I am the Champion

Winning friends and influencing people, and having a sales advantage. Last night was my final class of the Dale Carnegie course The Sales Advantage.

A very incredible class, the culmination of which we all had to do a 7-minute presentation going through all the steps of the sales process that we had learned in the class. We all graded each other, and the person with the highest score was the champion.

I won!

So I thank all my classmates for the honor. I owe it all to the group experience, and to our lovely instructor, Christina Taggart, who encouraged us, educated us, challenged us, and led us powerfully through the course.

A lot of great things happening this year. It's a great year, 2008. I look forward to more of what comes.

Broke and going home

Talk about a city of excess! I was sensory overloaded in less than 24 hours. I walked probably over 5 miles yesterday.

So we didn't end up going to the Playboy party. We were pretty wiped from the day, and decided to chill out, sit at some tables and play a little poker. Boy was that F'ing stupid. I lost 60 bucks in about an hour. Bastards set me down at a table of freakin experts.

Thus, I reinstate my previous decree about gambling. I don't do it. Casinos do not interest me in the slightest. The "free" drinks are nice, except when you put in perspective you just donated $60 to Las Vegas, you just spent $30 bucks each on those two little rum and cokes you had.

F!

It was an eye opener though. We are going back at the end of April for almost a week. By we I mean Matt, Jeremy and I. It's for a gaming trade show for DG. Anyway, we'll be looking into all those hidden coupons, cheap buffets, and so on... because it took us over an hour last night just to find a restaurant that wasn't an average of $30 a plate!

Where's the glamor in being broke. That's Vegas for you. Makes LA feel laid back and cozy.

It's Vegas!

Feet hurt. Too tired. But having a ton of fun. The mini handled well getting us out here. Below are some highlights of the day: ARREST ME, PLEASE!!!!!!! She was as bubbly in person as she is on the show. Bridget from "The Girls Next Door". Incidentally, Jeremy and I will be attending the Playboy party tonight. I have to find me some pants though. Well, I have pants, but apparently jeans might not be allowed. God I am a DORK!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dee Snyder:

Dee worked with Midnight Syndicate on a creepy awesome album, which I also picked up so he could freakin sign it. TWISTED SISTER RULES!!!!

Finally, since we're in Vegas, why not get a really freaking LONG Long Island Iced Tea.

That might just ruin me. We'll let you know.

Haunted in Vegas

In about an hour I leave for Vegas. Supposed to snow along the way in the upper elevations. We'll be driving extra careful in the new Mini. Jeremy and I are going, mainly because I'm going to a trade show in Vegas for the Horror/SFX/Haunted House Rides/Halloween type industry, and I didn't want to go alone.

Looks like a lot of fun. And then in about a month, I'll be coming back for a week for a gaming trade show for the release of our new Demon Hunters Roleplaying Game. That will be really fun and cool.

The week went pretty well. Got adjusted to working in the Mini as my office. I think it's gonna work well. It's very comfortable, and I'm glad that it is actually functional, and not just fun.

Went to go see a new movie, a test screening actually, of an awesome movie that involves LARPing. It was HI-larious! Look for it this summer. Little Big Men.

Welcome to the Family!

We did it. Wasn't planning on it, but it worked out. This is my new MINI!!!! It's a 2007 Cooper S, with a sunroof and rally lights. I wanted to get the Clubman, but we just couldn't afford it.


It's so freakin fun. I can't believe I have my Mini Cooper S. The CD player even reads MP3's, so I'm covered on totally not having to deal with the crappy radio stations down here.

Feels like a lot of room inside, but not a whole lot of legroom in the back behind me.



The rally lights are kind of interesting. I can say I don't seem many of those on the road. I got them for free though, so at least I didn't have to pay for them. They're essentially glorified high beams, but cool.

I am going to have to get the Bluetooth add-on installed at a later date. Costs the same as an add-on, which is fine. I can also jack in my iPod and listen to my library on that too. Just can't charge it, except I do have a car charger for it should I need that. I'll probably have to get a 12V splitter since I can only find one cigarette lighter jack in the car.

It feels all high tech and geeky inside, so that satisfies a lot of my nerdy desires. The interior is gorgeous, a piano black, black leather seats, really freaking comfortable.



Certainly not a crazy amount of trunk space, but enough to do the job I think. I can always get a rack to put on top, and if I get crazy rich in the next 5 years, I can always swap this out for the newer more awesome or something. Right now, this is about as awesome as I could ever think of. I had no idea I'd be driving that baby home, and we got a good deal. Cindy played the hard ball, and they came down about $4,000, and we came up to meet in the middle, at around $27k including taxes and fees.











Well, that's about all the excitement I can ooze. I feel great and I think this will help me perform in my job because I'm driving in comfort and in something that makes me happy, so I'll be more confident and relaxed in my sales calls. How cool is that?


















Yes, he did this to himself.

Electric Mini

Well crap! This is the Mini I want, and I can't have it! AAGGGHHH!!!!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/the_hybrid_mini.php

Mini Me

Well I don't have a whole lot of excuses. This blog is like the front page of the DG website. Dead.

The good news is, Cindy found a great job, I'm waiting on my bonus, and I'll be ordering my Mini Cooper soon.

It's harder than I thought. There are SO many choices. Do I get the normal Mini or the Mini Cooper S? Do I get it in the Clubman, or do I get a normal sized one? And the most difficult one of all, WHAT FREAKIN' COLOR???

So, I'm attaching some photos of these choices. Maybe you can help me.

Cindy is opposed to me getting the S version. Mainly because it's not as good in gas mileage. But truthfully, by not as good we're talking trading about 4 MPG for 60 extra horses.

The other thing I discovered in my research, is that the Cooper S version is in much higher demand, so it retains it's value far better than the normal Cooper.

Sigh. Think I still like the Clubman though. It's different and cool.

This one here is a Clubman regular style.




This is the Mini Cooper S Clubman in the blue.
I do like the blue, although I like the black roof and trim better.

I test drove the non S version and it seemed to have a lot of pep. But I keep reading that the more you drive it, the more you wish you had the get up and go, to maneuver through traffic or react and have it handle the way you want to.

But I am also wary of getting too excessive. To follow my buying interests, here are the following for any of you Dale Carnegie fans out there:

1. My Dominant Buying Motive is that I want Comfort. This will be both my mobile office and my play car. I spend a lot of time in my car for work and I want to be comfortable in it. I also don't really like driving and so driving a car that is fun to drive is kind of new for me.

2. Must Haves:

• Stickshift/Manual Transmission
• Sport Seats/Comfy seats
• Multifunction Steering Wheel
• Car Alarm
  

3. Other Considerations:

• Sunroof
• Everything Else. :)
  

This is the white color with the black roof I like.


So, what it amounts to is: Do I need the extra space in the back that the Clubman will provide? Would I rather trade 9 extra inches of trunk space for more horsepower? I don't think I can afford to build a Clubman S version unfortunately.

Sigh. Too many freakin decisions.