Chris's Musings

I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I work my "9 to 5" primarily looking at a lot of marketing data; analyzing how to best market and position solutions.  In an strange way, the use of data and quantitative analysis has become the new "normal" for the 21st century marketer.  The advent of a new brand of software platforms called "Marketing Automation" tools - such as Marketo which I am a power user in and use heavily in my professional life and Eloqua which I've used in the past - and started the age where tech-savvy-ness (Yes, I just made up a word) and marketing "art" will be blended and are being blended.  It's really exciting to be a marketer today and one reason why I invested in my MBA, and will be more so in the future. So - what does this have to do with losing 30 pounds? Shockingly, I've been at this blog for close to 5 years now.  As a marketer by trade, someone who loves to understand how people ...

I opened up Texags.com the other day to see the article newsfeed blow up once again with news about Aggie football, and our beloved Johnny Football. I kind of wish it was about his game. Instead, it was another off the field piece of drama.  Thank you Twitter. Like most of us that hit the "send" button on something that we didn't use our brain to write... at 1:38am on a Sunday morning/Saturday night... (do recall that Manziel is 19... and with that comes all of the immaturity that comes with being that age, and perhaps some more), he immediately deleted the tweet and retracted it.  However, the news media (some of whom want to see him, and A&M, fall) picked up on it soon enough and it made national news.  Yes - I read about it on ESPN.com. Blow up the drama.  College Station is a fishbowl.  Manziel parties too much.  He's going to leave for the NFL at the first chance he gets!  Now the news media goes back and recalls an incident where Manz...

There are a few fortunate/blessed people out there that have never and will never feel the pain of having a romantic relationship end.  I've heard stories (like Louie's), and honestly I am a little envious. The rest of us mere mortals have loved and lost... or things didn't work out with someone that we invested a chunk of our life with.  This is probably more normal... in fact I heard (or read) somewhere that the eHarmony guy Dr. Neil Clark Warren estimates that the average person will date 100 people (I think that includes those blind coffee dates, so don't worry) and have a serious relationship with 6 people before they get married.  Ok - wow... that's a lot of "well, I'm not that into you" and "well, I'm sorry but it's not you it's me" type of conversations.   And can I tell you, breaking up (doesn't matter if you are the dump-er, the dump-ee, or it was mutual) really stinks.  It may be the best decision, but it s...

I finally watched this video this morning, and like probably most guys that have seen it that have been on the other side of the conversation like this... We laughed. And were glad, if we were at home, that no one was around. Especially a woman :-) All of us guys that either are married, in relationships, or have been in relationships before have been in this precarious predicament before.  (I'll talk from my perspective) Our girlfriend opens up about something that's really bothering her, she's obviously distraught about it, and we in our infinite (and supposedly objective) wisdom can see the solution to the problem obviously staring us in the face. Supposedly.  It's like... "what you really need is... to take the nail out of your head." And honestly, let's give ourselves some credit because we do mean well and as guys we are natural problem solvers.  We're pretty smart (in our own minds) and can figure out how to make things better, and...

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you feel stuck, where you know what you want God to do in your heart but there's just something blocking you from doing it, or asking for it, or in some cases, you don't even know what to ask for.  I've been in that boat before, and honestly this morning was one of those days for me.  Not going to embellish  but I just felt really overwhelmed and I went into my prayer time really wanting God to do something.   I read today's devotion in Jesus Calling, something that was really good for the soul, and I needed that reminder from the devotion today.  When I started to pray, I had this thought pop in my head, especially as my mind was really all over the place. " Now to him who is able  to do immeasurably more than all we ask  or imagine, according to his power  that is at work within us..." (Eph 3:20) And somehow, in that moment, it dawned on me that perhaps the reason that my mind was ...

I am currently car shopping.  This is, for me, the equivalent of last night's "shoe shopping" observation. I love to shop for cars; and get very analytical about my decisions when I car shop. My A/C went out on my '04 Accord, which hasn't been the best car but it's served me well for 2 1/2 years... and it's paid for (HUGE plus).  Given the age of my car and how expensive that repair would cost, it's time to think about a new car, even though I really wanted to be in the market a couple of years from now vs. today... but it is what it is.  I started out searching for small SUVs, because I want something that will support my active lifestyle and that seemed like a good fit.  My basic requirements are: I want the car to be technology rich (like, I can plug in my phone, iPad, etc.), stuff like rear cameras and all that I want the car to be fun to drive I want the car to be easy on gas.  I HATE paying a lot at the pump, especially after owning ...

This was a great Saturday.  I went out to the mountains with a few friends today to do a little wine tasting at a north Georgia winery on a LivingSocial coupon.  The excursion was really great.  I highly recommend taking the "cave tour" at Yonah Mountain Vinyards.  The owner, who toured us through the production facilities, shared a lot with us about how they run the production facilities and a few snarky quips. Not to mention, we got to taste a few really great wines.  I actually bought one (shocking, if you know my opinion of Southeast wineries).   After our tour, we grabbed lunch at a really good pizza place near Helen, GA and finished up our day at the Dawsonville Outlet Mall.  My goal, which I accomplished, was to get some new polos and work shirts.  I acquired four pretty good new shirts... mission accomplished.  My friends were perusing the outlets in search of some new shoes, and they walked into this store: Oh, did I ...