R.I.P Don

I've been away for a while, but there has not been much going on.

1. I found out yesterday that a guy that I used to work with was stabbed to death by his wife!! I didn't know him very well and I had never met her, but the news REALLY disturbed me. He had worked in the shop for a while and the first time I really paid attention to him was when his wife got really sick. She suffers from Crohn's (sp?) disease and she had a really bad flare up. He ended up have to take family medical leave for 3 weeks to take care of her and their child. After he cam back, I talked to him a few times about how his wife was doing & some other little small talk. He seemed to be really nice and soft spoken. I'm not sure what happened and you NEVER know what's going on behind closed doors. Some his neighbors said that they were not surprised because it was a very volatile relationship... So for now, all I know is that he's dead and his wife did it.. It is a very sad situation- they have a 6 year old child.
2. After I heard that news, I started thinking about how quickly life can change... What if the last time you saw a special somebody was the last time that you will see that person??? Tomorrow is definitely not promised...
3. On a brighter note... I went to Mooresville, NC for a couple days last week. I'm in the process of trying to expand the call center and I wanted to get some outside ideas. The visit went really well and I'm hoping to have something to brag about when I go to my 20 group in June. In case you're interested- Mooresville is known as Race City USA -- "redneck-ville". I took one of my employees- who is a big time race fan - so she was pretty excited to be there.
4. We went to this restaurant called Lancaster's BBQ. If you ever get a chance to stop by one, please do!!! Their food was soooooo good!!! I ate waaay after I should have stopped!! Pure gluttony<-- which explain why none of my clothes fit, right now. lol
5. I FINALLY figured out my pay plan!!! I know I talked about it a while ago, but I was trying to figure out what would be fair for ME. I decided to present the figures for what my office produces and then ask for 5% of that for my monthly bonus. 3% was what I was shooting for, but I started at 5% just in case he bucked at that. HE WENT FOR THE 5%!!!!!!!! He asked a couple questions about how I arrived at my figures and how I track production and then HE SIGNED OFF ON IT!!!!!!!!!! Yeah for me!!! Last month, my office produced 29k in up-sales! It was great month and everyone hit & exceeded their goals!!!! My office rocks!!!!
6. I'm going to Richmond this afternoon for a 2 day meeting. I'm going as a guest to talk to a couple dealers about running their service calls through my call center. I know their interested because I have talked to them before, but I need to reiterate the of having me do it, because I already have the know how and my office produces big numbers!!!! That means more money for me!! Which is the goal for this year..... I'm trying to increase what I brought home last year by 50%. That is an aggressive goal, but I think that I will be able to accomplish it. The new bonus pay plan is a HUGE step in the right direction.