Everything is relative.

Everything is relative. I’ve been conducting an informal survey for a little while now: when I ask for ‘lots and lots of ketchup’ at the Chik-Fil-A drive-through I will receive either a) lots and lots of ketchup or b) three or four packets. The determining factor: how busy the Chik-Fil-A is. Something tells me if you work there and you hand out a dozen packets to a dozen cars in 5 minutes in a row you seem like you’re giving away too much. But, give away a dozen packets to a dozen cars in 30 minutes and you’re doing what you’re supposed to. (I think I’ll start saying ‘fill the bag with ketchup’.)

Do you hate driving?

I hate driving… in rush hour traffic. I’ve toyed with leaving early, leaving late–to no avail. Unless you’re an hour and a half ahead of the pack you won’t get anywhere in Denver. My 50 mile drive turned into an 90 minute sit-and-stare fest. That’s one reason I just leased a new car.

Nissan Sentra SLI’ve been driving a Subaru station since the beginning of college (it’s a ’94) and I figured, with my big-boy job and all, it was time I gave the family car back. I visited my local Nissan dealership, had my research and information all done and I was ready to commit. Two hours later I signed a two-year lease to a 2007 Nissan Sentra SL.

It’s pretty, it’s fast, it’s fun, it’s new. I’m quite pleased. I don’t have to deal with the poor old Subaru’s clutch all day in traffic, I don’t have to wonder if my car will start this morning, I didn’t have to drop a ton of cash. I’m pleased with how things turned out. So, with all that said, I wish I didn’t have to drive; Denver is far too spread out.

Keeping in touch isn’t easy

Keeping in touch isn’t easy sometimes. These days with hundreds of Facebook, MySpace, and Linkedin friends it can be overwhelming and even paralyzing to try and be a good friend to everyone. I’m sure we all have our close groups of friends: the ones we go out with, call occasionally, see on the weekends. But what about everyone else? I have my own method of keeping in touch…

Let me preface this by saying a methodological approach doesn’t mean it’s any less meaningful. We can all agree, our lives are quick and busy. So, I force myself to reach out to at least three friends every day. And, like most important things (schedule, to-do, contacts) I like to create a list or use a system to keep myself organized. So, I’ve created a spreadsheet that tracks the three people I’ve talked to and how we contacted each other (SMS, Phone, Facebook, etc.).

Click here to borrow my spreadsheet, Excellent Friends.xls

Sure, I could sit down every day and send a Facebook message to my friends but I’d start to see a pattern: I don’t call anyone, I don’t see anyone face-to-face. My hope is that hindsight will force me to be a better friend in the future. There are so many people I want to keep up with, I’ve found this is a simple way to do that. And if you’re really lucky, your friends will want to reach out to you, too. I can’t wait for that day. ;)

Nordstrom got it right

Nordstrom got it right tonight when I brought in a pair of pants to be altered. I had bought the pair across the street at Nordstrom Rack and the guy told me they usually charge for the alteration. No worries! But, once the measurements were taken he said ‘hey, no charge’. So, I walked from Men’s Clothing to Men’s shoes and spent a few bucks.