One of the interesting things about my recent gig as a temporary driver helper with UPS is that I get to see a lot of residential neighborhoods and commercial businesses in the course of our daily route. Today was a cold, rainy and generally miserable day for anybody, but especially for anybody that had to work outside…which of course, means me.
As the rain and the cold began to infiltrate my layers of clothes, and my cell phone was blowing up with the now too familiar calls from bill collectors, the stark reality of my current situation starting setting in. Those nagging thoughts of “What the hell am I doing on this UPS truck? Why am I not working a professional job that can actually offer a livable salary? How did I go from having a career and a life of my own to sitting shotgun in the cold and the rain on a delivery truck, working for mere scraps?
Those ugly thoughts of doubt and uncertainty stayed with me as I was unable to shake them. Then later, we started making stops to a few businesses, the last of which is a company that employs a lot of design and marketing talent and is well-known as a very dynamic and creative place to work. It was driving by this company that I looked and saw three young people, perhaps in their late twenties or early thirties sitting in a conference room discussing something. The room itself was painted in very vibrant colors with trendy décor on the walls as well as several boards of drawings or other concept work and the people themselves were dressed in upscale jeans and t shirts. In short, the exact kind of place I would fit in. That’s when the panic hit me. The contrast between our situations couldn’t be more drastic: the people inside that warm room with steady jobs at a very hip and fun place to work, and me sitting in the jumpseat of a cold UPS truck trying to ignore the fact that I was soaked and that I have absolutely no prospects or hope for any kind of gainful employment.
How did this happen? Why am I stuck in this position while others are doing so well?
I am now at the age where pretty much all of my friends are already married, or soon will be and their careers are well established. In fact many of my friends are starting to see some real financial success by way of handsome salaries and steady promotions. I do not begrudge their success, but I do have to wonder what the hell have I done so incredibly wrong that I can’t even get a callback from a resume submitted to any of the dozens of companies I’ve tried contacting in search for employment.
I know full well that the economy overall is in the dumps and many companies simply aren’t hiring. I also understand that sending resumes and portfolio samples to companies proactively will not yield a high-level of response. But when I send my information in response to an actual posting for an open position, why is it that I don’t ever get past the initial screening? Even jobs that fit quite nicely with my experience, training, and talents seem to be out of my reach.
So then I have to think, why am I even having to look for a job anyway? I’ve worked for many companies, why can’t I ever seem to find one that I can actually stay with and build a career? As I go down the list, I can rattle off one reason after another for each of my previous employers as to why it didn’t work out. However, I wonder if the common denominator in all this might just be me. Maybe I am the reason my career has never been successful. Maybe there is something wrong with my wiring and I am just not good enough in some way to be able to make it.
That possibility certainly seems far fetched at first glance, after all, look at how many numbskulls and nitwits are gainfully employed at just about any company out there. I am certainly smarter, more creative, harder working etc than all if not most of the knuckleheads that infect just about every company. Yet the facts say otherwise. They are employed, which means their employers find some value in having them on the team. I am not employed and to date can’t seem to even get a phone interview, which tells me that employers do not see value in having me on the team.
Maybe this is really the hard truth to face – I just don’t have anything to offer that is of value to an employer. So what can I do? I’m too old to just start over. I am not about to go back to school to go even further in debt for a degree that will not offer any more of a guarantee of job placement than the degree I already have did. Perhaps I can continue to scratch and claw for pennies, only to still not be able to get by… but what does that solve?
I suppose I could keep knocking on doors hoping that maybe, eventually, some company will be desperate enough to give me a low-to mid-level position doing work that anybody who is talented enough, usually avoids like the plague. But again, does an unfulfilling job bring about happiness? I know that isn’t the case based on the several jobs exactly like this that I’ve already had. They are roads to nowhere in terms of professional happiness and usually don’t even pay all that well nor provide any real job security. I’ve already been there and done that. No thanks.
So I guess I’m left with the conclusion that if I can’t make it within the system, maybe it’s time to look at dropping off the grid and leaving the system entirely. At this point, selling my possessions, defaulting on my loans, dropping my cell phone plan, turning over my car to the bank (to save them the trouble of a repo), cashing in whatever I can get from my 401K, and buying a one-way bus ticket to some far away place seems like an appealing prospect.
I’m not sure how I’d make it, or if I even would, but whatever comes, it would almost certainly have to be better than the constant failure and rejection that I seem doomed to otherwise. Hell, maybe I can make it to some third world place and actually use my brains and my efforts to do some good for some other people. At least that way my life would have had some purpose or value to somebody.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Ask not what brown can do for you...
Has it really been three months since I last posted something here? Yikes!
Well I guess there is no time like the present to remedy that little oversight. And so here it goes:
As some of you reading this may already know, I have been spending the last few months since coming back from California doing freelance design work and also searching for any good full-time employment opportunities. Unfortunately for me, the current economy isn’t very favorable to finding a regular design staff position and I do not quite have the client base built up enough to really get by. So out of pure necessity, I began searching for any temporary or seasonal jobs out there that I could do while still continuing my efforts to find “real” work. This led me to find employment with UPS as a “Driver Helper” during the holiday season.
The job is basically “on-call”, which means they’ll call every day that they need me, and will not call on days they don’t. There is no guarantee of hours or even a set schedule, which is actually a lot more stressful than I would have guessed, but the upshot is that this job ends on New Years Eve. After that, there is no obligation to or from either party, which means hopefully I’ll have one or two solid leads on a professional job by that time.
As of this posting, I have worked two days as a helper and would like to now list out some thoughts and observations.
First – the daily life of a UPS driver is TOUGH! They average from 200-300 stops every single day. Note, the word stops does not mean total packages, it means actual stops that they have to park, go in the back of the truck to locate the package(s), walk up to the location with the item(s), place (or get signature if required), walk back to the truck, and then proceed to the next stop to do it all over again. If you haven’t already imagined, that is quite a lot of getting in and out of the truck as well as a lot of briskly walking with packages that can sometimes be quite bulky and heavy. It’s not a job for slackers or the out of shape as the pace must be rapid, otherwise you would never get your daily route completed.
The next observation I made is that for all the times I’ve bitched about UPS, now that I’ve spent a bit of time on the other end, I have a whole new respect and outlook for what they do. To be able to distribute as many parcels as what they do in such an efficient way is mind boggling! But the thing that has really struck me is that in the face of such a huge workload, UPS really goes out of its way to ensure safe delivery of each item. For example, a typical home delivery is a standard “driver release”, which means no signature is required and the package can be left at the residence. But instead of just chucking it onto the porch and moving on, the driver will knock once, then scout a location near the front door to hide it from street view (often behind bushes, columns, or other obstructions that will prevent any would-be thieves from easily spotting it), and then they give a second knock before walking away. If the package was placed in a spot that it may not be easily found by the homeowner, we will even leave a note on the door specifying where it can be found – just to be sure. In fact, there even times when we have taken a package around to the back door if it was something of high value such as an LCD TV or if there was no reasonably good spot to hide it in front. All of that extra attention takes time, time that the drivers typically don’t have, but they do it anyway.
Of course there are certainly some jokers out there who do not go to these lengths and I’m sure just about everyone has a story to tell about some shady UPS driver doing something dumb (plenty of YouTube videos are available as evidence), but overall I would have to say that UPS does a great job at providing valueable delivery for an economic price. The flip side of that coin is that sometimes you can get some customers that are unbelievably off-base with their expectations, such as the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1qUd9na_PQ
If you notice at the end of the video, the package in question was tucked near the front door, behind a bush, thus preventing it being seen from the street (and helping to mitigate the risk of theft), but this toolbag keeps ranting about how the driver “threw” this piece of electronic equipment into a mound of snow. First of all, while true that there is snow, the package certainly wasn’t in a mound of it. Secondly, do you know anybody who could “throw” a package behind a bush, and to the side of the porch with such accuracy? I don’t. This parcel looks obviously placed, not “thrown”…HUGE difference! The third item is given the brown corrugate box, how was this driver to have any idea what was inside of it, electronics or otherwise. Fourthly, if it was electronics, SO WHAT!? When companies ship sensitive things like that, they use a TON of foam inserts, corrugate pads, etc in order for the item to survive the rigors of shipment, which means the actual item is very likely nowhere near the plain brown outer carton. Fifthly (is that a word?), having your item sitting on top of non-melting snow in NO WAY affects it. It’s no different than leaving it on the front porch, cold weather is cold weather. Period.
I suspect that this guy was riled because the driver didn’t show up, knock on the door, place the package on a silk pillow, wait, wait some more, and when he finally did answer the door, the driver didn’t hand him a fresh cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. If he wanted that kind of service, that’s fine, but you have to pay for it and it certainly isn’t included with the standard UPS Ground delivery.
It’s also worth noting that he has his comments turned “off” for that video… he was probably getting too many people calling him out on his nonsense.
Now having ranted about that video, again, there are plenty of videos showing UPS drivers doing dumb, dumb things. No question. But the moral of the story is that everyone should bear in mind that these guys have a tough job to do, and they generally do the best they can to make sure your stuff gets to you quickly, efficiently, and safely.
On the other side, let me now address what you, the average customer, can do to help ensure the smooth delivery of your stuff. First of all, if you want hand delivery from the driver directly to your hands, sign up for the “signature required” option. The typical UPS driver doesn’t have time to wait for every single customer to maybe answer the door. They need to get moving as there are plenty of other people who want their stuff too! If you want the cheapest option, then you need to make peace with the fact that your package is going to be left unattended by the driver. The good news though is that they will try their best to keep it out of sight and out of the weather (in case of rain). But you can help there by making sure there is something near your front door that can be used for hiding parcels. Bushes are common, but so are planters, chairs, and other décor. It really does help the driver to have a quick and convenient option to hide your stuff from public view, and they’ll love you for it!
If you have a special place you’d like the driver to leave your stuff, by all means make a note of it on the front door. Nine times out of ten these instructions are complied with, the exception being instructions that are completely unreasonable or even dangerous. Delivering a package to you shouldn’t look like Indiana Jones navigating the Temple of Doom – Quick, Easy, and Safe is the idea.
On the safety note, for the love of god people, keep your dogs inside or in the back yard. All dogs hate UPS drivers (USPS and FedEx are no exception), and as much as your may love your Fido and think he is just the cutest and bestest friend in the world, we don’t want to get mauled by him. Ever. Period. So please keep them under control. That’s just common decency.
In closing, just remember that your UPS driver wants you to be happy with their service, but you need to make sure your expectations are in check with which level of service you actually paid for and it certainly doesn’t hurt for you to make it as easy as you can for your package to be delivered safely and securely.
Now stop reading this and go order something online will ya!
Well I guess there is no time like the present to remedy that little oversight. And so here it goes:
As some of you reading this may already know, I have been spending the last few months since coming back from California doing freelance design work and also searching for any good full-time employment opportunities. Unfortunately for me, the current economy isn’t very favorable to finding a regular design staff position and I do not quite have the client base built up enough to really get by. So out of pure necessity, I began searching for any temporary or seasonal jobs out there that I could do while still continuing my efforts to find “real” work. This led me to find employment with UPS as a “Driver Helper” during the holiday season.
The job is basically “on-call”, which means they’ll call every day that they need me, and will not call on days they don’t. There is no guarantee of hours or even a set schedule, which is actually a lot more stressful than I would have guessed, but the upshot is that this job ends on New Years Eve. After that, there is no obligation to or from either party, which means hopefully I’ll have one or two solid leads on a professional job by that time.
As of this posting, I have worked two days as a helper and would like to now list out some thoughts and observations.
First – the daily life of a UPS driver is TOUGH! They average from 200-300 stops every single day. Note, the word stops does not mean total packages, it means actual stops that they have to park, go in the back of the truck to locate the package(s), walk up to the location with the item(s), place (or get signature if required), walk back to the truck, and then proceed to the next stop to do it all over again. If you haven’t already imagined, that is quite a lot of getting in and out of the truck as well as a lot of briskly walking with packages that can sometimes be quite bulky and heavy. It’s not a job for slackers or the out of shape as the pace must be rapid, otherwise you would never get your daily route completed.
The next observation I made is that for all the times I’ve bitched about UPS, now that I’ve spent a bit of time on the other end, I have a whole new respect and outlook for what they do. To be able to distribute as many parcels as what they do in such an efficient way is mind boggling! But the thing that has really struck me is that in the face of such a huge workload, UPS really goes out of its way to ensure safe delivery of each item. For example, a typical home delivery is a standard “driver release”, which means no signature is required and the package can be left at the residence. But instead of just chucking it onto the porch and moving on, the driver will knock once, then scout a location near the front door to hide it from street view (often behind bushes, columns, or other obstructions that will prevent any would-be thieves from easily spotting it), and then they give a second knock before walking away. If the package was placed in a spot that it may not be easily found by the homeowner, we will even leave a note on the door specifying where it can be found – just to be sure. In fact, there even times when we have taken a package around to the back door if it was something of high value such as an LCD TV or if there was no reasonably good spot to hide it in front. All of that extra attention takes time, time that the drivers typically don’t have, but they do it anyway.
Of course there are certainly some jokers out there who do not go to these lengths and I’m sure just about everyone has a story to tell about some shady UPS driver doing something dumb (plenty of YouTube videos are available as evidence), but overall I would have to say that UPS does a great job at providing valueable delivery for an economic price. The flip side of that coin is that sometimes you can get some customers that are unbelievably off-base with their expectations, such as the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1qUd9na_PQ
If you notice at the end of the video, the package in question was tucked near the front door, behind a bush, thus preventing it being seen from the street (and helping to mitigate the risk of theft), but this toolbag keeps ranting about how the driver “threw” this piece of electronic equipment into a mound of snow. First of all, while true that there is snow, the package certainly wasn’t in a mound of it. Secondly, do you know anybody who could “throw” a package behind a bush, and to the side of the porch with such accuracy? I don’t. This parcel looks obviously placed, not “thrown”…HUGE difference! The third item is given the brown corrugate box, how was this driver to have any idea what was inside of it, electronics or otherwise. Fourthly, if it was electronics, SO WHAT!? When companies ship sensitive things like that, they use a TON of foam inserts, corrugate pads, etc in order for the item to survive the rigors of shipment, which means the actual item is very likely nowhere near the plain brown outer carton. Fifthly (is that a word?), having your item sitting on top of non-melting snow in NO WAY affects it. It’s no different than leaving it on the front porch, cold weather is cold weather. Period.
I suspect that this guy was riled because the driver didn’t show up, knock on the door, place the package on a silk pillow, wait, wait some more, and when he finally did answer the door, the driver didn’t hand him a fresh cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. If he wanted that kind of service, that’s fine, but you have to pay for it and it certainly isn’t included with the standard UPS Ground delivery.
It’s also worth noting that he has his comments turned “off” for that video… he was probably getting too many people calling him out on his nonsense.
Now having ranted about that video, again, there are plenty of videos showing UPS drivers doing dumb, dumb things. No question. But the moral of the story is that everyone should bear in mind that these guys have a tough job to do, and they generally do the best they can to make sure your stuff gets to you quickly, efficiently, and safely.
On the other side, let me now address what you, the average customer, can do to help ensure the smooth delivery of your stuff. First of all, if you want hand delivery from the driver directly to your hands, sign up for the “signature required” option. The typical UPS driver doesn’t have time to wait for every single customer to maybe answer the door. They need to get moving as there are plenty of other people who want their stuff too! If you want the cheapest option, then you need to make peace with the fact that your package is going to be left unattended by the driver. The good news though is that they will try their best to keep it out of sight and out of the weather (in case of rain). But you can help there by making sure there is something near your front door that can be used for hiding parcels. Bushes are common, but so are planters, chairs, and other décor. It really does help the driver to have a quick and convenient option to hide your stuff from public view, and they’ll love you for it!
If you have a special place you’d like the driver to leave your stuff, by all means make a note of it on the front door. Nine times out of ten these instructions are complied with, the exception being instructions that are completely unreasonable or even dangerous. Delivering a package to you shouldn’t look like Indiana Jones navigating the Temple of Doom – Quick, Easy, and Safe is the idea.
On the safety note, for the love of god people, keep your dogs inside or in the back yard. All dogs hate UPS drivers (USPS and FedEx are no exception), and as much as your may love your Fido and think he is just the cutest and bestest friend in the world, we don’t want to get mauled by him. Ever. Period. So please keep them under control. That’s just common decency.
In closing, just remember that your UPS driver wants you to be happy with their service, but you need to make sure your expectations are in check with which level of service you actually paid for and it certainly doesn’t hurt for you to make it as easy as you can for your package to be delivered safely and securely.
Now stop reading this and go order something online will ya!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Updated Portfolio
In my recent efforts to either secure a full-time senior design position or drum up copious amounts of freelance design work, I have been tweaking and revising my portfolio. The following link will take you to the latest and greatest!
http://www.coroflot.com/skyarrow/Portfolio1
Enjoy!
http://www.coroflot.com/skyarrow/Portfolio1
Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Hunger Games
At the advice of my sister Lindsay, I read a little book called "The Hunger Games". I literally started reading it at 9:30pm on Monday night with the intention of getting through maybe a chapter or two before going to sleep. By the time I finally stopped reading to check the clock, it was almost midnight and I was about 35% of the way through the whole book... it was that freaking good!
Apperently there are two sequels that I will need to read now, but for anyone who wants a good read, I highly recommend this one!
And as though that weren't quite good enough - the inevitable movie is set to be released in March. Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAWODq_dMFI
Apperently there are two sequels that I will need to read now, but for anyone who wants a good read, I highly recommend this one!
And as though that weren't quite good enough - the inevitable movie is set to be released in March. Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAWODq_dMFI
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
New Blog
As bad as I am with blogging about my own mundane personal life, I'll see if I can't do a better job of blogging about my design career and design in general. So with that, check out my new design blog at:
http://www.dlhdesign.blogspot.com
Love it. Savor it. Consume and enjoy.
http://www.dlhdesign.blogspot.com
Love it. Savor it. Consume and enjoy.
Self Employed
Well not quite as much time since my last update, so maybe I’m getting better at blogging???
After arriving back in KC in late July, I worked solidly for a week on my previous venture, Reflect-A Curb. I was very disciplined about getting up at a normal time, working on my computer, making phone calls, etc for a full day and then shutting down at around 5:30 or so. I was quite pleased with how focused I stayed and with the fact that apparently, I could be trusted to work without supervision.
But then the floor dropped out when my partner called to let me know that our investor was not happy with the financial outlook of things (namely how much the marketing and sales efforts were going to cost). In their original budgeting and estimating, there were a lot of things that hadn’t been taken into account and now the realities of just how much it was actually going to cost to get launched was cause for alarm. So the solution was to let me go as a junior partner, and to allow my partner to continue on alone for another month or two before all funding was cut.
I won’t go into the good or bad about the whole situation as I really am still not sure how I feel about it all. Maybe when I get my own thoughts sorted out on how things all shook out, I’ll post them. But for now I have a more immediate concern – WTF am I going to do for an income?
Having just taken a bit of a gamble with a startup business on the west coast, I wasn’t really too keen to try anything very exotic in terms of career changes. No, my best bet was to put back on my POP Design cap and see if there might be a spot available somewhere for me to land. Although I’m not terribly anxious to leave the KC area, at the end of the day I’ll do what I need to do. If that means schlepping my life and my gear to the other end of the world, so be it. In this economy I can’t afford to be too picky.
I started the very next day by contacting a couple of recruiters that I had worked with in the past to let them know that I was now actively on the market and hunting for a great opportunity. Although nothing was available at the current time, they assured me that things would be picking up as we headed into the fall… I can only hope!
Another phone call I made was to my buddy Dave up in Milwaukee. Dave and I had gone to school together and even lived together for a while before I moved to Des Moines (the first time). He happens to be a very good friend and also a very successful freelance designer in the industry. I reasoned that with as many contacts as he has, he may very well know of a company that is looking for a seasoned designer like myself. However what Dave told me only served to make me completely rethink my entire approach, and really reevaluate my end goal.
Daves immediate reaction to my news of looking for a job was “Why don’t you go into freelancing like I do?” Apparently he is on track to make some serious dough this year and that is largely due to the fact that in our industry, a lot of companies are downsizing and when that happens, designers are often among the first departments to take the hits. But just because they don’t have the designers on staff doesn’t mean that the work still doesn’t need to get done. That is why the good freelancers are making such a killing right now.
It’s really not a hard sell for a couple of reasons: First, designers getting laid off means a lot more competition for the few design job that are already out there, which then reduces the odds of me landing something and even if I do, it will be a substantially reduced salary (good old supply and demand). Second, if I were to land a job, it would very likely mean having to relocate to who-knows-where…something I am very keen to avoid. The third selling point, is that I effectively get to be my own boss. I have clients to answer to, but that’s it. I don’t have a lot of useless meeting to attend, people looking over my shoulder, internal politics, etc. I would be a one-man show and accountable only to myself… not a bad proposition.
So almost two months later here I am. A full-time freelance designer. A small business owner. A lone wolf.
It’s not easy work and nobody ever said it would be. I’ve got a spreadsheet that I work off of every day with the names of companies that I’ve contacted regarding freelance work and what needs to be done to keep bugging them. It’s cold-calling, but lucky for me I have a very easy-to-sell service to offer. I only need to convince them of using me for their design work instead of their other freelancers.
So far, I have a roster of three active clients, but if I want to really make it, I’ll need to build that up to about ten or so. If I can hit that mark, I should be doing pretty well.
After arriving back in KC in late July, I worked solidly for a week on my previous venture, Reflect-A Curb. I was very disciplined about getting up at a normal time, working on my computer, making phone calls, etc for a full day and then shutting down at around 5:30 or so. I was quite pleased with how focused I stayed and with the fact that apparently, I could be trusted to work without supervision.
But then the floor dropped out when my partner called to let me know that our investor was not happy with the financial outlook of things (namely how much the marketing and sales efforts were going to cost). In their original budgeting and estimating, there were a lot of things that hadn’t been taken into account and now the realities of just how much it was actually going to cost to get launched was cause for alarm. So the solution was to let me go as a junior partner, and to allow my partner to continue on alone for another month or two before all funding was cut.
I won’t go into the good or bad about the whole situation as I really am still not sure how I feel about it all. Maybe when I get my own thoughts sorted out on how things all shook out, I’ll post them. But for now I have a more immediate concern – WTF am I going to do for an income?
Having just taken a bit of a gamble with a startup business on the west coast, I wasn’t really too keen to try anything very exotic in terms of career changes. No, my best bet was to put back on my POP Design cap and see if there might be a spot available somewhere for me to land. Although I’m not terribly anxious to leave the KC area, at the end of the day I’ll do what I need to do. If that means schlepping my life and my gear to the other end of the world, so be it. In this economy I can’t afford to be too picky.
I started the very next day by contacting a couple of recruiters that I had worked with in the past to let them know that I was now actively on the market and hunting for a great opportunity. Although nothing was available at the current time, they assured me that things would be picking up as we headed into the fall… I can only hope!
Another phone call I made was to my buddy Dave up in Milwaukee. Dave and I had gone to school together and even lived together for a while before I moved to Des Moines (the first time). He happens to be a very good friend and also a very successful freelance designer in the industry. I reasoned that with as many contacts as he has, he may very well know of a company that is looking for a seasoned designer like myself. However what Dave told me only served to make me completely rethink my entire approach, and really reevaluate my end goal.
Daves immediate reaction to my news of looking for a job was “Why don’t you go into freelancing like I do?” Apparently he is on track to make some serious dough this year and that is largely due to the fact that in our industry, a lot of companies are downsizing and when that happens, designers are often among the first departments to take the hits. But just because they don’t have the designers on staff doesn’t mean that the work still doesn’t need to get done. That is why the good freelancers are making such a killing right now.
It’s really not a hard sell for a couple of reasons: First, designers getting laid off means a lot more competition for the few design job that are already out there, which then reduces the odds of me landing something and even if I do, it will be a substantially reduced salary (good old supply and demand). Second, if I were to land a job, it would very likely mean having to relocate to who-knows-where…something I am very keen to avoid. The third selling point, is that I effectively get to be my own boss. I have clients to answer to, but that’s it. I don’t have a lot of useless meeting to attend, people looking over my shoulder, internal politics, etc. I would be a one-man show and accountable only to myself… not a bad proposition.
So almost two months later here I am. A full-time freelance designer. A small business owner. A lone wolf.
It’s not easy work and nobody ever said it would be. I’ve got a spreadsheet that I work off of every day with the names of companies that I’ve contacted regarding freelance work and what needs to be done to keep bugging them. It’s cold-calling, but lucky for me I have a very easy-to-sell service to offer. I only need to convince them of using me for their design work instead of their other freelancers.
So far, I have a roster of three active clients, but if I want to really make it, I’ll need to build that up to about ten or so. If I can hit that mark, I should be doing pretty well.
Friday, July 29, 2011
There and Back Again...
Once again it has been far too long since I last posted an update to this blog. Many things have happened in that time and I will now take an opportunity to offer up my attempt at a recap:
In the last week of February 2011, I loaded my car with my clothes, my computer, and a few other odds and ends and departed the KC area for the great western frontier… also known as California.
Three solid days of driving through the plains of Kansas and Eastern Colorado then into the foothills of the rockies and the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The last stretch was to cross the El Cajon pass from Victorville, CA and down into Ontario CA. I finally arrived at Ric’s house (where I’d be quartered for the next five months) at around 8:30pm amid a cold rainfall.
The next morning found me in my new digs with no real idea as to my surroundings, but I quickly caught my bearings with Ric’s help and in the short time I was there, I managed to visit a number of places including: San Diego, Santa Monica, Hollywood/Beverly Hills, Malibu, Ojai, Sequoia National Forest, the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas (though I had been there a few times previously), and “the Valley”.
Also in those five months, I got a very good sense of what Southern California was all about, its food, it’s people, its neighborhoods, its culture. Unfortunately, the few bright spots were heavily outweighed by the negatives. Too many people living there and a great majority of them completely self-absorbed with no real work or social ethic to speak of. As far as I could tell, SoCal is the land of the endless sprawl of strip-malls, fast food, and car dealerships. I don’t call that “culture” and I began to lose my enthusiasm for being there.
And so it happened one day. I don’t know that it was any one thing that triggered it, but I awoke that day and realized that I missed my friends and family way too much and I had really begun to despise SoCal. With that I expressed my need to get back to KC to Ric and we agreed that while not “ideal”, we could still make the business work with me operating off-site.
Now I have been back in KC for about a week and half and am getting settled in and into the swing of things. Sometimes the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence, but this is one case where my desire to come back to the Midwest was absolutely what I needed!
In the future, I’ll go into greater detail about my California Adventure, but for now this quick recap will have to do. Onward and upward!
In the last week of February 2011, I loaded my car with my clothes, my computer, and a few other odds and ends and departed the KC area for the great western frontier… also known as California.
Three solid days of driving through the plains of Kansas and Eastern Colorado then into the foothills of the rockies and the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The last stretch was to cross the El Cajon pass from Victorville, CA and down into Ontario CA. I finally arrived at Ric’s house (where I’d be quartered for the next five months) at around 8:30pm amid a cold rainfall.
The next morning found me in my new digs with no real idea as to my surroundings, but I quickly caught my bearings with Ric’s help and in the short time I was there, I managed to visit a number of places including: San Diego, Santa Monica, Hollywood/Beverly Hills, Malibu, Ojai, Sequoia National Forest, the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas (though I had been there a few times previously), and “the Valley”.
Also in those five months, I got a very good sense of what Southern California was all about, its food, it’s people, its neighborhoods, its culture. Unfortunately, the few bright spots were heavily outweighed by the negatives. Too many people living there and a great majority of them completely self-absorbed with no real work or social ethic to speak of. As far as I could tell, SoCal is the land of the endless sprawl of strip-malls, fast food, and car dealerships. I don’t call that “culture” and I began to lose my enthusiasm for being there.
And so it happened one day. I don’t know that it was any one thing that triggered it, but I awoke that day and realized that I missed my friends and family way too much and I had really begun to despise SoCal. With that I expressed my need to get back to KC to Ric and we agreed that while not “ideal”, we could still make the business work with me operating off-site.
Now I have been back in KC for about a week and half and am getting settled in and into the swing of things. Sometimes the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence, but this is one case where my desire to come back to the Midwest was absolutely what I needed!
In the future, I’ll go into greater detail about my California Adventure, but for now this quick recap will have to do. Onward and upward!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Less than a day
In roughly eighteen hours, it will be time to it the road for my great California migration. At this point I have most everything ready for departure. All that remains is to get some laundry done and get stuff loaded into the car.
I don't know what will await me out west, but I am sure that at the very least it will be a profoundly unique experience.
"Go west young man"
I don't know what will await me out west, but I am sure that at the very least it will be a profoundly unique experience.
"Go west young man"
Friday, February 18, 2011
Milestone – Part 3
I arose this morning to the fact that this would be my last day of work at my current employer. Three and half years of working here, almost the longest I’ve stayed at any job (the longest if you don’t count my internship).
It’s probably still too soon to say what I’m really taking away from my time here and what it will ultimately mean on the greater trajectory of my life. But I can at least say that I will walk away wiser, more experienced, and glad for some of the great friendships I have forged. I can also say that I leave here bloody, bruised, and ready for something new.
Tomorrow will be my last full day in the state of Iowa (as a resident anyway) and it will be capped off by a night of fun and frivolity. Mike and Kristin will be picking me up to go to dinner, just the three of us, and afterwards we head downtown to one of my favorite watering holes in Des Moines, the Hessen Haus. The plan is for my friends and co-workers to meet us there for drinks and good times, I’ve gotten affirmative RSVPs from most people, so the turnout should be pretty good.
Sunday morning will find me getting the last bit of stuff loaded into the car, my keys turned in to the apartment office, and then hitting the road to KC. I anticipate having a lot of very torn and mixed feelings along that three hour drive. A lot of false hopes and unrealized dreams will be in my rear view and in front will be the terrifying unknown.
Change is never easy, sometimes exciting, and usually what you aren’t expecting…
It’s probably still too soon to say what I’m really taking away from my time here and what it will ultimately mean on the greater trajectory of my life. But I can at least say that I will walk away wiser, more experienced, and glad for some of the great friendships I have forged. I can also say that I leave here bloody, bruised, and ready for something new.
Tomorrow will be my last full day in the state of Iowa (as a resident anyway) and it will be capped off by a night of fun and frivolity. Mike and Kristin will be picking me up to go to dinner, just the three of us, and afterwards we head downtown to one of my favorite watering holes in Des Moines, the Hessen Haus. The plan is for my friends and co-workers to meet us there for drinks and good times, I’ve gotten affirmative RSVPs from most people, so the turnout should be pretty good.
Sunday morning will find me getting the last bit of stuff loaded into the car, my keys turned in to the apartment office, and then hitting the road to KC. I anticipate having a lot of very torn and mixed feelings along that three hour drive. A lot of false hopes and unrealized dreams will be in my rear view and in front will be the terrifying unknown.
Change is never easy, sometimes exciting, and usually what you aren’t expecting…
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Such a letdown
Oh KU Jayhawks, on this day of all days, you decide to completely space out and let yourselves get steamrolled by K-State. Granted, Pullen is a freakin’ MONSTER of a player, but so what? That’s no reason you can’t hit your jumpers or snag any rebounds. You simply got lazy and got outplayed by an inferior team… we’ve seen this before (UNI anyone?)
I’ll be honest fellas, yesterday was kind of a bummer for me and I really could have used at least one bright spark to the day. Instead what I got was a dismal display of passiveness, laziness, and at times incompetence. Not exactly what I wanted right before going to bed.
But onward and upward right? Riiiiiggghhht….??????
I’ll be honest fellas, yesterday was kind of a bummer for me and I really could have used at least one bright spark to the day. Instead what I got was a dismal display of passiveness, laziness, and at times incompetence. Not exactly what I wanted right before going to bed.
But onward and upward right? Riiiiiggghhht….??????
Monday, February 14, 2011
Milestone Part 2
Friday evening was spent getting things packed and staged for the big move the following morning. Boxes began to pile up and my apartment began to look more and more bare. When I finally turned in, I knew that by the same time the next day my place would looked so empty that it would only barely betray any sign of actual human habitation.
The next morning I rose before the sun, showered, dressed and ran out to grab coffee for myself and for Marcus and Mike, the two friends who’d agreed to help me get loaded up. Marcus arrived with the truck as planned and we commenced to carry boxes to the truck. Mike was nowhere in sight and we both figured that he’d probably had a rough night and was feeling the pain this morning. We were correct. When he did finally arrived he looked pretty, well… ragged. We got the rest of my stuff loaded in very short order and capped it off with my couch and loveseat.
We bid Mike good day and then Marcus and I hopped in the cab of the truck and began our journey. The first stop would be to a house in West Des Moines where we’d be unloading the couch and loveseat to the guy that was purchasing them. Twenty minutes later, with $500 cash in my pocket we were finally ready for the long drive to KC.
Along the way we enjoyed some great discussions about a variety of topics, but largely about work and the future for each of us. Can’t say we arrived at any conclusions, but it was good to get his perspective on things. The next six months should prove interesting… for everybody.
In KC we were met by my friends Mike and Matt and within 30 minutes we had everything unloaded and stored away at my parents house. I know that helping your friends move is never a “fun” proposition, but I have to say, I do a damn good job of having everything packed and ready to go so my friends don’t have to waste any time dealing with an assorted mess. As far as moving goes, I’m a freaking professional!
By 1:30pm , Marcus and I were enjoying a good meal and some cold beers at Chilis before hitting the road to get back to Des Moines. Five hours after that, we were back in town and I was walking into my apartment. Empty, lonely, nothing except some clothes, a small television, and a couple of boxes. This would be “home” for the next week… though it hardly felt like any kind of home at all.
I contemplated stepping out and enjoying the nightlife one last time on my own, but my weariness from the day’s activities soon killed that notion and I thought it best to just stay in. I set up a collapsible captains chair and made a tall rum and coke and zoned out to the television for the rest of the night.
One of the little habits I had gotten into over the last three years was to enjoy a few strong drinks at home on a Saturday night while listening to music or watching a movie. On the one hand, it’s been a good alternative to going out on the town and getting myself into trouble. On the other, the fact that I’m drinking alone, at home, on a Saturday night (pretty much every week) is also kind of a sad commentary on how shallow my existence here in Des Moines has become.
I’ve never been afraid of being on my own and blazing my own trail, but my acceptance of solitude only goes so far. The fact is, I’ve become very lonely here and it’s definitely time to leave. I have a lot to offer and I deserve better than this.
The next morning I rose before the sun, showered, dressed and ran out to grab coffee for myself and for Marcus and Mike, the two friends who’d agreed to help me get loaded up. Marcus arrived with the truck as planned and we commenced to carry boxes to the truck. Mike was nowhere in sight and we both figured that he’d probably had a rough night and was feeling the pain this morning. We were correct. When he did finally arrived he looked pretty, well… ragged. We got the rest of my stuff loaded in very short order and capped it off with my couch and loveseat.
We bid Mike good day and then Marcus and I hopped in the cab of the truck and began our journey. The first stop would be to a house in West Des Moines where we’d be unloading the couch and loveseat to the guy that was purchasing them. Twenty minutes later, with $500 cash in my pocket we were finally ready for the long drive to KC.
Along the way we enjoyed some great discussions about a variety of topics, but largely about work and the future for each of us. Can’t say we arrived at any conclusions, but it was good to get his perspective on things. The next six months should prove interesting… for everybody.
In KC we were met by my friends Mike and Matt and within 30 minutes we had everything unloaded and stored away at my parents house. I know that helping your friends move is never a “fun” proposition, but I have to say, I do a damn good job of having everything packed and ready to go so my friends don’t have to waste any time dealing with an assorted mess. As far as moving goes, I’m a freaking professional!
By 1:30pm , Marcus and I were enjoying a good meal and some cold beers at Chilis before hitting the road to get back to Des Moines. Five hours after that, we were back in town and I was walking into my apartment. Empty, lonely, nothing except some clothes, a small television, and a couple of boxes. This would be “home” for the next week… though it hardly felt like any kind of home at all.
I contemplated stepping out and enjoying the nightlife one last time on my own, but my weariness from the day’s activities soon killed that notion and I thought it best to just stay in. I set up a collapsible captains chair and made a tall rum and coke and zoned out to the television for the rest of the night.
One of the little habits I had gotten into over the last three years was to enjoy a few strong drinks at home on a Saturday night while listening to music or watching a movie. On the one hand, it’s been a good alternative to going out on the town and getting myself into trouble. On the other, the fact that I’m drinking alone, at home, on a Saturday night (pretty much every week) is also kind of a sad commentary on how shallow my existence here in Des Moines has become.
I’ve never been afraid of being on my own and blazing my own trail, but my acceptance of solitude only goes so far. The fact is, I’ve become very lonely here and it’s definitely time to leave. I have a lot to offer and I deserve better than this.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Milestone - Part 1
Tonight I will be getting the rest of my stuff packed and staged in my apartment – ready for the 6:30am kickoff of moving madness. Marcus and Mike will be assisting here in Des Moines to get the truck loaded which will hopefully only take an hour at the most.
Once loaded up, we will make a brief stop in West Des Moines to drop off my couch and loveseat (in exchange for some sweet $$$). After that, it’s off to my parents place in KC where we will be met by my friends Mike, Matt, and Ryan. My goal is to churn and burn to get the truck unloaded so Marcus and I can hit the road back to Des Moines as quick as possible.
Once back, I’ll be left with a mostly empty apartment, save clothes for next week and basic toiletries and a captains chair so I’ll actually have something to sit in… how novel! I know full well that next week is going to suck beyond all reason. I’m not going to care about work during the day, and I’ll have just my lonely, empty apartment at night.
Next week will also begin the week of the “lasts” – “last Monday”, “last Tuesday”, etc. Hard to believe that two weeks from today I’ll be in the middle of my exodus from Iowa to California. A lot of mixed feelings are boiling up – excited at the new opportunity, but also very sad at some of the people I’m leaving behind.
Life is all about changes, and while they can be exciting, they can also be very depressing…
Once loaded up, we will make a brief stop in West Des Moines to drop off my couch and loveseat (in exchange for some sweet $$$). After that, it’s off to my parents place in KC where we will be met by my friends Mike, Matt, and Ryan. My goal is to churn and burn to get the truck unloaded so Marcus and I can hit the road back to Des Moines as quick as possible.
Once back, I’ll be left with a mostly empty apartment, save clothes for next week and basic toiletries and a captains chair so I’ll actually have something to sit in… how novel! I know full well that next week is going to suck beyond all reason. I’m not going to care about work during the day, and I’ll have just my lonely, empty apartment at night.
Next week will also begin the week of the “lasts” – “last Monday”, “last Tuesday”, etc. Hard to believe that two weeks from today I’ll be in the middle of my exodus from Iowa to California. A lot of mixed feelings are boiling up – excited at the new opportunity, but also very sad at some of the people I’m leaving behind.
Life is all about changes, and while they can be exciting, they can also be very depressing…
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
It's happening...
And so it begins. I am rounding third base and heading into the home stretch of my life here in Iowa.
Tonight I have a date with the load of boxes that arrived this morning and the tape dispenser. For the rest of the week it’ll be getting everything packed up and ready for Saturday.
I’m sure as my belongings are sorted, organized, and packed and my apartment begins to look more and more bare and empty, I’ll really begin to reflect on my time served here. I’ll undoubtedly think about how genuinely excited I was to move here for my new job and all the possibilities that came with it. Memories of traveling all across the country will come to mind along with the faces of all the people I’ve met along the way. Some people have been great to know, others not so much. A few I will be glad to stay in touch with, and more than a few that I will be happy to never see or hear from again.
I definitely gained some great professional experience and have had some remarkable successes in terms of delivering results to the team. In addition to some of the great people that I’ve worked alongside, I’ve also been privileged to know some fantastic clients. There are at least a handful that will stay in touch and I’ve gotten a lot of very warm response from almost everyone when they found out about my departure.
On the flip-side however, my personal life has been far from positive here. A few good friends, but not many, and even those that I do connect with are usually wrapped up in other things to really count on regularly.
As far as girls are concerned, I’ve been on many, many first dates here, and not a single one has amounted to anything. Not one. Hard to believe that in my former life outside of Iowa I actually had a reputation as a bit of a heartbreaker and a notorious ladies man. Not here though. I don’t know if there is something in the water or what, but it seems like I must be emitting some kind of repellant or something… “Danger Danger! Keep Away!” So on that score, I am definitely not going to miss this place.
All-in-all this whole move to California will be something of a rebirth for me and after the last few months, a fresh start is exactly what I need…
Tonight I have a date with the load of boxes that arrived this morning and the tape dispenser. For the rest of the week it’ll be getting everything packed up and ready for Saturday.
I’m sure as my belongings are sorted, organized, and packed and my apartment begins to look more and more bare and empty, I’ll really begin to reflect on my time served here. I’ll undoubtedly think about how genuinely excited I was to move here for my new job and all the possibilities that came with it. Memories of traveling all across the country will come to mind along with the faces of all the people I’ve met along the way. Some people have been great to know, others not so much. A few I will be glad to stay in touch with, and more than a few that I will be happy to never see or hear from again.
I definitely gained some great professional experience and have had some remarkable successes in terms of delivering results to the team. In addition to some of the great people that I’ve worked alongside, I’ve also been privileged to know some fantastic clients. There are at least a handful that will stay in touch and I’ve gotten a lot of very warm response from almost everyone when they found out about my departure.
On the flip-side however, my personal life has been far from positive here. A few good friends, but not many, and even those that I do connect with are usually wrapped up in other things to really count on regularly.
As far as girls are concerned, I’ve been on many, many first dates here, and not a single one has amounted to anything. Not one. Hard to believe that in my former life outside of Iowa I actually had a reputation as a bit of a heartbreaker and a notorious ladies man. Not here though. I don’t know if there is something in the water or what, but it seems like I must be emitting some kind of repellant or something… “Danger Danger! Keep Away!” So on that score, I am definitely not going to miss this place.
All-in-all this whole move to California will be something of a rebirth for me and after the last few months, a fresh start is exactly what I need…
Monday, January 31, 2011
Just FYI
I notice that as I type things (emails, comments on facebook, and blog posts), I have a nasty habit of typing the word "the" mixed around as "teh". It's not intentional and as you, the reader, spot them in my writings - please just ignore them.
You cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
You cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
Lets Backtrack - Part III
Finally on the plane to leave Las Vegas for my layover in Phoenix, I can now relax and try to catch some sleep. When I get to Phoenix, I'm going to have to scramble to find not only somebody to pick me up at the airport in KC, but I am going to have to get somebody to drive me back to Des Moines... I fear that I am in for some serious begging.
In Phoenix, I call my mom - no answer. I leave a message for her to call back, but at this point I really can't put all my eggs in one basket and so I immediately dial a reliable friend of mine. My buddy Ryan is easily one of the most generous, and dependable people I've ever been lucky enough to know and if anybody will be able to help me out of this jam - it's him. No answer there either, so I leave a message. Now I'm starting to worry. If I don't get a hold of somebody soon, I'm going to be boarding the plane with absolitely nobody lined up to get me from KCI when I arrive.
Then my mom calls back - thank goodness! Relieved that I can at least now talk to somebody and explain the situation (but still not looking forward to the inevitable begging) I start by letting her know my location and that my trip to Vegas was a resounding success. Once a pause in the conversation appears, I tactfully slip in with "Well so here's the deal... I kinda need your help on something." Probably no introduction could have been more ominous and as she braced herself for the worst possible news, I knew that I had played the cards perfectly. Considering all the awful scenarios going through her head at this moment, the truth would come as a relief and she would be so happy to help. Turns out, I was right! Ride from the airport = check. Ride back to Des Moines the next morning = check. Life is good.
Of course one of the major letdowns to my little fiasco is that there would be no way I'd make it to summer camp that week. Evening program was slated to start only an hour after I was scheduled to land. Not no way, not no how! But given how bad thing scould be, I figure I'm still coming out ahead on this deal.
As time ticked by and I drifted in and out of sleep, we finally started to get near the KC area. Even without a map or any real indicators, I could just tell by the terrain below that we had long passed over the mountains and were now above terra cognita. However, sharing the sky with us on that evening was a massive thunderstorm that had decided to camp out directly above the airport - which meant we'd be circling until it moved out.
After about three laps around, the pilot comes on and informs us that we may in fact have to divert to another airport to refuel and then come back and try again. Of course being the geographical wizard that I am, I quickly deduce that there are only three options for a plane of this size to safely land and refuel - Omaha, Wichita, and Des Moines. All three are of about an equal distance away for our present location, but I figured Omaha would probably be the more likely of the three. But man, wouldn't it just be my luck to actually have to land in Des Moines, only to not be able to get off the plane due to FAA regulations and whatnot. Lucky for me, I wouldn't have to endure any such taunt as the pilot came back and informed us that we would be heading to Omaha. Fair enough.
Heading north, I look out the window and spot the Missouri River below. A minute later I spot a city on the east bank, it only took a moment to realize it was St. Joseph, MO. If I was now looking down on St. Joe, then it would be matter of seconds before I was looking down at my SUMMER CAMP!!! There it was. In all it's glory. I could see the dining hall, the swimming pool, the parking lot, the shotgun range. In fact, this was right about the time I would have been arriving at camp via my car had everything gone according to schedule that morning. But here I was, fifteen thousand feet above all my friends who were no doubt busy getting preperations made for the program. I waved from my window, but something tells me that it went completely unnoticed...
Finally in Omaha, we get refueled and then we get the pleasure of just sitting on the tarmac. For anyone who's ever been stuck in that situation, you know much it sucks. You know that you are imprisoned in your seat, with nowhere to go, nothing to drink, the air coming out of the vents is stuffy and warm, which is really not helped by the heat of mid July. We endured the "Oven of Omaha" for an hour before we were finally given the go-ahead to head back to KC.
Forty minutes later we were landed in KC, I had my bags collected, and my mom was there to get me as promised. She was even sporting enough to treat me to nice dinner before getting back to the house. At 10:00pm that night, exhausted, I crashed. The next morning it was coffee, and then we hit the road for Des Moines.
Lessons learned:
- Never underestimate the binding power of family. Mom was my hero that day!
- Never book a flight from vegas in the morning. Bad idea.
- Most importantly, foreign relations are overrated and I am now a staunch isolationist!
In Phoenix, I call my mom - no answer. I leave a message for her to call back, but at this point I really can't put all my eggs in one basket and so I immediately dial a reliable friend of mine. My buddy Ryan is easily one of the most generous, and dependable people I've ever been lucky enough to know and if anybody will be able to help me out of this jam - it's him. No answer there either, so I leave a message. Now I'm starting to worry. If I don't get a hold of somebody soon, I'm going to be boarding the plane with absolitely nobody lined up to get me from KCI when I arrive.
Then my mom calls back - thank goodness! Relieved that I can at least now talk to somebody and explain the situation (but still not looking forward to the inevitable begging) I start by letting her know my location and that my trip to Vegas was a resounding success. Once a pause in the conversation appears, I tactfully slip in with "Well so here's the deal... I kinda need your help on something." Probably no introduction could have been more ominous and as she braced herself for the worst possible news, I knew that I had played the cards perfectly. Considering all the awful scenarios going through her head at this moment, the truth would come as a relief and she would be so happy to help. Turns out, I was right! Ride from the airport = check. Ride back to Des Moines the next morning = check. Life is good.
Of course one of the major letdowns to my little fiasco is that there would be no way I'd make it to summer camp that week. Evening program was slated to start only an hour after I was scheduled to land. Not no way, not no how! But given how bad thing scould be, I figure I'm still coming out ahead on this deal.
As time ticked by and I drifted in and out of sleep, we finally started to get near the KC area. Even without a map or any real indicators, I could just tell by the terrain below that we had long passed over the mountains and were now above terra cognita. However, sharing the sky with us on that evening was a massive thunderstorm that had decided to camp out directly above the airport - which meant we'd be circling until it moved out.
After about three laps around, the pilot comes on and informs us that we may in fact have to divert to another airport to refuel and then come back and try again. Of course being the geographical wizard that I am, I quickly deduce that there are only three options for a plane of this size to safely land and refuel - Omaha, Wichita, and Des Moines. All three are of about an equal distance away for our present location, but I figured Omaha would probably be the more likely of the three. But man, wouldn't it just be my luck to actually have to land in Des Moines, only to not be able to get off the plane due to FAA regulations and whatnot. Lucky for me, I wouldn't have to endure any such taunt as the pilot came back and informed us that we would be heading to Omaha. Fair enough.
Heading north, I look out the window and spot the Missouri River below. A minute later I spot a city on the east bank, it only took a moment to realize it was St. Joseph, MO. If I was now looking down on St. Joe, then it would be matter of seconds before I was looking down at my SUMMER CAMP!!! There it was. In all it's glory. I could see the dining hall, the swimming pool, the parking lot, the shotgun range. In fact, this was right about the time I would have been arriving at camp via my car had everything gone according to schedule that morning. But here I was, fifteen thousand feet above all my friends who were no doubt busy getting preperations made for the program. I waved from my window, but something tells me that it went completely unnoticed...
Finally in Omaha, we get refueled and then we get the pleasure of just sitting on the tarmac. For anyone who's ever been stuck in that situation, you know much it sucks. You know that you are imprisoned in your seat, with nowhere to go, nothing to drink, the air coming out of the vents is stuffy and warm, which is really not helped by the heat of mid July. We endured the "Oven of Omaha" for an hour before we were finally given the go-ahead to head back to KC.
Forty minutes later we were landed in KC, I had my bags collected, and my mom was there to get me as promised. She was even sporting enough to treat me to nice dinner before getting back to the house. At 10:00pm that night, exhausted, I crashed. The next morning it was coffee, and then we hit the road for Des Moines.
Lessons learned:
- Never underestimate the binding power of family. Mom was my hero that day!
- Never book a flight from vegas in the morning. Bad idea.
- Most importantly, foreign relations are overrated and I am now a staunch isolationist!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Lets Backtrack - Part II
"Previously on Regular Mental Breakdowns: Dan travels to Las Vegas for a trade show where the contacts are good, but the drinks with a gang of foreigners are even better. Too many pints of 'Irish Medicine' and the next morning our hero has missed his flight back home. Will Dan be able to get back to the midwest, or will he be left stranded in Sin City?...."
"On to plan 'B'" is my only course of action on a groggy Friday morning after realizing that only 15 minutes remain for me to get dressed, packed, checkout out the hotel, taken to the airport, checked in, passed through security, and at the gate in time for me to make my flight back home from Las Vegas. The only trouble, was I had no "Plan B". The only thing I can do is get my carcass to the airport and hope like crazy that an alternate flight can be made.
Twenty minutes later I am showered, dressed, packed and stepping into a cab. Ten minutes after that I walk into the airport terminal - now comes the moment of truth. I call Cindy back at the office (she is the one who originally made my flight arrangements). I sheepishly fill her in on the fact that my flight is now thirty thousand feet in the air... without me. I ask if she can help track down another option. Ten minutes go by before she calls back to tell me taht the only flight to Des Moines for the day was the one I just missed. Drat! So up to the counter I go to see if I can't charm the ticket agent into helping me figure something else out.
Now, I don't know much about Thelma. I don't know where she grew up. I don't know if she has a family. I don't even know her last name. In fact, all I can really guess about her is that she is roughly 45 years old, african-american, stands about 5'7" and seems to take great pride in the good maintanence and grooming of her long fingernails. However one single fact about Thelma is certain; and that is that Thelma is working the ticketing counter of Allegiant Airlines on this day and because of that, she is about to become either my best friend or my nemesis.
As I approach the counter I lock eyes with Thelma and my lips crack into a wide smile as I get the old charm machine fired up. I explain my situation using a variety of maneuvers such as the boyish smile, the nervous eyebrow raise, a vulnerable laugh, and a calm and deep tone of voice. Years of experience have shown me that these tiny little nuances are in fact the deadliest weapons in my arsenal. But in this chess match, Thelma doesn't give anything away. Is she going to take pity on me? Is she going secretly delight in how screwed I am? Is she going to openly delight in how screwed I am? Then she looks at me, smiles, and says "You poor thing, lets see what we can find to get you home". Once again, the cunning predator has snared his prey.
After searching through the computer she finds one option: a flight to Kansas City with a stop in Phoenix. It's a long shot, but at this point I figure if I can at least get to KC, hopefully I can con somebody to driving me to Des Moines. "Lets go for it" I say. And with that she starts typing it up. However there is a problem. That flight to Phoenix leaves in only 25 minutes, she isn't sure she can get the ticket booked in time.
At this point, I know that Thelma is not only the ticketing agent at Allegiant Airlines, but that she is also now in my corner. What I didn't know, what I couldn't possibly know at that point, was that she was actually an angel, sent from above to find teh lost sheep and return him to the safety of the flock.
She commenced to flying across her keyboard, those fingernails darting down and striking with lethal, lightning precision at the keys. Thelma was a virtuoso, nothing short of Mozart working his craft. Then, "VICTORY"! She got it punched in just in time. We both shared in our success with a hi-five and I was on my way.
Running, frantically through McCarran, I flew through security, hopped the train and arrived at the gate just in time. I boarded, found my seat, and knew I could relax. The hard part was over.
Or so I thought...
... To be continued...
"On to plan 'B'" is my only course of action on a groggy Friday morning after realizing that only 15 minutes remain for me to get dressed, packed, checkout out the hotel, taken to the airport, checked in, passed through security, and at the gate in time for me to make my flight back home from Las Vegas. The only trouble, was I had no "Plan B". The only thing I can do is get my carcass to the airport and hope like crazy that an alternate flight can be made.
Twenty minutes later I am showered, dressed, packed and stepping into a cab. Ten minutes after that I walk into the airport terminal - now comes the moment of truth. I call Cindy back at the office (she is the one who originally made my flight arrangements). I sheepishly fill her in on the fact that my flight is now thirty thousand feet in the air... without me. I ask if she can help track down another option. Ten minutes go by before she calls back to tell me taht the only flight to Des Moines for the day was the one I just missed. Drat! So up to the counter I go to see if I can't charm the ticket agent into helping me figure something else out.
Now, I don't know much about Thelma. I don't know where she grew up. I don't know if she has a family. I don't even know her last name. In fact, all I can really guess about her is that she is roughly 45 years old, african-american, stands about 5'7" and seems to take great pride in the good maintanence and grooming of her long fingernails. However one single fact about Thelma is certain; and that is that Thelma is working the ticketing counter of Allegiant Airlines on this day and because of that, she is about to become either my best friend or my nemesis.
As I approach the counter I lock eyes with Thelma and my lips crack into a wide smile as I get the old charm machine fired up. I explain my situation using a variety of maneuvers such as the boyish smile, the nervous eyebrow raise, a vulnerable laugh, and a calm and deep tone of voice. Years of experience have shown me that these tiny little nuances are in fact the deadliest weapons in my arsenal. But in this chess match, Thelma doesn't give anything away. Is she going to take pity on me? Is she going secretly delight in how screwed I am? Is she going to openly delight in how screwed I am? Then she looks at me, smiles, and says "You poor thing, lets see what we can find to get you home". Once again, the cunning predator has snared his prey.
After searching through the computer she finds one option: a flight to Kansas City with a stop in Phoenix. It's a long shot, but at this point I figure if I can at least get to KC, hopefully I can con somebody to driving me to Des Moines. "Lets go for it" I say. And with that she starts typing it up. However there is a problem. That flight to Phoenix leaves in only 25 minutes, she isn't sure she can get the ticket booked in time.
At this point, I know that Thelma is not only the ticketing agent at Allegiant Airlines, but that she is also now in my corner. What I didn't know, what I couldn't possibly know at that point, was that she was actually an angel, sent from above to find teh lost sheep and return him to the safety of the flock.
She commenced to flying across her keyboard, those fingernails darting down and striking with lethal, lightning precision at the keys. Thelma was a virtuoso, nothing short of Mozart working his craft. Then, "VICTORY"! She got it punched in just in time. We both shared in our success with a hi-five and I was on my way.
Running, frantically through McCarran, I flew through security, hopped the train and arrived at the gate just in time. I boarded, found my seat, and knew I could relax. The hard part was over.
Or so I thought...
... To be continued...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Lets Backtrack - Part I
This evening I enjoyed a night of good food, tasty beverages, great friends, and hilarious stories. One particular (mis)adventure of mine came into teh spotlight and I figure it's about time to let the world in. You may find it funny, you may not...
To begin, I must paint a bit of a backdrop. Every summer for the past coupel of years I had an arrangement with my employer to have six consecutive Friday's off of work so that I could volunteer at my old Boy Scout summer camp just north of St. Joseph, MO. This past summer, I was invited by a client of mine to attend the ICAST show in Las Vegas, which is the largest industry trade show for the sport fishing industry. The show fell on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during camping season and I booked my travel such that I could still arrive back in Des Moines on Friday in time to drive down to camp for the evening program.
I flew into Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, checked into the hotel and grabbed a few winks before meeting up with my client for dinner and drinks afterwards. Dinner was good, drinks at the Hard Rock Casino were better (I spotted Blake Griffin and the lead singer from Journey). We called it a night at say... 10:oopm.
The next day I got up, got to the show with Ric (my client, and now my friend) and we spent the whole day walking the floor. I made a ton of great contacts and was feeling absolutely great about the whole trip. That evening was dinner and drinks again, but Ric started to not feel well so he cashed in early. On the way back to my hotel, still on a high from the success of the day, I decided to go ahead and walk over to the strip and check out the fountains at the Bellagio.
Standing in front of the giant bursts of water I thought "Hmm, I could go for a cold beer. Maybe a pint at an Irish pub would be good... New York, New York would probably be a good place for that!" And so I strolled down the strip a little ways (actually a long ways, one's sense of distance gets very skewed in Vegas), and finally found a great little joint called "Nine Fine Irishmen" at New York, New York Casino.
I strolled up to the bar, ordered a pint and started to take it all in. This is the point where things go awry.
Standing not four feet from me is a group of five Norwegians living it up. I don't know why or what I did, but they saw me and decided that it was now there duty to include me into their group. I became something of an honorary norwegian for the night I guess. I know that this can be trouble for me given that I have an 8:30 flight the next morning and as anybody who's ever flown out of McCarran can tell you, it's a real bitch to get through check-in and security. I plan for a two hour cushion no matter what. Which means I need to be getting up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready, packed up, checked out, and carted to the the airport. To stay out late is really not a good idea.
However...
I also can't discount the fact that I am with a group of Norwegians and, being the American patriot that I am, can't turn my nose up at a chance to achieve some degree of international diplomacy. So at around 10:00pm, purely out of a desire to help with global relations with my country and Norway, I decide to oblige and begin to good-time it with my new Scandinavian friends.
Then, somehow, 3:30am came around... uh oh. Not good for me. I know this is bad news, after all I have to hoof it back to the hotel, try and get maybe an hour and a half of sleep before getting up to catch my flight. I won't go so far as to say I was drunk.... but I certainly wasn't sober.
Finally at my hotel, feet throbbing (please refer back to earlier statements about distance in Vegas - things are farther than they appear), head still swimming I set my alarm and crash.
I awake, feeling kinda rough, but not too rough - which means I'm still feeling pretty good if you catch my meaning. I check the clock and the heart stops.... it's 8:15am. My flight is at 8:30. That obviously isn't going to happen, so I guess now it's on to plan "B".
... to be continued...
To begin, I must paint a bit of a backdrop. Every summer for the past coupel of years I had an arrangement with my employer to have six consecutive Friday's off of work so that I could volunteer at my old Boy Scout summer camp just north of St. Joseph, MO. This past summer, I was invited by a client of mine to attend the ICAST show in Las Vegas, which is the largest industry trade show for the sport fishing industry. The show fell on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during camping season and I booked my travel such that I could still arrive back in Des Moines on Friday in time to drive down to camp for the evening program.
I flew into Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, checked into the hotel and grabbed a few winks before meeting up with my client for dinner and drinks afterwards. Dinner was good, drinks at the Hard Rock Casino were better (I spotted Blake Griffin and the lead singer from Journey). We called it a night at say... 10:oopm.
The next day I got up, got to the show with Ric (my client, and now my friend) and we spent the whole day walking the floor. I made a ton of great contacts and was feeling absolutely great about the whole trip. That evening was dinner and drinks again, but Ric started to not feel well so he cashed in early. On the way back to my hotel, still on a high from the success of the day, I decided to go ahead and walk over to the strip and check out the fountains at the Bellagio.
Standing in front of the giant bursts of water I thought "Hmm, I could go for a cold beer. Maybe a pint at an Irish pub would be good... New York, New York would probably be a good place for that!" And so I strolled down the strip a little ways (actually a long ways, one's sense of distance gets very skewed in Vegas), and finally found a great little joint called "Nine Fine Irishmen" at New York, New York Casino.
I strolled up to the bar, ordered a pint and started to take it all in. This is the point where things go awry.
Standing not four feet from me is a group of five Norwegians living it up. I don't know why or what I did, but they saw me and decided that it was now there duty to include me into their group. I became something of an honorary norwegian for the night I guess. I know that this can be trouble for me given that I have an 8:30 flight the next morning and as anybody who's ever flown out of McCarran can tell you, it's a real bitch to get through check-in and security. I plan for a two hour cushion no matter what. Which means I need to be getting up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready, packed up, checked out, and carted to the the airport. To stay out late is really not a good idea.
However...
I also can't discount the fact that I am with a group of Norwegians and, being the American patriot that I am, can't turn my nose up at a chance to achieve some degree of international diplomacy. So at around 10:00pm, purely out of a desire to help with global relations with my country and Norway, I decide to oblige and begin to good-time it with my new Scandinavian friends.
Then, somehow, 3:30am came around... uh oh. Not good for me. I know this is bad news, after all I have to hoof it back to the hotel, try and get maybe an hour and a half of sleep before getting up to catch my flight. I won't go so far as to say I was drunk.... but I certainly wasn't sober.
Finally at my hotel, feet throbbing (please refer back to earlier statements about distance in Vegas - things are farther than they appear), head still swimming I set my alarm and crash.
I awake, feeling kinda rough, but not too rough - which means I'm still feeling pretty good if you catch my meaning. I check the clock and the heart stops.... it's 8:15am. My flight is at 8:30. That obviously isn't going to happen, so I guess now it's on to plan "B".
... to be continued...
Saturday, January 22, 2011
It's been a while
I've not updated this blog in well over a year - don't know that I've really had much to say... at least not anything worth your time to read (or my time to write).
But the update goes a little something like this:
Back in May of 2010, I was promoted out of my role as a Project Manager at Performance Display into the role as a full-time Account Manager (sales). At the time, no change was made as far as compensation, so I could get some breathing room while I worked to develop my sales. To kick off this exciting change, I immediately embarked on a massive 10-day road trip first to KC to meet with a client there. After that, I drove to Ft. Worth TX and met up with Jeff Sheeks (our Millwork Manger) and we installed a donor feature at the Joan Katz Breast Cancer Center located at Baylor All Saints Medical Center. From there, we departed for Austin to meet up with Jeff's brother and sister in-law (where we also stayed, which was sweet because their home was tip-top). Two days later it was off to Houston to visit the old man and then back to Dallas by way of a small town in East Texas not far from the Louisiana border. Then back to Des Moines with a stop in Wichita to meet with my friend Malcolm and his colleagues and then again in KC for dinner.
It was an awesome trip and Jeff and I had a great time. But a big reason it was such a good trip, was my travelling companion. I dare say that Jeff is one of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of working with and the friendship we have forged will continue for many years to come.
After Texas, other travels included Peoria, IL (also with Jeff) and South Bend, IN. Both trips were good, but not nearly as epic as that 10-day adventure to the lone star state.
Then in July, I travelled to Las Vegas to attend a trade show for the Sport Fishing Industry. I had previously worked for a display project for a guy named Ric Hawthorne who was teh Marketing Manager for a company called American Rodsmiths. Prior to the show, Ric resigned his position citing frustration with senior management (and for enduring deliquent paychecks). He called me one afternoon to tell me of this development and suggested that if I could get to the show in Vegas, he would be there working his network for a new position and would be happy to walk the show with me and introduce me to planty of potential clients.
I arrived in Vegas, checked into my hotel, and before long was enjoying a drink with Ric at the hotel bar followed by dinner. The rest of the trip had it's own moments of interest (and instances of stupidity on my part), but those are tales best left for some other post. The important thing to come out of my trip to Nevada was teh fast friendship formed with Ric, which would later come into play and have a major impact on the direction of my life.
Summer slowly melted into fall, with additonal travels to South Carolina and Minnesota for work, and to Colorado for fun. As fall became winter, we began to notice that our fiscal year was looking catastrophic with several major programs falling through that we had been counting on. Because of that, immediate steps were taken to trim budgets across the board - the biggest being a mandatory 10% pay cut for every single salaried employee. Only an hour after that pay cut was announced, my boss also informed me that I would have to flipped over to a comission based compensation and gave me a time frame of just over a month. The initial pay cut I could endure, the commission switch proved to be too much.
By early December I had eaten through all of my savings and was forced to start living off of my credit card. In additon to that, I had to knowingly decide which bills I would pay, and which ones I could not. I knew then that this was not a situation that could last, but I was hoping to be able to buy enough time for some larger projects to hit.
While of this was playing out, I was also grappling with an opportunity that was developing out in California. Ric Hawthorne had decided in late fall to go into business for himself and, with his adopted mother's financial backing, began laying the groundwork to bring a new product to market. He indicated to me in one of our many chats that he'd like to bring me on board as National Sales Manager with the option to own a stake in the company (and eventually become full-partner). As part of this, he and Marlene felt it wise to fly me out to California to meet and discuss - which I did in early December.
We all agreed to the basic terms of what I would be looking for and with that, I flew back to Iowa with the ball in their court to confirm their numbers and formally make the offer. As the holidays approached, it was becoming more and more obvious to me that my tenure at Performance Display would not continue much longer, and I kept hoping to get official word from Ric and Marlene so I could make a firm decision. I would have to keep waiting.
December roared into January with still no word. Finally though, I got a message from Ric that Marlene wanted me to give her a call to finalize the numbers and get an offer on the table. We spoke, agreed to the scope, and I left it with saying that I wanted to take a few days to mull it over and just make sure. I made the trip to KC that weekend where my mom and I had a good chance to kick it around - and the decision was "go for it".
So as January 2011 starts it's exit, I write this having just given formal notice at work yesterday that in the next few weeks I will be leaving Iowa and heading out to California to try something completely terrifying and new.
It's kind of weird to know that I will soon be gone from everything I know in the midwest and starting from scratch in a place I never in a million years thought I'd live. I hoep to find my way out to Denver within a year or so, but that will all depend on how things go with this new venture...
Many updates to come I'm sure! Stay tuned...
But the update goes a little something like this:
Back in May of 2010, I was promoted out of my role as a Project Manager at Performance Display into the role as a full-time Account Manager (sales). At the time, no change was made as far as compensation, so I could get some breathing room while I worked to develop my sales. To kick off this exciting change, I immediately embarked on a massive 10-day road trip first to KC to meet with a client there. After that, I drove to Ft. Worth TX and met up with Jeff Sheeks (our Millwork Manger) and we installed a donor feature at the Joan Katz Breast Cancer Center located at Baylor All Saints Medical Center. From there, we departed for Austin to meet up with Jeff's brother and sister in-law (where we also stayed, which was sweet because their home was tip-top). Two days later it was off to Houston to visit the old man and then back to Dallas by way of a small town in East Texas not far from the Louisiana border. Then back to Des Moines with a stop in Wichita to meet with my friend Malcolm and his colleagues and then again in KC for dinner.
It was an awesome trip and Jeff and I had a great time. But a big reason it was such a good trip, was my travelling companion. I dare say that Jeff is one of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of working with and the friendship we have forged will continue for many years to come.
After Texas, other travels included Peoria, IL (also with Jeff) and South Bend, IN. Both trips were good, but not nearly as epic as that 10-day adventure to the lone star state.
Then in July, I travelled to Las Vegas to attend a trade show for the Sport Fishing Industry. I had previously worked for a display project for a guy named Ric Hawthorne who was teh Marketing Manager for a company called American Rodsmiths. Prior to the show, Ric resigned his position citing frustration with senior management (and for enduring deliquent paychecks). He called me one afternoon to tell me of this development and suggested that if I could get to the show in Vegas, he would be there working his network for a new position and would be happy to walk the show with me and introduce me to planty of potential clients.
I arrived in Vegas, checked into my hotel, and before long was enjoying a drink with Ric at the hotel bar followed by dinner. The rest of the trip had it's own moments of interest (and instances of stupidity on my part), but those are tales best left for some other post. The important thing to come out of my trip to Nevada was teh fast friendship formed with Ric, which would later come into play and have a major impact on the direction of my life.
Summer slowly melted into fall, with additonal travels to South Carolina and Minnesota for work, and to Colorado for fun. As fall became winter, we began to notice that our fiscal year was looking catastrophic with several major programs falling through that we had been counting on. Because of that, immediate steps were taken to trim budgets across the board - the biggest being a mandatory 10% pay cut for every single salaried employee. Only an hour after that pay cut was announced, my boss also informed me that I would have to flipped over to a comission based compensation and gave me a time frame of just over a month. The initial pay cut I could endure, the commission switch proved to be too much.
By early December I had eaten through all of my savings and was forced to start living off of my credit card. In additon to that, I had to knowingly decide which bills I would pay, and which ones I could not. I knew then that this was not a situation that could last, but I was hoping to be able to buy enough time for some larger projects to hit.
While of this was playing out, I was also grappling with an opportunity that was developing out in California. Ric Hawthorne had decided in late fall to go into business for himself and, with his adopted mother's financial backing, began laying the groundwork to bring a new product to market. He indicated to me in one of our many chats that he'd like to bring me on board as National Sales Manager with the option to own a stake in the company (and eventually become full-partner). As part of this, he and Marlene felt it wise to fly me out to California to meet and discuss - which I did in early December.
We all agreed to the basic terms of what I would be looking for and with that, I flew back to Iowa with the ball in their court to confirm their numbers and formally make the offer. As the holidays approached, it was becoming more and more obvious to me that my tenure at Performance Display would not continue much longer, and I kept hoping to get official word from Ric and Marlene so I could make a firm decision. I would have to keep waiting.
December roared into January with still no word. Finally though, I got a message from Ric that Marlene wanted me to give her a call to finalize the numbers and get an offer on the table. We spoke, agreed to the scope, and I left it with saying that I wanted to take a few days to mull it over and just make sure. I made the trip to KC that weekend where my mom and I had a good chance to kick it around - and the decision was "go for it".
So as January 2011 starts it's exit, I write this having just given formal notice at work yesterday that in the next few weeks I will be leaving Iowa and heading out to California to try something completely terrifying and new.
It's kind of weird to know that I will soon be gone from everything I know in the midwest and starting from scratch in a place I never in a million years thought I'd live. I hoep to find my way out to Denver within a year or so, but that will all depend on how things go with this new venture...
Many updates to come I'm sure! Stay tuned...
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