The Compliment Middleman

January 30, 2008 · Filed Under Family, General · 5 Comments 

A few days ago I received a nice email from my aunt. Part of it read:

Funny…I am in my room and Madison just came running in. “Hurry, turn on 110.3 FM. Cousin Brian’s song is on!!!” I turn it on and start laughing, because of course it is James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain”. She would not believe me that it wasn’t you. She said it sounded EXACTLY like you.
There you go!

First, you can probably imagine that Cousin Madison just made my list of favorite people.

But more importantly, I love the role that my aunt took here. I call it the “Compliment Middleman.” They take note of when a friend or family member is complimented and then go out of their way to let that person know about it. It’s a talent that some people have and that more people should find. Some of my favorite people do this well and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I try to do it as often as opportunity allows.

For me personally, I’ve never been able to take a compliment real well directly from the giver. However, I think that everyone enjoys knowing that they were spoken well of when not around.

So next time you hear a friend or family member be complimented, send that person an email or a phone call and let them know. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as they do.

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Ninety Seconds Of Cole Boy

January 24, 2008 · Filed Under Cole, Family, General · 9 Comments 

Cole is quite a fun boy to be around. Since I run my business mostly from home, I get to take Cole breaks during the day to play with my son. I consider it one of the best perks of my job.

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Cole has four things that fill up most of his day:

Jumping Around: A few weeks ago we bought a jumper for Cole and he loves it. Prior to it arriving, Cole would sleep about 9 hours at night. But immediately since the first day of jumping, he’s now pushing about 11 hours. He definitely wears himself out in this chair. Shoulder Crawling: Cole is just on the verge of crawling. He’s at the stage of getting on hands and knees and just bouncing back and forth. But, when he needs to get somewhere he finds a way. Right now, it mostly consists of balancing on his left shoulder and pushing with his right big toe. It’s strange, but it works for him. Assisted Walking: His absolute favorite activity is to grab two fingers of whomever is around and just start walking. He is so proud of himself when he does it. When I’m sitting at my desk, he’ll come walking around the corner with a huge smile on his face so excited to show off for me. It’s great. Beat Box: Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved teaching little boys how to beat box. Maybe it’s my way of bonding. I’ve had a lot of good students thru the years, and Cole jumps right up there on the list. He’ll drop a beat anytime and anywhere and it makes me laugh.

Since all of these activities give me such joy, I thought I’d share them with everyone else. I’ve put together a ninety second video of Cole doing his thing. You can see it here.

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My January Stockpile

January 20, 2008 · Filed Under General · 7 Comments 

A short list of thoughts:

I think that the whole world eats toast the wrong way. Try eating it with the butter side down. If you’re going to get the calories anyway, let your taste buds have that butter bath. What is it about the Beach Boys music that can make you feel so care free and young again? I rarely turn them on, but when they come up in an iTunes shuffle it’s like instant childhood. Among my gifts for Christmas were slippers, ties, and a bottle of aftershave. Am I officially a dad now? This time of year, a common questions seems to be, “What is your New Year’s Resolution?” Personally, I resolved to increase my knowledge thru reading more books. But, I think you’re setting yourself up for failure when a goal is made so generally so I had to plan it out.

I have divided the year into 26 two-week periods. I’ve assigned a book to each period. I have reminder emails coming as to when each book should be started, and another email coming half way thru the period so I know that I should be half way done at that point. I do most of my reading in the morning before Cole and Candace get out of bed and surely you’ll be seeing some book reviews here as I finish the better ones.

This past week while I was in San Francsico, I watched the movie “The Great Debaters.” It was an excellent movie. If you can’t get out to see it, add it to your Netflix Queue so you’re sure to see it later.

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