brought us two cups of complimentary soups & still boxed up the plain crust pizzas to go. my friend amber took them home. this isn’t the whole story though… about two weeks later i receive a card in the mail from cpk apologizing for their service & in the card was a gift card for a free pizza. so i sat down for two pizzas & ending up getting 5 pizzas (3 of them free) & 2 free bowls of soup just because a cook could read the waiter’s order. talk about a company going above & beyond for their customer.

similar story to the previous… kristin & i went to fago de chao which just opened here in austin for dinner. the food was great (assuming you like lots of meat), the décor of the restaurant was pleasing, & the service was perfect. the only flaw was the valet service for which fago de chao out sources. after dinner we waited close to 30 minutes for our car. see the above picture of kristin & many other chilly austinites waiting outside for their car. i even asked the valet if i could just have the keys & i’d get the car myself. i was told that you need a special parking pass to exit the parking garage & that i just needed to wait. the next morning i sent a nice e-mail to fago de chao explaining that everything was great minus their valet service & that they’ll need to get that piece of their operation working if they want happy clients. first thing monday morning i received a phone call from a representative of fago de chao explaining that they appreciated the feedback, that they’ve already begun working with their valet service to correct things, & that they take full responsibility for what happened. to close, they sent me a free lunch for two.

the last story, which just happened today & is the reason why i thought to write this entry, is a call i got from a representative at ESI international (www.esi-intl.com)...

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title: public bathrooms, office refrigerators, & craigslist

what do public bathrooms, office refrigerators, & craigslist have in common? they are places that we can *all* use & for which no one takes responsibility for taking care of. ever wonder why cities have so few public bathrooms, parks, etc… it’s because folks abuse them & they cost the city to much to keep them clean.

i gave up on using the office refrigerator over a year ago. i purchased a small fridge for my office because i couldn’t stand the mess of the office refrigerator. just last week, i told the guys in the office that everything in the fridge was being tossed & that if it got like this again we’d get rid of the refrigerator altogether. upon rob cleaning out the fridge for everyone the photo connected to this post is of lunch meat that was over 7 months old, a container full of lasagna & a PB&J sandwich with more bacteria growing on them than what you’d find in a typical science laboratory.

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austin gazelles (reference to what a great group of runners make up this group)

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plumbing story (reference to the benefits of renting vs. owning when things such as a leaky kitchen sink at rosedale turned into a $1,600 problem)

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city top tens (reference of top10 "things" a city has to offer)

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walking/driving to starbucks in the domain (reference to how walking to the domain is much easier & almost as fast as driving to the domain from our offices)

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starbucks vs. dunken donuts (reference to no only the business differences, but the demographics of who goes where)

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running at townlake – early morning (reference to rocky)

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no customer service at continental airlines

this is most likely the longest post i’ve written to date on this blog. the crappy service that continental provided me today really got under my skin. if you don’t have the time or don’t want to read the entirety of this post i understand; i know i probably wouldn’t either. this post was more for me as i needed to get these thoughts out of my head & on to paper. also, i’m writing this while on a plane r& don’t have much else to do :)

just yesterday i wrote about how great continental airlines' service was. two days later & i’m telling a completely different story.

i left the IBM executive conference center at 2:45 PM today in order to make it to laguardia airport for my 5:05 PM flight from NY to houston & finally on to austin. i arrived at laguardia around 3:40; one hour & 25 minutes prior to my flight departing which is super early for me. i immediately headed to continental’s self check-in service when a continental booking agent approached me to ask if i was connecting through houston. i responded yes & she continued to tell me that because of bad weather, all flights to houston had been delayed for at least 2-hours. i actually didn’t mind hearing the news too much. of course it sucked, but i’d just plant myself on the computer & get some work done, makes some calls, etc.

because of the delay, i was told to proceed to the long line of folks waiting in the main check-in line to be informed of the bad news to come. when i reached the counter after about a 15-minute wait i was still quite cool about the whole situation. then the continental agent informed me that because of the delay i would miss my connecting flight from houston to austin & that i’d have to spend the night in houston. on top of that, continental wasn’t going to compensate me the cost of a hotel room because the delay was due to bad weather which is out of continental’s control.

i asked if there was any other flight i could take tonight that would get me to austin. not only did i want to get home to see kristin & sleep in my own bed for a change; kristin & i are leaving for san francisco the very next morning & i couldn’t afford to miss that flight. the agent then informed me that there was a direct flight to austin leaving [insert mumble followed by flight number] at 7:40 & that if i could make it there on time she would book me on that flight. without hesitation, i nodded my head & said thank you & i was out the door – by this time it was 4:20 PM.

i grabbed this first taxi i saw outside & told him i needed to get to JFK. about half way to JFK the driver, who couldn’t speak very good english (what a surprise) asked me which airline. i told him continental. he seemed puzzled & asked again, what airline. i responded again, “continental.” he kind of shrugged & went about driving.

when we arrived at JFK the driver asked which terminal i was leaving from. i said i’m not sure, all i know is that i’m flying continental. low & behold we finally saw continental on a sign for terminal 4 which was good because terminal 4 was the last of the 4 terminals at JFK. i paid the driver $32.50 & headed into the terminal. before messing with checking in i quickly called kristin to let her know i made it. then i called mitchell to talk about some project work at the office. i was on the phone with mitchell for a solid 30 minutes when i let him go. i began looking for the continental desk when i noticed that the majority of airlines in terminal 4 were foreign carriers. i headed towards the one continental terminal which was closed. by that time i realized something was wrong & that i was at the wrong terminal.

i hopped on the phone to continental to find out which terminal my flight was leaving from. after hanging on hold for 5 minutes, i was connected to an agent who began looking for my flight info. since i didn’t have a flight number or reservation number it was a bit more difficult. i even began thinking that maybe the agent back at laguardia booked me on another carrier & that was why finding the continental terminal was so difficult. a few minutes into my conversation my connection dropped – damn cell phones/AT&T network!

i dialed continental again & was again put on hold for about 7 minutes. when the agent answered this time i was telling my story to a much friendlier agent than the first one that answered the phone. this new agent quickly found my flight information & that’s when she gave me the bad news – my flight which was still a continental flight was leaving out of newark airport, not JFK. by this time it was around 5:45 PM & my flight was leaving at 7:40 PM - 1 hour & 55 minutes away, no problem right?

i ran out the door of the JFK airport bound for the newark airport. i hopped in a long line of folks waiting for cabs. as i was working my way toward the front of the line some dude for a car service was running around trying to get people to take his service instead of the cabs. i asked him how much he would charge as a flat rate to newark & he said $125 plus he wanted me to pay for the tolls. i told him no & he immediately dropped his price to $100 plus i pay tolls. i again told him no. he then said OK, $100 bucks flat, no tolls but i must pay him with cash. i told him all i had was credit card. when i got about three people away from the front of the taxi line i asked the curb-check how much a taxi was going to cost me to newark. he said $120 bucks easily. i hopped out of line & went after the car service dude because i thought if i could save a few bucks why not. Plus the car service would be nicer than a taxi & the driver might even speak english. i told him flat out that i’d give him $100 flat (no tolls), that i would take care of the driver (even with a solid 20% tip it would cost less or just as much as a taxi) & he’d have to accept a credit card. he reluctantly agreed & i hopped in a nice black lincoln town car headed for newark.

i told the driver my situation & that my flight departed at 7:40 PM. he said as long as traffic wasn’t too bad we’d probably be there around 7:00 PM. i wasn’t surprised when traffic turned out to be a mess. i mean it was rush hour in NY & i was heading from one busy airport to another. i proceeded to just make work calls during the drive until about 6:55 PM when i called kristin to let her know it wasn’t looking good. i then called continental to see what other options i had in case i missed this direct flight to austin. they informed me that i could still catch a later flight (8:15 PM) that would get me to houston, but i’d have to take a flight in the morning to austin. this of course was the same situation i was in 3 hours ago in laguardia. so now i’d made all this effort & was still going to end up in houston tonight & i’d be out $150 for the cabs plus another $150 for a hotel room in houston.

around 7:10 PM the driver & i (we became good friends at this point) finally came out of the tunnel between NY & jersey the roads opened up. it was awesome; the driver was doing 90 MPH down the road trying to get me to my flight. to add to the excitement & what i found to be a bit funny was that the driver handed me the credit card machine to scan my own credit card & fill out the paperwork in an effort to save time. we finally pulled in to the continental terminal at 7:20 PM. i tipped the driver $20 bucks & he wished me good luck & a safe flight home.

i immediately ran to a continental self check-in terminal & began entering my information. the machine told me that it couldn’t print my boarding pass & that i’d have to see an agent. again, there was a long line in front of the counter & this time i just skipped the line. i walked up to the closest agent desk & simply said, “i really need your help.” to my surprise the agent could have cared less about my situation; she was playing this one by the books. she said she couldn’t print my boarding pass for the direct flight to austin because i was within the 30 minute window prior to departure time. i pleaded my case about all the hassle i went through, the cost of the cab fair, etc. & she wasn’t having it. i even asked if she would just print up my boarding pass & if i couldn’t make it to the gate in time then i’d rebook to the houston flight. she said she couldn’t do it though.

i conceded to the houston flight because that was my only choice. when i asked for continental to compensate me with a room in houston, the agent said she couldn’t but she would ask a “supervisor.” i thought for sure the “supervisor” would take care of me & understand all that i had just been through. then a dark cloud appeared & the meanest customer service supervisor appeared before me. talk about someone that could care less, she immediately began typing at the computer & told me there was no way she was going to compensate me with a room. i asked about alternative airlines or maybe a flight to dallas instead of houston so i could avoid the hotel costs by staying with my folks. she said houston overnight was my only option other than staying in newark for the night.

she then began booking my flight to houston & then to austin in the morning. she then lifted her head away from focusing on the computer & she looked at me & said that unfortunately i was now again within the 30 minute booking window & now i was going to have to spend the night in newark. this is when i lost it & said i wasn’t going to accept that; especially since i’d been in front of the other agent & now her for a solid 20 minutes discussing flights. she dropped her head & just began typing away. she then, against her will, booked me on the houston flight & handed me my boarding pass.

i then headed to security which was basically empty. i was thinking to myself that i surely good have made that austin direct flight if they would have just printed my boarding pass when i first walked up to the counter instead of adhering to that damn 30 minute rule. i proceeded to search out some grindz because i had not eaten since lunch. i checked out a few places before settling on a bottle of water & two cliff bars – one hell of a dinner huh?

as i was walking toward my gate i glanced up at the flight departure board & i noticed a continental flight to austin was NOW BOARDING. i took off running to gate 105 where the flight was leaving from. i nearly screamed with joy when i noticed the ticketing agent still at the gate & the door to the walk-way to the plane was still open. the flight was literally leaving in the next minute or two. the agent grabbed my boarding passes & hastily began scanning them while i was telling her that these boarding passes were for another flight. she got super frustrated & even after i told her all that had happened she said that this flight had to leave now & that she couldn’t hold the plane up to re-ticket me.

at this point i really wanted to just go off on this chic. she threw my tickets down & said there was nothing she could do & then proceeded to walk down to the plane & close the door behind her. what really frustrated me about this whole thing was that the agents down at the front desk obviously knew that this plane wasn’t leaving on time & given its new departure time of 8:05 PM i was well outside of the 30 minute rule that prevented them from printing my boarding passes in the first place.

the gate attendant then came bounding back from the plane & through the door & she said her boss told her that she couldn’t do anything (she didn’t apologize or anything). as she was telling me this a younger male continental agent was arriving at the gate; probably for the next flight. the female agent that had told me no then took head back down to the plane. i looked at the younger continental agent, shook my head, & said i can’t believe this is happening like this after all i’d been through to make this flight. he looked back at me & said don’t worry about it. he took my tickets for the houston flight & just threw them on his desk & he proceeded to unlock & open the door to the jet way leading to the plane & told me to have a nice flight. wow! what a cool dude & someone that puts the customer’s best interest before any damn company policy that is ridiculous to begin with.

when i reached the plane the chic that had told me i couldn't get on this flight was standing with the other flight attendants laughing & looked to be drinking a coke. i looked at her, shrugged my shoulders, smiled, & proceeded to board the plane. there is a good chance that my name was never put on that flight roster.

the plane then sat at the terminal for 10 more minutes before backing up & heading to the taxi way. when we arrived at the taxi way the pilot's voice came on over the speakers & he announced that there were 27 other planes in front of us & that it would be 30 – 35 minutes before we would be taking off. it was 9:05 PM when we got in the air (exactly 4 hours after my original flight was supposed to leave). to think that if i wouldn’t have looked up on that departure board & had seen that this flight hadn’t left yet & then to have this plane not even get in the air until 9:00 PM still pisses me off big time.

i still can’t believe that this same airline was the one i was profusely complementing not much more than 48 hours ago. now, they fall right in the same crappy category as american airlines. granted, continental can’t control the weather or long taxi lines, but i dealt with 2 agents & 1 “supervisor” who treated me like crap & who could have cared less about the time & cash i’d lost today just trying to get home.

my airline shopping continues again tomorrow when i take a southwest flight to san francisco. i’m keeping my fingers crossed & really hoping that southwest doesn't let me down too.