Success.

So, today started off with a trek to the Palo Alto campus. We had a flare up between management about the 3 guys who drive down from Palo Alto daily to pick up a drill bit or an end mill. They have a mini tool crib that is no longer manned. And they scavenge what they can from it. So, my manager from Denver is here and he, I and my direct supervisor made the trek at 6:30am. I knew the guys who worked in there because like I said, I see them on a daily basis. We spent 5 minutes looking at stuff. That was all I needed. They had marked the drawers with the tools numbers and the numbers I saw were the most basic essentials and easily recognizable. I didn't even have to write anything down. I just said we can support them. So, we made our way back to the Sunnyvale campus.

I had a Joe G. staff meeting at 10am in my mom's building. Joe G is the director of Operations. He is one of the few men I idolize. I was contributing to a SOLAR presentation. I got there a little early and spoke with Frank Rocha. Frank is quite infamous. He is just one of those guys you would just have to meet to understand. I also consider him my mentor. When he saw me, he immediately asked if I was doing the presentation and not Anthony. Anthony was nominated as our charman in an instant when he joined our SOAR program. The only reason I refused to be nominated was because technically I did not belong to their department. Even though he has been in and out on medical leave and I have filled in as temporary leader, I do not think it is ethical to have a chairman of a committee who is not in the department that the committee represents. Anyway, Anthony is very infamous as well. This guy probably weighs over 500 pounds easily and is well over 6 foot. You do not want to get on his bad side. And Anthony has no speaking skills what so ever. I don't mean to sound extremely negative, but he puts himself to sleep when he is speaking. I told Frank that Anthony had come to me the previous day and had asked me to do the presentation because he was losing his voice. Of course I obliged. This made Frank verrry happy. Just then Mr. Rob Sackett walked up and shook my hand. He is the Senior Manager who works right under Joe G. We had some small talk regarding SOLAR and then Anthony came walking up. Anthony wanted to tell me that his voice was better and that we should split the presentation up. Sounded good to me, teamwork always is better. So we file into the big conference room and get settled. I sit along the wall up front. Joe G walked in and began to organize his papers by me. He looked up and and said, Good morning Nick.' This is significant. Not because he is a director and he remembers my name. But because he is not my director and he remembered my name. I do not believe my own director knows my name. That fired me up. I was already in an extreme state of mind. This just pushed it up a notch. When I deliver a speech or a presentation like this, I psych myself out. I hit the ground running and I hit it hard. Very hard. It grabs people's attention and garners respect almost instantly. And when you can dominate the floor as aggressively as I do, people don't want to mess with you. Before we presented, my very own mother was presenting her new web tool. Basically, when people need to move from one office to another, they have to make a bunch of phone calls and send lots of emails to coordinate the moving of their computer, phone and furniture. My mom's new tool rolls everything into a website with a form. So, it simplifies it. She received a huge applause from everybody. I was soooo damn proud, you'll never know. Then it was my turn. Game time. As I stood up and strolled to the center, I gave the room a very loud GOOD MORNING. This wakes people up and if you say it right they say it back and now you know you have their attention. They said it right back. The first thing I asked was how many people have actually done the safety program. Most of the hands in the room went up. This got me excited. So, I did my thing, turned it over to Anthony to digest our data charts and then picked it back up for the conclusion. Which was, our participation is up and our accidents are down. It's working people, keep it up. I received a few good questions from managers seeking the web tool that I showed, which showed me they were serious about using it as a tool. This pleased me very much. I received not one, but two standing ovations. One just for the presentation and one for the results that our safety program yielded. Afterwards I had just about everybody approach me it seems and ask me where I learned to present like that, what school I was attending, what my position was, etc. And honestly, I didn't even break a sweat. I could do that all day. It's when I am sparring with thickheaded VP's and executives that I am challenged. This presentation was a cakewalk. Like herding sheep. Doing things like that make me high. When I feel that level of success, it puts me in euphoria. Hearing people telling me that I am going places and that was a knock out job just reminds me what I am capable of doing. And all I did was go up there and look at a slide and spill my guts out. It's too easy. It's fun. I just hope that I am given more opportunities in the future and more often to be able to do stuff like this. It gives me a feeling of a tiger escaping its cage and going on a rampage...that's how it feels. And the bottom line is simple, no one is getting hurt. And that's what matters.

Work

It's been a long time since I have written. I need a vent for work. A lot happened today. That is an understatement. Someone I look up to told me today they have cancer and it's not looking good. As much as this person is ridiculed for their attendance, it all made sense. They didn't just come out and say it either. They led me to it with a game of words. What made me stop in my tracks as we were walking through the corporate office building was the realization of how it all made sense and the next thing that made my heart sink was all the shit talking that had been done about this person. Yet, here he stood, not making any excuses. He never told us why he had such a problem getting out of bed some days. We just assumed he was lazy. How wrong we were. I look up to this man because he speaks with passion, he is not afraid to say what's right, he rose from a janitor to where he is now, he has the respect and trust of the little guys out in the trenches and most of all, he just wants to help people. In the morning, when I wake up, my goal is to be out the door by 5:30. When I'm out the door by 5:30, I sit down at my desk at 5:55 every morning. It is like clockwork. The cafeteria upstairs opens at 6. So, I wait a few minutes to make sure my computer is logged in and that my co-worker has everything covered. I then go upstairs and grab toast and an orange juice. I do this every morning. I take it back to my desk and grub for a minute or two. This morning, my boss motions for me to follow him to an area where no one will hear us. He proceeds to tell me that 'grabbing my little toast every morning is un-professional.' I wont go into detail, but I got his message. He could have just worded it a lot better. He has a long history of saying things the wrong way. I had a hard time biting my tongue considering how many times I bailed him out and made him look good and saved the day for him. I also wanted to ask him why he lets my co-worker take take two lunches everyday. I did not want to start a war with my co-worker though. Later my co-worker came to me and told me that our boss started to ask him about me and my co-worker went off on him telling him that if he had to take a shit, he is going to take a shit. It should not be a big deal as my boss was making it. See, my co-worker can retire at any moment, so he can say these things and get away with it. Yesterday I managed to persuade FBM management they could not live with out our SOLAR program in only 5 minutes. I impressed myself to be honest. haha. Anyway, due to these recent events, I have decided it is now time to leave the tool department. I don't need to be yelled at for petty shit when I am able to do much greater things.

Technology Showcase 2008

The second and third weeks of every January are a time of for Americans and their foreign partners to display their new arrays of technology and advancement through concepts. Last week we had CES in Las Vegas where the trend seemed to be focused on the advancement of flat sceen television. Everything from 150 inch plasmas to tvs that sipped less energy than a light bulb were on display. There was also a huge array of other one-off technology products, all aimed at the consumer market.

Over this past weekend and through this week, Detroit has been unveiling new cars left and right. The overall focus is a green one. Unfortunately, most of the green stuff is still in concept form with not much execution available. There was even an E85 powered Ferrari unveiled which means a lot if you know anything about E85. One noted car is the R8. A version of the R8 was unveiled with a diesel V12, and no, it's not the same one motor found in the LeMans winning race car, but it still packs a huge punch with over 700 ft.-lbs. of torque available. Would you beleive it also knocks down over 20mpg? I saw a 'regular' R8 over the weekend at The Silicon Valley Auto Show and I must say it is indeed one of the sexiest cars ever made.

And starting tomorrow, Macworld kicks off with another Steve Jobs' keynote. The week should be an action-packed one with a lot of anticipation of a new thin laptop. Macworld also serves as a testbed for many manufacturers to see how the public likes their new products, so who knows what will come out of it.

GA PAITNBALL

GA PAINTBALL

RSVP & Forward Q’s to:

Myspace.com/NickHolla

(408) 679-8111

NOVEMBER 3^RD

10:00 AM

$25.00 gets you:

Gun

Ammo

Protective face mask

Unlimited air

ALL DAY PASS

That’s everything you need to play.

Dress appropriately i.e. long sleeve and pants.

We will be playing at Santa Clara Paintball (San Jose)

Click here for a map and directions

Great America Carn-Evil

As some of you might know, Cedar Fair purchased Great America from Paramount Parks Inc. In the last couple years, Great America has taken the extra step to dress half the park up for Halloween. This is a mere cosmetic change. Other changes include a 'Scaryoake' and a Halloween version of the Nick Parade. This year however, we have included a Halloween maze called, 'Carn-evil.' I have to say, I am extremely impressed with the effort. I always thought Paramount Parks was too family orientated and not enough main stream. It appears Cedar Fair is takin' care of business and it also explains why they are so successful. Just some food for thought, our nearest sister park, Knott's Berry Farm has 1000 monsters running around 5 nights a week and multiple mazes during October. We have 30 monsters and one maze. And yet, we have a bigger park. So, think of this year as a preview of what's to come. One thing we do have over Knott's is our Nick Parade which is roughly 100 people.

I strongly recommend making a trip to Great America this month and checking out the maze, parade and the new hip-hop show along with the Nick or Treat section. It will be spooktacular. Also, this Friday, the 5th, you can preview the maze and the hip-hop show for free. Just park in the front parking lot for free at 6:45 and walk through the main gate. You will be directed from there. Dress appropriately, as you will be outside most of the time. And o yea, watch out for that mirror room, I will appear in front of you, next to you, and behind you.....

A new beggining.

So, introducing two new sites. One for Apple related stuff and one for automotive banter. My favorite two topics. They shall be dubbed ApplePhat and PhatSpeed. Catchy 'eh? This blog will become a personal blog with all my adventures posted up. Let me know what you guys think.

I will begin experimenting with video blogs with light editing and music composed by my young brother Kyle.
Peace!