LAST BLOG POST

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Some people live in the world they dream about. Others are stuck only fantasizing. Realize the top 10 percent of the population owns 90% of the world’s wealth. If you want to get into this inner circle then you have to stop fantasizing about it and start living it. Here is how to play:

1.) Know the rules and follow them
2.) Get the right skills
3.) Find the right teammates
4.) Find the right playground
5.) Know your final goal
6.) Satisfy what the market wants

“All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts." William Shakespeare

This is my exit. It is a sad day. Someone close to me that I trusted questioned my intentions, so I am sacrificing something I love – this blog, to prove that I do love them more. If you are a regular reader, I would like to stay in contact. I’ll keep hustling. Keep succeeding. We can email/im/whatever. It was fun! Thanks everyone for being a part of it! Hope all of your dreams come true.

HUSTLE HUSTLE

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Everyday I’m hustling. I wake up, study Japanese for one hour, do some sit-ups, then eat breakfast. Drive to work, eat breakfast again. At 11:30 am to 1:00 pm I go to the gym with my personal trainer. We run 2 miles then lift weights. Then eat lunch while working at my desk. As you can see I have a busy day and the evenings are no different. Monday night I work on Porsches in the garage. Tuesday I teach my little niece guitar or spend time oil painting. Wednesday I volunteer at Stanford. Thursday I have Japanese class and Friday I work on fashion related projects. Weekends I spend relaxing in SF or traveling.

It is important to be well-rounded. Having many skills can assist you both at and outside of work. The knowledge you gain from one activity can be used directly in many others. For example, oral communication, written communication, teamwork, technical skills, leadership, adaptation skills, computer skills, are all key skills that I further develop by doing extra curricular activities. Some of the extra things I do because I know they will greatly help me in the future. Others I do because I simply enjoy them. The key is to just keep going, keep learning and have fun.

SOCIAL IRONY

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

I feel most people have a skewed view of the world. They will watch movies full of extreme violence and death. They protect the death penalty. They will go to war and hate people they don’t even know. At the same time, they will say they are fighting for personal freedom and for individual rights. But, really they are just fighting for their own individual beliefs. There is a big difference.

Killing is the worst thing a human can do. It is evil. But, it is socially acceptable and one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Most movies have violence. Most of the news stories have it too. But, is killing so much better than sexuality? Society thinks so. Most Americans believe nudity is much worse to see than killing. It is fine for television to show someone getting shot or blown up. This is called entertainment. But, if Janet Jackson flashes a boob for one second, everyone goes crazy. Imagine a world with no war but full of nude girls in high heels driving Ferraris. That would be lovely.

WHAT I KNOW FEELS RIGHT

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

I don’t really believe in horoscopes or read them much but today for whatever reason I looked mine up. This is what it said...

Do you have a fan? Today, don't be surprised if you notice someone saying wonderful things about you as soon as you enter the room, talking about how well you dress, or going on and on about how no one is quite as clever as you. Are they buttering you up to ask for a loan or a favor? Nope -- they truly admire you! And in an unconscious way, they are trying to get you to admire them. You need to try to get used to this adoration, because your popularity is exploding.

I guess I should try to get used to it then. Whatever! I admitted to myself long ago that I will never be famous or popular. I don’t even think I’ll ever become quote cool. And I have no idea what I’m doing in life other than what I know feels right. For example, taking the position at Stanford without pay, helping friends write books, building leather sofas, falling in love with a pair of shoes, sneaking into the movies, throwing a 7-11 Slurpee at a crazy woman’s face or watching the movie In the Mood for Love hundreds of times - these actions represent me. I say, follow your passions and trust yourself.

ART COLLECTION

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Yay! I interviewed yesterday for the Stanford University Medical Center’s Art Collection position and got it! They said they loved my artwork and the fact that I have an MBA. I was perfect for the job! Starting next week, I will work on the management and promotion of the collection under the Art Commission. They are a group of generous donors who pay for the art that is displayed around the hospital.

Overall the collection is very impressive. It comprises over 800 pieces of fine art (mostly paintings but with some photographs and sculptures) and over 2,500 prints. The idea is to enhance and humanize the hospital environment for patients, families, staff and the community. Recently, I have been reading about chromotherapy, the use of color and light in medicine. It is fascinating. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

IWC DEDICATION

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

The life of luxury is not always so luxurious. June 20th I purchased a fully restored IWC watch from 1915. It was put into a case from the 1960s to look more contemporary. My first issue was payment, I had to pay in Euros. Ok, this really was not that hard. Second, I had to drive 2 hours to get it at my parents house. Again, not bad. Then, the stem and crown pulled out of the case- very bad. I ran from watch repair shop to watch repair shop gathering information on the seriousness of the problem.

After gaining a good understanding of what went wrong and what needed to be done to fix it, I contacted the jeweler in Europe who I originally purchased the watch from. Since it is under warranty, today I will send it back to be repaired. Now I just need to find a FedEx. Also, this morning I purchased a very rare 1960s IWC bracelet for the watch. Yay! Once I get it back from Europe, I will take it to IWC here to get the bracelet installed and fitted.

BVLGARI

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Possibly Bulgari puts something special in their cologne that makes you fall in love with their jewelry. (Yes, I do wear the delicious smelling Bulgari Black cologne and Bulgari Aqva deodorant each day.) As far as rings go, right now, I have the B.Zero white gold thin style ring. I love it! White gold doesn’t tarnish and always shines like crazy. I really hate Tiffany sterling silver as it only lasts one or two days before it needs cleaning again. I have two Tiffany rings and they both suck.

I have no idea why people buy the traditional style bridal rings. They all look exactly the same. Do you want to end up competing for the biggest rock? I think quality and overall design are way more important. Someone with good taste would go to Bulgari. They have bold highly recognizable designs that look expensive like no other brand. Above are my four favorite. Save your money kids because this ice is expensive! And if you have even more money they will make something custom for you.

BRIDGE SNOB

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Saturday afternoon I got stuck in traffic on the nasty Bay Bridge in my old 1959 Porsche. There was an accident in the center lane and I had to wait for what seemed forever. I was unhappy the remainder of the day. In case you don’t know, the Bay Bridge is gross as it connects dirty poor ghetto Oakland to lovely San Francisco. Sunday morning I wanted to take a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. I almost had the feeling that by doing so it would reverse the negative day I had before.

And it worked! The trip across the Golden Gate was fantastic. Low-lying clouds mixed with bright sunshine in the distance made it picture perfect. Once across the red orange bridge I continued up and over the hill into Marin. It was a little scary because the strong winds on the other side tossed my little black Porsche around until I arrived at one of my favorite places on earth – Tiburon. As if in a dream, entering Tiburon the wind stopped and the clouds instantly disappeared. I looked back at the city across the water. It was breathtaking.

JAPANESE TUTOR

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

Sensei Akiyo is the absolute best Japanese instructor anyone could have. I love Thursday nights when we have class. She has a real talent for teaching. She uses real world examples to illustrate when you would use certain words and what is the polite (formal) way and what is the casual way to say things. And no matter how many times I screw up, her patience is limitless.

Akiyo is cute too! She is way too cute! And, she said that after about one year I will be good at speaking Japanese. I can’t wait! Japanese is a difficult language to learn. It has three different alphabet-like character sets. One (Hiragana) is for Japanese words. Another (Katakana) is for foreign words. And the third (kanji) is the most complex with more than 2,000 characters. Plus there is gender distinctions. Girls and guys say the same thing in different ways.

GOT A HUGE ONE

[ NICK | DESIGNER | SAN FRANCISCO | nick@skeetskirt.com ]

If you must work, then work in luxury. Today I got a huge 36 inch display for my computer at work. It makes my 20 inch look tiny! With the cost of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) so low today I don’t understand why anyone would want a CRT. Yuck! The LCD is much brighter. Has better color. Plus, LCD displays don’t take up so much room. You can work in an uncluttered happy environment.

Best of all, LCDs take very little power. Therefore, they are good for the earth and save you money over time. LCDs are also easier on the eyes. You have much less eyestrain at the end of the day. The only bad part about having a huge one is envy. People get pissed off when you have something better than what they have. I'm not sure if I can really keep this huge thing. I don't like to hear all the comments.