Friday, January 28, 2005
Age
My uncle is in town visiting for a couple of days on his way to spend most of the week with my parents. And no, the title of this post does no refer to my uncle.
What is interesting about my uncle is that for the past year and a half, he has been living and teaching in Beirut, Lebanon. I musty admit that I know very little about the geography of the region, the culture, etc. So I listened with rapt attention as he told his tales of his travels and experiences in the area.
One of the many things that I find fascinating with tales of overseas travel is the age of the places and items. When I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks blazing through Germany, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, I was able to stop and visit a few cathedrals that were built 600, 700, 800, or more years ago. To someone from the States who was impressed with visiting a home site that is almost 100 years old, imagine just how overwhelming it was for me to stand on the tomb of some guy who had been buried there over 1000 years ago!
So imagine the goose bumps I got when my uncle recounted the tales of his shopping expeditions to Damascus in Syria. He purchased items in shops of Damascus along The Straight - the street in Damascus where Ananias was instructed to go and find a blind man by the name of Paul. That's right, the very same Paul who had started his life as Saul and experienced his conversion on the road to Damascus and was taken in by Ananias once he reached Damascus. So my uncle was purchasing items about a hundred yards away from the house where Ananias lived, according to legend. And these events didn't occur 100 or even 500 years ago, which would seem ancient to most people in the States. No, these events took place in this location around 2000 years ago! And my uncle was walking the same paths that may well have been used to get Paul in and out of Damascus.
I just can't even fathom the amount of history that has taken place there between then and now. And I'm now tied to it by one degree of separation. No "friend of a relative of a friend of a co-worker" kinda thing. My uncle, my mother's brother, walked the streets of Damascus just a couple of weeks ago. And he brought souvenirs to us from there.
Unreal...
What is interesting about my uncle is that for the past year and a half, he has been living and teaching in Beirut, Lebanon. I musty admit that I know very little about the geography of the region, the culture, etc. So I listened with rapt attention as he told his tales of his travels and experiences in the area.
One of the many things that I find fascinating with tales of overseas travel is the age of the places and items. When I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks blazing through Germany, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, I was able to stop and visit a few cathedrals that were built 600, 700, 800, or more years ago. To someone from the States who was impressed with visiting a home site that is almost 100 years old, imagine just how overwhelming it was for me to stand on the tomb of some guy who had been buried there over 1000 years ago!
So imagine the goose bumps I got when my uncle recounted the tales of his shopping expeditions to Damascus in Syria. He purchased items in shops of Damascus along The Straight - the street in Damascus where Ananias was instructed to go and find a blind man by the name of Paul. That's right, the very same Paul who had started his life as Saul and experienced his conversion on the road to Damascus and was taken in by Ananias once he reached Damascus. So my uncle was purchasing items about a hundred yards away from the house where Ananias lived, according to legend. And these events didn't occur 100 or even 500 years ago, which would seem ancient to most people in the States. No, these events took place in this location around 2000 years ago! And my uncle was walking the same paths that may well have been used to get Paul in and out of Damascus.
I just can't even fathom the amount of history that has taken place there between then and now. And I'm now tied to it by one degree of separation. No "friend of a relative of a friend of a co-worker" kinda thing. My uncle, my mother's brother, walked the streets of Damascus just a couple of weeks ago. And he brought souvenirs to us from there.
Unreal...
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Growth
No, the title of this post does not refer to the ever-increasing number of posts to this blog. Regular readers know the exact opposite has been true. Since I know that your personal sense of self-worth is not directly tied to my updates to this blog, I've not been losing sleep over it. But if I'm wrong, and it is, and you have, you need to seek professional help. Now. Seriously. Stop reading and call someone immediately.
For the rest of you, the latest installment follows.
The jury is still out on this whole entrepreneur thing. I've been gaining clients and posting a positive income, but about a month in, business is still slow. No surprises here, I expected that. In fact, I've been surprised that business has been as active as it has been for me. Not that I'm complaining. But I've still got a short leash to make this work, so I'm putting lots and lots of time and effort into it. Hence the lack of posts. And meeting old associates for lunch. And so on.
Early in the life of my business, I joined the local Chamber of Commerce. And then I promptly did nothing about it. At the time, I was still dealing with issues like getting appropriate network connectivity so I can support the clients I have that are not in the local area. Then I met with my accountant, and she pointed me to a leads group that she used to attend, and suggested I take a look at it. Thus began my foray into business networking.
Without going into painful, boring details about what a leads group is and does, let me summarize by saying that they are a perfect match for someone exactly unlike me. After attending my first meeting, I realized just what a fish out of water I am. Those who have known me for any length of time have heard me say that I'm very shy by nature (even if they didn't believe it). I'm actually incredibly shy, and very introverted, despite what Myers-Briggs says. One of the most uncomfortable situations I could ever be in is a large group of people where I don't know anyone and generally have very little in common with the others. The most uncomfortable situation to put me in is to leave me alone with an infant for any length of time, but that's another topic for another day. But I absolutely dread going to large gatherings of any kind where I'm expected to interact with others I've never met. So, of course, these leads groups are perfect for me. I walked into this first meeting knowing exactly 0 people there, there were 20+ in attendance, and I get to spend 30 seconds introducing myself and my company to the group at large. For the real Eriq Neale, a mortifying experience.
Fortunately, I happen to enjoy public speaking, so I'm able to make it through by just focusing on the 30 seconds I'll be in the spotlight and blocking everything else out of my mind. It works, and I make it through the meeting, and I'm able to bolt out of there like lightening at the end. But the effort was not in vain. I walked away from the meeting with several contact names, exactly like what's supposed to happen. And, I figure, now that I've been to one meeting for this group, going to later meetings is going to get easier and easier. Which it will.
But the most important thing I learned from this meeting is that I need to attend meetings of a number of different leads groups. Great. Now that I've survived the minor nightmare that is my first encounter with this group of people, I find out I get to do this many more times. Over and over again. Great.
Almost two weeks later, I attend my first Chamber function - a leads group luncheon. Once again, I'm thrust into an uncomfortable environment for me, but this time there's a difference. When I get to the luncheon, I recognize several people from the other group meeting. Not that any of them are going to recognize me from Adam's housecat, but there's enough familiarity there that I'm able to keep my anxiety in check through the course of the meal and presentation.
But it's at this second leads group that I learn important lesson number 2. May leads groups, especially privately-organized ones, are exclusive. Meaning that they restrict the number of members that are in the same line of work. This is made crystal clear as the people I'm sitting with at the small table are discussing the dates and times of other leads group meetings, and they have to point out to me that I cannot attend those other meetings because someone with my specialty is already a member of the group.
that's when I realize that I'll now have to find other leads groups in the area that not only don't overlap with the memberships of the ones I've learned about, but I'll also have to find ones that don't have my specialty already represented. Or ones that are not privately organized and don't have the same membership restrictions.
I went to a breakfast for one of the latter types this morning. A leads group sponsored by the Chamber of a neighboring community. Close enough that it wasn't hard to get to, far enough away that I didn't immediately notice any overlap in memberships. Groovy. Except that I have to go through the whole anxiety ordeal of walking through the front door knowing that I'm heading into a hostile environment, at least for my psyche.
But once again, I come away from that meeting with a number of contacts and something that I wasn't expecting at all: inspiration.
one of the agenda items for this group is the sharing of an inspirational thought. I don't recall who coined the words that were read, but the message hit home. Life is full of difficulties. Life is hard. But when you stop looking at the hard things as difficulties and start seeing them as challenges to overcome, you're better equipped to survive the hardships.
For me, that hardship is making myself go to these leads meetings, despite how uncomfortable I am at first. And when I look back at the last couple of weeks, I see that when I've risen to the challenge of facing my fears of anonymous groups, I've come away with something positive. Today was no exception. In fact, today I'm able to look at the process entirely differently.
it's a subtle mind shift, but a critical one. Thinking of things as hardships or difficulties carries a sense that they cannot be overcome. Thinking of them as challenges or tests implies that not only can they be beaten, but I will be better for the effort to overcome the challenge.
So as I wrap this up quickly in order to get to my next leads group meeting today (I have three total), I'm looking at my calendar for the rest of today in a completely different light. This morning, I was wondering when I might "chicken out" and skip one of the meetings to maintain my comfort zone. Now, I'm ready to see what benefits I can cull from the remaining activities. Subtle, but important.
For the rest of you, the latest installment follows.
The jury is still out on this whole entrepreneur thing. I've been gaining clients and posting a positive income, but about a month in, business is still slow. No surprises here, I expected that. In fact, I've been surprised that business has been as active as it has been for me. Not that I'm complaining. But I've still got a short leash to make this work, so I'm putting lots and lots of time and effort into it. Hence the lack of posts. And meeting old associates for lunch. And so on.
Early in the life of my business, I joined the local Chamber of Commerce. And then I promptly did nothing about it. At the time, I was still dealing with issues like getting appropriate network connectivity so I can support the clients I have that are not in the local area. Then I met with my accountant, and she pointed me to a leads group that she used to attend, and suggested I take a look at it. Thus began my foray into business networking.
Without going into painful, boring details about what a leads group is and does, let me summarize by saying that they are a perfect match for someone exactly unlike me. After attending my first meeting, I realized just what a fish out of water I am. Those who have known me for any length of time have heard me say that I'm very shy by nature (even if they didn't believe it). I'm actually incredibly shy, and very introverted, despite what Myers-Briggs says. One of the most uncomfortable situations I could ever be in is a large group of people where I don't know anyone and generally have very little in common with the others. The most uncomfortable situation to put me in is to leave me alone with an infant for any length of time, but that's another topic for another day. But I absolutely dread going to large gatherings of any kind where I'm expected to interact with others I've never met. So, of course, these leads groups are perfect for me. I walked into this first meeting knowing exactly 0 people there, there were 20+ in attendance, and I get to spend 30 seconds introducing myself and my company to the group at large. For the real Eriq Neale, a mortifying experience.
Fortunately, I happen to enjoy public speaking, so I'm able to make it through by just focusing on the 30 seconds I'll be in the spotlight and blocking everything else out of my mind. It works, and I make it through the meeting, and I'm able to bolt out of there like lightening at the end. But the effort was not in vain. I walked away from the meeting with several contact names, exactly like what's supposed to happen. And, I figure, now that I've been to one meeting for this group, going to later meetings is going to get easier and easier. Which it will.
But the most important thing I learned from this meeting is that I need to attend meetings of a number of different leads groups. Great. Now that I've survived the minor nightmare that is my first encounter with this group of people, I find out I get to do this many more times. Over and over again. Great.
Almost two weeks later, I attend my first Chamber function - a leads group luncheon. Once again, I'm thrust into an uncomfortable environment for me, but this time there's a difference. When I get to the luncheon, I recognize several people from the other group meeting. Not that any of them are going to recognize me from Adam's housecat, but there's enough familiarity there that I'm able to keep my anxiety in check through the course of the meal and presentation.
But it's at this second leads group that I learn important lesson number 2. May leads groups, especially privately-organized ones, are exclusive. Meaning that they restrict the number of members that are in the same line of work. This is made crystal clear as the people I'm sitting with at the small table are discussing the dates and times of other leads group meetings, and they have to point out to me that I cannot attend those other meetings because someone with my specialty is already a member of the group.
that's when I realize that I'll now have to find other leads groups in the area that not only don't overlap with the memberships of the ones I've learned about, but I'll also have to find ones that don't have my specialty already represented. Or ones that are not privately organized and don't have the same membership restrictions.
I went to a breakfast for one of the latter types this morning. A leads group sponsored by the Chamber of a neighboring community. Close enough that it wasn't hard to get to, far enough away that I didn't immediately notice any overlap in memberships. Groovy. Except that I have to go through the whole anxiety ordeal of walking through the front door knowing that I'm heading into a hostile environment, at least for my psyche.
But once again, I come away from that meeting with a number of contacts and something that I wasn't expecting at all: inspiration.
one of the agenda items for this group is the sharing of an inspirational thought. I don't recall who coined the words that were read, but the message hit home. Life is full of difficulties. Life is hard. But when you stop looking at the hard things as difficulties and start seeing them as challenges to overcome, you're better equipped to survive the hardships.
For me, that hardship is making myself go to these leads meetings, despite how uncomfortable I am at first. And when I look back at the last couple of weeks, I see that when I've risen to the challenge of facing my fears of anonymous groups, I've come away with something positive. Today was no exception. In fact, today I'm able to look at the process entirely differently.
it's a subtle mind shift, but a critical one. Thinking of things as hardships or difficulties carries a sense that they cannot be overcome. Thinking of them as challenges or tests implies that not only can they be beaten, but I will be better for the effort to overcome the challenge.
So as I wrap this up quickly in order to get to my next leads group meeting today (I have three total), I'm looking at my calendar for the rest of today in a completely different light. This morning, I was wondering when I might "chicken out" and skip one of the meetings to maintain my comfort zone. Now, I'm ready to see what benefits I can cull from the remaining activities. Subtle, but important.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Flames
In the 18+ years I've been working to support myself (going through college, going through more college, going through even more college, buying a house, getting married, still going through college, buying another house, building a new house, etc., etc., etc.) I've gone through my share of employers. Every time I've left a position, whether by my choice or not, I've always tried to leave on good terms. When leaving some employers, I found it very difficult not to "get back at them" after I left, even for legitimate reasons. For instance, one employer I worked for was horribly horribly out of license compliance for several major software products, and it would have been so easy to call one of the software police agencies and report them, but I didn't.
Damn ethics.
However, sometimes it pays off. For instance, I got a call on Thursday of this week about a consulting gig. They were needing someone to help on a couple of projects, and I was able to pitch in on one of them. The ironic thing is, this is the company that cost me my job at one of my former employers because they pushed for and finally won a contract to outsource my entire team. But since I maintained a professional relationship with them, a little over a year later, they came back to me to help them out of a pickle. If I had burned those bridges, I never would have seen that opportunity.
So as frustrated as I am with the way my departure at MS was handled and as much legitimate dirt as I have on both sides involved in that transaction, I'm going to keep that to myself and follow that damned high road again. Oh, if only I could live one day completely without scruples. How much fun that might be!
Damn ethics.
However, sometimes it pays off. For instance, I got a call on Thursday of this week about a consulting gig. They were needing someone to help on a couple of projects, and I was able to pitch in on one of them. The ironic thing is, this is the company that cost me my job at one of my former employers because they pushed for and finally won a contract to outsource my entire team. But since I maintained a professional relationship with them, a little over a year later, they came back to me to help them out of a pickle. If I had burned those bridges, I never would have seen that opportunity.
So as frustrated as I am with the way my departure at MS was handled and as much legitimate dirt as I have on both sides involved in that transaction, I'm going to keep that to myself and follow that damned high road again. Oh, if only I could live one day completely without scruples. How much fun that might be!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Importance
You know you've got blog readers when:
Comment-spam has go to be the most annoying thing I've seen in a while. I'm running two other blogs using MT and in the last two days, I've had to clear out 20+ comment-spam messages. I've finally had to resort to setting my comments on those blogs as "restricted" meaning that I have to approve the comments before they appear on the site. Good in that I'm not seeing comments about Viagra associated with my notes about connecting Macs to a Windoze network. Bad in that it's one more thing I have to wade through.
*sigh*
The price of fame, I suppose...
- You start seeing references to your blog in other blogs or web pages.
- you check on bloglines and find that more than one person is subscribed to your blog there.
- You start getting comment-spam on your blog.
Comment-spam has go to be the most annoying thing I've seen in a while. I'm running two other blogs using MT and in the last two days, I've had to clear out 20+ comment-spam messages. I've finally had to resort to setting my comments on those blogs as "restricted" meaning that I have to approve the comments before they appear on the site. Good in that I'm not seeing comments about Viagra associated with my notes about connecting Macs to a Windoze network. Bad in that it's one more thing I have to wade through.
*sigh*
The price of fame, I suppose...
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Health
No freakin' wonder I keep getting sick!
Yesterday, that's January 4 - my birthday, I couldn't stay cool in my home office. All day long, it's over 84F degrees. Windows open, fans blowing, everything. My poor tea glass was sweating like it's in a sauna!
This morning I get up, it's 68F degrees in my office, and the outdoor temp is 44F degrees. And dropping. I skipped out on a lunch meeting because freezing sleet was coming down and sticking to the roads, and the air temp was just around freezing.
Tonight, 22F degrees is the predicted low. Keep an eye on Anna's weather site and you'll see what kind of weird stuff we've had here. It's especially cool to see the chart showing how the temperature dropped 23+ degrees in an hour at 4am this morning. Yow.
CSI:NY is on now. Gotta go watch.
Yesterday, that's January 4 - my birthday, I couldn't stay cool in my home office. All day long, it's over 84F degrees. Windows open, fans blowing, everything. My poor tea glass was sweating like it's in a sauna!
This morning I get up, it's 68F degrees in my office, and the outdoor temp is 44F degrees. And dropping. I skipped out on a lunch meeting because freezing sleet was coming down and sticking to the roads, and the air temp was just around freezing.
Tonight, 22F degrees is the predicted low. Keep an eye on Anna's weather site and you'll see what kind of weird stuff we've had here. It's especially cool to see the chart showing how the temperature dropped 23+ degrees in an hour at 4am this morning. Yow.
CSI:NY is on now. Gotta go watch.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Celebrations
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday, Mr. Q!
Happy birthday to me!
This birthday announcement has been brought to you by me on my behalf.
As I think back to my birthday post from last year, it's amazing to me just how much has happened in such a short time. I won't summarize here, you can simply review my blog archives for the highlights.
But 2005 promises to be more interesting as I venture into the challenges of running my own business (God help us all!), working on a book project (more details later), and generally trying to keep my creative juices flowing. 2005 also promises to be a little more entertaining as I don't have a silly job that keeps me away from what's important to me all the time, so I won't be the cog in the wheel of trying to met up with old and new friends and be much more social than I've been able to be. That and Anna got a Texas Hold 'em Poker Set for Christmas (one of the genuine articles, not some cheap plastic knock-off) and we've been learning to play. We've already had one very small Texas Hold 'em party, with another coming up in just a couple of weeks.
And what better way to kick off 2005 than with my annual birthday trip to the Magic Time Machine? No, it just doesn't get much better than this!!!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday, Mr. Q!
Happy birthday to me!
This birthday announcement has been brought to you by me on my behalf.
As I think back to my birthday post from last year, it's amazing to me just how much has happened in such a short time. I won't summarize here, you can simply review my blog archives for the highlights.
But 2005 promises to be more interesting as I venture into the challenges of running my own business (God help us all!), working on a book project (more details later), and generally trying to keep my creative juices flowing. 2005 also promises to be a little more entertaining as I don't have a silly job that keeps me away from what's important to me all the time, so I won't be the cog in the wheel of trying to met up with old and new friends and be much more social than I've been able to be. That and Anna got a Texas Hold 'em Poker Set for Christmas (one of the genuine articles, not some cheap plastic knock-off) and we've been learning to play. We've already had one very small Texas Hold 'em party, with another coming up in just a couple of weeks.
And what better way to kick off 2005 than with my annual birthday trip to the Magic Time Machine? No, it just doesn't get much better than this!!!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Beginnings
Happy new year! Welcome, 2005, and I hope you have a nice time here.
My wife and I celebrated New Year's Eve with some friends and participated in a White Elephant gift exchange. Kinda unusual to do one after Christmas, but it was cool nonetheless. We walked away with a pair of Shrek slippers and a Mr. Potato Head massager. We narrowly missed out on a singing Christmas tree and a lovely singing and dancing lobster.
We also celebrated New Year's Day by grilling hamburgers an having a picnic by ourselves out on our deck with the dogs, the birds, and our outdoor cat. This was right around the time we hit the high temp for the day - 75 degrees. I love Texas: we had a White Christmas this year, and a week later it's in the mid-70's again.
Entire contents of this site © 2003-2008 Eriq Oliver Neale/Simultaneous Pancakes Media unless otherwise noted. I hate that I have to point that out...My wife and I celebrated New Year's Eve with some friends and participated in a White Elephant gift exchange. Kinda unusual to do one after Christmas, but it was cool nonetheless. We walked away with a pair of Shrek slippers and a Mr. Potato Head massager. We narrowly missed out on a singing Christmas tree and a lovely singing and dancing lobster.
We also celebrated New Year's Day by grilling hamburgers an having a picnic by ourselves out on our deck with the dogs, the birds, and our outdoor cat. This was right around the time we hit the high temp for the day - 75 degrees. I love Texas: we had a White Christmas this year, and a week later it's in the mid-70's again.
