OTBN

Saturday night, Amy and I celebrated our first “Open That Bottle Night” with a 1999 Chateau St. Jean Reserve Chardonnay.

OTBN, observed on the last Saturday of each February, was started ten years ago by the couple who write the ‘Tastings’ column for The Wall Street Journal, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. Though we don’t necessarily read the Journal, we’ve heard the couple speak on NPR a couple of times. Then, they were on ‘Fresh Air’ this past week talking about OBTN and about the importance of finding reasons to celebrate during the tough times we find our country in these days. They have a unique talent for writing and speaking about wine and, in this particular interview, reiterated the importance of celebrating the memories certain bottles of wine hold for their owners. We knew we had that “one bottle” that we were saving and decided to participate this year, the year of our 15th wedding anniversary and a little over a month before our first trip together to the California wine country.

So, about the bottle.

In 2001, I had been working for The Gap for about a year and a half. I was managing a group of stores in my home town and was selected by my district manager to participate in a service group charged with rolling out some project for the stores nationwide. We trained for the project in San Francisco for one week and then traveled the remaining six months, training other managers on this project. Then, once we were done, the company flew us all back to San Francisco for one week of debriefing. Now, by “debriefing,” I mean a hour-long session of communicating our learnings and 4-day, 23-hour vacation filled with dinners, shopping and wine tours. Needless to say, Amy, at home, alone with two kids under five, was unimpressed.

Of course, we were broke. I mean, hell, I was working retail. So, even though she understood I had to attend, it kind of sucked that I was having a good time while she was taking care of the family on a tight budget. So, with what little money I had, I bought one bottle of wine from one of the wineries on the tour. I carried it back and told her that we would save it for a special occasion.

Somehow, that time never came. We moved to Houston about a year later. The wine went with us. I got a job making almost double what I was making at The Gap. The bottle went unopened. We became secure enough that Amy didn’t have to work. There it was, setting in our meager little wine rack. We looked at that bottle every day for nearly ten years and never thought to open it. In fact, it got to the point that we were afraid to drink it because it had sat there for so long.

Finally, after hearing the ‘Fresh Air’ episode last week, I decided it was time to open that bottle. No real anniversary; no special occasion; just a time to drink a good bottle of wine and enjoy each others’ company and the company of our kids. And it was great! The color was a darker gold that we were used to in newer chardonnays, but the flavor was crisp and surprisingly fruity. We finished the bottle unceremoniously – I think Amy was on the phone with her parents and I looking at  a magazine – but the experience was awesome.

Still, at some point we realized that we were really celebrating a number of important events with that bottle: the kids scoring 100s on their TAKs tests, Sidney’s first football game, Caitlin’s improved time on her 50m freestyle, the purchase of our new house, Amy’s new job or the completion of my company’s Purdue training. All of those events were more than important enough to celebrate with that bottle, but we were too busy, or the moments were too fleeting, to really recognize them as special. So, we’re in the process of filling our wine cooler with enough bottles in order to never miss toasting the special events in our lives.

That being said, we’ve already picked next year’s bottle: a 1981 bottle of Jack Daniels given to us by Amy’s late grandfather.

State of our business

“I work in the oil and gas industry and things are slowing down at an exponential rate. Natural gas is trading at $4.50/MMbtu and oil is at $45.50/bbl, which is low for our market.”

I started this post a couple of weeks ago and things have continued to worsen. Oil is around $39 per barrel and natural gas is closer to $4 per MMbtu. The rigs that are drilling on land in the US are being released daily and the oil companies are being ultra-conservative with their drilling and exploration budgets. Of course, the price at the pump remains under $2, so the consumer seems happy. At least, those who still have jobs and have somewhere to drive seem happy. 

My job is not safe. As I work for a service company that provides equipment for drilling, we are clawing for any foothold we can get in this market. I’m a salesman and I am walking into offices with my hat in hand and quoting lower prices than I’ve seen during my tenure with this company. All this said, this is where I can shine and make a career.

“It’s never good to be a salesman in a sellers’ market.” – C. Parks, my dad.

This was the advice my father gave me when I started in the oil business some years ago. He meant that during a market when activity is up and there is a shortage of services and equipment, salesmen often have to say “no” to their customers. Larger customers take priority over the smaller ones and relationships are tested as prices rise. His charge to me was to not let this happen and to work hard to make them feel important even when you can’t help them.

I tried, but it was tough. I gave some smaller customers less attention and let my attention to detail with my active customers fall by the wayside. Now, I’m struggling to make things happen for me and my team by supporting them with some better habits. I’m not necessarily micro-managing, but, let’s just say, they’re hearing from me a lot more frequently.

Okay, to the “shining.” If I can get my stuff together, be better organized and make a strong effort to build better relationships with my customers today, I’ll have them for a lifetime. In a buyers’ market, the operators hold all of the cards and can dictate price. But, the service companies, typically with their smaller and more experienced staffs, can make a good showing as there are less effective competitors out there. It’s my goal to make an awesome showing during this slow period.

Let’s just hope I don’t lose my job before I get to show off.

Laziness at its finest.

I got tagged on this facebook thing that involves submitting twenty-five random things about yourself. And, since I haven’t posted in a while, I thought I’d put the list here.

25 Random Things

1. I do not like to go into grocery stores while they are stocking the shelves. I already feel out-of-sorts in grocery stores and all of those boxes make it seem even more claustrophobic.

2. The Jane’s Addiction album, ‘Nothing’s Shocking,’ changed my life. I rarely listen to it now and will often skip over the songs when my iPod is on shuffle.

3. I think I have more songs on my iPod by Frank Sinatra than by any other artist. The Beatles would be a close second.

4. The movie ‘White Nights’ is in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Actually, it’s probably number 2 behind ‘Miller’s Crossing.’

5. I have more pairs of shoes than my wife.

6. I am envious of my wife for a lot of reasons, but the most prominent one is that she had been hired for almost every job for which she’s applied.

7. I have been a manager in nearly every place I’ve worked after college and I don’t think I’ve ever been really good at it. Now, I find myself in a similar position at my current job.

8. I went to church almost every Sunday from the third grade through high school. As an adult, I’ve not been to a service on consecutive Sunday’s in about 15 years.

9. I prefer to use fountain pens, but rarely use the same one for more than a week at a time.

10. My first trip overseas was to Dubai, UAE in December of 2007. I cannot wait until my wife and I can travel abroad together.

11. I haven’t had a soda in 3 years.

12. In high school, I was obsessed with stand-up comedy. I thought I would try my hand at it during college, but I never had the guts to get up in front of an audience.

13. My current job is the best job I’ve had. The reason is that, while the pay is fine, my boss is clearly the best one I’ve worked for ever.

14. Fortunately, my kids are brighter and more self-confident that I was at their age. This is clearly a genetic inheritance from their mother.

15. I enjoyed managing a bookstore, but hope to never work in retail again.

16. My favorite t.v. show of all time is a kid’s show called ‘The Adventures of Pete & Pete.’ I honestly feel like I will continue to watch it well into old age.

17. I’ve been able to pass along my love of The Marx Brothers, ‘Evil Dead 2,’ and ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ to my son without a hint of irony. He likes these things (and more) like he discovered them himself.

18. I worked at Astroworld in Houston, TX between high school and college.

19. Julie Andrews is probably the most famous person I’ve ever met.

20. I was never into hunting and fishing when I was younger, but I have learned to appreciate it more as an adult. I don’t go out of my way to do either, but try not to pass on an opportunity when it comes up.

21. I’ve had my company vehicle for just under 3 years and have put approximately 132,000 miles on it. I should be at or near 150,000 by the time that anniversary time comes around. I’ve had chances to fly for work, but now prefer to drive when I can.

22. I honestly believe that the difference between a ‘good song’ and a ‘great song’ are the inclusion of hand claps and/or whistling.

23. I am trying to learn to play the guitar, though, lately, I’ve not had much time to practice.

24. I love doing crossword puzzles, but I will often abandon one before going to the internet to try and complete it. Also, I find it mildly annoying when people want to help.

25. I can, and will, drink coffee at any time of the day.

Back to the gym

I know it is cliche to join a gym at the beginning of January, but I have not had a regular routine since we moved up to Dallas. I used the Y in my neighborhood in Houston for about 2 years before the move and tried the local branch once we got up here in March. But the McKinney branch was too small and didn’t have enough equipment. Finally, in November of last year, my employer set up a corporate membership at LA Fitness which provide us with free enrollment and a reduced monthly rate.

So, for the first time since I started working out I am member of one of these glossy gyms in the fashion of Lifetime and 24-hour Fitness. I’m thrilled with the amount of equipment and with the fact that I don’t have to wait on others/work in with others, but there are so more people at these centers than at the Y that it can be annoying. I can’t wait until March when the resolution folks drop off. Of course, I’m sure that the regulars are thinking the same thing about me.

Anyway, for now it’s back to drinking more water than beer and trying to arrange my schedule to at least get into the gym three to four times a week. We’ll see where I am in March.

Kind of a sh***y day.

First of all, let me say, that complaining about my day is the last thing I want to do. I completely believe that there are always good and bad things that happen throughout the day and it’s up to you to see the good and forget the rest.

Today was a bit different. It had my number from the word “go.”

I woke up this morning feeling horrilbe – groggy, sore throat, etc. – and had no intention of making any early sales calls. But, as is typical, the blackberry started buzzing around 7.30 and wouldn’t be ignored. So, I got up started working and took care of some business. Then, around 9.30, I get a call from the school (from Sid, actually) saying that he was sick and that he had puked on the floor of the nurse’s office.

After picking him up, I came back and worked until lunch. Amy came home and we visited until she had to go back and I had to run some errands. Now, this last part doesn’t seem bad, but the errands were just tedious – setting up a gym membership, buying stuff at the office supply store and then a trip to the bank – all the while, trying to field some late-afternoon sales calls.

Then, after the bank, I get in the car to head back home. I turn the key – nothing. I don’t mean that clicking you get when the battery is dead; I mean nothing. The frigging thing is a paperweight. I try to use my portable charger to jump it off. Nothing. I call Amy, get her to leave work (she’s only a few miles away) and try to use her car to jump it off. Nothing. So, being that it’s a company car, I sit on hold trying to line up a tow truck through our fleet service. Finally, after an hour, I get it towed to my local shop and make arrangements to leave it overnight (More than likely, it’s the alternator. I mean, the things got 130,000 miles on it after only 3 years – something more than the battery has to be wrong, right?).

Anyway, I line up a rental car afterward for work tomorrow, but all they have is a Pontiac Vibe. This would be a depressing end to the day if it wasn’t so funny. Seriously, when was the last time you were in a car that had a hand-crank for the window?

So, now I’m drinking a whiskey to toast (or erase) this incredibly bad day with the hopes that tomorrow will be more promising.

Cheers!

Here we go, again.

I am going to take another stab at creating and keeping up some type of online journal. I’ve struggled with this on other blogs, but I think it was because I set an unrealistic goal to update everyday. Then, when that didn’t happen, I felt like it was futile and just gave up. Also, I really didn’t have any theme or purpose for the thing to begin with.

Not that I do now, of course. At least, not yet. That’s the reason for the dull title and bland formatting. Hopefully, I’ll get some inspiration and come up with a theme/goal/mission over the next few weeks. In the meantime, for the two of you that happen upon this post, bear with me – there’ll be more to come.

Or not. In any case, I wouldn’t bookmark this thing just yet.