I’ve rode motorcycles off and on for the last ten years. I finally broke down and bought a new bike… here it is, 2012 Ninja 650.
Here I go for the first time on my new bike.
Of course I have a helmet, and I had it on as I left the parking lot on my way home. (took the long way, of course)
Gnats with your juice anyone?
The old saying “you get what you pay for” may be accurate for the Best Western Garden Inn & Suites.
The door locks for room 203 were a pain to get working. They paled in comparison to traditional hotel room locks. The room seemed fine from an initial presentation; however, that was short lived. After setting our stuff down on the sink, a baby roach raced out from under the coffee maker. The bathroom floor was stained, the recessed shelving area was extremely sloppily built and showed signs of poor craftsmanship and there was hair on the side of the tub and shower drain. Pulling back the sheets looking forward to a decent nights sleep after a long day we were dismayed at the state of the sheets. They were discolored and had the look of old sheets that had been slept in without being washed for months. Waking up my wife was disgusted to find several cockroaches roaming around in the bathroom shower. I turned over and found another few on the nightstand next to where I was sleeping. After killing the remaining visible roaches and taking quick showers we were disappointed (by the time this happened we were no longer surprised by state of things) by the stained towel (yea… only one full size towel for a room that is built for two). Before continuing our busy day we thought we would try and get a bite to eat (from prepackaged items only for fear of roach problems in the food preparation area). I figured it would be safe to have a cup of juice so went to use the juice dispenser. To my horror when I pushed the button for orange juice a swarm of gnats flew out from under the dispensing area. A few managed to get shot down into my cup. That was the last straw. We threw our keys over the unattended counter and left disgusted.
A friend of mine recently posted his bucket list and I while I’ve had one going on in my head for quite some time now it might be time to follow suit and build a public bucket list. While his list is a tad bit longer and covers more than one area, my list will focus primarily on the professional aspect of my goals. Many of my earlier bucket list items pertaining to my personal life, I’ve been able to accomplish. I love my wife and already have two wonderful growing boys. What more could a father ask for?
A few of the items on the following list I’ve more or less accomplished, some I’ve made made a few attempts, and a few are still a good distance down the road. Without further delay:
So, there you have it. My short bucket list I hope to accomplish before retiring. As previously stated, to some degree I’ve accomplished some of them. Yet that doesn’t give me the freedom to stop. I have to keep going, I have to push forward, expanding on what I’ve just accomplished or start something new and exciting. Its just who I am.
So I’ve been going back and fourth with career direction. Simply put, my goal is to advance my career. As you get closer to the top the opportunities don’t simply open up and ask “hey I’ve got a career advancement sitting here, would you like to have it?” This isn’t rocket science, its not new, its not even revolutionary. To sum it up here’s a short list (everyone loves lists, right?) of ideas I’ve found useful to be recognized and promoted.
To gain that advancement it takes work (noticed I didn’t say hard work?). Simply working is not enough. You need to work smart, work at making things faster, better, cheaper. Working smart and making things better means saving the company time and money, in hopes of providing an improvement to the bottom line. A company makes money when they sell a product or service. You as an employee are considered an expense. When you work smart and and either increase company income or decrease your expense, your helping that symbiotic relationship between you and the company.
Many people seem to get the idea of speaking your mind mixed of with complaining. I’m not saying that complaining is bad, but it doesn’t really help much unless your following one of my other bullet points, Provide solutions to problems. Management doesn’t always see the full picture of their environment, they are busy managing. As an employee its our responsibility to take note and when something is happening that you feel either positive or negative about you should converse with your management and peers. Communication is key to not only a career but a company as a whole.
In today’s economy, despite people indicating that the rescission is over, companies are still not hiring. Why, well because they’ve been able to squeeze that extra headcount out of their existing employees. Many companies are still worried about a double dip rescission. Companies don’t want to hire employees just because times are good right now only to have to lay them off in 6 – 9 months because the economy took another hit. I can hear you now, “But I’m already overworked”. If that’s the case, I’m not suggesting you work yourself to death. There is no gain on either side if your overworked, stressed, and tired. What I’m suggesting is putting in 30 minutes to an hour a day, adding up to about 45 – 50 hours a week. I’ve found that some of my most productive times are in the morning in the office before everyone can come by wanting some water cooler talk. When you’ve had a moment to organize your day, deal with left over emails, and send out today’s correspondence; you will get noticed.
The easiest thing for us to do is to point out a weakness. It seems harder for us to find a solution to a given weakness or problem. So, next time you want to complain about this or that, before you do, try to come up with a few possible solutions for the complaint. When thinking of solutions, keep in mind the parties involved, any technical concerns, contractual or service level agreements that may affect various solution scenarios. You may surprise yourself and solve your own problems without having to involve others. Making a habit out of coming up with solutions helps everyone, but most of all it enables you to create an image of yourself as a problem solver. Employers enjoy knowing they have a workforce that can think for itself, having the ability to adjust and adapt to difficult situations.
In the previous section I talked about providing a solution to a problem or identified weakness. There are some instances where you just want to complain about something or someone. If you feel like this I must urge you to choose your words wisely. I would also urge you to have an alternative solution to your complaint prior to bringing this up with your peers and supervisors. The rule of thumb I use is, the first time the complaint is new and should be heard. The second time a complaint is made should be a follow up on any agreed on solutions from the first time the issue was brought up. The third time should be the last time the complaint is heard. If you’ve made it to the third time, something should change shortly thereafter. It is at this moment where I take it upon myself to either escalate the issue or simply solve the problem myself. There is nothing wrong with stating your mind; however, if you do it more than three times, you will find yourself being marked as a complainer or negative person.
The normal working shift is built up around 4 – 5 hours and then a short break, generally referred to as lunch, and then another 4 – 5 hours, ending the work day. The break in the middle of the day is your one chance to sit back, take a breath, and allow your brain to get caught up on problem solving. While your brain is working on the issues, I encourage you to enjoy your lunch. Treat yourself to something that is pleasing and tastefully stimulating. Studies have shown that of the three primary meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); lunch should be the where you re-fill your energy tank. So, eat up, enjoy that beef sandwich with onion marmalade! As you are wiping up your mess, start mentally compiling the remainder of your work day, re-prioritizing action items. By the way, try not to eat at your desk. There are several good reason for this but I feel top reasons are; one, its good to get up and walk around, stimulating blood flow. And two, it physically pulls you away from that task master, email (Oh and try to ignore your mobile device). Email is actually a considerable distraction preventing through thought processes from completing. After-all getting things done will get you noticed.
These steps may or may not work for you, but I can speak with confidence that used in moderation each step discussed above has helped me establish my current career.
My house was recently attacked by a vicious set of storms and accomplished to knock out the power for a little over 12 hours. Here are a few tips to help you and your stuff survive an extended power outage.