Canoeing, the auto industry and creating value.....

Talk about creating value...This I believe; to spend time canoeing is to create value in your life. In a world where so many people really go about their lives creating no value what so ever, if you take a canoe trip you walk away feeling like you really did something. There are not many trips that at the end of the day, you have encountered some sort of adventure, or at least created a memory that you can probably keep for a long time...You walk away with something.

Now what brings on the talk of creating value you ask? Well, last week Bob and I went to a Toyota dealer (Toyota's are the only vehicle we will buy any more), so we go to finalize the deal on our newest shop investment..a new Tacoma. Well I'm thinking its a buyers market out there right now, I mean with a recession and all, they ought to be giving these things away or at minimum making them easy to buy. I was wrong. Although I did not think we were stealing this truck by any means, we paid a decent price for it. But, its the one we wanted, so there we are.

So we go up to "negotiate" with Tony, the salesman. My first impression is that all the salesmen in this place are Marty Brennaman (Reds announcer) want to be's (white hair, sunglasses and golf jackets)....A bunch of 60 somethings that all think they should be retired in Florida or Michigan, but instead (since they have no money), they are trying to sell cars. I've never had so much of my time wasted as watching Tony try to input the loan info into the computer with one finger while talking about his family (all these guys were moving at the speed of a snail). I mean if this guy wanted to make the sale and keep me happy, quit wasting my time and move a little quicker! At the end of it all, I think I wasted 4 hours to get done what could have been done in 1/2 an hour, and I still don't think these guys have a clue how clueless they are. I can see why the Auto industry is tanking. It was only our persistence in wanting to get this deal done, that got the deal done.

Which brings me back to my point, I could have created so much more value in my life if I had just gone canoeing. See my point? I'll get back to this "Creating Value" thing soon enough.