Othello's of Edmond

The only negative was our choosing the chianti. Everything else was excellent - food, service, owner coming to our table talking to us. ...

Cindy had the lasagna with meat sauce and thought it was excellent. I had spaghetti and meatballs, and they were fabulous. (Always order this if it is the first time you are eating at an Italian restaurant.)

We agreed that when we have people in town as guests, we will eat here.

Bobby the owner is fabulous.

Moving Movers

I moved three times in three years over a distance of 4500 miles. From Pennsylvania to California to Texas and finally, to Oklahoma. Each time I called Wheaton, which was suggested by a realtor. This last time, we used Duryea Moving and Storage from Denton, Texas, to move our belongings from U-Store-It in Sherman, Texas to Edmond, Oklahoma.

I am much appreciative of Wheaton because we only gave them one week’s notice, and most companies will only move you if you give them at least two weeks. Wheaton came through again, and our driver, Steven Peace, contacted us on Thursday, telling us that he would meet us at the storage facility 8:30 that Saturday morning. With a crew of three, including himself, Steven had our two units emptied and loaded in less than three hours.

He arrived in Edmond with a crew of four Monday at 7:30 a.m. If anything, Steven is prompt. They unloaded, took direction, hooked up our appliances, set up the beds and sectional furniture, and were finished before lunch. In addition to being prompt and quick, his team is courteous and professional. We recommend Wheaton and Steven if you are moving a short distance or cross-country.

My Wife Ate a Buick

(Have you read my yelp review on MG's in Sherman?)
 
My Wife Ate a Buick!

And I ate a Cadillac. I like how each sandwich is uniquely named - 57 Chevy has Heinz 57 sauce on it; T-Bird is a turkey burger ... The woman who took my order asked if we wanted 2 individual orders of fries or one we could split. This is the first time anyone had the foresight to ask this question. Brilliant because my wife, Cindy, never finishes her fries. Thank you, MG!

In addition to the appropriately appointed and named hood ornaments attached to the ceiling, MG's serves Texoma's best burgers, fresh cut fries, perfected onion rings, free refills and take-away drinks. My only regret is that we're moving to OKC, but we know where we will eat when in Sherman.

Smile Etiquette

Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne are co-founders of Manager Tools LLC, a management consulting firm. I have been listening to their podcasts and reading their posts for more than a year. While I am in the nonprofit field, I find their wisdom invaluable as a manager. As a former pastor, who directly managed six, and oversaw several dozen paid and volunteer staff members, I admit that I wish I had had their wisdom a decade ago. Their most recent newsletter is simply entitled Smile Etiquette.  This newsletter is for those who prefer not to smile and those who work with people who choose not to smile. 

I recently landed the position of Annual Giving Coordinator at World Neighbors in Oklahoma City, and on our way to the interview, my wife, Cindy, reminded me several times to smile throughout the interview. Smiling, as one recruiter reminded me, lets people know that you have a personality behind all that intellect, knowledge, skill and expertise.  My interviewers may not remember, but I smiled throughout that interview more than I ever smiled for one. There are other reasons I landed the position, but smiling, I am sure, did not hurt.

Mike Rowe smiles all the time when performing dirty jobs.  On pig farms, in grease pits and everywhere else imaginable, he smiles. And come to think of the years I worked cleaning sooty air-conditioning filters in steel mill cranes and power-washing greasy scale pits at Babcock & Wilcox 30 years ago, there were many times when smiling made our jobs easier.

Take a minute to read Smile Etiquette, and after a month see how much the workplace changes for all those around you.

Raising Money and Reducing Costs

Reading A Personal Touch Lifts Donations and Helps Charities Save Money by Debra E. Blum and Holly Hall reminded me of the experiment we did at Berkeley Food and Housing Project.  Instead of mailing the Feeding Appeal to everyone on our database, we mailed it only to those who historically had given to that particular appeal, and found – not surprisingly – that our ROI increased significantly. Jim Young’s remark is spot on, “You raise funds by who you mail to, but you get more efficient at raising funds by who you don’t mail to.”  At BFHP, we tailored solicitations based on their donors’ giving history or simply emailed them the letter. The result was generating more than we did in the past.

Finding a House

World Neighbors offered me a position, which I accepted, and start on 11/1/11. Immediately after accepting the position, Cindy and I started looking for a house to rent. A  house that would accommodate all our belingings, dog and 2 cats, and be within a short driving distance of my office.

Amazing the difference one finds between descriptive words and staged photos one finds posted on craigslist and property sites and what one actually sees when looking for a house to rent. Into our second day, having eliminated the ones we know we don't want, we venture on to view new home sites for our move to Oklahoma City.

Finding a few places to stay overnight or a place to eat will be posted on my yelp page

Use of Time

Today, my wife and I drove 82 miles one way for a job fair hosted by a tax preparation company. After rising early, preparing, putting on our best business suits, and arriving in plenty of time, we found the experience a total waste of time. Cindy and I are professionals with four masters degrees between us. Should we get hired, we would earn about $15 per hour for work that will last for four months, offer no other benefits, and we would be expected to pay for "tax preparation" classes.

On the other hand, yesterday we were given a two hour tour and personal introductions at a local university by a Dallas native I met via LinkedIn. I expected a 20 minute chat, but instead she gave us her full attention for two hours. I was totally impressed.

When you enter into networking, you never know who you will meet or how you will be greeted. While today's experience was a total waste of time, yesterday's was certainly well worth the time. We are grateful to a true Dallas native. Thank you, Texas.