So last week my friends and I decided to visit the Animal Rescue spur of the moment. We’ve been following a super long detour to get around some major highway construction (great job PDOT..great job) and were feeling and bit loopy. Immediately after parking in their minuscule parking lot, we saw a new intake German Shepherd in their outdoor area, looking dejected as homeless dogs tend to. Pulls at the heart, no? If that wasn’t enough, we walked in to see the rest of the dogs. Rows of dogs, locked up in concrete cages, with a blanket over a formed plastic bed. Then we came upon Halle, a 5month old Saint Bernard Great Dane mix. Sad, but full of puppy spirit, and great looking too. If we hadn’t left at that point I would have had another dog in the house. This situation should sound pretty familiar. But then I thought..why are there so many dogs in shelters? It sucks!
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I spent this past weekend meeting up with friends I hardly get to see (damn you real life and your jobs). We all met up in NYC from our respective cities for a few days of catching up and craziness. Of course, when you stick a bunch of guys in the City, there’s bound to be some Y-chromo tendencies. So many hotties around it kind of makes you goofy. Obviously, for the single guys this is no thing; for the rest of us, it is a nut kick waiting to happen.
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There’s always that talk that you eventually need to have that just totally sucks. Either you’re telling someone they’re being let go, or asking for a raise, or telling your boss you royally fucked something up. Each of these and more are sure your get you stressed and chewin on your nails. The good news is that you’re not alone. Most people have a terrible time dealing with terrible conversations. Read More

I remember in third grade when my art teacher taught us the color triangle and about basic colors. It was amazing ROYGBIV hotness. If everyone else’s third grade art teachers were as cool as mine, then they should at least have some capability of matching and coordinating colors. But alas, this does not seem to be the case. My eyes have taken their share of punishment from large neon purple tops with seizure inducing patterns and other horrendous color combos (you in the green shirt and red tie, it’s not Christmas in June). I’m not made of eyes you know…once I lose these I might have to get bionic eyes. Then where would it end? Next thing you know I’ll be at the Jiffy-Lube getting the oil changed on my bionic arm. Read More

Some people stay at their first company of employment for their whole career. Others hop around a few years before settling in. Others hop around a lot. I recently left my first place of employment for family, and have discovered that leaving is not easy and not just packing my box and going (unless the leaving is due to you getting canned, in which case you do want to vacate fast).

Unless you want to burn bridges, there’s a lot of things that you have to deal with, including writing a letter of resignation to your manager, exit interviews, and paperwork. Aside from the administrative items, there’s the matter of co-workers and friends that you are leaving. Each of these is a topic that I’ll write about later. For now, the focus is the letter of resignation. Read More

Often times it it more how people perceive you at work that has more impact than the work you do. Of course, the work you do will also influence how people perceive you. I’ve seen perfectly capable people at work get the shaft because the general perception of them is that they’re totally inept.

An interview from Harvard Business School covers some key points, and many points that I hadn’t thought about before. Since we’re still starting off or at least early in our careers, there’s still time to start managing our image.
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Impressions are a powerful thing. At work they are often the basis of work relationships and movement. In your private life it can influence having true friends. However, in our society most people won’t tell you to your face, “Hey, nice weather today. You’re an asshole.”

At work or personally, everyone has dealt with that asshole, be it the obnoxious co-worker or the overbearing boss (If not, then consider that maybe you are the asshole everyone else is dealing with). Guy Kawasaki recently had a mini series on his site about Bob Sutton’s The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. Read More

I sometimes wonder what constitutes a gentleman in present times. What’s expected? Am I doing an OK job at it? Looking back through our history, the look and mannerisms have evolved, but is there something that can still be defined as ‘gentleman?’

I happened upon this thought from Oscar De La Renta:

Good manners are not about dressing—a man can be dressed in the most unfortunate way and be a perfect gentleman…

I also came across Etiquette Of A Gentleman on AskMen.com. Between the two, the best way to sum it up is to be calm and collected. Both are a good and quick read, so have a glance, it might just help you be a better gentleman.

Gentlemanly Advice from Men.Style.Com, Etiquette Of A Gentleman from AskMen.com