This was a pretty cool video I found on Vimeo today.

"We are not lovers because of the love we make...but the love we have
We are not friends because of the laughs we spend...but the tears we save
I don't want to be near you for the thoughts we share...but the words we never have to speak
I will never miss you because of what we do...but what we are together" 

- Nikki Giovanni

Jimmy Fallon talking about the California economy

In the beginning of April I ordered my father the Touch Pro. He was using the Moto Q for about 2 years and he was pressuring me for an upgrade. His Moto Q was literally falling apart and we wanted a cool/hip phone. I knew the Palm Pre was going to be coming out soon but I didn't know when. My father couldn't wait any longer so I got him the Touch Pro. Since all of our business phones are with Sprint I had to stick with their phones. Blackberries were out of the question as their screens are too small and they have no touchscreen models on Sprint. This is where the Touch Pro was the best fit. It has a huge screen with great resolution, it is touch screen with a pull out keyboard and he is familiar with the WinMo OS. Fast forward to the middle of May, he tells me his "touchness" of his screen isn't working. I take a look at it and his screen is defective. It will not accept any touch input. I tell my father to take it to the Sprint store to get fixed. They take a look at it and tell him they have to order a replacement model for him, no extra costs out of our pocket.

Now I am getting upset at myself for not forcing my father to hold off longer for the Palm Pre. The release date of June 6 was announced a few weeks ago. My father would've only waited 2 months but I think it would be worth it. So I call Sprint to see if I can send back the Touch Pro (the defective model) so I can get the Palm Pre without paying an exorbitant amount for it. The rep shoots me down the with the obligatory scripted response. I explain to her that we have about 15 lines and have been a loyal customer over the years. We were with Nextel from the early beginnings and then migrated over to Sprint. Still the rep didn't budge. It wasn't like I was trying to defect, all I wanted is the best phone that Sprint has ever offered. My father touchscreen crapped out on him less than 2 months after he got it. Was I asking too much to return a defective phone 45 days after purchase so I could get the Palm Pre for my father?

Right now I have a lot of motivation...motivation that is produced internally. I am the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Ingam's Drain & Sewer Cleaning, Inc. I have been working there straight out of high school and realized that when your dad owns the joint you can have any fancy smancy job title. I was always weary of actually saying it aloud as I didn't believe in myself that I was worthy of having that title. All the COO's I knew were in business magazines, referenced in the WSJ or profiled on Forbes.com. Over the past year I dropped that mentality and realized that I am the COO of Ingram's and not be scared of it. 

I don't think there is any other company out there like Ingram's. It is my father's empire in which he controls every aspect of. He makes you believe you have a voice but you really don't. On the outside looking in, the company seems like a wonderful/happy company. Once you cross the barrier and become an employee thats when things change. I am not here to bash my father and his ways but just to talk about how I see things. 

My father has ran the company since the mid 80s. Back then things were much different. I always refer to that time as the "golden years". From the stories I hear this time period was the zenith of the company and it has been going downhill ever since. As we fast forward to 2009, so far this year has open my father's eyes. Being in the midst of a recession company sales have slowed considerably. During my time with the company this is the longest "slow period" I have experienced. When it gets slow, everybody feels. I hate seeing our employees having to go home early because their is no work. I feel that this rough patch has caused not to operate business as usual.

At Ingram's I am a versatile person within the company as I know how to do everything except "lay the pipe". I am working on getting my Master Plumber license. This is needed to pull permits within the city and cover myself if something should happen to my father. Even though it is not needed for me to perform plumbing work I need to know that things are performed to code. I believe you can find a lot of people who know how to plumb but you can't find a lot of people who know how to run a company. Over the years I have picked up a lot of invaluable skills from my father. These skills are something I could only gain with time. Just sitting back and watching how things are done in the real world helped me tremendously. 

2009 is going to be the year that defines Ingram's. There are a lot of changes my father wants to implement. The thing is that he is not going to be the one who initiate these changes or actually does them. This is something that has taken me too long to figure out. Even though this is his company I feel it is my responsibility to take the company to the next level. I have big dreams for Ingram's and what we can do in the city right now. What gets me going is knowing this is the time that my dreams can be realized and I have no one to blame but myself if they don't achieve my goal. Its no more finger pointing, no more playing Monday morning quarterback, its time to make things happen. This is my motivation.

Work hard and play later. If I want my dreams to become a reality it takes a combination of prayer, faith, hard work and dedication. 

This songs gives me that warm/tingly feeling when I hear it. Makes me think of that special someone.

Jimmy Fallon slow jams the news!