Motorcycle madness

Back in January I took the MSF course. For those of you who are unfamiliar it is the motorcycle safety course. Basically you ride 250cc bikes around in parking lots for two days performing low-speed maneuvers and you learn the fundamentals of riding a motorcycle.

Most of the people in the class are typically lifelong riders that have either never had their license or they no longer have the m certification for one reason or another.

I was one of the rare rookies that didn't own a motorcycle and had very little experience with them. I just knew that it was something that I wanted to try.

I'll be updating the story of how my motorcycle education and my life on two wheels goes in this blog.

Old-fashioned barber shop

I recently rediscovered the joys of the barber shop. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to get haircuts, but as I grew older they began to instill horror in me. By the time I was in high school they were my enemy ranking next to dentist appointments.

Fast forward to today. I'm now 35 and I view haircuts as a favor to myself. I get it cut short and I always feel a little spoiled once it's done. My ego thanks me every time.

Part of the transition from loathing to love is thanks to a small barber shop that I have been frequenting for about a year. It is the kind of family shop that has become rare these days. There is a couple and the wife's father all cutting hair together. One of my favorite parts is that they still do the razor finish. Nothing can compare to the feeling of a straight razor on your skin.

These are the thoughts that are spilling through my head as I is in the barber shop waiting for a chair to open on a Friday evening. It's been an hour since I got here and I'm sure to be up soon!

Training styles

I'm sitting in a software training session and I keep thinking that there has to be a better way. Management has purchased a new piece of reporting software do now all of the analysts are attending a workshop for the next two days. Because none of us have been given access yet, today will mainly be a meet and greet and hopefully tomorrow we can run some queries on live data.

If the past proves to be an indicator for the future we will finish this program and get access at some future date, well past our memory of what we learned today. My preference would be to get the software first, even in demo mode so that I can become familiar with it, then after a few weeks receive training. Doing this would make training workshops shorter and the questions would be better.

Hopefully this time will be different.

It has been a year since I lost interest...

It is funny how I have grown to neglect this blog. It all started with a trip to new orleans, and now two years later I am revisiting that wonderful city. Work has become the extent of my online activity. I still love using social media for work, and to help others to get the word out about their new products. I recognize the power, and the amazing reach of social media but I don't use it for fun anymore.

I think that this is the normal progression of social media. Many of my friends are starting to get "burned out" and dropping out of the social media realm. This is, I believe, the most important lesson that companies need to learn.

Trends come and go. Facebook and twitter are still growing, but the market has begun to mature. We the creators and the producers have to remember that we must go to where our audience is already at and build relationships with our customers.

The greatest takeaway that I have from watching social networks grow in popularity is that we do not just send a message out. We as marketers must facilitate a two-way conversation with consumers. Don't spend money trying to build a destination if you have already found your customers somewhere else. Don't focus on the few that don't like your product or company. Give positive reinforcement to those who are your evangelists. Remember these lessons and we will all be able to adapt to whatever the popular method of communication comes next.

This is a bit of a ramble, but it's the best I can do while sipping coffee in the break room at work. It feels good to write again, and I can already feel a bit of the rust sloughing off. My life is incredibly busy right now (exciting news is on the way!) but I promise to post here more frequently.

Getting Old

I was driving the work the other day and a thought bubbled up into my mind. "I'm getting old." I fight this thought often, but this one was persistent. It just wouldn't let go.

The new iPhone went on sale that morning and I had originally planned on purchasing it as soon as it became available. Once I was on the website, I started questioning my behavior. I thought about how much money it cost, and whether I should spend it on a phone. As I went back and forth on my decision I continued to navigate the website.

I considered the fact that my phone works fine and is in no need of replacement. My monthly bill would increase as I would be charged for 3g service. Will the phone help me get any closer to my goals, or is it just another expensive distraction? Would the purchase in fact distract me from my goals and inhibit my ability to find my new path?

I weighed these questions and my goals in life and I decided that no, I'm not old yet. With a grin on my face, I closed the web browser on my iPhone and I started to concentrate on my driving.

Single Life...

Over one year ago I had a realization. I had essentially just gone from relationship to relationship for years. I lived with a girl, and within a few weeks of moving out I had another girlfriend. I started wondering if there was something that I was missing. Some lesson that I needed to learn. In search of some further enlightenment, and a different outcome than what I had grown accustomed to, I decided not to date for a year.

The year was up in March, and my first thought is that I have become more difficult to deal with than I was before. I think that the lesson that I learned was to limit my compromises. I was a very flexible person before, and although I am still an easy going person, I don't compromise like I used to. I have really enjoyed being alone for the first time in my life. The byproduct is that I have become more self-centered and less focused on others.

Mi familia

This has truly been one of the worst weeks of my adult life. Every morning I awake to intense stomach pains. The stress has entered my sleep so that I don't even wake to feel refreshed. In the midst of all this crap I have received a blessing.

A thought appeared out of nowhere that I come from a difficult family. We are not cold, but we can definitely be cool. We are distant and fragmented. I love them all, but I'm not sure what it is that ties us together.

At first this seemed like a bad thought. I was still being negative. Then it hit me. Thinking about family opened up a memory that I thought had long been lost. Suddenly I was a child, sitting on the floor at my grandparents house. I you go to the closet there is a racetrack that you can put together for hotwheels. The carpet is very thick and full of cushion. The house is warm, and it smells of wood. It is always relaxing and dark here. My grandfather has archives of video tapes full of movies recorded from the television. There are notebooks that tell u what movies are on what tapes. Life is good.

I can't believe how happy I was then.