Today I feel like an American cliche.  I speak out against American consumerism, but here I sit in Starbucks, sipping my nonfat no-water Chai tea latte, typing on my laptop, listening to my iPod, waiting for my Centro to ring.

I laugh in my general direction.

We live in a very small world.  Very small.  So small is it scary at times. 

Today I was at a meeting for a project about which I am very excited to say the least. 

At the meeting, I met someone who looked very familiar to me.  I know I’d seen him before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  He and another gentleman at the meeting are working on a project here in the South Jersey area to support people who are struggling.  They want to create a complex where people who are down on their luck can turn their lives around.  We started talking during a break, and figured out how I know his face.  Turns out that we attend(ed?) the same church. 

Some days, in doing the monotonous that is required to run a company, I get frustrated.  I feel like a hamster on a wheel, running, running, running and never getting anywhere.  But then I have days like today.  When I learn that the project that we’re working on will benefit service men and women and their families; it will help veterans; it will help Americans understand patriotism.

Maybe I’m not an American cliche.  I want to change the world.  I’ll listen to leadership podcasts on the iPod.  And I plan on using this laptop.  And my Centro.  And in Starbucks.  I mean…$4.21 rent per day and free wifi.  That’s a pretty great value, right?