Genetic Strangeness?Saturday, January 28, 2006To get the proper context to this post, feel free to read my wife's post earlier today, "Genetic Strangeness."  There's no doubt that they're all my wife's children. All of 'em. Down to the last strand of DNA.This morning, Spencer came running into our bathroom with his clothing in his arms. He's a smart little turd -- he wanted to get dressed in front of the space heater. He dropped his clothing, made a face like my wife makes often, pinched his nose shut, and ran out of the bathroom yelling "Oooooo it stinks in there." "What was that all about?" my wife asked, after 45 minutes of time at the mirror. I laughed and shook my head. I had no idea what might be coming. One minute (not four) as previously reported in another well-known blog, Spencer came back with a folded-up paper towel Scotch-taped over his nose and mouth. The tape was attached to his chin, his eyebrows, and the bridge of his nose. He looked a lot like my wife when she was a child. At least like the pictures I have seen. "I had to put this on so I could breathe," Spencer explained to his mother. "It really stinks in here. It's really reeky." Yes, reeky. This is a term used frequently in my wife's hometown. I was laughing so hard at Spencer's home-made gas mask as I looked at him through the shower door. "It smells worse than vomit," Spencer continued. Spencer, like my wife has a supersonic sense of smell. So he might have been detecting that bit of mildew in the corner of the shower. Or perhaps he was detecting the ever so vague remains of an offensive... Well, who knows what prompted the gas mask. It was hilarious. So I'm just chalking it up to "Schafer genes." Jill will contest, but she can't deny her genetic strangeness. Why, just today she was trying to tell me a story and kept repeating her words. "She she she then then then went.. umm she she then... oh went went went. I stopped her cold as I slammed the trunk of the car after taking the last bag of groceries out. We had just returned from shopping at Publix. At Publix, we spent an unusually long time in the frozen food aisle. Jill threw one bag of frozen peas into the cart and then stood in front of the doors staring at the Green Giant section. "Why is this taking so long?" I asked. She looked into the cart and saw the bag of peas and said, "Why are those in there?" I shrugged my shoulders and didn't ask another question. I thought she had better work out whatever frozen food disorder (FFD) she was suffering from. There you have it. My children are weird because my wife is weird. As for me -- I choose to be weird. That's different than being born that way. :) posted at 1/28/2006 09:00:00 PM | 12 comments links to this post |
Are You Working Too Many Hours?Tuesday, January 24, 2006 If you are salaried, you are what is known as an "exempt" employee. Some say that means you are "exempt" from getting paid for all of the hours you actually work. There is some truth to that for those of you who have fallen into the trap of working insane hours for a fixed annual salary.There are a couple of things to consider here. If you are exempt and fulltime you usually are required to work a 40 hour work week, The Europeans think we are crazy working 40 hours a week and maybe we are. But think about how many hours you are really working. I bet a lot of you are working 50 hours. Some maybe 60 or 70 hours. Early in my career I worked almost 90-100 hour weeks for about 6 months and then another 10 months at least 80 hours a week. Why? Because I was young and stupid. And my company rewarded me for my stupidity by giving me $500 worth of hotel and restaurant money. I was supposed to get a $12,000 bonus, but the $500 and a rock with the project name on it was all I got. The rock went in the garbage and so did my attitude. I was peeved. I learned something through that experience. I was going to get my life/work balance straightened out. There have been times since then when I have fallen back into the trap of insane hours, but not anymore. My kids are growing up so quickly and life is too short. Besides we are being paid for the job we do, our expertise, how well we perform and our value. So our work hours and salary should be balanced. There will be times when you have to give that extra push and put some extra time in. It should be the exception and not the norm. If your boss is asking you to work crazy hours on a regular basis, I would be looking for another job. You cannot sustain those long hours forever and you are being taken advantage of. Companies that think they can work their employees to death only get half of the productivity and creativity, if even that much. They typically lose them within a year as well. It ends up costing them more! So ask yourself, "Am I working too many hours?" If you answer yes, you have some extra hours to work to correct a serious problem. posted at 1/24/2006 11:38:00 PM | 5 comments links to this post |
What Are You Saying?Sunday, January 22, 2006 Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post on receiving positive feedback at work and at home. Dave, your rant was filled with wonderful examples of what I call "bossisms." Bossisms are stereotypical things that managers do or say that infuriate most workers. I have been guilty; however, I really try hard not to replicate those things I find irritating in other managers.I was at Lowes yesterday with my eldest daughter. As we approached our car with a can of paint in one hand and pack of flood lights in the other, we passed a car. The father was getting out of the passenger seat, the mother was already out with a rather disgusted look on her face and the screaming 4 year old boy was grinning at me with an evil kind of Grinchy smile. The mother's expression turned from one of constipated disgust to exasperation as she ranted to the husband, "Where is the passie?" "Huh?" the husband grunted. "Where is the passie?" She said in a more obnoxious tone. The kid was still staring at me as I walked on by until he was out of sight. The mother obviously knew they would need the pacifier for little monster. I slowed down a bit so I could here the husband's response. It did not let me down. With great art and sensitivity he looked over the hood of the car at his wife and said. "I don't know. Where did you put it?" He was irritated that she was asking him this question. I was irritated with this husband and father. I wanted to yell back at him and say, "Any more stupid questions?" People get shot for less these days and my daughter was with me. I embarrass my family enough as it is. I thought to myself, this guy is probably somebody's boss. It is no wonder we have a corporate culture and home life that is strife with miscommunication, frustration and bitterness. What was this guy trying to say? My wife is a writer and so on occasion she will say something to me that is totally Shakespearianeske. She kind of flips into language that would sound great on a stage, but is a bit formal for a conversation in a grocery store. That was where we were yesterday morning when she had one of these Shakespeare attacks. We were accosted by the "over-friendly" and socially challenged grocery man. After going on about how good generic cereal was and cupcake wrappers, I was kind of frightened. My wife laughed at me and said and I quote "And you are the one who prides himself on being tolerant of people of different ilks." Ilk? Merriam Webster defines it as this: Main Entry: 2ilkFunction: noun: SORT, KIND So why not just say "different kinds" of people? Needless to say I was merciless for the rest of the time in the store. I found all "kinds" of ways to use this wonderful word. "Shall I look for vegetables of different ilks?" "Oh look at the frozen fish of different ilks?" Well, enough rambling on words of different ilks. posted at 1/22/2006 09:13:00 PM | 11 comments links to this post |
Wait, Did You Just Hear Your Boss Say Something Positive?Friday, January 20, 2006 Feedback from Your Boss Those of us who have been in management for years often get feedback from employees that we don't give enough feedback. In particular, we do not give enough positive feedback when things are going well. I guess part of the struggle is human nature. We tend to complain to our loved ones, friends and co-workers when things aren't just ducky. However, when things are going well, do we pat each other on the back? Men, do you ever say to your wife, "Gee honey, you have really done a great job cleaning the shower this week." My wife recently got rid of some mildew in our soap tray, which is ceramic tile. Tile is a magnet to mildew and so the grouting was getting black and yucky. I have been saying for months, "Man I need to clean the entire tile in the bathrooms and caulk." Yeah right! Like I really have that high on my priority list. I have light bulbs to replace. That should give you an idea just how long my list is and how far behind I am. The other day Jill said to me, "You didn't notice that I got rid of the black tile in the soap tray. I can admit in this post that I did not notice because I blurted out "No, I'm sorry I didn't, honey." See I am the first to criticize when I think something in the house is not cleaned according to my own unrealistic standards. So I can complain and give negative feedback with no problem. I took an entire shower, looked at that soap tray many times, and never noticed what my wife had done. Yet for months, shower after shower I noticed the ever-growing mildew and darkening soap tray. My lack of observational skills is another topic in itself. Jill can buy me Christmas gifts while we are shopping together - I never notice. Well after my sweet wife told me what she had done and what I had not noticed, I felt like mud. She really worked hard and she was trying to please me. I gave her no positive feedback at all. As a boss, you have to make this positive feedback thing a proactive activity. It really should be no big deal for bosses to make it a habit of praising people when they do a great job. Recognize accomplishments! What is hard for me is that I am not a punitive manager. When things are going not so well, I mentor employees through it, trying not to bring attention to the negative aspect of the performance. I need to do a better job of giving positive feedback and encouragement. I think most bosses need to improve in this area no matter how effective they may be at other aspects of their jobs. That brings me to soliciting for your comments. I would be interested in hearing about how you are (or not) receiving positive feedback. Tell me your good stories and your war stories. You can only help me to get better at what I do, even after 15 years. You will help other bosses who are reading this post as well. Have a great weekend! posted at 1/20/2006 06:03:00 PM | 8 comments links to this post |
Not Reaching a GoalThursday, January 19, 2006Last year I set a goal for myself after attending a really good marketing conference. I am not a marketer and I am not even a salesperson. However, I feel that I need stronger marketing skills. There are several reasons for this, but I won’t get into the details. It is not relevant to my point. I set a goal last year and a year later I have not reached it. I became really frustrated with this over the holidays when I was writing down my goals for 2006. Why didn’t I even scratch the surface? I was more angry than disappointed. I felt like my investment in the conference was a waste of money and that I had probably just made a mistake. Maybe the folks who ran the conference did a good job marketing and convinced me I could do something that I could not. Nope. As I dug into this one, I realized that there was one fundamental force at work here. I can’t really tell you how I came to the realization, I just did. It just hit me. Maybe I read about this before in a book and so it was floating around in my subconscious. It doesn’t matter because I now know why I failed. That is half the battle. The force at work here is “fear.” Even though I was working towards my goal, I was fighting the fear of failure the whole way. I literally stopped half way through the project and decided that the whole idea was just stupid. Then Jill received an email from someone we met on the internet. In the email was nothing but encouragement. She was excited to see how far along we were with the project. I started to ask myself why I stopped the project. I was reading an email that was assuming the project was done. The vision for the project was being confirmed. Well, now that I know fear of failure stopped me, I am back on it again. I am going to meet the goal by this weekend. I’ll blog about it when I am done. It is never too late to reach a goal. posted at 1/19/2006 07:00:00 AM | 1 comments links to this post |
There Is No Such Thing As a National HolidaySunday, January 15, 2006 I have not spent much time researching this one. I'll do that another day. For the purposes of this post I really do not need much context around the issue. I really do not rant on my blog and this is not going to be a full blown rant either. Let's call it a "mini-rant." On Monday we have one of several National Holidays. Here is the list of National holidays that I found according to one source: New Year's Day Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday President's Day Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Labor Day Veteran's Day Thanksgiving Christmas In the small print below the list there was a clarification: "Strictly speaking, the United States has no national holidays since each state designates holidays through the legislative process or by executive order. The United States Congress can legally designate holidays for federal employees and for the District of Columbia. The holidays listed above represent those federal holidays which are also observed by the majority of states." Then I looked up "Federal�" holidays. These are holidays for federal employees, the only 10 holidays that are set by law and can be found in USC Title 5 Section 6103. There are specific rules about Election Day that I will not cover. New Year's Day Martin Luther King's Birthday Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Christmas Day (Election Day) Despite the legal definition or the implied "National" orientation of a holiday, the fact remains; many of us do not work for companies or live in states that observe all of the Federal holidays. Some companies recognize the more elusive Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday (it is not officially called President's day) or even the newer Martin Luther King's Birthday. Others pick and choose what they declare as calendar year holidays corporately. Then there are many companies who have "floating" holidays. You pick the ones you want to observe. The deal is that we all think tomorrow is a National Holiday and it is not. It is a Federal Holiday that some states and corporations observe and others do not. The same is for the next so called holiday that is coming up, Washington's birthday. What a joke? Why not Andrew Jackson's birthday? Or Harry Truman's birthday or Bill Clinton's birthday? Why just the first president? Now I am convinced that I am going to have to dig deeper on this whole stupid topic. I just can't make any sense of it all. We have a series of holidays that are handled in a myriad of ways. Why can't we have real holidays where everyone observes the holiday? For those people who must work, such as Health Care workers or Air Traffic Controllers, they should get an alternate day off if they could not observe the holiday on the actual day. This whole holiday thing in the U.S. is a joke. Those of you who have off on Monday or may be taking a "floating holiday" think about those who will be at their desk. Enjoy the day, not the holiday! posted at 1/15/2006 08:39:00 AM | 8 comments links to this post |
A Proud FatherMonday, January 09, 2006 For those of you who are BE members, you have seen my latest thumbnail for my blog. For those of you who are have no idea what I am talking about, here it is. This thumbnail has a special meaning to me as a Dad. My oldest son (almost 14) painted the picture you see in the thumbnail. He has always had a love for hot air balloons and golf courses. He has natural artistic abilities that blow me away. He can see light, shadows, perspective and translate them into a two dimensional painting or drawing. My kids adopted a 90+ year old man this Christmas. This fine older gentleman loved golf and so Jonathan decided to paint something really meaningful for him. It evolved over several days. Then the final painting was finished and I was enamored with it. The morning sky, the balloons, the lake, and the golf course. It was perfect for this man just short of a century in age. I wanted to have a copy. I did not want to part with it. The painting was for his adopted elderly man and that was that. We asked Jonathan to take pictures of it so we would at least have a digital record of it. He took many shots and the thumbnail was my top choice. I am a proud father. I love this picture. I hope you enjoy it as well. -Eric posted at 1/09/2006 11:34:00 PM | 9 comments links to this post |
Set Your First REAL Goal For 2006Saturday, January 07, 2006 There is a lot of talk these days concerning multiple streams of income. If you do not know what this means, I can explain it simply. If you have a full time job, that is one stream of income. You get paid on a regular basis, so the money represents one stream that goes straight into your bank account throughout the year. Now if you take a part time job in addition to your full time job, you now have a second stream of income. Some people are buying and selling real estate or marketing their products on the internet or even making an extra $1000 a month on eBay. These are all additional streams of income. The idea here is to find ways to increase streams of income that will help you pay off debt and to pay cash for cars, etc. The further I read about this concept the more intrigued I became. Especially when I discovered passive income streams. These are streams of income that are pretty much on self-pilot and require minimal time to keep them on track. You sell a product or offer a service that people need and automate the process. Some people have internet sites that just sit there and take sales orders weekly. These people are selling legitimate and useful products. I am not advocating the marketing of junk. So my first goal for 2006 is to establish my second stream of income. I have set my goals at three levels. For example, my goal to create multiple streams of income has three levels that I can measure: 1) Identify and create income from one additional source. 2) Start making $50 per month and end up making $500 a month by the end of the year 3) Create two streams of income. Start making $50 per month, ending the year with an additional $20,000 See how each level builds on the next? If I meet level one, I have made some extra money. If I meet level two, I am starting with an extra $50 a month and increasing the amount of this stream of income as the year goes on. The third level really challenges me. The goal is to make an additional $20,000 with multiple streams of income. Meeting level one is great and meets this goal for the year. Meeting the criteria for level two and three would be a result of making an effort to exceed my goals. I am going to share with you how I am doing on this goal throughout the year. I am going to let my readers keep me accountable. I have other goals and I will share another one soon. I challenge you to make a goal and create three levels. Then start doing things that will lead you towards meeting that goal. There is nothing better than meeting or exceeding a goal at the end of the year. It builds your self confidence, forces you to be more disciplined and rewards you in the end. That reward leads to an overall more successful approach to life. The more goals you meet or exceed, the more successful you feel. It is a simple principle and a very powerful and positive one. Find someone you can be accountable to. I am going to work on my first additional stream of income now! I am excited. I have already identified two streams and my focus is on level three. Have a great weekend! posted at 1/07/2006 01:24:00 PM | 5 comments links to this post |
I Got TaggedMonday, January 02, 2006 Thanks to Dave (Cheeze Weezil) I got tagged. So here it is. Four jobs you've had in your life: Painting and Odd jobs (Junior High) Grocery Clerk (High School) Manager Of University Choir (College) Manager of IT (real life) Four movies you would watch over and over Pride and Prejudice Room With A View Beautiful Mind Sixth Sense Four places you have lived New York Pennsylvania Tennessee Outerspace Four TV shows you love to watch As Time Goes By (reruns) Star Trek (reruns) (Don't watch T.V. - isn't it obvious?) Four places you have been on vacation Cap May, N.J. San Francisco, CA Orlando, FL. Disney World Montreal, CANADA Four websites you visit daily CNN BlogExplosion IWIN Four of your favorite foods Pizza Scallops Filet Mignon Lamb Four places you would rather be right now London Italy On vacation anywhere in the world with my wife (stole this from Dave, Cheeze Weezil) At the beach Four bloggers you are tagging Ananke at http://confusedandamused.blogspot.com/ Uinseann http://uinseann1.blogspot.com/ Gary http://garywiener.blogspot.com Mike http://bnbexperiences.blogspot.com/ posted at 1/02/2006 02:06:00 PM | 10 comments links to this post |
Don't Bother With New Years Resolutions, Have a Thin Mint InsteadSunday, January 01, 2006 Each year millions of us make what have become known as "New Years resolutions." They range from losing weight, quitting smoking to spending more time with the family. Most resolutions are things we would really like to see changed in our lives. If they are important enough to declare as resolutions why do we end up with many unresolved? Celebrating New Years is as old as ancient Babylon with the first celebrations dating back to 4000 B.C. They declared their New Years resolutions in late March when spring was underway and they were planting crops. They had no written calendar so I guess they had no ball that fell as well. Julius Caesar changed all of this in 46 B.C., when he developed what we know as the Julian calendar and January 1 became the first day of the New Year. In order to correct the change in calendar he had to keep the previous year running for 445 days. Ancient civilizations celebrated New Years for days, even weeks, not just one day.  There have been years where I had New Years resolutions. My most popular one was "getting in shape." In 2005, ironically, I made a resolution around late March (an ancient New Years) to workout regularly. It had nothing to do with the New Year obviously, but rather a challenge from a friend to start working out with him and some other friends. I took the challenge and as of Friday I am still in the gym every week 3 or 4 days a week. I will be back in the gym tomorrow when it reopens. In March I will celebrate a year of getting in shape. It has become a part of me now. I didn't make a resolution, rather a life style change. It became a commitment both to the goal and to accountability. It is easy to set goals, but achieving them requires discipline. It is usually a lack of discipline that keeps me from staying focused on attaining the goal. Having someone I respect holding me accountable is crucial.There were a myriad of goals that I could set for 2006. This year I sat down with a sheet of paper and wrote out all that I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. I erased some, tweaked others until I had a list that I felt was attainable and realistic. Being an optimistic person it is difficult for me to keep my goal setting realistic. For each goal I set three tiers. For example, I wanted to do the Robert Kiyosaki thing and add to my asset column. I set three levels; the first being a very realistic goal. The second level is something that I would work harder to reach. The third level being something very challenging to attain. I will give you some examples of my goals and will track my progress on my blog throughout the year. How is that for accountability? This is Part One of a series of posts that I will publish on goal setting. If you have never read a book by Robert Kiyosaki you need to make a New Years resolution; buy his book "Rich Dad Poor Dad  ."Happy New Year! I have to go. There is a girl at the door in a Girl Scouts uniform. Selling cookies on NewYears day? Interesting, but I have a goal to get my hands on several boxes of Thin Mints. Eric posted at 1/01/2006 12:35:00 PM | 9 comments links to this post |
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