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A Cartoon of me at work ...

It’s a week that I haven’t been looking forward to living. It’s been a six-day workweek and it looks like next week will be the same: the store will not hit the labor targets for the week. I’m looking toward another six-day workweek next week. As I mentioned before, companies are just looking at the bottom line now.

There are times that there are small things that gives you wonder during the workday. A couple of days ago on of the employees drew a cartoon character of me. She did it on something that had a picture on the backside, so I asked her to draw it again on a regular copy paper.

Shorthand key: Q.T.: Quality Time where they have an one-on-one with me about something in their work performance that needed correcting.

Great NASCAR minds couldn't answer tire wear at Indy...

I wanted to wait for the comments and analysis of the race at the Brickyard on Sunday afternoon. For the sport that I follow, it amazes me that the greatest minds in the sport couldn’t solve and plan out better conditions for a competitive race at Indy. NASCAR fans yearn week-to-week, side-by-side competitive racing. This is supposed to be the second-ranked race on the schedule to the Daytona 500, the first race of the year. Instead NASCAR fans watched ten to twelve mini-races caused by eight-tire related yellow cautions because the track wore down the Goodyear tires to shreds. The longest consecutive green lap racing was for thirteen laps.

The change to the Car of Tomorrow last year added to the complication of this abrasive track surface with a heavy center of gravity. The car choice was to favor the safety of the drivers.

I hope that next year NASCAR, the owners and Goodyear will work on variables for a more exciting race. Maybe offering other tire manufactures to enter the sport? More testing on the track is a must. We’ll see what happens.

Six-day workweek & Why NASCAR?

It’s going to be a long, tough week. Corporations has gotten numbers-focused. Weeks ago the company that I works for told us that if our store did not met the labor target for the week, instead of the schedule five-day work week, all the store’s managers will be working six-days a week. Last week we didn’t make labor. Thus, this week we have to work six days this week with today the only day off, which I found out yesterday. It’s going to be a long week, especially since I’ll be opening.

I thought that since today’s day off is a NASCAR race Sunday and Aurora and I are not traveling, I’d watch the race by NASCAR RaceTrack. I had to watch it this way because my wife is a race behind catching up on the DVR of the races. As I’m sure it’s with you, so many things to do and so little time.

For those of you who wonder how a guy like me can watch NASCAR, it’s really easy. First of all, it’s really a complex business, especially in a national economy that struggles with marketing dollars. Like last year, this year will mix up the teams with drivers. And some times there’s the drama between certain drivers.  There are also strategies that has to be considered and played out on the fly during a several-hour race day with the plan that a team considers the day before, but then, adjusts upon the course conditions of the race day.

Just in the last few years we’ve seen many changes, even since I made trips to North Carolina where all the garages are. We saw at least one garage close down, Ginn Racing. Dale Earnhart, Jr. ended his stay at the company that his father started, DEI, and joined the Hendrick team. This year’s points leader, Kyle Busch, moved from the Hendrick team to Joe Gibbs Racing.

This picture was taken in June 2007 when Aurora and I visited Joe Gibbs Racing near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Today starts ESPN/ABC coverage of the Cup race. I may not be able to compare it to NASCAR on Fox because I’m watching the race on my computer.

Not my vision so is there anything I can do?

On Tuesday, I was working on some letters while I had the picture-in-a-picture of Fox News and CNN. I was riveted with the coverage of the Casey Anthony bond hearing. The story is about a two-year-old missing in Orlando, Florida. There was a new revelation during the hearing, which disclosed that the last time the grandmother, Cindy, saw her on June 15, instead of June 9.

I thought that is story was interesting because Cindy, the grandmother of Caylee, the missing two-year-old, said that Casey is her best friend. Yet, she didn’t know where she worked, never saw a pay stub from her daughter, lived with her and didn’t know the whereabouts of anything with her daughter and granddaughter. Another strange thing was when Cindy was asked on the witness stand, what her husband, the grandfather of Caylee, did for a living? Cindy didn’t know exactly. It makes me wonder about the present discussions that go on in our households these days. What type of conversations did they have in the household?

That is not the type of knowledge within a household that I desire. That is not the vision I have with my friends and family. But I realize with the suspicious nature of others and the busyness of our lives, it’s just the way that it is these days.

The question that I have to ask you all is: is there anything that I can do to make my vision a reality?

One mission I can not fail the "prize"

Thank goodness that I don’t have the decision to determine whether anyone goes to heaven or not. I have enough to work just to be concerned about my own eternal salvation. It’s too important for me not to accomplish this mission in life. And I have done many of those. The Bible says at John 3:16: ¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And this verse, John 14:6: ⁶Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

I point this out because on Sunday when Aurora and I attended church during the service we heard the Scripture on 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:1-14. I listened to yesterday’s sermon about the imperishable prize of our eternal destiny. This is what I received from the sermon. It’s always a spiritual battle, the sinful man –vs- the spiritual man for control of our own individual souls.

1 John 2:15-17 says: ¹⁵Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Obviously it’s not the works we commit unto God that we are saved, Ephesians 2:8-9: ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. But a life as a Bible-believer is about repentance of our sinful self. It’s an on-going process of getting my heart and mind fixed on the things of what’s important with my personal relationship with Christ, the unique adventures He has for my life. This is doubly important because why I am not responsible for the eternal destiny of others, I am accountable to God to bringing His message in my role as an ambassador for Him. On a personal level, it’s important to me because I would not want to be disqualified from the offer of the gift from God through Jesus Christ—eternal life. I am certain with the love of my wife and, more importantly, the love of God through the sacrifice of giving His own Son, Jesus Christ, I will work toward that imperishable prize!

Up-to-date on NASCAR ... finally!

I am catching up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup races that I missed when I was visiting friends and family out west. I know that I wouldn’t be interested in NASCAR if it didn’t have all the colors on the race cars. What can I say? I just have an interest in all these different colors.

I caught up with the race at New Hampshire, Daytona and Chicago. I can now check out the NASCAR.com website to catch up with all the news in the racing world.

I thought that I would share these pictures with all of you. I lived less than a seven-mile drive on my own from the Auto Club Superspeedway, but never went to a NASCAR race event.

Business leaders wonder why the economy struggles?

I am always amazed at how leaders just don’t plan their goals very well. Not to say that I can write a book on planning.  But my bosses has a lot to do with what I have on my agenda.  And the business world wonders why we are not as productive as we could be.  It is one of the reasons why I choose to work for the company that I did. Still, I’m a little disappointed again, but I’ll rebound and be ok.

My boss, who need to give me their overreaching goals first before I can plan mine. So last week Saturday, I received my schedule for the next two weeks. When I do receive my schedule, I work on my week’s plan, including my personal plans with my wife and myself. I had it all planned out when I received a call last night saying that my boss needed me to work on Friday because he wanted to attend a surprise party for his wife. A surprise birthday party just two days before it happens? A little suspicious.

I will adapt to the change now. I am just a little tired with the eight days working straight with the one day off yesterday. It is back to work today. I will have four days to work in the row before I have three days off in a row.

Killing time because crime does pay? ... Governments inefficiency

I had to kill some time today at Midas. Apparently about a week ago at work where I parked my truck, my catalytic converter from my exhaust was cut out leaving a very loud noise when I was driving around to/from work. I just got back paying a little over $300 replacing the missing center part of my truck’s exhaust system.

I am told that the process of extracting the part takes less than a minute with a portable saw that anyone is able to purchase at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Quick profitable crime.

It still just amazes me how people can continue to break the law and get away with it without the government not enforcing the laws that it passes. I know that’s sad to believe that some parents are ok with this type of behavior of their kids, too!

As a letter to our elected politicians: Please do something to help enforce the laws where it affects other people, and stop taxing me. Government isn’t supposed to help in prosperity, but just protection of our safety that usually private enterprise wouldn’t take on, because there is no profit to be gained. If my tax money is going to specifically go toward this and educate our children, I am 100% behind you. Tax revenue from taxpayers need to be specific and earmarked. If not, stop taxing my hard-earned money, because you really are an inefficient running business!

Mahalo for your gifts and cards on trip

It’s been an intense eight days since Aurora and I arrived back from our vacation. For me, it’s been eight straight days of work. It’s been hours on my feet at any given workday. It’s time to get back to dealing with work at a quick pace, dealing with feeding people, and motivating employees of all types. I could really illustrate some interesting personalities with my own imagination!

As you may have noticed, this is the first time I have to spend on writing her at length. Let me express to all of my friends and family in So CA and HI: I appreciate the hospitality, consideration and wishes of a happy future with my wife.  You made my wife's first trip memorable.  Mahalo to some of you were extremely generous in your gifts along with your wedding/greeting cards. Let me say that I will not forget all your kindness, and the true sense of the Aloha Spirit. I hope that “our love story” caused you to think away from the challenges and problems during your “day job.” Do you have a good story to tell me that will take me away from my “day job,” now that I am back to work?

Future travel itinerary …

While we committed to the past trip to Southern California and Hawaii, Aurora and I made a list of the other places that we’d like to visit together, not in any order. I thought that I’d share it with you. Right now, for your information, we are not even interested to live in any of those places either.

• New York City (visit Strand Book Store)

• New England

• Chicago

• Alaska

• Las Vegas

• Grand Canyon

• Boston, MA

• NASA - Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

• San Francisco, CA

• Seattle, WA

• Colorado (want to see Rocky Mountain National Park, among other things)

• 2nd visit to DisneyWorld ... (maybe visit close to the Daytona 500, the first race of the NASCAR season?)

• 2nd visit to Hawaii during non-peak season

• 2nd visit to Southern California ... Disneyland

Does anyone have any suggestions about adding places or not going to any that are listed?