Paradox = contradiction

Plan for tomorrow- Live for today.

Paradox = contradiction. I think it's kind of funny that our lives are surrounded by one paradox or another. "Take time to smell the roses", slow down and appreciate the time you have; a great proverb to live by, one that is almost cliche, but very true. Then there's "Carpe diem": seize the day; do as much as you can, cause there might not be a tomorrow.

I guess my solution/answer to this paradox is to live in the middle of both these. Enjoy the moment, live for the now and do what what you can, while you can.

Cycle

the life that you live are the gifts you give
seasons pass like water, through a sieve
mother nature's fluid motion written in cursive

the cresting of a river with an ebb and a flow
a full moon and clear sky
light up the night with a yellow glow

it's all around
from the suburban
to the cities
and back country, rural towns

spring slips in
like an acupuncture pin
there's no pain
only daylight to gain
and a cool April rain
filling up storm drains

it's nourishment for the brain
blood pumping, from the heart
to the soul and through the vein

as the foliage grows
take time to stop and smell the rose
plant a pose
the poetry comes and goes
with rhymes like a prose
melodies, you can smell through the nose

summer time
it's time for the heat
like the candy shop, everything is a treat
so dip your toes in the water
dance in the street
move your feet
to the drum of the beat

autumn blows in
with a nor-easter wind
and trees dropping leaves

after the fall
comes the freeze
a cold blizzard blanket
and an arctic breeze

Mark "Skid" McCormick

I don't know if anyone remembers this show, but it aired in the eighties for a few years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcastle_and_McCormick

The main character's name was Mark "Skid" McCormick (on the left). My family has called me Skid for years, how funny!!!! Here is my show:

Left-Handed Living

I go out of my way to learn about people and see what makes them tick, especially lefties. An overall consensus I have learned about this minority, is that they are all versatile people. Lefties process information in a unique manner, not just because they use their left hand to write and throw. "Southpaws" solve problems in an entirely different methodology than our right handed counterparts. We're all familiar with lefty's creativity and being "right brain" vs. "left brain", but that's baloney. Nobody uses solely only your right or left brain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function). I think the core ethos of being left-handed is: adaptability and accommodation.

Being left handed, is all about versatility. I think left handed folks are very cognizant of their environment and can rapidly change to overcome obstacles. In a day and age of new ideas and "outside the box" mentality, left-handed people have been "hardwired and designed" to see things differently. Being able to adapt to a world that is run and controlled by the majority, lefties are truly an exception to natural selection. Every organism on earth has to be able to adapt to changing situations and stimuli (or else they will die), and lefties have to work harder than the norm. When confronted with challenges, lefties (in their divergent minds) have the inane ability to analyze, decipher, synthesize and react to issues= through accommodation.

I remember going to a job interview a few years ago and telling the interviewer that I was left-handed. Not a very conventional thing to bring up in an interview, but I thought, (and still do) that being left hand dominant is a character trait that is worth mentioning. It's a subconscious, neurological difference that separates us from the rest of the world.


What is left-handed?

A state of mind

Pressure Drop

"Life gets rough. Life gets tough. So tell me: What you gonna do about it?"

-Toots & the Maytals

Stitch together (part 10): The final chapter

One of the best features of the Minnow office was we were running an Apple network and we all had isight web cams and ichat instant messaging. These are very useful tools for external conferencing and internal communications. We used them to communicate back and forth about what a loon Todd was and what a joke the place was. I actually had a clown face for my icon and my desktop picture on my computer.

The main problem with the company, from day one, was that we were promising machines to customers that we couldn't produce. We were actually producing upwards of 25 machines a week, which would seem like a good thing... But, there wasn't enough demand for the machines we were producing, the only real demand for machines was for the machines we couldn't make, how ironic. Basically, Minnow was running in reverse, instead of producing machines based on customers needs, we were making machines that nobody wanted. I would often say: "you'll have a milk" in reference to a great Milk advertisement from years ago.

It was after New Years now and I was fielding multiple calls from frustrated and irate customers on a daily basis. from Hong Kong to Warsaw.

I was frantically looking for ways out of Minnow. Trying to get another job was priority one, but if I wasn't having much luck. The way I figured it, Todd- the toad, was going to have to fire me because I wasn't going to quit and let him win. After all, he roped me into this bogus company by lying to me and such, I wasn't just going to lie down and quit.

For months, I had been asking Todd to put together a sales plan, marketing plan, any plan!!! But he resisted saying that: "it was too early" or some bull. His tune changed after new years and we were beginning to pile up machines that hadn't been sold. We had a meeting and in a very desperate moment, he told me that I needed to put together a plan to sell machines- by all means necessary. I asked him: "why the change of heart", since he had resisted a plan for so long. And he told me that production was going to out pace sales. I asked how many machine sales we were ahead? That right there shows how crazy that place was, I'm the salesman don't even know how many machines we have sold. Anyways, Todd said that we had six weeks machine production sold, so we needed to act fast.

I knew this was a lie and that we barely had one weeks production of machines sold, so I knew this was going to be great. I set out for a week with my headphones on (to limit the many distractions), getting to work on a sales and marketing plan. I was keeping it simple and efficient, no frills, because I knew Todd wasn't going to spring for any money for actually doing marketing. We had scheduled a meeting with Todd, Teddie (Todd's bro), Tammy (our logistics coordinator from the other side of the building) and myself.

I get all my notes together and print out copies of the sales plan and I was pumped up to actually get to work. We all settle in and Todd asks Tammy how many machines we had sold? She counted up her machine tallies from her spreadsheets and said: Twenty-four, one weeks production. Just as I suspected, the fool lied to me yet anther time, this time I was going to call him on it, I said: "why did you lie to me"Todd: "I didn't lie to you" Me: "yea you did, you told me we had 6 weeks production sold, last week". Todd, trying to backpedal says, "no, no I didn't" and I shot off: "you're a liar, why did you lie to me?". Todd flipped, because I had called him out in front of his little brother and Tammy, who's an unassuming, kind hearted woman.


Todd shot out of his chair like a rocket and got right in my face with his finger and shuttered: "I didn't lie to you, I'm not a liar!!!". He was so mad, his nostrils were all flared up and he looked like a wild bull. I knew this comment really sunk in and he was bullshit. I thought he might take a cheap shot swing at me because he was right in my grill with his hand in my face as I was sitting calmly in my chair.

So I decided the game was over and I said: "Get the f&*$ away from me" and he spouts off, visually shaken, "you no longer work for this company". I was like, great, you'll be hearing from my attorney and went off to pack my stuff and get out of that place, but no it wasn't over yet, because when he heard me say lawyer, he freaked again and followed me out to my computer saying: "please leave the building", over and over... With Teddie chiming in saying the same thing. I was actually pretty calm throughout the whole event and told them that I was just getting my things and was outta there. We are literally talking like 30-45 seconds. Teddie, the brainwashed fool that he was, says: "Mark, just pleased leave" sounding like a little boy, although he's 6foot 3 inch grown man. I had had it with Teddie too, because even though he seemed harmless, he was just as dastardly as Todd and deserved a mouthful too, I shot off: "Ok Teddie. Duh, duh, duh" making fun of his oafishness follower style and mockingbird reiteration.

It was a beautiful winter day, the sun was in full peak, and I was a happy man, never to have to go back to Minnow again. Geoff followed suit within the next few weeks and Rick a few months after....

The Srong Arm (tm)

I am proud to be from Massachusetts and a student of the storied history and great people who have called "The Commonwealth" home. I have lived two thirds of my life on the Cape and believe it is one of (if not the) most beautiful places on earth: mired in songs, stories, books and film.

My view of the Cape (and the state as a whole) has changed quite a bit in the past few years, for many reasons.

The reason I write this, now, is because I just read this article online: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/20/ruling_may_force_hundreds_out_of_cape_cod_motels/?page=full

As of two weeks ago, I didn't know anything about this business of hotels/motels licenses being revoked for long term stay (over 30 days) of guests. Until, while flipping through the channels before going to bed, I stumbled upon the board of health meeting being broadcast on the local public access channel. Usually these meetings are about as exciting as watching paint dry, but this time it was different, it was about the motel licensing... I saw many passionate and emotional people take the stand and voice their distaste over the town of Yarmouth's (impending) decision to revoke the licenses of the said motels, and throw out hundreds of needy people into the street.

Massachusetts is known as THE Blue state and "the liberal Mecca" among other things, but it's all just a farce. There are many great people in the state who truly care about their neighbors and humanity as a whole, but the vast majority, are just closeted bigots and elitists who want to tell everyone else what they can or can't do. The pudding proof .

More to come, cause I'm not done.....

Stitch together (part 9)

I would ask myself (and others) daily: is this shit for real? It was definitely real, but I still had a hard time believing it.

With the proverbial wheels beginning to fall off at Minnow, I along with my cohorts; Geoff (graphic designer) and Rick (computer programmer) began to loath the unrest and knew our times would come soon. The comedic nonsense had worn off months before and we were just plain sick of Todd. He was the joke and his (farce of a) company was a joke: but in reality the joke was on us, because we were all swindled into working at a three ringed circus.

I said fuck it. If this guy wants to run a circus, I'll be Bozo.

A little slice of heaven

Here is a link to the Coast Guard beach cam. http://www.morebeach.com/cape_cod_beach_cam.html

This camera is located in the second floor of the bathhouse and updates every minute.

Stitch together (part 8)

Exodus: A departure of a large number of people.


After Josh's dismissal, we were realizing that Todd's facade as a cool, hip boss was just a just a front. In Todd's warped mind, he was setting an example by firing Josh. Minnow was Todd's toy and he wasn't going to let anyone try to play with it, let alone change it (even though his game plan changed every day).

This dude was a complex individual and he was hard to psychoanalyze. If a shrink could look into this dude's head they would see a person who suffered from a host of mental problems. I think he suffered from delusions of grandeur, manic episodes that stemmed from latent homosexuality and BSDM (bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism) behavior. All in all, he was one sick person, in desperate need of psychological attention.

Jerry, the salesman left shortly before Josh's dismissal. He had endured with the idiocy for more than a year and he was happy to leave with some of his sanity still intact.

Lolly, who had only been with the company for a few months, said Au revoir around Christmas time and decided it was better to be unemployed than work for this nutcase.

Once Jerry left, the company was basically left without a salesman, so I was selected to take his place, which I at first resisted, because I was hired to do branding and marketing for the company. I eventually gave in, because I realized that without a vision/direction/goal or budget we couldn't really market very well. I was also thinking that by heading up the sales deptartment, I could help steer the company into calmer waters. I actually did a great job working with our international dealers and customers, building relationships and brokering deals from Hong Kong to Warsaw (and everywhere in between). The real trouble started when I started to learn about our actual production of machines.


Since I started, I was told that we manufactured hundred of types of machines that could stitch everything from A-Z. In reality, the only machines that were manufactured were "ONE" machine: a 1950's era machine that was made in China, shipped to our warehouse, disassembled, reassembled, repackaged and reshipped. All the other types of machines were used products (bought from dealers and factories) that were repainted and sold as new. Now, even though I had no idea this was going on, it would have been fine if our customers had actually received their machines in working order....

The actuality of the situation was: we were taking orders (and money), for machines that may never get produced, let alone refurbished and sold as new. The machines that our customers wanted, we couldn't produce and they were starting to get pissed, real pissed. As the salesman, it was my job to deal with all the problems that arose from incomplete orders and keep the veil cast over our consumers eyes. As an optimist, I'm thinking "better late then never" we'll get their machines to them, but there were some people that had been waiting twelve months for a machine that would probably "never" get made. This place was turning out to be a nightmare.

The wheels at Club Minnow were beginning to fall off.

Recycling polystyrene

Is it really in a business' best interest to recycle? Yea, it's politically correct and "green" to recycle, but will it help their bottom line and save money? The amount of energy it takes to recycle materials is paramount to the whole ideology of recycling. I mean, what's the point of recycling something, if it's going to use an obscene amount of resources and energy to do it? People want recycling, but they seldom ask the million dollar question: "What's the opportunity cost of doing so?"

Based on an industry report, the current polystyrene market in the US alone is over 7 billion dollars. Polystyrene is a versatile plastic that has been around for over 150 years. A petroleum based plastic, polystyrene is one of the most common organic polymers being produced today. Everything from CD cases, plastic utensils, foam packing peanuts, insulation boards, food containers and coffee cups are made from polystyrene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystyrene

When used as a foam (extruded or expanded), polystyrene's attributes are: low cost of production, high insulating value, and low weight. Unlike its virtuous cousin, polyethylene, which is recycled extensively:
"The majority of polystyrene products are currently not recycled because of a lack of suitable recycling facilities. Furthermore, when it is 'recycled,' it is not a closed loop — polystyrene cups and other packaging materials are usually recycled into fillers in other plastics, or other items that cannot themselves be recycled and are thrown away."

I believe EPS and XPS can be recycled simply, efficiently and economically; through a simple three step system:

1. Shred and wash
2. Heat and glue
   
3. Press and extrude
   

I pieced together a few clips (with music) from my cottage at Horseneck beach, for a nice homage to Westport .

Life's granted

The older I get, the more I reflect and really appreciate the life I have. By no means would I say that my life has been perfect, if anything it's been anything but that. I've made more mistakes than the Three Stooges. I know history repeats itself and I try to learn from the past in order to enlighten the future.

The most precious things to me are love/friendship and time. Love lasts forever, but time is finite. We only have so much time on earth and I try to make the most of time, while I have it. It's a balance act because I love to smell the roses. I don't like to waste anything, especially time- although some would argue that point, it doesn't bother me.

I'm just a left-handed dreamer with aspirations of changing the world for the better. Even though I haven't the slightest clue how I'm going to do it. I just keep on keeping on- as the saying goes. I guess my quest for knowledge and love for people are what my drivers, etched into my subconscious.

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” -Oscar Wilde

Stitch Together (part 7)

The Minnow Sewing Machine Company is comprised of three departments. I chose the flavors of Neapolitan ice cream because it's a colorful way to distinguish between them. The sales and marketing department, of which i was part of was located on the south side, in the pink section. Machine production was in the middle of the shop on the ground floor. On the north side of the building was purchasing, shipping and the parts department. In reality, there was nothing sweet about Minnow, it was more akin to rancid, curdling milk- make you wanna vomit.

Now as I was saying in part 6, the thin facade (or chocolate shell, since we're on an ice cream metaphor) was melting away fast, once Josh (the fashion designer) started working. Josh was a great guy, very humble, sincere, and funny. He fetched a ride in with Rick and Lolly (who all lived in Providence). Josh was working three days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) and wasn't even making enough to pay his bills.

By this time it was around Thanksgiving and we were all looking forward to a long weekend to get away from the chaos that we called work. On the Wednesday before the holiday, Josh, who wasn't doing anything anyways (because Todd didn't have anything for him to do) decided not to come in and rejoined us, on the Monday after turkey day. We all came back to work, rejuvenated after our holiday and ready to deal with another week of madness at 8:00 am. Geoff and I were the first in the pink section (besides Todd) and we were settling in when Rick, Lolly and Josh arrived a few minutes later.

Josh's dark room "design studio" was attached to our office space through a door, that was in direct line with Todd's office. As soon as Josh walked through the door, Todd caught a glimpse of him and charged after him, like a man possessed. I knew it was going to be drama, by the look in his eyes and the fervor with which he stomped in there, slamming the door behind him. We actually nicknamed Todd: Stompy, because he acted like an enraged rhinoceros, stomping around the office, displaying his (pseudo) prowess like some wild animal.

About five minutes later, Todd came out of the dark room and seated himself in his office not saying a word. Then, about half an hour later, Josh comes through the outside door with his girlfriend, who works in Providence!!! I'm thinking: "what the hell is going on here?" I later found out that Todd cornered Josh and demanded to know where he was the prior Wednesday. Todd stated, he didn't come in because he didn't have anything to do. This infuriated Todd and he blew a gasket and fired Josh on the spot. Showing his true colors, Todd told him to leave through the side door, so as not to let us know what had just transpired. But it came back to bite Stompy, because Josh had to collect all his belongings and get a ride home (because he carpooled). So, when Josh walked through the door with his girlfriend, the cat was out of the bag and we all knew what happened. Todd's plan for a clean break was up in smoke.

Now we, on the pink side were a tight knit bunch, who looked out for each other. After seeing what happened to Josh, I almost blew a gasket myself and gave Todd a piece of my mind. I was ready to quit on the spot to vindicate my friend Josh, but I couldn't- because I needed the money and I didn't have any other job offers. So, I bit my tongue and bid Josh a happy farewell. But as the proverb states: "he who laughs last, laughs loudest" and I knew I would have the last laugh in the end...

Cleaner, greener, cheaper?

Driving a diesel powered car or light truck in the USA is like being left handed: it's an anomaly. Diesel has a bad rap in the United states among mainstream consumers. Visions of big-rigs billowing thick, black smoke and the sound of loud, knocking engines is what comes to mind when most people think of diesel power.
Companies like Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes and others have been able show diesel engines in a new light: As fuel sipping, race winning, dependable, clean and quiet. I have always been impressed getting the most bang for your buck, so when I found out that Ford, an American auto maker, was making a 2.5 liter turbo-diesel Ranger-type pickup in South Africa, I wrote to Ford, suggesting it made these trucks for the American market.

I wasn't born when the US went through the 1973 oil crisis, but having grown up in the 80's, I remember all the little, mostly foreign cars built for economy. During this time, Honda imported a little hatchback that boasted over 50 miles per gallon- highway. Not even the coveted Toyota Prius can say that.
For years I have inquired why cars in the USA weren't more efficient. I guess the Japanese have always been providing a stable of small cars getting in excess of 30 mpg, but the size and power of these vehicles has been increasing over time. To me, Europe, with it's $2.00/liter petrol (3.78 liters in a gallon), have traditionally had the most options in motoring. One in three autos in Europe is diesel, available in everything from luxurious Audi A8 to the compact Toyota pickup. Not to mention, they have always had the best compact cars, with a host of small displacement gas or diesel options.


I read an article this morning about American truckers boycotting against the lost wages due to the fuel prices. Diesel is over $4.00 a gallon nationwide and truckers say they're not being compensated. http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080403/FON0101/804030422/1289/FONnews

Gasoline prices are high too, but they are more than 50 cents less than diesel. How can it be that diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline? I mean it's just glorified vegetable oil. Gasoline (petrol) must be refined in a process called platforming, the higher the octane, the more refinement. Diesel fuel oil is distilled in a much simpler process, akin to home heating oil or kerosene. Diesel takes less energy to distill than petrol and yields more power per volume. Plus there is are renewable reserves of diesel fuel growing in across our farmlands every year.

Cleaner and greener? Yes, I think.
Cheaper? Not yet...

Stitch together (part-6)

The true colors of Todd's lunacy were about to blossom.

I took my camera to work with me a few times, so I was able to capture some of the madness that was brewing at the Minnow sewing shop. I remember saying to Todd, when I first started, "you should get some video cameras in the building to document the company being built". A few weeks later, I said to Geoff, the graphic designer, that I felt like I Minnow was like a reality TV show, "a cross between the classic movie, Office Space and TV show, The Office. Although this place was even crazier, because this was real. I was ready for the camera crew to come out of the woodwork and tell us all we were on a spoof TV show. This place turned out to be even crazier than make believe and I didn't know anything yet. Once Josh, the fashion designer started working, the place really began to take shape.
From what I thought, Josh and I were going to head around to different designers around the country and be somewhat of a traveling roadshow, preaching the virtues of the Minnow sewing machine to all who would listen. It didn't work out that way.

Todd had Josh laid up in a dark room, creating designs and sketches for clothing, one day it was jeans, the next, chiffon blouses and tee shirts. I'm thinking- o.k. this is fine, now let's get some sewing machines set up, so we can get this party started!!!
The Minnow machines created a purported 1000's of different stitches with their over 300 different sewing machines, but after working there for about a month, I had yet to really see one of these sewing machines sew anything. This vision for a design studio was to have a model of the most popular machines set up for research and development, probably 10 in all.

For some reason, Todd kept stalling with the machines. "Josh doesn't need any machine right now", he would say. I'm thinking, how do you hire a clothing designer and not have a sewing machine for him to work on. That's like hiring a logger and not giving him a saw. After a weeks worth of badgering, I wrestled out the real reason why Josh didn't have a sewing machine., there was none for him to have.

I'm thinking, how can there not be any machines, I see hundreds of them downstairs in the manufacturing space. What I didn't know was that all those machines I saw, stacked on shelving throughout the manufacturing plant, were either used or made in China. They weren't making sewing machines down there, they were buying Chinese knockoffs, putting a Minnow badge on it and shipping it out the door. But these Chinese made machines were only the slow speed 1950's technology machines, used in textile finishing.
The speed demon machines, capable of sewing in excess of 5000 stitches per minute, like the PK-5X, PK-5DRZ-1 and the rest of the PK family were in fact, not made in China. These glorious machines were actually used machines bought from dealers and bankrupt American garment/textile manufacturers, repainted and sold as new. And these were the machines that were in high demand, selling for $2500- $5000 a piece.

The place was a sham and Todd, a snake oil salesman.

Stitch together (part-5)

I don't know if anyone is reading this "series"and I don't really know why i'm writing it. The whole story to me is hilarious. Basically, it's another story of the American Dream, not really though. More like a curtain of deceit and lies being sewn under our noses. Although writing about it is self gratifying, I think the best medium to tell this saga is through film. I am going to keep writing it, but I am going to touch on other topics in between.

Around my fifth day working, Rick, the computer programmer started. He had just moved to Providence and found this job on craigslist, too. Rick is a great guy, he was hired to build a new website to showcase the new company. The Minnow communications department had sprouted up in about 2 weeks and was starting to take shape. We now had 4 members: Geoff, Lolly, Rick and Myself. The office was abuzz in activity, we would all spend at least 2+ hours in Todd's office in meetings, each day.


Todd was very involved with everything that went on our our side of the building, it was like his little fiefdom. On his wall was a big Turkish flag, which at first led me to believe he was of Turkish descent. I laughed when I found out the real meaning. It was actually because Todd thought of himself as a Young Turk- a revolutionary. He was a maverick that didn't follow anyone's path, and at first I was down with it. Flip-flops, hats and Macs not to mention dogs running around, it seemed pretty cool...

I later learned that this was only a facade to lure unsuspecting 20 somethings into a seemingly fun company.

Image was big with Todd. Gucci loafers, tales of gallivanting in NYC with Dov, from American Apparel. The guy has his own Wikipedia page, that he created (although he vehemently denies). He was more interested to what fashion designers I'd talked to, than how many machines Jerry, our sole salesman, was selling.
While the stitch book was beginning to take shape and we were developing our stitch branding strategy to designers and apparel brands, Todd decided that he needed to hire a fashion designer to create unique stitches with the Minnow Machines. This new designer and I were going to work together to search out and befriend designers and fashion labels to help our branding initiative. We would show them how their unique designs could benefit from using a Minnow sewing machine.
"I hired a fashion designer from RISD"- Todd proclaimed one day. Great, I'm thinking. We, the fashion designer and me can get to work using the sewing machines and start to see these incredible stitches that I'd heard so much about. The only time I saw the Minnow machines in use, was when the machine assemblers would sew off fabric for final adjustments before shipping.

One thing that stood out from day one, was how the Todd kept saying they made over 300 types of sewing machines, and I was like: "they all look the same", because, to me they did look the same. Some of them were painted blue, some green and some white, but they all shared the same shape and characteristics. All in all, they all looked identical in my eyes.

Stitch together (part 4)

I brought my laptop with me on my first day of work, it just so figured that there wasn't an available computer. I met up with the chief, Todd and he gave me an overview of his branding strategy again: we were going to- brand a stitch.
Minnow sewing machines produce some of the most precise, consistent sewing stitches in the world. Apparel makers all over the world, use these machines to stitch everything from sandals to sequin seams. One of the most impressive sewing machines was the PK-5X, the green machine. This puppy is for sewing the edge around patches (over edge stitch)- at a rate of 32 stitches per inch.
I was all for the idea of branding the stitches- my first task was to track down anyone using our name without a trademark. Many product descriptions, rightly or wrongly will advertise that they have a Minnow edge.
I developed a list of trademark violators and contacted, stating that Minnow was a registered trademark and if used, must also bear a registered trademark symbol (tm). I spent about a week tracking down all the people using the Minnow name inappropriately. After I exhausted my list, my next mission was to befriend fashion designers and help promote The Minnow Machines as a way to create unique designs. I talked with some big designers and got a good overview of the over edge stitching business between talking with the designers, but when time came to meet up with the designers, it we were onto the new stitch book that Geoff and Lolly (our new marketing assistant) were creating. I didn't really know what was going on, but Todd seemed to have a divine plan and I was running with it.

Stitch together (part 3)

I show up to work on my first day at Minnow Sewing Machines and take my post at a green sewing machine table, my desk. I was in a little room adjacent to a large multi-station office area which is part of a large open office area with large cubicle desks. The president's office was across the room, his desk positioned so as to have the optimal view out his door into the office. Our office was located on the south side of the warehouse, which was about 50 feet wide and 300 feet long. The building was pretty unassuming, just another warehouse in Wareham.
There were was purchasing, shipping and parts department on on the north side of building, with a loading dock, offices and supplies. This was also the heart of the building, with the makeshift employee break room and kitchen. The middle of the building was manufacturing, where the machines were built. Sewing machines in various states of completion were being assembled at several work stations. Other machines were stacked high on industrial shelving. It was impressive to see hundreds of these little machines all over the place in different stages of completion. There were other rooms filled with parts, machines and file cabinets scattered throughout the building.

There were five people working in our "department", at this point.


Stephen (job unknown)- He had been working at the company for over a year and was always doing random assignments, at the command of the president.
Jerry (sales)- Musician and resident Mac buff, a funny guy with a dry sense of humor. He graduated from UMass, Dartmouth a few years ago and was working for the company for about a year. He lived a few towns away in New Bedford, about 15 miles away.
Geoff (graphic design)- Geoff just started a few days ago and is working with Steven cataloging digital pictures of stitch samples created by the machines.
Todd Minnow(president)- A 29 year old, self proclaimed magnate, who runs the company with his little brother, Teddy.

I was hired as a branding and marketing specialist to help build build the Minnow brand.

Stitch together (part 2)

2006 was a crazy year. I went from working on yachts in south Florida and going to school, framing houses in the Outer Cape to living on Horseneck beach in Westport, MA. I began the year at the Miami Ad School. The program ended in April, I moved back to the Cape at the end of the month and started looking for work in Boston. In the meantime, I was building houses with my old company and making the most of the summer. All of a sudden it was August and I was anxious to put my recent education to work.


While checking out the jobs on craigslist.org one day in late August, I read a posting for an entry level marketing associate at an interesting startup in Wareham. They were a growing, dynamic company, a world leader in their field and best of all they were located just over the bridge, off Route 28. I whipped up a cover letter and emailed the company my resume. No more than an hour later, I had an email wanting to arrange an interview. I can't remember, but I think I interviewed that day.

I show up for the interview and the place is located in this big, industrial warehouse two sides of offices and a manufacturing plant in the middle. They looked like they were producing some quality product. I go up to the office and there are dogs running around and a couple people working on computers and listening to music. I meet with the president, who was a young, Gung-Ho type. He was an engaging guy, with a bunch to talk about the history of Minnow Sewing Machines and how his great grandfather started Minnow Machines over 150 years ago and how they had recently moved the operations from Connecticut to Wareham.

I got a callback for a second interview right before Labor Day weekend and I was offered the job. I was taking a pay cut (-) from building houses, but it was a startup with unlimited potential (+), so I envisioned Google type, return on investment (=) $$$

Stitch together (part 1)

The Connecticut River is a meandering river that can trace its roots to a small lake along the New Hampshire/Quebec boarder. Stretching over 400 miles- “the Connecticut” is of great economic and geographical importance. Both agriculture and industry have thrived at the shores of the Connecticut. The fertile, silt laden flood plains provide nutrient rich farming land for everything from corn to shade tobacco. The voluminous waters and swift current provided energy needed for manufacturing and helped create the great industrial cities of Springfield, MA and Hartford, CT.

Companies big and small, grew out of the Connecticut river. One of these companies was an industrial sewing machine manufacturer, founded outside Hartford, that pioneered the garment making industry. Founded around 1838, Minnow Machine Company has remained private for over 150 years. With a history of innovation and better reliability than AAA, Minnow machines were revered far and wide as the best, money could buy.

Saturday

This week was very satisfying, I was able to stave off some impulse moves and keep on track. A few weeks back, I started working with my old company, MJ Dangelo, building houses and doing construction. It has really brought me back to square about what true happiness is.

In all my searching for the "perfect job", I think I had lost sight of what I really enjoyed and what I didn't like about jobs I have held before. I was talking with my brother over the holidays, and we were talking about life and jobs and happiness and he said- The grass isn't greener on the other side. Something clicked in my head when he said this, because I think I have always held- the grass is greener mentality, in my head. I interpreted what he was saying as- sometimes you have to take a step back and look at where you are and how you got there instead of searching for where you're not.

"It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be the great dreamer."
Teddy Roosevelt - Berkeley, 1911

Truth hurts

When I was a kid there used to be this great public service announcement put out by the Church of Latter Day Saints- the Mormons, . The commercial was catchy and made me think that muggers were going to abduct me if I started lying.

When you tell one lie, it leads to another
So you tell two lies to cover each other
Then you tell three lies and, oh brother
You’re in trouble up to your ears!....

Since you were a little kid, your parents have been urging you to tell the truth. Then why is it, that that telling the truth is so hard? Because nobody wants to hear the truth, it's not politically correct. If you went around telling the truth all day, you would be in some serious doodoo. Jack Nicholson says it best:



Seems to me that everybody lies. I think it's a human behavior. I'm not necessarily saying that everyone is a bold-faced lier. Some lies are confabulations (white lies) and are usually cute and cuddly, because you're just "stretching" the truth. Other lies are more more involved. Some people lie to themselves. This is called denial. And as Mark Twain said- Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Some people get so caught up in their lies, they believe them. They suffer from Mythomania, or pathological lying. We, in the United States have many of these types running our government.

When people hear the truth, they usually wish it was a lie. Why is this?

Truth Hurts

p.s. happy valentines day!!!

Bang it home

Overboard

Last night, I visited the Bassett Custom Boat Works.


As I walk in their shop, I see this mini, 20 foot down-easter, lobster boat sitting on a trailer. I see a light coming out of the little cuddy cabin up front. Ian is cramped in there, rewiring all the electrical for the whole boat, in a neat, orderly fashion. "Like Cabo, he proclaims" He goes through a checklist of the new upgrades the boat is going to receive, which included a satellite radio, new instrument gauges, new cockpit windows and an LCD, with chart plotter mounted over the wheel.
Although, Ian deemed these modifications as pretty simple, it looked to me like a smorgasbord of high tech that I thought was only relegated to high priced yachts. Even though I had seen dozens of boats revitalized and resuscitated before, something clicked in my head last night. As Ian was bantering about his upgrades. He made a comment that the little boat was getting "hooked up" And I thought, damn, wouldn't this make a great TV show. A cross between Pimp My Ride and Deadliest Catch.

Honorary Lefties

Shout out to two old school nits.

Hi, my name is Polly, but you can call me Elena. Although it doesn't look like it, I have been dancing for a long time.

Hey, I'm Abby. One question I always have on my mind is: "what are you doing?" I've been known to call people and then tell them 30 seconds later: "hey, I gotta go"


These two are classic, the old 1+1=1 analogy. Individually- hilarious: together- insatiable. Like a swarm of locusts, Abby and Polly gobble up any and all attention within their immediate vicinity. When their powers are unified, it's an occurrence known as a COA, which is similar to a supernova.

Learn, live, hope

Now the Patriots loss was a shocking blow to those Pats fans from New England, but life goes on.


"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."- Albert Einstein

Over there

Life is about the experiences you live, the lessons you learn and the people you meet. I have been fortunate to meet many great people throughout my life and they have helped shaped who I am today. My view of what makes a great person is not based on wealth, education, achievements or any other status quo. A person’s heart is what makes them great. Greatness lies in the heart.

Ever since I was a child, I have tried not to judge others around me. I view all people as equal. One of my favorite proverbs is the one about walking in another man’s shoes. Although there are different versions of the proverb out there, the basic lesson is that until you walk in someone else’s shoes, you don’t know where they have been. My quest is to try on other peoples shoes to see where they have been and what has shaped their lives.

I believe everyone on this earth is here for a reason. Everybody is somebody. We all have inspirational stories to tell and we all have something to contribute. For the better part of my life, I have been trying to figure why I am here.

I think my quest is tied directly to communication. I believe that my greatest assets is my genuine love and interest in people. In a world of miscommunication and mistrust, I think that the world needs more great communicators and I will see to it I do everything in my power to make the world a better place to live in, through communication.