TOMS Shoes

TOMS Shoes is perhaps my favorite company in the world. I love Apple because they have incredible products. I love Nike because I am a sports-a-holic. But I love TOMS Shoes because they are good. I'm not talking about the products (although they are good too); I am talking about the people and the business plan. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give one away to kids who don't have shoes. One for one. Check them out, and consider doing their "One Day Without Shoes" on Thursday, April 16th.

big purchases

I just got back from Micro Center with my friend Adam. He was purchasing a new MacBook today, and I got to go with him. It reminded me of how I have a love/hate relationship with big purchases. On one hand, I love to get that new big thing (like a new Apple computer, my Vizio 42" TV, and my wife's new Accord), but on the other hand, I hate spending that much money at one time. I always feel guilty ("think of all the starving children I could have fed" or "do you really 'need' this new ___________"), and I always wonder if I am making the best choice.

Then I take it out of the box (and getting my wife's Honda out of the box was no small chore), and all those feelings melt away as I hold that new thing in my hands and begin to play with it. It's like Christmas. And I realize how fortunate (or "blessed") we are in this day and age to be able to take new stuff out of a box and play with it. I bet going back only to our grandparents' generation, that we have opened more boxes of stuff by the time we are 16 then they did their entire lives.

So here are some lessons I am trying to learn from all this:
1. Have the dealer take your new car out of the box before you purchase it.
2. Appreciate all the things I get to have - enjoy taking it out of the box and be thankful for it.
3. Be content with that I have, so that new things are fun and special, not routine and expected. This one is hard for me.

my top 5 things right now

Giving credit where credit is due, I stole this post idea from Tripp.

Here are 5 things that I am currently thinking about and excited about.

1. March Madness. For basketball fans like me, this is the greatest sporting event of the year. I'm talking about the NCAA tournament. The first round games should be national holidays.
2. Springtime. I absolutely hate winter, and the first time we have sustained 70+ weather, I can feel it in my soul. I come alive and run around naked singing songs from some of my favorite musicals. Oh yeah, I don't have any favorite musicals, so I usually sing rap songs from the 80's like "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer.
3. Apple, Inc. I love Apple products, and not just because it makes me feel cool and hip to use them. I have been using them since the mid 90's, and they just make life better. Of course, the down side is that I don't have any personal relationships with people anymore, but who cares about that.
4. Sex. Seriously, I am a guy.
5. U2. I have been digging their new album. This is my all-time favorite band, and they don't disappoint with this one. Magnificent is my favorite song so far. It is a modern-day gospel (as in "Good News") song.