When you need real, substantial, or actual advice, where do you go? Who do you speak with or maybe a better question, what is your Google search for good advice. Is it the sort of situation where you can add words like "actual" or "serious" to the front of your query to make Google give you hits that don't include yahoo answers or ask.com anything. I wish it were so.

Good advice is hard to find. It's hard to hear too. I think sometimes it's a timing issue. People will say something and I'm like, yep, that's good advice. So it's not that I asked the right question but heard something when I was looking for it.

Perhaps I'll start a search engine that only gives good advice. Or maybe I'll just start listening more, that's a more rational idea.

begining... perspective

Perspective is important. It has come up a lot lately and I want to mention a thing or two about it. First, it takes time to acquire. Watching college students at Penn State riot about loosing their football coach reminded me of that. Its not that they're in the wrong, I just wonder what they actually get all anxious about. Define it and I'll consider it. If you say it's "the man", then I'll probably ask you to redefine it.

It's also hard to have perspective without the benfit of time. I had to consider my own actions after reading David Brookings NYT article about the very same topic (Penn State). Find it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/opinion/brooks-lets-all-feel-superior.html

And finally, I have to remember that over the next 10 months as my fiance and I step ever closer to our wedding day. When it gets particularly tangle-y and I'm worked up about what color the napkins are, I hope I can find it in myself to step back and keep it in perspective. My friend Clark gave me that advice today, and I'd like to follow it.

Scary geometric hallway

What a sidewalk map says about your community

I took a trip to LA the other week for an appointment and had some spare time when I was there. I am interested in an MBA so I set out to find the business school, get some information and feel about.

I am currently grazing the tip of the iceberg in my search for a school. I'm at the point where I am not sure what to ask beyound, do you guys have an MBA program. What matters to me? Who do I need to surround myself with? Where, what structure, should it be a great school in most areas or have a niche.

Ithe culture is extrodinarily important to me too. Flash forward, Matilda and I have been discussing culture lately and I have determined that it is very important to me. It is the very core of an orgnization and serves as the basis for all ideas, actions and eventual sucesses.

Wth that bit of knowledge in my hands, I want to point out that UCLA does not have maps on its campus. I'm not talking about they just have a few maps, they don't have any maps, none. Not inside buildings, not on pamplets by the door, nowhere. Walking around this suburban campus for half an hour totally lost I got to thinking. What does this say about this school and the people that attend it? If the administrators make the very deliberate decision to not include them it must be because nobody would look at them or use them. To take it one step further what does it say about a student body that is not willing to get lost, aknowledge that and try to figure it out in plain view or everyboy on a sidewalk map?

To me it says that people don't want to make the often embarrassing step of saying I'm lost, I need help or I don't know everything.

I don't think a school that thinks that way is right for me.

May I add a counter point. Maybe the administrators knew the student body was so outgoing that they figured anybody that was indeed lost would just ask a friendly pedestrian and directions and assistance would be a more human process. But I doubt that.

Ce

A point made

City chase 2009

More thoughts

So I get it. The peanut guys want you to buy the product for the game and so they put sports players on the front. But not a baseball player where you actually eat peanuts in the shell? I'm just sayin...
Also a black basketball player and a white hockey player seems like rather bland packaging. How about you switch it around and make people notice. At the very least your product will be talked about and perhaps they will be compelled to buy more of it.

Consider that

That's like saying stay 6 blocks behind me. It just seems excessive.

Trashy beer signs

Do you remember the first time uncle bob took you to the tavern in (insert middle American town here) when you were thirteen? Inevitably there was a long bar, Linda or was it Betty was smoking at the back doing the books and Uncle Bob's golfing buddies were all belly up? You noticed the loud guy probably drinking EJ and cokes while his tee time buddy Sam was milking Amstels. But what really caught your 13 year old attention was the novel beer signs. Even today 10, 15, 20 years on they catch your eye and bring you to a better place.

Here's to the beer sign designers of the 1970's and 80's, you provide hours of uninterrupted entertainment.

Time

Breath, just for a moment... relax, breath again. Stop reading. Breath...

There, that's where I want you to be. I've got time, how about you?

Our lives are caught up in what we do every day. The need to get there and do that or run to make that train or catch this dinner party with that person. It's appointment and deadlines, time crunches and little snippets like EOD, EOW or simply 'by 5 o'clock'.

I'm one of those people. I love chaos and deadlines and the feeling you get when you're pushing to produce under the gun and then you realize you're going to need to push a little more, and you do. I am one of those people and I value those types of people that operate like me.

But with all of that - the fluttering and the flurry - I have come to enjoy my time that is not like that. When the clock stops moving or I just stop paying attention to it. When dinner is simmering and the phone has gone dead and all that lies between you and responsibility is 1, 2 or 10 hours (although I do think a week is best).

I sat and watched my Chili simmer on the stove last night and read a sophisticated magazine. It was wonderful. No need to do much more, I had no where to be and no one to see and it made me realize that those moments are as important as the busy ones when I'm meeting deadlines.

As I sat there, I looked at my magazine and realized for the first time in two months how much I enjoyed learning from it. In fact over the course of the last two months I had forgotten why I had subscribed to it in the first place.

I may have even made a promise to myself last night. It think it went like this: take a night off, do it every week. Intentionally leave a massive gaping hole in your schedule and make the time something sacred.

I think it will help me be more chaotic.

Discrimination

I was with a group of my friends this past week. Collectively we did a nice job of representing the entire spectrum of attached status; single, married, and separated. We got to talking about things and someone mentioned that they felt that their recent marriage has given them a renewed feeling of respect and prestige in the office. He went on to say that his colleague have actually started to put more faith in him now that he put a wedding ring on.

He's only been married a 3 weeks!

So the theory plainly stated is that married people (or is it just married men) get more respect around the office. Furthermore, being married adds unsubstantiated legitimacy to you and your work.

I couldn't agree more.

As a young professional in a service industry, I am constantly judged on appearance and performance which is totally normal and acceptable. In business, you are selling a product and the image that surrounds it. In a service industry, you are that product and thus you are the image. Fine. But what has caught me off guard is that being married or wearing a ring is part of that. You are discriminated against for being single.

But what's the thinking behind it? Are you demonstrating commitment and people assume you are willing to "go all the way"? Is it a maturity thing - where your marriage connotates your heighten understanding of "things"? Or is it that misery loves company and fellow married people are all memebers of a club that the singles don't "get"? Or does this get filed into the unexplained file to be solved later?

Regardless of why or how, single people should just resign themselves to the fact that if and when they get married they too will judge single people and do everything they can to trample on them, steal their ideas, and make their lives miserable. That's cool.

Misery really does love company.

Prognosis rain

Shoe Laces and time management

Your shoe laces can tell you a lot about yourself. In my case, I believe they tell me that I'm willing to stop what I'm doing and invest my time and energy into something to get it done or make it right. Before you get totally lost, let me explain.

The other morning, I was getting ready for work. The last piece of my 'fit' is always a pair of shoes. As a slight shoe aficionado (I said slight!) I appreciate what I put on my feet and I want to make sure they are in good working order. This particular morning I was putting on a pair of shoes and I saw that the laces had been pulled so that one end was significantly longer than the other. The shoe was tie-able in the current state but it was clear that it wasn't quite right.

It was at this moment that I had a couple options. I could have kept going, tied the shoe and dealt with it later. Or, I could have stopped, unlaced the shoe and corrected the imbalance. I chose the latter and fixed the lace.

By fixing the lace when I saw the problem I was trying to reinforce a time management practice that I have recently picked up. The idea is if you need to do something that takes less than 2 minutes, do it now. If it takes more than 2 minutes, list it, prioritize and make time to deal with those things appropriately.

I'm not going to sit here and say that I always take this route. I would like to think I do, but I get lazy like everyone else, but I do believe I try to do it a majority of the time.

When I see something that can be fixed quickly, I try to take the initiative to get it done quickly. I'm not looking for praise or credit, I just want to be known over the long haul as someone who gets it done and gets it done well.

What are your time management practices?

Walking to work

I walk to work via a rather unbeaten path. While most people hop a train or bus to the loop I traverse a more industrial part of town, complete with loading docks, industrial butchers, active railroad crossings and the occasional abandoned lot. It goes without saying that I feel tough that I walk to work this way. I feel especially hardened when I walk by the guy who's job it is to take the cut up pieces of meat out to the dump truck that hauls them away.

But one of my favorite things on my walk is when I cross paths with a train. It doesn't happen everyday, it might not even happen every week, but from time to time I have to stop and wait as a freight train ambles past me.

The iron horse and I made nice this morning and I was able to snap this photo. This was a particularly interesting encounter because there was danger and I enjoy danger of all sorts.

Anyway, I was walking along the tracks, listening to the J. Period Fugees Remix album with my head down when I looked up and saw the freight train coming at me. Quick, like a cat, I hopped to the side and watched as the train went by. This crossing as you may be able to see doesn't have crossing gates just the lights and bells. I think its neat that there is such train activity in Chicago. It was a city born out of that industry and continues to be a huge part of the commerce.

It was close, the train almost got me, but I made it... now, back to my desk job.

Sometimes it's what you don't say

As I've grown older, I've come to realize that the most powerful things you can say to a person are sometimes never spoken. When a conversation takes place and you are able to insert ideas and truth between the lines you get beyond the limitation the words place on your ultimate meaning and give your audience the power of inferring what it is you are saying.

If you continue this argument with the belief that your imagination is one of the most powerful tools you have, then would it not be correct to assume that letting your audience use theirs to capture the full meaning of what you say would make your message that much stronger?

There are a lot of ancillary conclusions that you can draw from this idea, but the one that comes to mind most readily is to never underestimate your audience. When given the opportunity to hear what you say and form their own opinions around your words, you will inevitable have a more powerful and lasting impact on them.

I opened this piece with the classic "as I've grown older" adage and I stick by it. I think this is a skill that comes with maturity (read: age). Allowing yourself to let the conversation unfold; being a patient communicator is the only way to effectively insert unspoken meaning.

Being a strong communicator, then, is as much about what you say as it is about what you don't say...

...and you have to listen.

Should you always have a plan B?

Everything is going right, you love your work and you've worked hard to get there. You may imagine yourself doing something else down the road, but for the moment, you are perfectly content. But with your professional life just where you want it, is it reasonable to be wondering what you would do if it all fell apart tomorrow?

I think the answer is yes. I think it's important to always be thinking about the 'what if'' scenario and have at least a basic idea of where you might go and what you might do if you got thrown out of your office tomorrow.

This thought process doesn't illustrate disloyalty, it's more a recognition that your employer is not beyond failure. It also is a understanding that you, like everyone else is totally expendable. be clear gente, everyone, has a replacement.

I always have my resume around. I love what I do and I love working where I do, but I can't be so naive as to think I'll be here for life. How does your resume look, right now?

Networking

I was caught by surprise this morning by an email from a past colleague reaching out to network with me. It was unexpected because of the way this guy came in and went out of my life. Abrupt - in a word: there were no visible signs from my perspective that foreshadowed a split. But regardless of how someone comes or goes, I welcome these moments. It's an opportunity to recall past friends and co-workers and evaluate for a moment your relationship with them and how you can help them.

As I write this post, I begin to think about all the other people that I have been networking with in the last 5 months. 2009 has been a tough year for many people professionally. Jobs have been lost, career paths altered and a sense of foundation that many once took for granted has been shaken. When a person begins to see the proverbial cracks in the dam I think it's both natural and intelligent to start building a stronger more diversified community around them.

With the proliferation of LinkedIn and Facebook, even the ease with which you can zip your resume around to your contacts via email, make networking that much easier, but I think it doesn't replace the value of getting in front of someone and have an actual conversation. When given the option; get in front of someone, take the meeting, buy someone a cup of coffee. Getting to know someone in the flesh I have found, goes a long way to really begin to understand them.

I love to meet people, everyone has a story... you just have to ask a lot of questions to figure it out sometimes.

So here's a question, is networking a learned skill or are you born with it? I think the finer points of networking are learned (regardless of who you are, practice makes you better), but I don't know if the foundational desire/need/ability to meet and connect with people is learned or given. What do you think?

Hawks pride

This one made me smile. Such a subtle endorsement of our sports teams. Nice series win Hawks, let's go to it again.
Go Blackhawks!

Instant History/Architecture Tour

I wish there was a way to walk down the street, enter the address of a particular building and receive a full rundown of the property, complete with stories, anecdotes and other significant information from its history. (Yes, yes I'm sure there is an iphone app for that, but lets get serious, it would be awesome

I was on my bike this morning and saw this building on the edge of Chicago's River North. It's huge and it's right next to the downtown area. It almost touches the river so you would think that it dealt in water-way commerce at some point. Common to many building of this style there is always a family or company name displayed prominently. I would love to know what happened there. How it contributed to the city's economic growth over the last 150 years. Did the place ever burn down? Were there union riots? Was it a one time gangster hide out?

Today these building often are utilized as loft style condos or hip office buildings. It's a nice way to recycle an old building to reflect the needs of business. We aren't all yarn dealers or textile merchants so turn the old buildings into software developer hubs or consultancy hang outs. But would it hurt to throw a plaque out front that gives me the run down on what the building was built for, when, by whom, and an exciting history of its place in Chicago history?

WSJ.com - Opinion: Chrysler and the Rule of Law

WSJ.com - Opinion: Chrysler and the Rule of Law* A really really good article. Brings to light some really strong points.

It runs in the family

I am always fascinated by those stories of twins separated at birth that get reunited 30 years later and discover that they have been living such similar lives. It always makes me wonder what life would be like with a twin. I think it would be mischievous and comforting to know that someone could always relate to your situation so thoroughly.

The other day my brother came back home from his foreign endeavors to visit the family and catch up. A lot of good stories were traded, we laughed a lot, and drank some good Russian vodka to wash it all down. At some point during his visit, the talked turned world communications and technology. He and I are always on a quest for the one device that does everything for you (and is free). We are sure it's out there we just need to find it. Anyway, I was messing with his shady, stolen, hacked BlackBerry that he picked up in China and asking him questions about the recent quest developments. Being an avid Berry users I also appreciate how people use their device and the unique styling they add to make it their own.

As I looked down at his, however, I was totally caught by surprise to see that he had a very distinct worn down spot on the back of his Berry in exactly the same place that I do.

This wear is a result of spinning the BlackBerry on its back enough to wear down the plastic. I do this incessantly but have never met another person that does. Well, until I saw my brother's phone. I was very please to see that even 7,000 miles away he and I share some common bonds.
This observation made me think of twins separated at birth stories. It shows too that family genes are a strong bond - stronger than you think.

c.e.

When the Cubs play .500 ball

Is it bad to ask the Cubs to play at about .500 for the rest of the season? Yes, it is, but for selfish reasons, I think it's a good idea. Here's why.

I enjoy going to baseball games. I, in fact, really enjoy it. The energy, the rhythm, the sounds and sunshine, they all add something to the experience that makes a day at Wrigley quite amazing. I bet it's the same at many outdoor parks in the league, but since Wrigley is my own and I haven't gone to many other parks, I know little else.

So naturally, I try to get to as many games as I can. Last year I smashed all C.E. personal records and hit about 20 games. But as you may recall, the Cubbies were good in 2008. Right down to the wire we were juggling first place with the Brewers (disclaimer: I don't know if that's true, but I was led to believe it so I'll assume it is fact). As we head into August and September and the Cubs continue to hold the attention of the city ticket prices rise and fans get 'dumber'.

No longer is it possible to walk up at 1:10 and get two choice tickets for the 1:20 matinee. Instead that clown from Schaumburg is paying premium to get into the game raising pricing for all us neighborhood folk (I don't mind Schumburg, it was just stream of consciousness and I moved out of the neighborhood in September so I'm really a poser anyway).

When they play average baseball then there is less interest and fewer people trying to get tickets. Of course I expect them to win every game I'm attending, but that's besides the point.

Oh and the Cubs Win song, Go Cubs Go, I love it!

c.e.

Wedding Register Shopping

I was invited to go on a small adventure yesterday afternoon - Wedding Registery Shopping. If you've ever had a sugar daddy, won a shopping spree or found use of a stolen credit card, you may be able to relate to my experience. Otherwise, allow me to let you in on a little secret. Buying stuff you don't have to buy with real money is awesome! (post on credit crisis coming soon!)

When will you ever get to take a magic red gun, walk all over a big box store and just scan with abandonment till your finger falls off or your gun runs out of batteries. Never, it just won't happen unless you're Jay-Z.

When my dear friend LJet asked me to go with her, I jumped at the chance. This isn't really the territory for dudes but I'm always up for a new and unique experience. We met at Target after work , got our magic red gun from the nice lady at the front counter and then plotted our course.

Our plan: a quick lap around the rather underwhelming first floor and then a concentrated effort on 2 where we were sure to strike gold.

Scan one: A welcome mat. Nice find LJet! We were presented with several options but we thought that this one said Welcome better than the rest. Boom.














2. Toilet paper - Scan it!
Red thin belt - Skip it (whoa that was close!)

We spent no less than 20 minutes matching the shower curtain to the towels, to the floor mat, to the hand towels. LJet, you don't even know what color the place will be yet. Scan it.

3. 6 towels
4. 4 hand towels
5. 1 shower curtain
6. 2 bath mats (shag and short)





Beyond bath we hit bedding then over to small appliances.
7. quesadilla maker (escanear por favor)
rice cooker (skip it)

And quickly ended up in kitchen.
8. apple core'er (this is why she brought me along)
9. beverage tub
10. strainer

The find of the day was a 6 foot foldable table perfect for hosting parties and playing games with beverages.
26. 6 ft table (scan of the day)

Leaving Target after only an hour of work (a land speed record) we felt like we had done what we had set out to do. We only added about 30 items to the registry but we subscribe to quality over quantity.
Wedding Registry Shopping was fun. I think if I was with my significant other getting ready for my own wedding it would be a totally different experience. Also, if this had lasted all Saturday afternoon instead of 1 hour on a Monday night, I think it it would begin to suck.

But we had fun... and that's why we play the game.

Intelligent Security

I appreciate this. You the home owner are making a simple statement to any would be burgler of the state of things. I suppose that would not necessarily stop a really tenacious crook but for those high class cat burglers they might find another window or better yet, a different home to enter forcefully. So my question gente, what are some of the more creative burgler deterrents you've seen out there?
C.e.

Hallmark Holidays - Mother's Day

The facts are that this Sunday, Mother's Day, is a totally fabricated holiday. There is a lot of grumbling from the non-mothers of the world about what they need to get their mother to show appreciation and how much its going to set them back. These are legitimate grumblings because it's going to cost you - if you're thinking in the vein in the first place.

But there are ways around this wallet emptying . Take the time to appreciate your mother all year long.

Everybody has a different relationship with their mother. Some talk everyday on the telephone, others on Sunday afternoons, and there are those that can never find the time to even say hello. To each their own, but taking the time to spend time with your mother periodically - honest, unselfish time - will reduce the need and sense of pressure to spend buku bucks for Mother's Day.

I can't say where I fall in this spectrum, but I will say that I want to fall into the spend more time, spend less money category. What if we made Mother's Day Resolutions, like a New Years Resolution? Much the same as that often made, seldom kept January 1st promise to yourself, what if you made (and kept) a promise in the name of your mother to do something positive for her or for yourself?

While I think about what that Mother's Day Resolution might be, I will be looking around for something to get her that will make her feel good about herself and give back some of what she continues to give to me. It will probably cost me a lot of money... baby steps.

c.e.

Full length

I just couldn't resist. Not sure if its a throw-back nostaglic experience or a convenience but I just wanted to share - what a great find!

Nice work Matilda

Mass transit - the case for it

I have yet to be convinced that taking your four wheeler to work is a better deal than the train or the bus. If your office mate is a corn field, you have reason. However there are countless folks, working in the city that just don't do the math. Convenience, heavy loads, time crunch - I've heard them all. But really gente, why is that?

Wednesday rain

There's something great about spring thunderstorms. Reminds me of my childhood.

multimedia

Matilda's car turned a cool 100,000 April 16, 2009.

Mobil blogging

Team,
Still trying to expand my options with this blog, I want to be able to post as I am moving. Let's give it a try.
Btw. Setup seems rather straight forward. I fiddled with the settings on the blog and came up with this.

Let's see,
c.e.

Welcome to The Community Around Me

Hi,
Welcome to The Community Around Me - a blog. I have no idea why this began today but it seemed like a great idea. Thank you for being a part of it. I want to point out that I have no clear idea where it will take me or what it will used for but I felt that I had to begin now and figure that out later.
You'll see pictures and learn ideas and more than anything else participate in discussion about the community around me.

I hope it changes often and provides an opportunity to think critically about the things in your community.

Lets begin,
c.e.