Tie me up with your ties Ty.

You know when you put on a pair of jeans after a long summer of shorts, jorts, and nakedness? Feels odd but good in a way. The denim snug against your skin reminding you that there are parts of your body you dont see butt are still there. The blue skin is cool and you feel...I dont know, skinnier? Healthy? American. I feel American. Blue jeans, John Cougar, and PBR. 'merica!

I put on a suit complete with tie the other day. I will tell more later but suffice to say it was odd but in a good way. There, of course, are all the 'suit' stereotype issues that afront one right away: The Man telling you what to do, drug testing for a job that has you typing power point presentations all day long, low walled cubes covered in cheap, blue carpet that smell like beer farts, and the incessant phone ringing with people sporting stupid questions that have to be answered right now and always followed up with a flaming email. ugh. I just threw up in my mouth.

But. but. There are good things too. Usually, and again stereotypically, a suit and tie, formal garb, implies that a little bit of money is being made. More money, probably, than you are making. The tie, though tight, can be tied in a crisp, neat way. Embellishment with tie tacks, tie bars, clips and what not. Maybe a pin that shows you care about breast cancer, or are a mason, or think America should be worn on one's chest to ward off any McCarthy types seeking Communists. The pants just hang there. There is are pockets but hell if you put something in them. The keys, the gum packet, the pen poke right out indicating something special about you from far away that you really hadn't intended to communicate.

Ah, so much more. SO little time this morning. But...

I've got a secret for you. Some women know it well. Carrie from Sex in the City could expound it into a tome of enormous proportions. Look at the person's shoes. I bet you will find 90% of the time the shoes are cheap, dull, and ill-fitting. See the shoes, assess them, apply the dull, the cheap, the fake veneer worn through onto the suit. Know that we are all the same just some are unfairly compensated more for ridiculous employment.

Cheers.

A price for friendship

How can you put a price on friendship?

Well, you can't. Or rather, you shouldn't. That's a pretty normal thing to say, right? I recently encountered a situation, though, that is putting that commonly accepted ideal to test. I helped friends move.

I know, I know, I know. Stupid, right? How many times have I joked about a possible situation where someone asks, "Hey...you have a truck, right?" And I respond with, "Yeah, and you can borrow it whenever you would like." It’s an easy out to any number of possible heavy lifting, time consuming, friendship busting issues. It is a witty repose that in theory sums up my (wished for) attitude nicely. But in the real world, I am not that person. I like to help people. I enjoy it, almost perversely so. The tougher requests placing hardship upon me are more likely to be accepted. On the plus side: stronger relationships are born from hardship rather than easy going, beer swilling times. On the negative side: your subcontractor may play and prey upon you to your fiscal detriment placing you in a Maslow-like hardship where your every wish is now for him to burn in hell. A hypothetical example. ahem.

And yes, I know I know, moving is a process fraught with tension, sweat derived arguments, and stink eye moments. Happy happy, joy joy for the excitement of a new start in a new place never supersedes this is freaking heavy and the arse on the other end of the couch is scrapping the wallllll!!!!! Why risk a great friendship over the benefits of helping a friend move? Because they really need it. And if it is that type of friendship, you would do almost anything to help them out.

So after two long days of Mr. Fix-it Up as best as possible, eleven hours of heavy lifting, and thirty hours of driving, I sit here happy knowing my good friends are well on their way to realizing a ten-year dream: living in the place they love filled with hope and opportunity. And I wish them well.

And if they come calling about another move in the future...I will gladly answer the call.

The speed of smell

from an older story as yet unplublished....

Working at the speed of smell

One of the most damning frustrations in my line of work is wait time. It seems that excitement and sense of urgency never line up with the availability of material, labor, or money. Dealing with this frustration has translated into a maturity that I had not considered or even knew to know about as I plod the entrpreneural tundra.

Have you heard,"The squeeky wheel gets the oil" or any number of other variants? I am not a fan of being squeeky. I like to get in line like everyone else. I like being treated like everyone else. We are all in this together and we all learned fairness on the playground. But in this world, not everyone shares my value. Not everyone has held onto the playground rules we all learned. Jumping to the front of the line seems to be a life-focus for many people.

So, I have learned that 'fair' is a floating value that I alone define each and everyday. I can fly off the handle and be upset at being skipped over for the third time at the bar-rail or I can tip better and move up on the priority list.

Today I needed some information from my lumber company, information that would usually take a week to obtain. I want it now. This is the information age and snail mail is completely NOT the process I expect for any business related communication. I asked my supplier to try harder. And he produced what I needed in about an hour.

And I am very thankful for this extra effort. Sure, I am the person spending a good chunk of money with him, but I like to think that this did not become the only reason Frank jumped on my request. I like to think that Frank works hard, appreciates exceeding expectations, and knows that customer loyalty is a multi-facited effort.

So here on December 14th, I get a pass on wait-time frustration. I get to move onto the next step and battle again for speed. And I will likely need to couch the request as extra effort. But if this is what it takes to move quicker, spend less, and smile more: squeek squeek squeek.