OwenBloggers: Brad - MBA 2010

Stop the hemorrhaging!

Ok, this is the first blog after the move from Maine to Tennessee. Now that the dust has settled a bit, I have a few tips to pass on to those moving from one house to another. This was definitely a learning experience for me. I looked into local wisdom about neighborhoods and housing, but most of the conventional wisdom focused on apartment living. It may work for most folks, but its not for everyone. My wife and I (plus our 4 cats and a dog) fell into this category. Having never moved a household such a distance, I learned these handy-dandy things that I'd like to pass along.

1. Watch the Cash Flow (out mostly). I have been very surprised at the cost of moving. Sure the actual movement of belongs is expensive, but it is the cost of fees to start service, fees to stop service, surcharges, forgotten items, broken belongings, bribes, and the simply unexpected that hit you where it hurts. It is such a shock that it was my inspiration for the title of this blog. (A-ha!... Now the title makes sense... half way down the blog... but it makes sense...)

2. Pack organized. Resist the temptation to have a box full of "I'll sort this out later". This is good in theory, but after moving it will remain as a box of "I'll sort this out later". It either important enough to move, or chuck it and save the weight / fuel costs / space.

3. Not everything is valuable. My wife and I each had things that were "irreplaceable". Now that I have schlepped many of them over hill and dale, I realize that its just junk, and I'm a pack-rat. Sell it, get the cash, see item number one.

4. Get a hand truck. They cost $50 at Home Depot. They are very handy, and worth the $50. Think of it as cheaper than new knees / back. Friends work well too. Feel free to call me... you can borrow my hand truck.

5. Drug your pets. It might not sound "nice" but it is better for them. Ask your vet! It is like they are drunk. They'd normally be very stressed... when was the last time you saw a stressed out drunk guy?

6. Check out the neighbors and the neighborhood.  Go there by yourself, park the car, and walk around the block. Do the neighbors wave? Can you hear birds? The highway? The rat-a-tat-tat of semi-automatic weapons? Check out the grocery store.

7. Check for closets, attic space, cellar space. You have stuff, it has to go somewhere. It is easy to forget when you are walking through the "5th house today"... but some "flipped" houses trade out closet space to make a room look bigger. If you not thinking about it, you might get hornswaggled.

8. Get a good Realtor and trust them. Joe knows a guy. I don't plug people that don't deserve it, but Joe definitely deserves it. Joe Hach (lazy pronunciation like "Ha" as in Ha-Ha-Ha ) was recommended to us, and he certainly performed. I don't want to expound on him too much, but I'll bring up two points. First, he treated us with respect. We weren't spending the oodles of money his normal client base spends, but he represented us and treated us as though we were. He is a quality individual. We wouldn't have found our house without him. Second, he fought for us. When an issue arose, he used his connections to fix the problem. In short, he got it done. I recommend him to any buyer. I  have no experience with his abilities as a seller, though I would imagine him to be equally capable. http://www.jkhrelocationservices.com/

9. Visit the house. ... after a rain and when it has been dry. Its amazing what you can learn with polar weather conditions. In the same vein, get an inspection. It is worth every penny.

10. Stay focused on the real prize. Vanderbilt. Owen. MBA. All this work is only the first step in this adventure. It will be worth it. It is a pain, but get over it. Be flexible, things will not go as planned. Adapt and change. Be persistent... the folks at DirecTV don't always understand what you are saying. Just call back until you get someone that does. Trust me, it may take five phone calls. Take a deep breath. In with the good... out with the bad...

Well, apparently I am a gas bag. A simple post turns into a dissertation. I can't help it. At least its not in Iambic Pentameter... Questions, Comments, Problems go below!

Pardon Me For Blogging...

I have never participated in a blog before, but much of my future path seems clear to me now, so it seems I must learn to blog... well. My name is Bradford Cayer, Brad works just fine. I have always lived in New England, most recently in Maine, and after numerous so-cold-it-sucks-the-air-out-of-your-lungs winters, I am looking forward to the change. Before everyone warns me about how hot Tennessee can get (I'm getting that a lot up here right now), please understand that I work in 95* weather wearing jeans. I actually like it hot.

So my "thing" is problem solving. From card games to "we have no money, and the bills are due", I enjoy the the challenge of solving puzzles. Want to hear about my life story? How'd this come about? What kind of problems? Where can I get an signed copy of your autobiography? Ask me in person, its too long for a blog. The point is that I have always pursued business, because of the unique sets of problems that seem to accompany enterprise. It just the way I tick.

And then came college.  I have always been personable, or at least thats what people tell me. (the ones that like me, anyway).  That's why Hospitality seemed to be a natural fit for me as a career choice. I earned my undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management from the University of New Hampshire. Cow Hampshire to New Englanders. Through a unique series of events (again, life story available in person) I was given an opportunity to work as a manager trainee at a family owned resort facility in Maine. I took it. It was currently under construction, and as luck would have it, it was never completed. Humph. The story that goes with that is a long one, too... but the cliff notes have something to do with a lack of funding, business plan revisions, and a unicorn. (Ok, I made up the part about the unicorn). When all was said and done, I had agreed to work to transition the business from plan A to plan B. It was an incredible challenge, and a very valuable experience.

Enter Owen. More realistically, enter the idea of graduate school. I applied to numerous schools, as everyone does. I had my "reach", my "safe" school, and my "I bet these will work". Vanderbilt was my reach. Boy, am I looking forward to attending Owen. At first there were three factors that made Vandy the ultimate choice. First, I am looking to pursue a healthcare MBA. Some of the schools I looked at offered MBAs, MHAs, or some combination to move towards healthcare management. In each case, it seemed like one side (healthcare or business) was weak. Simply put, no school seemed to be able to provide a rigorous, balanced education in both aspects of their program. Which leads to reason number two. The healthcare MBA has a submersion set that sounds AWESOME! Coupled with volunteer hours, I am hoping to soak up as much of the nuts and bolts of health care delivery as possible. The third reason was reputation. Everyone knows exactly what I am talking about here, why beat the dead horse.

The Fourth reason, can only be expressed with a visit. My wife and I came to welcome weekend in April. Wow. I have never felt so welcome... EVER. Lets not forget I'm in hospitality. Owen was amazing. We met so many friendly people, and even took an alum we met out for pizza. I had already decided that Owen was for me, but after I visited, knew I belonged here.

Moving forward from here... I hope to become an entertaining blogger. Not Eddie Izzard entertaining, but more along the lines of Douglas Adams. Specifically, I want to get your attention, and hold it long enough to talk about something of value. Whatever the topic of the blog, I would love for every reader to participate. One of the most exciting things about welcome weekend was seeing the variety of folks that have accepted the invitation to attend Owen. I can't wait to see how all of these different perspectives converge. We learn best from each other. A blog is a forum, right? In return for your unquestioning devotion... I will make a promise. I will always try tell the truth as I see it. I do that anyway, but here you have it in writing. I have nothing to gain by fluffing up Owen. I'm not likely to get a scholarship anytime soon. I'd rather keep quiet than tell someone else's "truth". So if you ask me a question, I'll answer it. Period. I think its a pretty good deal really...

This concludes our broadcast today... like it? Don't like it? let me know! Maybe I'll agree, and make a change. All in all, I think its a pretty good blog. For those of you only half paying attention, some of these one-liners were meant as jokes. They might not be funny, but they were meant to be funny. I know I laughed.