Saying Goodbye to A Good Group of People - CLS

A Chapter Closes - Goodbye to CLS!

I am going to be serious for a moment.....

Earlier this week I announced my departure from Capital Legal Solutions. I worked at Capital Legal Solutions from 2003-2006 and again from 2008-2009. There are so many wonderful memories of my years at Capital Legal that I thought I would share a few here to honor a great group of people and a company that I will always hold close to my heart.

I originally joined Capital Legal Solutions as a "roll of the dice" decision in 2003. I had worked my entire career at that point at Balmar, Inc. (over 11 years) and was suffering from serious burnout and needed a game changer in my life. I met Dharmesh Shingala, a humble small business owner at the time, who had a vision of creating one of the few electronic discovery organizations in the Washington, D.C. area at that point. When I joined on board, the company was comprised of only about 10 people with one office based just outside of Washington, D.C. During those first few months we would get a few projects at a time and I remember when big projects were considered (for a short period) to be 20-30GB of data. Within about eight months the company had grown to about twenty five people and by the summer of 2005 we were near fifty people and were opening up operations in India to compliment our D.C. offices and support business overseas.

The people and the company were riding high and the "roll of the dice" decision to join CLS had paid off with great rewards. Everyone worked day, night and weekends to meet our clients needs. As each month went by the revenue of the company grew and so did the infrastructure. As a result of a few tropical storms that hit the area during that period we installed a back-up generator and had a crane lift this mega-monster of a piece of equipment six stories to the roof of the building one weekend. Whenever a bad storm hits---the power remains on at CLS. I had the opportunity to work with people of varying cultures and with some of the best educational backgrounds. We developed a marketing strategy together and we collaborated as a team on best practices to meet our clients needs. With no traditional sales force we were all doing quite well. Sure...we had challenging days as any rapidly growing company would but we always recovered quickly.

Every year for a number of years we were involved in the annual Lawyers Have a Heart - 10K Race in Washington, D.C. One year I decided to lace up the old track shoes and run in the event based on several members of our youthful staff encouraging me on and my belief that I was still the track star that I was 15 or so years before. Not! I started off strong for the first 1/2 mile and soon felt the aches and pain of my 34 or so years. I remember telling my wife the night before to give me a kiss because I might be kicking the bucket after this run. Well, I did not die but I did finish third to last....overall! A girl who broke her leg just a few months before the race even smoked me.

In 2006 the company continued its growth (over 60 people) and the company president had larger plans. We would celebrate our many victories with pizza parties, Indian food, and client parties thanking them for their business. When the i-Pod Nano first came out we gave our clients a Nano as a gift during the holiday season. The toughest decision for me came when I decided in the summer of 2006 to step aside from CLS to take on a management position at a national litigation support company. Dharmesh and I had a professional business relationship but we also developed a friendship that was based on a mutual trust and admiration. It was a tough call but the right call at that time in my life.

During the 1 1/2 years that I was with this other company I would speak with the staff at CLS from time to time. Dharmesh and I would get together for a drink and talk politics (we both had differing political views) and I made sure that each new year he received the George W. Bush quotable gaffe's calendar. When my company decided to close redundant operations between Washington, D.C. and Tyson's Corner it was Dharmesh who called me out of the blue on my last day (one of the toughest days of my career) to just check in. We had a good talk as friends do and it was his kind words that helped me get through the rest of the afternoon.

During this transition period I had some needed time off and interviewed with numerous companies and had several job offers. When the call came that there was an opening at CLS I jumped at the opportunity to return. I accepted a position and was proud of where Capital Legal had gone during the time I was away. There was a strong Project Management Team, I saw individuals who had personally grown during the time I was away to become stronger leaders in the company and there were many new faces who added great value to an already wonderful group. Having another opportunity to work at the company was great and to see the company continue to expand operations on a global scale during a down economy said quite a bit.

But sometimes it is just time to move on when a great opportunity is presented to you and this is the case today. My family has been blessed by the opportunities and the doors that CLS has opened for us. I have become a better person for having worked with the great people (past and present) of Capital Legal Solutions. Through our triumphs and through the challenges I was humbled and honored to work with such a team of professionals.

As for the man who saw something in a 33 year old "kid" back in the fall of 2003.... I thank you. Thank you for what has been a incredible ride. I thank you for "rolling the dice" on me and for being a believer.

Prick of the Day!

Prick of the Day: Levi Johnston

Today's Prick of the day is Levi Johnston! This is the dude who impregnated Sarah Palin's daughter and is now going around bashing the Palin family so he can be a model and actor. Guess what Levi...give up on your dream. You will end up on some stupid reality show after you bed some chick agent. This dude is as dumb as rocks. He was on the Today Show this morning airing out the Palin Family dirty laundry and you could tell Ann Curry could not believe that she was interviewing such a worthless piece of scum. Ann was like...my career has really come down to interviewing a guy who is famous for not using birth control?!

I could write more but there is no need to use up my energy on such a jerk!

OBAMA PICTURE OF THE DAY WITH CAPTION:

Barrack O' Back Stabber!

Making Fun of Obama!

"Mile High O-Clubama"

I love making fun of Barrack O'Bama! I know that it may not be the "P.C." thing to do but this guy seems to be getting a free pass at every turn. I have to tell you, if the question was asked of me if I am better off today than I was a year ago I would have to say....HECK NO!

I have watched friends of mine lose their jobs and have watched unemployment jump to close to 10% when Vice President "O"-Biden said it would not surpass 8%. I have watched companies cut employee salaries by half following trends that I have seen written in the Washington Post and New York Times business articles. Ohhhh but O'Bama is O'BAMA and he gets a pass because he is a lightweight and it all must be George Bush's fault....PUHHHHLLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE!

I could not believe it today when I was watching one of the news programs and they were analyzing O'Bama's ass glance of a teenage chick at the G8 Summit and they said he was looking at something on the ground. It must have been the shadow of the ass. Bob Scheiffer of CBS News had to laugh when a Democrat who was on the show tried to explain that O'Bama was looking at something else besides the teenage booty that was walking next to him and he did what most guys would do and took a quick peek!

Now the media fallen in love with that big headed dude as well....what is his name??? "O"-Geitner and I have only seen things get worse. Where has all the stimulus money gone??? Ask O'Geitner because he wants stimulus #2 and he thinks along with the "King of $$$" that they can tax the wealthiest of Americans to make up the increasing deficit. Who could have ever imagined that if you worked hard to become wealthy that wealth would become a dirty word!

This weekend the President returned from his little trip overseas and the media was waiting for him in the wee hours to get a picture of him getting off his plane trying to re-create "O"-Camelot!

I have to admit that I got all caught up in the O'Bama madness back in the fall. O'Bama came and spoke literally right across the street from my house in Virginia in the final week or so of the campaign. O'Bama could give one heck of a O'Speech! He still can! He is a teleprompter king. This dude gave me chill bumps when he spoke (Note: I did not get a tingle up my leg like Chris Matthews explained on MSNBC) and I was an O'Believer!!!!

I regret that I made a BIG-O mistake! Granted, the Republicans blew it fielding an old man and Palin. I liked Palin but the media saw a possible threat and did her in! Palin also did herself in a few times but there was a double standard. While Biden was making a mistake a minute he got off with a few media laughs. When Palin fumbled, it became headline news. This is the trend in the media - they did the same thing with that red-headed V.P. of ours back in the campaign of 1988 - Dan Quayle. That is when character assassination in politics truly began in the U.S. media.

So why is it that I am on O'Bama's fanny all the time?

1) It is fun because it is not the P.C. thing to do!

2) I laugh when he still blames Bush for the economy and other "ill's" in the country and does not hold himself accountable. The honeymoon (and date nights on my taxpayer dollars) is over!

3) I have a right! I voted in this last election (for Obama?!?!?!...you guess) and I can criticize with playful humor.

All I can say is that I can't wait for 2012! In the meantime I will praise O'Bama when I feel he has done something right (I am all for Stem Cell Research) and will be on his case when things go bad....unemployment at all time highs, etc.,etc.,etc.,........................!

Santa 4th!

Hey Kids......Santa 4th Came Last Night!

How screwed up are my kids going to be? Last night I stayed up very late cleaning the house and decorating it in advance of the annual "Hudson Family 4th of July Spectacular" that we have been hosting for 5 years now. Each year we have family over for a day of fun that includes either a moon bounce or massive 34 foot water slide and tons of food and lots of good music.

As we were all in bed this morning and my son Ryan woke up he says with excitement, "Happy 4th of July Mommy ---Happy 4th of July Daddy!" And that is when my mouth opened up and I can't believe what I said......

"Kids - guess who came to our house last night? SANTA 4th!"

Santa 4th? What is wrong with me? The kids jumped out of bed like it was Christmas morning to tip toe down the stairs to see what Santa 4th had left them. I told them that Santa 4th came to decorate the house and clean it for the 4th of July and that they could only play with one toy until all of our guests arrived for the "Hudson Family 4th of July Spectacular" starting today at 3:00pm EST.

The great thing about Santa 4th is that Santa 4th does not leave $500.00+ worth of gifts. He just cleans the house, decorates the house with patriotic decorations and the kids believe that it is their duty to keep their play area clean for the day. Hmmm......tomorrow is going to be Santa 5th!

Have a great 4th of July and stay tuned for video updates of a very special day full of Video Daily Greg's on Facebook and Youtube!

Greg "Santa 4th"

WAL-MART People

WHAT IS UP WITH WALMART?

During these tough economic times my wife and I have decided to stop living high on the hog as we have done the past 10 or so years and start shopping at

WAL-MART. The transition from Target to Walmart is one that we have had to get use to but it is really amazing how much more affordable it is to shop at the Smiley Face store!

The few times that I have shopped at Walmart since this decision was made have been fairly pleasant experiences. The key when you shop at Walmart is to arrive early in the day or on Sundays during the church hour. Any other time and you are bound to ask yourself......., "What the heck is up with people at Walmart?"

The "Giveaway" Syndrome: Some people who shop at Walmart run into the damn store like stuff is being given away. This just does not happen on the holidays...it happens all damn year! Lookout for these people as they will knock you over to get to the $2.00 per case Cokes!

The "Cha-Cha" Moment: So you are going down one of the narrow isles at Walmart and you are navigating through the numerous barriers of junk on the floor when you are cornered by another Walmart customer. They guide their cart in the same direction as yours and you begin the "Cha-Cha" cart dance trying to out guess the other shopper on their next cart move.

The "Happy Face" Sticker: The only time you will see anyone smiling at Walmart is when you get the Happy Face sticker from the old fart who greets you at the door. There seems to be something a bit sinister when an old man hands my little boys a smiley face sticker. "Here you go little boy...let me place this smiley face sticker on your chest." Have these people been background checked? I am like...."DON'T TOUCH MY KID!!!"

DIRT: Why does it seem there is always a thick film of dirt all over Walmart? How does TARGET always look, smell and feel clean while WALMART smells, feels, looks and is DIRTY?

Maybe I just became a snob. Tar-geeeeeetttt (spoken with a French accent) was our place to shop for so many years. Who cares if we spent $300.00 per trip (every weekend) and did not use coupons....life was good! Well, Obama became President and the economy does not seem to be getting any better (as HE promised).

Ohhhh TARGET...how I miss ye!

It's My Birthday - 39 Years Old!!!

First off....I can't get enough of this Michael Jackson death coverage. What is wrong with me? I have found myself watching death coverage non-stop since the announcement came down on Thursday night. I found myself listening to Michael Jackson's music again...we all have to admit...it was not very cool to listen to M.J. over the past 15+ years so now that he is dead we can at least appreciate the music. Looking forward to watching the funeral - should be one heck of a party!

I have to tell ya, Farrah Fawcett got the death shaft! Here she has been fighting for her life and doing a documentary and she meets her maker a few hours before M.J. kicks the bucket. She gets 3 hours of death coverage and M.J. steals the show and we all will quickly forget about Farrah. 8 months from now on the Emmy Awards we will watch the "Death Retrospective" and they will show Farrah's face and some clips of her on Charlie's Angels and The Burning Bed. The camera will flash out to the crowd and a few people will wipe some tears and then the music will crank up and here comes M.J. once again stealing the DEATH SHOW from Farrah. They will show M.J. on the Ed Sullivan Show, M.J. on American Bandstand, M.J. on MTV, M.J., M.J., M.J.! The stars will all stand up and look like they are crying when over the past 15+ years they all thought the guy was a whack job.

So yesterday was my 39th Birthday. I am 39 years old! What the heck happened? Where have the years gone? Since it was my birthday I was given the gift of a flu bug. I wake up Friday morning with a runny nose, scratchy throat, upset stomach (hmmm....job related?), low grade fever, and the chills. I drive into the office and just can't last as the A.C. in our building is on the blitz (3 WEEKS RUNNING!!!!!!!!). Happy Flippin' Birthday to ME! Over the years I have been known to get ill on my birthday. I believe that out of my 39 years...I have had the flu bug or some sort of illness on the exact date of my origination! On my 25th birthday I vividly remember my future wife coming over to my apartment to celebrate my birthday while I was running a fever of 103 degrees! When I was 9 years old I had the worst sore throat ever. One thing I am very proud of as I head into turning 40....I HAVE NOT BARFED SINCE 1989 ---OVER 20+ YEARS OF NO THROW-UP!

So I had a happy birthday. This year it was not about the gifts but more about the kids. The kids made me some of the most wonderful birthday cards and were very excited that daddy was turning 39! They greeted me at home last night with two gigantic balloons and hugs. We ordered Chinese Food (we might have gone out but I was sick) and watched Kung Fu Panda. They sang happy birthday while they blew the candles out on the cake. I put Ryan up to bed and came back downstairs to sit in my blue chair. My final hours of my 39th date of origination ended with me asleep in my trusty old recliner.

Going Green!

"Going Green!"

Are you like me and you are sick and tired of the media talking about "going green?" It reminds me of the time during the Clintoon administration when Hillary said, "It takes a village..." a village for what!?!?! The media jumped on that like a dog jumping on the back side another dog in heat!

So today the media is all over the "going green" thing. I have got to tell you...the only time the "Daily Greg" goes any type of green is when we eat celery or broccoli or it is St. Patty's Day. Matt Lauer and NBC Universal/ GE will not tell me to go green! I have enough things to worry about...like the GREEN in my pocket in an era of increased taxes and company downsizing and cut backs. I am tired as well. When it is a Saturday or Sunday and I am home from the office I do not want to use the brain or physical power to take my aluminum Coke Can and throw it in a recycle bin. That is too much effort. I will "accidentally" throw it away in the regular "GREEN" trash bag and that makes me feel like we are "Goin' Green" here at the House of Hud.