Thanksgiving: A Retrospective

There's a lot of people I had the pleasure of seeing. Some of which I never thought I'd see again, Lord knows I won't be attending my high school reunion. And it was pleasant. It's these moments that seem like blinks in time that are truly the most valuable part of life.

I have a voracious appetite for randomness and unpredictability because, to me, it seems only when you surrender to fate or unpredictability is the only time that you can find what you weren't looking for.
Sometimes you need what you don't want and only through serendipitous strings of fortuitous events do we find ourselves and others who will effect our future. 

USF=WTF

I could have coached the 'Canes to a victory this past Saturday. Of course all armchair coaches and quarterbacks say that after a tough loss, but I really could have. I think that's part of the reason Randy ran off the field and to the bank to cash the check he gets for getting released.

Rule #1 of football: If you are within field goal distance do not throw the ball. We would have won, and that's why he's getting fired.

Randy and I have another thing in common; we are both unemployed. One key difference- Randy has a couple million to chill on.

Consumerism at its best: Black Friday

Creating a holiday mascot of a old obese man that breaks and enters houses (many of which no longer have chimneys) to leave presents for children and eats cookies left out to satiate his lust for food is strange enough.

Black Friday skips the crap and goes straight for the consumerist gold. Stores open at midnight, through random hours of the night, and once more, there isn't even a release of a new gaming system. This I would understand.

The good news is that my nephews got their presents picked out. My oldest nephew likes rock band, younger nephew likes Spider man. I guess Hannah Montana and Dora the Explorer for the nieces. I think I need to call my Brother and Sister to get something they really want. 

Getting back to the heart of the issue; Kids need presents because their innocence and blissful reaction to opening gifts should be cherished.

Older people should focus on paying their bills and be realistic about their spending. Fiscal responsibility is the word.

Dingos & Digeridoos

Going to the other side of the world changed my life. Spinning a globe to stop it with your finger that determines your destination is thrilling and liberating. The method I used to choose my destination left a little less to chance. I received a tremendous opportunity in the form of a Fellowship from the University of Miami allowing me travel expenses to be used for bettering my understanding of business transaction methods.

Being an American yuppie fresh out of college, I had never taken an international trip for business research. In the land of dingoes and didgeridoos I set out to find why Real Estate Auctions work so well in Australia. While in America many people approach it with skepticism and lack of information.

Approximately 1/3 of all Real Estate Transactions in Australia are auctions compared to a marginal percentage in the US.

But what are the reasons behind this and how can the skepticism be satiated with knowledge?

My challenge was to identify the social, cultural, and economic reasons why auctions are perceived so much differently. Once the causes are identified, the next step is to transfer the cultural attitude on the public’s perception in Australia to the Americans that are still auction skeptics.

I interviewed the Chief Auctioneer at Ray White, Sam Kelso, and asked his opinion on the difference in auctioning between the two countries.

Here's The Podcast Link: http://www.podbean.com/home/podcast-directory-play.php?eid=3187460

Ambitions: The go getter getting

I went on an interview on Monday. I was asked what kind of business I want to own and run for the larger part of my life. At the time I was not sure, but after a couple days of rumination I narrowed it down to an enterprise possessing these traits:

• Project Design/Development
• Production of Digital or physical product
• Utilization of emerging technology
• Providing an end product serving to improve lives 

Not very specific I know. It falls in the realm of rapid application development, prototype creation, or media production. (See ThinkStorms.com)

The largest obstacle I've run into is the perseverance necessary for pursuing an intangible goal. Taking something from my mind's eye and turning it into reality. Its much like riding a roller coaster. Thrilling at times and also having the ability to nauseate.

I noticed that in order to not eat my own words, I have to bust my ass. Hard work and effort beats apathy and surrendering to indifference.

Post-Grad Progress: Let the grind begin!

Since graduating UMiami with a BS in Entrepreneurship & Bio Minor I have:

1. Gotten Real Estate Licence
2. Ventured to the land down under
3. Interviewed Aussie Auction Professionals
4. Written a business plan for a nationwide Auction Company
5. Founded a Corporation (Holmes Industries LLC)  DBA Thinkstorms
6. Produced a commercial blog Auctiontalk.org
7. Worked with programmers to develop Thinkstorms.com
8. Gone to all U football home games
9. Learned how to Venetian Plaster (4th Generation)
10. Developed content for Acrmiami.com
11. Interviewed a bank president 

All this since the spring..... If I said I was an entrepreneur, I'd hope you agree. Being an entrepreneur I hope you can excuse plain speak. 

I, like many recent grads, are beginning to realize the vast untapped potential of the future and the opportunities it brings. Along with these opportunities are the harsh realities of life.
The purpose of this blog is to document my journey through Uncommonnomic conditions in hopes to provide a few cheap laughs and a good idea or two.