timothy…

I woke up worried this morning. I briefly panicked as I looked around my room trying to figure out where I was and trying to find my suit. I know that sounds weird but it took me a moment to understand what was going on. I was dreaming that I was in a deep panic, trying to find a suit in time for Tim Tebow’s wedding. Yes, for some odd reason, I was on my way to the wedding of the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators. And I woke up worried that I wouldn’t make it in time for the ceremony. I think I was actually in some large department store that sold everything in the world but just not suits. I know…I have weird dreams.

The alarming thing about it all is that I didn’t even watch the Florida game yesterday and had no idea he was carted off to the hospital. I got the news this morning and thought my dream was even stranger knowing what had happened. Weird

funny business…

There is some funny business going on with the management team of my department at work. When someone has a suggestion about a potential improvement or change to our business, we require them to go test out their theory. If you have a hypothesis, prove it will work to us. But surprisingly, I have noticed over my last two years with this group that we have yet to find any one of our ideas to be unsuccessful in our testing. Every single test or pilot has come back extremely successful. But that doesn’t make any sense. Believe me – we are not that smart. So, how can every idea that we come up with be a great idea but yet be found unsuccessful months later – this is madness.

Today, I was working on one of those studies and in a meeting, I shared that the findings were not supporting the senior manager’s idea. Quickly, he started looking through the data himself looking for mistakes and undermining the research. He finally landed on the idea that my assessment wasn’t complete and that the research actually supported his original thought (just like he envisioned that it should). At this point, I suggested that if he knew the answer before we started our research, why did we even bother analyzing real data? He didn’t like my response. But I wanted to make a point. The manager, just like others, had approached our research with the idea that we would support his proposition and he wouldn’t take any other answer.

But think about it…isn’t it human nature to want to be right. Someone believes that they are right about some topic and if you challenge them, they will do anything to ensure that they look right. They look for that article they read or call that friend who told them. They bet more money…whatever. Very few actually are open to the truth and pursue it with an ability to accept failure. We feel bad when we find out that our idea was wrong. But we should be open to failure. If you are having a difficult time following my rambling then think about driving. You get lost and for some odd reason you stay with a wrong turn for too long and avoid asking for help. Why? because you want to be right no matter the cost.

So, I understand the problem we have as a management team but the real question is how do I fix it…I don’t know yet. But when I find an answer…I will have another post for you guys.

wake up mr west…

Forgive the bad Kanye West song title reference but it was the first thing that came to mind for a post title. So, how about my three month vacation from posting? Gots to love a one week break that turns into an easy three month vacation. But I am back and ready to post.

First of all, I don’t know that I can post without talking briefly about Kanye’s recent outburst. I think most of us would agree with the President that Kanye was a jerk but I have to say that apology was unacceptable. Two days after the incident, Kanye apologized by saying that the passing of his mother two years prior was still weighing heavily on him and that he hadn’t taken any time off. I would have almost bought his apology but then he announced that he is doing a world tour with Lady GaGa. Come on Kanye..come on.

Back to more important issues…Summer is gone and college football is here – hooray!

my first triathlon…

I flew back into Philly this afternoon after a long weekend with one of my best friends who currently lives in Dallas. Eight weeks ago, we decided that I would come in to visit for the holiday and would also sign up to race in triathlon with him (at the time, it sounded like a great idea). I trained for eight tough weeks, working around my work schedule and several planned vacations. And by Saturday, I found myself less than a day away from my first triathlon and the title of triathlete.

We rested Saturday night and enjoyed some homemade pasta and “little penguin” wine (cheap wine from Walmart). We ate too much and watched Happy Feet on the Disney channel. It was one magical night. Sunday morning, we got up around 4 o’clock to get ready for the race and by 6 o’clock, the sun was rising and the race was crowded with athletes and fans.

By 7: 25, I was in the water, waiting for the horn to sound and for the race to start. The horn blew and I was off and swimming. I quickly learned that swimming with hundreds of people in open water is nothing like training in a pool by myself. I was punched in the face, kicked in the side, and practically underneath one swimmer for several strokes. After separating from the pack (meaning that I was falling behind), I was able to relax a little until I realized that I wasn’t in as good of swimming shape as I had originally thought. I struggled to finished the swim and at times, thought I wouldn’t make it and that one of the boats would have to come save me. It was rough but thankfully I finished.

I got out of the water and made my way over to my bike. I was already exhausted and had the majority of the race still left to complete. I grabbed my bike and managed to finish the bike in an acceptable timeframe. At the second transition point, I dropped off my bike and ran over to the starting line for the run. At this point, my legs were done. They were screaming for me to stop but I couldn’t. Everyone was watching and I couldn’t disappoint them. On the run, I noticed that a twelve year old boy was in front of me. “You can’t let this kid beat you,” I thought to myself. I pushed my pace and met the boy but immediately, he picked up his pace and ran away. “Losing to a young, athletic kid isn’t so bad,” I thought. I finished the run (and the race) and made my way over to my friend, Ryan. This was Ryan’s third race and he had been finished for quite some time before me so he was there waiting for me at the finish line.

Minus the threat of drowning and the momentary embarrassment of losing to a twelve year old, I actually enjoyed myself this weekend and during the race. I plan to do it again…soon. But I plan to train harder this time around and get into the pool more.

a knock on my door…

Last week before I left for Arizona, I had an unexpected guest at my door. I was trying to rest and to recover from a nagging cold. I was startled to hear the doorbell ring. I got up and proceeded to open the door, and to my surprise, there were an older gentleman and lady dressed as though they had just left a funeral. My heart dropped as I quickly realized that I had rushed to the door to find two representatives from a local Jehovah Witness church. The guy looked at me and quickly asked what I thought the future would hold now with all this chaos was going on in the world around us. I quickly responded that the world has always and will always carry a sense of mystery and uncertainty and that our current situation is just a reminder of that. And from there, we continued to have a discussion that consisted of his awkward but direct questions and my clever, but sometimes deflective answers. I rocked back and forth trying to find a way out of the conversation. I informed the gentleman that I was a christian and that I “got it” but he didn’t bite. I told him that I had a terrible cold and instead of showing me any compassion, he proceeded to ask me more questions and keep me from my Thera-flu.

Toward the end of the encounter, he looked at me and asked me for God’s name. I was shocked by his question and simply responded with Yahweh. He stood there looking at me as though I had failed his quiz. Cornered and confused, I started to rattle off other names and titles for God hoping that one of them would stop the madness. He finally interrupted me and invited me to a local conference and provided me with some reading material. At this point, I wasn’t paying attention to him but wondering if I got his question right about God’s name. A simple yes or no would have been great right then.

After he tried to sell me on the upcoming conference, I turned my body toward my door to signal the end of our conversation. At this point, the lady stepped up to the plate and grilled me on my availability and contact information. I am ashamed to admit it but I told them that I am rarely in town and that I travel a lot (which isn’t completely untrue). But I am truly ashamed that when asked for my phone number, instead of saying no, I gave them a random number. I guess some other poor guy/girl in SC will get a random call one day from someone from a Philadelphia Jehovah Witness church. They can thank me later.

long time, no write…

Sure has been a while since my last post. I feel like that friend who won’t return your voicemails. Most nights, I would stare at the blank page on my computer struggling to come up with anything to write. I was overcome with bloggers block. Sadly, I couldn’t come up with any topic or story to share. It got so bad that I decided to close out my browser last week and avoid signing back into this site until I got my act back together. If I couldn’t see the site and the missing new posts, then I wouldn’t have to face my problem. But after avoiding the blog for several weeks now, I am back. I am ready to overcome this struggle. But I plan to take it easy. You do not want to rush back into things and risk falling back into the small trap that you were trying to avoid in the first place.

Let me start out by catching you up on my life and the past few weeks. My friend, Robert, came up to visit over Memorial Day weekend. We rang the liberty bell, ate cheese steaks, walked at least 15 miles, waited 4 hours to see Star Trek at the iMax, and basically partied like it was 1999. Last weekend, I traveled down to South Carolina to enjoy some time with the family. That time together consisted of good barbeque, a lot of Nintendo Wii tennis and boxing, late night reading while everyone else was sleeping, and visiting the Grandma. Back to back great weekends. This past week couldn’t really even compare. I ending up nursing an annoying cough and avoiding my triathlon training all week. Good times.

This week, I prepare for another adventure as I travel over to Arizona for work/play. Someone that works for me is celebrating their ten-year anniversary this weekend and it is up to me to ensure that he gets the proper attention. Balloons have been ordered, the dancing clown is booked, and the cake is being prepared. Well, maybe the clown isn’t coming but it still should be a great time for all. After I wow the crowd over with my public speaking skills and my witty presentation, I will leave the office to join my Arizona friends for a great weekend. A weekend that includes floating down the salt river (you might want to read my previous post about the salt river). Following that trip, I return for a few days only to get back on a plane for Boston for a friend’s wedding in Vermont. Crazy times.

2,800…

Last Friday started off like most every Friday. I got into the office around 7:30 and kicked my day off with a warm coffee and a wonderful banana. I attended my meetings, followed up on some assignments and reviewed my upcoming  calendar with the administrative assistant. 6:00 finally rolled around and I decided to head home after a long but extremely productive work day. I arrived at the gym at 6:30 and proceeded to workout and swim for the next hour and half. After the workout, I got back on the interstate to head back home for the day. But on my ride home, it hit me. What was I doing! It was Friday night and I didn’t have any plans to go out and enjoy myself. I had been focused on work and training for the triathlon that I had forgotten to make plans for the weekend. How is that possible?

I finally got back in the city by 8:30. After a quick shower, I returned to my room to check for voicemails and/or emails with plans for the evening. But then it hit me again…I don’t really have a lot of friends in the city yet. “This is just s minor setback,”  I thought. Destined to find something to do and people to meet, I jumped on the world wide web to see what events were going on. In my quest, I found a party that was taking place at some hotel bar and pool in the city. More than thirty people had signed up for the event and the place looked great online. So, I decided to toss on some clothes and head over to the hotel bar.

I arrived at the bar around 10:00 and found the bar mostly empty outside of eight or so people hanging around a single billiards table in the back corner. I walked up and introduced myself to everyone. “Where is everyone else?” I asked. They informed me that this was everyone for the night. But without a plan b, what was I going to do? So, I settled in and made the most of the night. I challenged some people in billiards, losing both games. I met some interesting people – one woman who actually worked from home as a voice recording specialist for various company phone systems. And I even managed to win a free drink from the bartender by guessing the number of lights on the bar within 100.

The last moment was probably my favorite. I was told that if someone can guess the number of lights on the bar, they would receive a prize from the bar. I could not let that challenge pass me by, so I proceeded to break out the math skills to determine an accurate guess. I performed a simple area calculation on one small area of the bar and then multiplied that number by the number of rectangles that were combined to make the table. 2,800! This was my best guess and without a calculator or even a piece of paper, I decided to see how close I was to the actual number. Surprisingly, I was only 6 lights off! After having to convince the bartender that I didn’t cheat and that no one told me the number, I got my free drink and ended the night on a very high note.

I know what you are thinking – did you get your picture on the wall of fame? No, I did not. But I definitely asked if they wanted to take my picture and start one.

triathlon training week 1…

Yes, the title says it all. I am training for my first triathlon in July. In the past, I told myself that I would eventually step out and do one but now is the time. I have postponed the training and signing up long enough. I would love to say that I had the motivation and drive needed to make this big decision in my life but I did not. My friend, Ryan, convinced me that I should sign up for one in July. He called last Sunday and asked if I would be interested in signing up for one in Irving, Texas with him. Without thinking, I agreed and here I am now, resting my soar legs and in pain. I have been running for a while and am in good shape for the run but the swim and the bike are still concerns for me. So what if I haven’t swam laps in several years and so what if I have never actually been on a road bike. So what.

Well, let’s just say the swim is slowly coming along and that the bike skills are lagging. Hopefully, I will be ready in time to compete. I have 7 weeks to get my act together. I will kept you guys posted as my training progresses.

what are the odds…

Today was Mother’s day and yes I sent my mom a card to celebrate the occasion. I also followed the card with a call this morning to wish her a happy Mother’s day. Interestly enough, she told me that my brother had sent her the same card. Somehow, my brother and I selected the same card and sent it to our mom. What are the odds of that happening? I am Philly and he is South Carolina. He went to some card store this week and I went to a different store. But somehow the two of us walked out with the same card in hand and mailed it. Crazy – I thought it was.

from anywhere…

Recently at the gym, I have from a distance watched a few clips from Britain’s got talent with Simon Cowell (without the audio). At first, I wasn’t interested in uncovering the story or learning more about what they were talking about, but tonight, I saw another clip and this time I saw Simon Cowell give a standing ovation at the end of the performance. This provoked my interest and tonight I decided to watch those same clips on youtube. If you haven’t already, check out Susan Boyle on youtube and see for yourself. I was amazed by her performance. She came out on stage, jobless and under-appreciated by the crowd and by the judges. They were all shocked by her performance. She was amazing and the crowd reacted accordingly. After watching that video, I selected another link for Shaheen, a 12 year old singer. He started one song and was quickly interrupted by Simon. Simon asked for him to sing another song and the young kid followed his directions. At this point, you could see the tension on the face of the audience. This poor kid, right? The second song started and unlike the underwhelming first song, the kid was amazing. He rocked the house and earned a standing ovation from everyone in the audience including Simon.

I know I can’t sing and I know that I shouldn’t apply for any talent show but not all of us know our limits. We substitute passion and desire for talent when they can not be interchanged. If you want to sing, you need to be able to sing. If you want to act, you need to be able to act. If you want to teach, you need to able to teach. Desire can only get you so far without talent. But it is also important to know that talent can only get you so far without hard work and passion. Both are required to realize the full potential of success. Talent isn’t forced and it isn’t trained but it can be developed and it can be utilized by practice and hard work. I am no Michael Phelps – not only is he talented and gifted but he is also passionate and hard working. Thank God he didn’t try to be anything other than an Olympic swimmer. Could you imagine him trying to sing on American Idol? If you saw him on SNL, you know that this would be a bad idea. The point is that you can’t be anything that you want to be in life…sad, I know.

We can look at Susan, a 47 year old jobless woman, and Shaheen, a 12 year old child, and we can still be inspired by their stories. It doesn’t support the thought that anyone can be a great singer or have “talent”. Instead, it shows us that a great singer or a great talent can come from anywhere and can reveal itself at anytime. First, find your gifts and apply your passion. Then hold on to the truth that Susan and Shaheen lived – the truth that talent can come from anywhere and can reveal itself anytime. Wait for that moment and shine! You can only work with what you have. You can’t have talent that you don’t. Work at what you have and watch that talent pay dividends. Susan was unemployed and 47 years old before her voice was heard and her talent appreciated. She stood there, believing in her talents and took advantage of her moment.Susan shined. Shaheen, even as a young child, knew his talents and took advantage of an opportunity. He wasn’t set off by the interruption, but moved on to his second song…and let his talent shine.

Find your talent, develop it, and actively wait for your moment.