Roll The Dice: Retraction

"watch you mouth. hold your tongue. some things are better left unsaid..."
- Juliana Theory

Not yet.

21 Grams - 9.25.06 - Success

During my time with AXA, they tried their fair share of brain washing techniques. Obviously they didn't work as I'm no longer there, but one of the things they gave me was a small pamphelt entitled, "The Common Denominator of Success." While heavy on the brainwashing, it did carry one fundamental message that I feel, at this point in my life, I need to take to heart.

"...But this common denominator of success is so big, so powerful, and so vitally important to your future and mine that I'm not going to make a speech about it. I'm just going to "lay it on the line" in words of one syllable, so simple that everyone can understand them.

The common denominator of success -- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful -- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do."

So true. I remember reading it the first time and thinking, "that used to be me." And as I read it for a second time, I think once more, "that used to me."

Now its time for me to say, "That's me."

21 Grams - 9.13.06

It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche


The abiliity the poison or feed your own mind is one that all of us possess, yet few are able to achieve.

Forward Progress

So I can feel like I'm actually making progress...

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To be considered for admission, applicants must submit a complete application package consisting of the following:

1. A copy of your current resumé.
* 2 years of work experience are required for the Career Accelerator (off-campus, evening) program.
* For the Career Launch (full-time, on-campus) program non-business undergraduate majors are preferred. If you have a business undergraduate degree some work experience is required.

Status: Complete

2. Two official transcripts of all college-level work. International applicants must include official copies of transcripts in both their native language and in English. Clemson University graduates do not need to submit official transcripts of their undergraduate work. For consideration, you must have earned a bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited college or university.

Status: Complete

3. Two letters of recommendation. These can be in either letter form or submitted using the recommendation form available at: http://www.grad.clemson.edu/f_grad.html (select the desired format, MS Word or PDF, of the GSL-1 form, "Recommendation Form for Admission")

Status: Not Complete

4. A 1 - 2 page Statement of Purpose on why you want an MBA (Career Launch program only).

Status: Not Applicable

5. Official GMAT scores. To facilitate application processing, please include a copy of your unofficial GMAT scores with your application package. Information about the GMAT is available at http://www.mba.com/mba . Career Accelerator (evening) applicants with acceptable credentials and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 may start the foundation courses in a non-degree status prior to completing the GMAT. The program code for the Career Launch (full-time) program is: 504-FJ-40 and for the Career Accelerator (evening) program: 504-FJ-17

Status: Complete

6. An electronic application available at: http://www.grad.clemson.edu/Admission.php (please include a note with your other materials indicating that you submitted an electronic application).

Note: Since we request that the application material be sent directly to the MBA Office, the Graduate School's online application status check may not accurately reflect receipt of these supplemental documents.

Status: Not Complete

7. The non-refundable application fee indicated on the application.

Status: Pending ($50)

8. Proof of South Carolina residency, if applicable, (http://www.grad.clemson.edu/f_general.html select the GS35 form).

Status: Complete

9. Mail application materials to the following:

For the Career Accelerator (Off-Campus, Evening) Program:
Clemson MBA Program
University Center
P.O. Box 5616
225 S. Pleasantburg Drive
Greenville, SC 29606

Status: Not Complete
Due Date: November 1, 2006
Personal Postmark Date Goal: September 29, 2006
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Everyday puts me a little bit closer...

21 Grams - 9.11.06

"Dan, my father always told me to lift yourself up. If you don't praise yourself, you'll only be waiting on others to do so. When you give others the power to lift you up, you also give them the power to tear them down. So forgive me if I pat myself on the back a little extra for a job well done."
- Michael Irvin on "The Dan Patrick Show"

I love you guys, but I'm good at telling myself "I'm awesome" on a constant basis.

Deja Vu

"The seventeenth of June in the year 2005 will be my last day. As much as I hate(d) my job, I find the ending to be almost bittersweet. I can hear my crew going, "what about us, why are you leaving?" I can hear the managers in the front office going, "Don't leave yet. What about the company? What about your action plans you were implementing?" You know what...

Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all."
- May 31, 2005

In a move that's starting to become all too familiar, I'm leaving Progressive.

I'm not sure what day. I'm not sure what time. But I know it'll be soon. Would I like to stay longer? Definitely. Its a great company with awesome benefits and a fantastic set of ideals. Unfortunately, what they need from me and what I want from them aren't going to match up. I need to get to the Upstate office (Greenville), they need warm bodies in the Pee Dee office (Florence). Unless an impass comes through, I highly doubt that come the week of January 8th I'll still be employed for the 3rd largest auto insurer in the country.

Dissappointed? A little. I'd really like to stay for a little resume stability (and for not having the move my 401(k)). But the end will justify the means. A few years back I'll look back and go, "It was fun. But I really needed to move on."

21 Grams - 9.10.06

"When an opponent declares, “I will not come over to your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us already.... What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.”"
- Adolf Hitler

The foundation of an army begins not in convincing those you know and are well receieved by. It begins by convincing those you have had no interaction with previously...

Letter from the CEO

Abrupt change? Not quite.

A little more than a year ago I gave my "other" alter-ego free reign for a little bit. It was an interesting time in my life. I bought some stocks. I became a little more business saavy. I started caring more about investing in myself and my future than I did my present. Hell, I even tried my hand at becoming a stock broker. It was an interesting time, but a time I'd rather forget at the same time. I felt a tad hollow, as if the only thing I was focused on was money and my best interests. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing with those two things, but having them as a focal point isn't a good way to go about living your life. So somewhere along the line I decided to put up the three piece suits and investment portfolios and go back to having fun and living life as it comes. Sure, I still reached back into my closet of alter-egos and pulled out the dress shoes when necessary (the Beautification had to be financed somehow), but all in all its been fun in the sun for the last 14 months.

Well now I'm ready to move forward. Or at least I think I am. Either way, I don't plan on staying in Sumter or Florence or South Carolina for that matter much longer -- so I've got to start somewhere. Consider this the start.

A blog? Why you may ask (or actually you don't and I'm just having more delusions of grandeur, but that's okay)? Well because I like documenting things. I like knowing where I've been, where I'm at, and where I'm supposed to be at. (And following that logic, I'm supposed to be into my third week of grad school. As you see, I'm not. Anywhoo, that's neither here nor there.) Also, because we all know that I love letting my imagination run wild from me. While I credit the Orientation crew with giving Piddy legs to stand on, he had to start somewhere. And the scary thing is, he started the same place that my Mr. Polk alter-ego did. The only difference between the two is that Piddy's has been given freedom to do as he pleased for the last four years whereas Mr. P has pretty much been locked away since high school (for good reason -- but that'll make itself clear as time goes on). And with that freedom came a voice. Do I really have an issue with Katie Couric? To be honest, I don't know. But considering Piddy has been wanting to decapitate her for the better part of two years, I might. Either way, its definitely a case of what I believed to be real becoming my reality. Which is why I stripped the RAW column away from my "base" personality and handed it over to Mr. Polk. If Piddy could convince me into believing that having a stripper wrap her crotch around my face was a good thing, I'm POSITIVE that I can be convinced into believing that mutual funds and an MBA are nothing but good.

And yeah, I just spent way more time explaining the core of my three faces. That's what I do. I'm not crazy. Yet. But if I manage to accomplish all the goals I have set for myself (and the new ones I plan to set as this blog gets some legs), just do me (and yourself) a favor and pretend this post never existed...

Sincerely,

Mr. Polk

Be Prepared

Now is not a time for thinking. Now is not a time for reminiscing. Now is not a time for wanting. Now is not a time for wearing your heart on your sleeve. Now is not a time to wait on others to make decisions.

It's time for action.

Sam's Town

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch him now, here he come

He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

Upset? No. Concerned? No. Confused? A little.

If everything is cool, great. If not, I just simply walk away. No slices across the jugular. No the heart punches. Just a simple about face, never looking back, never cracking a smirk.

But I'll cross that bridge, if necessary, when I get there. For now, I've got bigger things to be concerned about...

They say the devils water it ain’t so sweet
You don’t have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while