Group’s passion for Mopars brings them together; Sense of family keeps them together. August 2, 2009
Posted by Chris in Automotive Interests, Dodge Charger, Family & Friends, NJ Mopar Group, Observations.2 comments
They are insurance adjusters, general contractors, small business owners, teachers, information technology professionals, college students, truck drivers, police officers, and, of course, marketing proessionals. Members of the NJ Mopar Group come from all walks of life. Brought together by a common interest, their cars, the group’s membership stays together because of their relationships with each other. As Mopar enthusiast and Dodge Charger owner myself, I joined the group exactly a year ago after relocating to the Northeast from Texas. The 3 year old, 230 member New Jersey group is one of several sister clubs across the eastern seaboard of the United States, including the PA Mopar Group, as well as groups in Washington DC, Southern Maryland, and soon in New York all united under the Muscle Mopars Clubs of America banner. Collectively, the group sports a membership of more than 500 Mopar enthusiasts in the region.
The word “Mopar” originated in the 1930s as an acronym for “MOtor PARts”, the parts producing arm of the Chrysler Corporation. Enthusiasts who raced Chrysler products of any make over the years have come to refer to their vehicles “Mopar” products rather than by their individual names, Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge. Mopar owners boast that the acronym has multiple other meanings such as “My Own Pure Adrenaline Rush”.
I knew very quickly that the NJ Mopar Group was not a typical car group after attending one of the groups weekly “Meet and Greets”. The Mopar group recruits new membership by attending car shows and by hand distributing invitations to other Mopar owners, but it is through a series of “Meet & Greets” that take place on different nights throughout the week that prospective members really get a feel for the breadth and depth of the relationships that exist within the family-like organization. The group’s calendar, updated daily on their website, includes something for everyone: car shows, charity events, group modification weekends, family dinners, play dates for the children of the members, pool parties, and weekend overnight trips as a group. The kindred atmosphere is hard to miss. Whether cruising together to enjoy an ice cream cone or to attend a large regional car show, the group arrives for every event as a unified and impressive caravan of classic and late modeled Dodge Chargers, Challengers , Magnums, and Chrysler 300s representing a rainbow of colors that is as diverse as the membership itself. 
With military-like precision, the each vehicle, one-at-a-time, backs perfectly into its assigned space is a domino cascading manner that has become well-rehearsed over time. The doors open and trunks open , canopies are erected, soft drink coolers are placed, and lawn chairs are arranged before each family returns to their own Mopar to prepare it for show. It is not uncommon to see dad detailing the car, mom shining the interior, and the kids polishing the wheels. We are all, indeed, a stalwart assemblage of friends.
Giving back to the community is a key focus of each of the regional groups that reside under the Muscle Mopars of America umbrella. In August the regional groups will come together to host the 3rd Annual Muscle Mopar Bar-B-Q. Planned for Saturday, August 22nd at Spruce Run State Park in New Jersey, the event is open to all Mopar owners and their families from across the Northeast and will include a car show, homemade food, fellowship, and children’s activities, with all proceeds from the event benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
This weekend, the PA Mopar Group assisted sponsor High Horse Performance (HHP) to conduct a Welcome Home Day at the VA Hospital in Wilmington, DE for Afghanistan and Iraq troops. In its second year, the event was free to the public and, in addition to the car show, included a military band, police dogs, Air Force helicopter, and several events for children from face painting to games. We were surrounded by service members from every branch of the military, and from every generation. Many were escorted to the outside festivities only with their aid of their nurse and IV poles, and it was clear they were very glad to enjoy the short break from their personal recovery and circumstances to enjoy a day that was arranged just for them. 
Top honors at the car show were designated as “Memorial Awards” , each named after an armed services member who lost his or her life in Afghanistan and Iraq. The gesture gave each award very significant meaning and caused all of us to pause and think about what is really important in our lives: our freedom and our relationships with each other. I have never been more proud to be associated with my Mopar family than I was at this event.
These are challenging times for many people. Our lives are busier than they have even been in an economy that is impacting many families in ways they have never experienced. It’s easy to become so focused on survival – on getting through the day, on getting through the week – that you forget that there is a lot of strength that comes from being with others who share a 
common interest and joining together for common causes. The families that comprise our collective Mopar groups, whether from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York or elsewhere, are fortunate to have such a strong network of friends and counterparts, all united in our common passions that involve our cars and our communities, but also in our concern for each other.
Membership in the any of the Mopar Groups represented under the Muscle Car Clubs of America umbrella is open to all Mopar owners and enthusiasts.
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Are You Making Every Moment Count? June 12, 2009
Posted by Chris in Feel Good, Life, Observations, Ramblings.add a comment
Here are a few things that you would never say on your deathbed.
1) I’m really glad I managed to hold on to that grudge.
2) I’m really glad I played it safe and didn’t take any chances.
3) I should’ve told people I loved them much less than I did.
4) I’m glad I looked cool and never let anyone know how I felt.
5) I should’ve had less fun.
6) I should have spent more time at work.
7) I’m glad I pushed everyone away.
Are you making every moment of every day count??
And the next American Idol is…. May 21, 2009
Posted by Chris in Observations, Pop Culture, Ramblings, Television.add a comment
I don’t watch American Idol religiously. In fact, I only watch the last 4 or 5 weeks of the competition, and during that time I felt like Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Danny Gokey were the 3 best musicians in the group.
The more I watched Adam Lambert, the more I observed that he didn’t seem to have as much variety in his performances. He’s a good show man – a good concert musician if you like the whole makeup and tongue hanging out of a wide open mouth kind of routine. If there was a place to possibly scream in a song, he took it. To his credit, he can definitely scream in key, and KISS was definitely successful – in the 70s’ – but I started growing tired of the lack of variety in his performances.
I also started noticing the more well rounded abilities and voices of Danny Gokey and Kris Allen. They both seemed much more humble to me at the same time Adam seemed to be buying into and basking in the overblown praise that was being heaped on him every week by the judges. At the same time, Danny and Kris just seemed to showcase their own abilities, staying true to the musical rather than theatrical aspect of their talent.
So in the final competition it came down to two very talented people – - Adam was born to perform and has the confidence to excel on broadway or in Vegas, and Kris, who, though he doesn’t scream rock music, plays guitar and piano and can carry a vocal performance all by himself. In my mind, its about who is more radio-ready, and maybe even who is more mature. In the end, they are both have incredible talent and both can have terrific careers, but I think the right performer won American Idol.
My Blogosphere Mid-life Crisis May 17, 2009
Posted by Chris in Blogging, Observations, Ramblings.1 comment so far
I think I have had somewhat of a mid-life blogging crisis.
Maybe it was bound to happen. I have never been one for long-attention-span activities, like reading a book cover-to-cover, or doing my own income taxes. For almost two years I treated my blog as canvas on which to share my longer thoughts, ramblings, and ventings. It was much the cornerstone of my online presence, both from a visual and a written perspective.
Perhaps one reason I have not done too well, by my own estimation, with blogging is that I failed the first test of blogmanship: find a topic and stick to it. Travel. Automotive. Politics. Religion. Social Services. Technology. It seems that most of the successful blogs surround an overall topic or theme. That is not something I do well. There is so much to talk about and comment on that it is easy for me to lose focus.
When I set up this blog it was on a whim, without a whole lot of thought related to what I would do with it, what I would say, or what I wanted to achieve. I just wanted to have a place that was my own. Since that time the whole social networking landscape has progressed: FriendFeed, Twitter, and Facebook, all accessed from my iPhone, have changed the way I interact with the online world. I am not the only one.
It seems to me that as blogs became more mainsteam in 2006 and 2007, they have lost a lot of their charm. Blogs used to be highly personal, written by REAL people about their REAL thoughts. Many have since become professional or semi-professional writings about commercial projects and organized movements —not nearly as personal, not nearly as interesting.
So I am here to recommit to my blog. I had a lot of fun with it. There is time for Social Networking (Facebook), Micro-Blogging (Twitter) and the traditional Retro-Blogging. I am not setting a schedule. I am not setting rules, except that I will continue to break the first rule by not following a topic or an idea, or playing to any audience other than myself.
Feel free to come along. Or not.
I Remember Why I Like Marriott So Much November 11, 2008
Posted by Chris in Observations, Places, travel.2 comments
I am in Pittsburgh for a meeting tomorrow. I am fortunate to be associated with such an incredible team here in the Steel City and I always look foward to having the opportunity to visit with them. I am at my usual Marriott in Cranberry Township, PA , and here is what was waiting for me in my room when I checked in:
You can’t see it very well in this cell phone picture, but that is a couple of chocolate chip cookies and a small milk that was on ice. See, its the little things that make a difference. Contrast this experience to my experience at the Hyatt on Long Island and it is easy to see why I like Marriott so much.
Nevermind the fact that I can not and will not eat the cookies, it is the thought that counts! I am feeling pretty good tonight because of my weigh in results (27 lb loss as of today – I will update that page on my website when I get back home). I sure don’t want to screw that up! I found the seat on the plane was more comfortable than on my last flight just a few weeks ago, and the seatbelt had some slack that I have not been used to in a very long time. It’s the little victories folks.
So when I got to the hotel, there is an On The Border next door! I LOVE Tex-Mex and haven’t had it since I was in Texas, so I went over to the restaurant. No, I didn’t get my old favorite enchaladas, tacos, and the like – I ordered chicken fajitas without the tortillas! I was only able to finish half of the order, but it was good!
I started Vince Flynn’s newest book, Extreme Measures, on the plane and, after 100 pages, it is every bit as good as Vince’s previous ones. (Mel, don’t buy the book – Vince and I have ya covered (wink, wink).
Autumn Arrives at the Clark House September 21, 2008
Posted by Chris in 2008 in Review, Around the House, Feel Good, Hobbies & Interests, In the Neighborhood, Observations, Photo Blog, Tis the Season, Weather Report.3 comments
I will reserve judgement on Winters in New Jersey untill I actually have to experience a full season of the cold stuff, but so far, Fall gets a big thumbs up.
The trees are not quite ready to turn, but many of the shrubs are.
Give it another month or so and we will be into the full color change.
It’s finally cool enough for mums here – - I am just hoping that the deer don’t come through at night and eat them. Click on the thumbnails below to expand the pictures!
Decision 2008: Here is how I feel about the situation. August 23, 2008
Posted by Chris in Economy, Humor, In the News, Observations, Photo Blog, Political Cartoons, Politics.1 comment so far
Destination Hyatt. Not a Good Idea August 23, 2008
Posted by Chris in Observations, travel.2 comments
After a day train trip to Baltimore I made it back into the office around 7:00pm, just in time to meet up with Elizabeth so we could drive out together to Long Island, about 1.5 hours away. Making that drive during the day would be a 3 hour commitment easily, but traffic was not that bad going over the George Washington bridge, through the Bronx, and out onto the island. We had decided earlier in the week to stay overnight in Long Island rather so we would be there early the next morning for meetings.
The place has decent curb appeal, don’t you think? Don’t be fooled!!
When we pulled into our hotel we said to each other “Hmm, not a bad looking place.” While far from a road warrior, I do spend two or three nights a month in hotels. After a while you learn which ones to avoid. Note: Add this Hyatt on Long Island to the list of hotels to avoid at all costs!
We checked in and went to our rooms, and noticed the elevator was all beat up. On the 4th floor, the carpets were stained and there was an old microwave oven sitting in the middle of the hall. By now it was 9:30pm, and we were cranky, hungry, and tired, so we pushed through. Dropped luggage in the rooms and went down for dinner. $60.00 bucks later (and it wasn’t even a good hamburger), we each retire to our rooms.
I noticed the room was not as clean as I would have liked, but I was so tired, I crashed pretty hard. I work up several times during he night – hot, then cold, then itchy, then hot, then cold. But morning finally came.
It turns out, I wasn’t alone in my room.
There were little bugs crawling on the wall by my bed, on the ceiling, and on the night stand.
I started to look around even more now. The light of day brought out all sorts of revelations about the 215.00 room I was in.
By the coffee pot
Stains on the conforter on the second bed I wasn’t using
Black crap on the sheets in the bed I just slept in.
Do they EVER vacuum? I also found a cash register receipt dated June 2007 (Yes, 2007!!) wadded up on the floor by the nightstand.
More nasty floors
Real inviting, huh?
The hallway outside of my room
Picture of the stairs – - because the elevator didn’t work. We were trapped on the 4th floor and had no choice but to take the emergency stairs.
The bathroom was just as bad. The bathtub, intended to be white, was more of a gray in color. The sink would barely drain.
Needless to say, I did visit with the front desk manager who did apologize and I believe may have even credited the room for the night (mine, not Elizabeth’s). And to be fair, she did seem concerned, but she did not seem surprised.
There is no way anyone can make be believe that management of a property like this doesn’t know these things are going on. A simple inspection of the rooms ont he property would reveal these things. Bugs are never limited to one or two rooms. Lack of cleanliness of this type is not isolated. It has to be a property-wide problem.
I am aware of the things that go on in the hotel industry, and I don’t drink out of the glasses in the room as a result. Things can go wrong in any establishment, but this experience will definately cause me to think twice before staying at any Hyatt property ever again, and I will NEVER stay at the Hyatt on Long Island again!
$3.59/gal for Regular July 30, 2008
Posted by Chris in Observations.1 comment so far
…on my way in to work today. And full service at that! See, there REALLY IS a benefit to living in the Northeast.
Keeping it Real July 19, 2008
Posted by Chris in Life, Observations.3 comments
I have been posting entries to my website, MySpace, and my blog for about a year and a half now. I pretty much post whatever it is I am thinking about or experience – kinda letting the spirit take me in whatever direction. I have such good friends and visitors to this site and I have never had any issues with rogue comments. Until today. Today I received the most hateful message posted from someone I hope I don’t know, and I instantly deleted it from the blog. As soon as I pressed “delete” I regretted it.
I have never waivered on free speech. I have always felt strong about resisting moderation of speech in society, yet I just did something that I have always deplored. I guess I feel so strongly about open communications because the world is already censored and digitized. Every day we see words polished and positioned to market us to do and think in ways that are predictable to those who are spending the money to seduce us.
So, for now on, if anyone comes on my site and goes off like a nut job, their posts will remain for all to see and judge. I am not going to freak out , but just accept it for what it is. Hopefully by just taking it for what it is will help me learn more about myself. It simply doesn’t matter what other people think about is. Its completely and totally irrelevant to living our own lives and experiencing freedom beyond our own imaginations. And here is the good news. Evil minded people are few and far between. I’ve had one bad experience in a year and half which tells me that the vast majority of people are kind, gentle, and compassionate.
The lesson? Don’t close your heart when you are scared off by someone who is absorbed in themselves. Instead, turn away and seek friendship elsewhere. You are worth it, you deserve it.
Things I have observed about my new environment July 11, 2008
Posted by Chris in Observations.3 comments
Here are some of the observations I have three months after leaving Texas and settling in New Jersey.
What they have here
Wendys. Everywhere.
HESS gas stations
Lots of Hybrids
Tons of speed cops
Less expensive homeowner’s insurance
Only one trash day a week
Basements
Deer and Black Bears
What they do not have here
Chevron
Super Wal-Marts and Targets
Big Grocery stores.
7-11s
Brick Homes. Most everything under $1 mil has siding
Ozarka Bottled Water
Pioneer brown gravy mix
Martha White Cornbread Mix
Grits
Decent morning radio
Full Service Car Washes are hard to find
SUVs
Wolf Brand Chili
Ranch Style Beans
Things that I miss:
Central time zone
Lake Whitey (Arrowhead, of course)
Dallas area tv news anchors
Good Tex Mex Food. They think Baja Fresh is Mexican food. Blah.
Country Music
Driving fast
My neighborhood
Grocery carts that don’t require you to deposit a quarter
Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepepr
Things I won’t miss:
The Texas heat
Hwy 360 in Arlington
Having to water the yard every day
Apartments over my back fence
Things I like:
Being close to “The City”
Trains
Full-Service Gas Stations – You don’t have to pump your own gas here
Continental Airlines (the people at American were starting to get pretty rude)
Bald Eagles
All of the trees
Things I don’t like:
Newark Airport
Taxi drivers who honk
The sun coming up at 4:30am.
Cost of living. Holy Cow! $$$$$. It’s crazy.
You have to rent shopping carts at the grocery store for a quarter.
(I think I mentioned that – - still mad about it)
People are often – - not rude, but perhaps “Rushed” is the word – mostly in New York, not NJ.
Black Bears in the trash
Cancer May 21, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations.add a comment
It seems like so many people I know are being attacked by this devastating disease. I want to pass this along:
Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins Medical Center
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not
show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few
billion.When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer
cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable
to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s
lifetime.
3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be
destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental,
food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and
including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and
also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,
gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver,
kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages
healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce
tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not
result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation
the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can
succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become
resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also ca use cancer cells to
spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not
feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important
food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet,
Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better
natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour.
Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and
substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic
and it is best to eat fish, and a little chi cken rather than beef or pork.
Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites,
which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains,seeds, nuts
and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment.About
20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide
live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels
within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain
live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice
(most vegetables including bean sprouts)and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3
times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40
degrees C).
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine.Green tea is
a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to
drink purified water , or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals
in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive
enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and
leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or
eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of
cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer
cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence,Essiac,
anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own
killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are
known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal
method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and
positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger,
unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic
environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax
and enjoy life.
What does the future look like? April 20, 2007
Posted by Chris in Blogging, Observations, Technology.add a comment
I found this to be extremely eye-opening. There were tons of facts in here that I didn’t know, much of it very thought provoking indeed.
Rain March 29, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations.Tags: friends, jason, spring, storms, weather
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Okay, I said I was thankful for rain. I still am, but enough is enough. 5 inches in 2 hours is not a good thing. Jason was planning to spend the weekend here competiting in a BMX event, but he is stuck on a runway in Wisconsin trying to get here.
I just heard from Mel at Arrowhead and she said that never in the 8 years that they have owned the resort have they had so much rain at one time – 6 inches in an hour. I guess we will have to retract her blog entry from last weekend.
What are you doing every day? March 23, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations.add a comment
APPROXIMATELY:
Your heart beats 103,689 times.
Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles.
You breathe 23,040 times.
You inhale 438 cubic feet of air.
You eat 3 ½ pounds of food.
You drink 2.9 pounds of liquid.
You lose in weight 7.8 pounds of waste.
You perspire 1.43 pints.
You give off heat at 85.6 degrees F.
You turn in your sleep 25-35 times.
You speak about 48,000 words.
You move 750 major muscles.
Your nails grow .000046 inch.
Your hair grows .01714 inch.
And you exercise 7,000,000 brain cells with each thought.
Did you have any idea you were so busy all day?
Life Focus March 8, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations, Spiritual Life.add a comment
I realize that a fair amount of controversy surrounds Tony Robbins, particularly relating to his multi-day seminars and workshops. While I am not moved to attend one of bsi workshops after listening to him for 90 minutes at a recent company rally, the experience has caused me to look within myself and confess that I do not stretch myself enough.
What I mean by that is that I have not visualized and focused enough on the outcome I want for the future. Professionally, financially, in my relationships with others, and spiritually, I have an awareness of what I want to achieve, but not a pure focus and certainly not a plan.
As Tony Robbins says, “where your focus goes, your energy flows,” and I believe that to be true. For Robins, there are questions everyone should ask themselves about their destiny. The first one is “what are you focused on and what does it mean to you.?” Its easy to allow your focus to be constrained by events and circumstances – things that present mental barriers/ Robbins uses the example of a young, black teenage girl, sexually abused by a family member and, at the age of 15, already having had a miscarriage. Rather than being controlled by her circumstances, that young teenage woman, Oprah Winfrey, made a decision that would change her life forever. It wasn’t her circumstances that would prevent her from succeeding, but her decisions that created a whole new life of opportunities for her.
Most of us don’t have the obvious obstacles in our lives that Oprah faced at a young age, but I think we are probably held back just the same because we don’t recognize these events in our lives for what they are – simply events and circumstances – not defining moments. We give events more power in and over our lives than they deserve to have. It is the decisions about how we deal with circumstances or events create defining moments.
Yet, simply focusing on an outcome isn’t enough. The hardest question is “what are you going to do about it?’ Wow. That means “action”, right? That means a plan. Commitment. Focus on your outcome and what it means to you to achieve it, and then how you’re going to get there. This sounds so basic as I type these words – so elementary.
How many people truly go through their day-to-day lives with a clearly defined focus on what they want to achieve (and how they will achieve it) in every area of their lives? How many people approach their vision with fun and passion, rewarding themselves along they way for their accomplishments?
Affiliate with other high achievers February 23, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations, Spiritual Life.add a comment
A friend of mine suggested this to me. Thanks Jason.
“Who surrounds you?
“Quick, get out a piece of paper, and a pen. Write down the people you have spent time with recently – like in the past day, or even 2-4 days – (either on the phone, or in person):
“Now, look for the themes, the topics, the energy you get looking over that list. Starting at the top, did speaking or spending time with them uplift you? Did you smile while you were together or when you talked? Did they ask you hard questions? Did they encourage you?
“I’ve made a point, over the past few years, to specify the types of relationships in which I am willing to participate. I love it when, at the end of spending time with someone, I can walk away and say to myself: I am glad they are in my life.”
A Special Welcome February 19, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations, Real Estate.1 comment so far
Last month I took a quick trip to Milwaukee to work on some final preparations before relaunching a new website for my company. The folks there at The Enterprise are always so nice to me. Today I was clearing out my digital camera and found this picture of a board I took while I was there. Thanks to Elaine for the great welcome.
I’m Ready to Dig Back In February 11, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations.1 comment so far
I’ve been off for a week. Even though I enjoyed the down time, a little bit of time off goes a long way for me. I am ready to dig back in to my routine.
When I have been away from my office for a period of time, whether its for a business trip or vacation, I find myself really missing the quality people that I work with.
I am blessed to have a role where I am given the opportunity to both follow and to lead some pretty fantastic talent. I think about some of the well known people who have not handled the success of their employees very well. Tiger Woods recently fired his longtime caddy, Fluff Cowan. The Donald seemed to be a little threatened by Caroline, enough that he replaced her with his own daughter. Even Rudy Giuliani, known for his own leadership and mentoring, parted company with his acclaimed police commissioner, William J. Bratton.
I am reminded of something that a management professor once said. “A boss either basks in the reflected glory of a successful employee he has mentored, or engages in ‘upward social comparison’ and views his employee’s success as diminishing his own.”
I am fortunate that the mentors I have had in my life have always pushed me to greater heights than I ever thought possible, and I hope that I am humble and sufficiently self assured that I provide that same type of leadership to my own team.
Back to Reality February 10, 2007
Posted by Chris in Observations.Tags: chris, cruise, travel
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We are back home from our cruise and a good time was had by all.
My first reality check was when I logged into email and up pops several bill reminders:
Ugggggg. Well, I will entertain any and all volunteers to pay my car lease so I can go ahead and pay for the next cruise now.
Unfortunately the rest of the world didn’t stop while we were gone, but if the only thing we missed were bills, Anna Nicole Smith drama, presidential candidates, bad decisions about future Dallas Cowboy coaches, and diaper-wearing astronaught love triangles, I think we were doing pretty good in our week of ignorant bliss.
Back to the real world!
