December 22, 2006

• Ramblin’s

  My brother John who many people know as sitiniraq called Wednesday to tell me that he got a job.  He needed some money to buy some rubber boots and other items he needed and I gladly obliged.  He said that he had held off on asking me for a loan until he got a job.  Today is two days in a row that he has worked which is a record for the last 11 months.  I just hope he can find it in himself to keep it.  I was suprised to feel a load come off my shoulders when he told me that he had a job.  Although he is not my responsibility, he is family and looks to me as the patriarch and lifeboat.
  
  My uncle Clifford called the same day just to say hi.  This is the first time that he has called since my Dad died two years ago.  I have been the one to attempt to keep in touch with him and my cousin and after many requests to have him and his new wife come visit us, to no avail, I had just given up.  It was good to talk to him and I am glad that he reached out and made contact.  He told me that my cousin’s oldest daughter and husband are now living here in Houston.  He called me back yesterday to give me her phone number and to give me an updated phone number for my cousin.  Uncle Clifford was always someone that I looked up to as a child and I still do.  I sure hope we can get together sometime in the new year and visit.
  
  The oldest J and his wife arrived last night from Florida for the holidays.  It is so good to have them here.  Jason and I played 5 or 6 games of pool tonight and then he skunked me at bowling on the WII.  He really got into a groove after the first few games and I am glad that he did better than me.  Pool was a different story.  After I beat him the first 2 games I asked him if he had a problem with me playing to win.  He said that he would not have it any other way.  I did scratch when shooting for the 8 ball so he did win one game.
  
  Work has been interesting.  Monday was a day that was very unusual for me.  One thing after another was happening to make it a day that I would rather forget but I learned a few things about myself.  I sometimes let people push my buttons and loose my cool in a way that is not healthy.  I have an issue with condescending conversations, especially ones that are directed at me.  I felt as if there was a target on my back the entire day.  Tuesday was the exact opposite.  Everything that screamed that I was incompetent on Monday was reversed and those that were throwing barbs my way showed up as different people without any hint that anything was wrong on Monday.  I interviewed a guy that will be taking the responsibilities that I have been temporarily been filling for the last 5 months.  After interviewing the guy, I had another conversation with our CEO regarding my role in the company and he reiterated that he still didn’t know what to do with me.  It was a healthy conversation because he sees value in my contribution but still doesn’t know where I fit in the new corporate structure.  It would be easy to feel insecure about the conversation but I keep reminding myself that my destiny is in greater hands than those I work for.
  
  We have 2 more Sundays in our church building.  Demolition has been happening for the past 5 Sundays on half of the building in preparation for the move.  We have 6 shipping containers that have already been filled with salvaged building materials and contents that we will be using in our new building.  We will be using one of the local High Schools for our Sunday worship and classes until the new building is completed which is slated for sometime around March or April.  Tuesday night an opportunity was presented for us to buy a 35 foot enclosed trailer to use for storing the classroom materials we will be using at the High School.  My name and one other were suggested as the designated trailer puller and I volunteered to do this until we move into the permanent facility.  I will need to get a goose neck hook up for my truck and it will be fun to pull such a large trailer for a while.  My truck loves it when it gets to pull a heavy load and it will be cool to be pulling it during this transition period.
  
  I played handyman last Saturday and went to the local Sears parts store for a timer for our dryer, a switch for the washer and a new ice maker.  I had to order the switch for the washer and the ice maker.  They said that the parts would be shipped within 10 days.  The part for the washer showed up yesterday and I was singing a happy tune when it fixed the problem.  The part that I ordered for the ice maker showed up today and was not what I was wanting.  Fortunately it is not an electrical part and can be returned.   I also changed the flapper in one of the toilets last night as well.  I will be making another trip to the store to return it and order the right part.
  
  I made a road trip to our Dallas office today and delivered 14 flat screen monitors that the sales team needed so they could have two screens on their computers.  The monitors were decommissioned  when we closed down our dial up business and there were no boxes to ship them in and since I was making the trip, I decided to just load them up in the back seat of my truck to save the hassle of packing and shipping them.  I played delivery boy by bringing back some servers that we needed here in Houston so the trip was very productive not to mention the time I got to spend with my counterparts in Dallas at their holiday luncheon.  The drive gave me some downtime and allowed me to do some thinking.
  
  We had a holiday party Monday night for supervisors and above at our new offices downtown.  They signed the lease on the space last week and we had a winter wonderland for around 100 people in the empty space.  The evening began with a gathering in a park like setting with that was first class.  Then we gathered in an area that was set up for a presentation by our CEO.  He gave an overview of the company and what we do so the spouses could get an idea of what we do.  Then we moved on to an area that was beautifully decorated for the meal that was served by a staff that you would find at a 5 star restaurant.  The meal was followed by a 30 minute concert by a renowned pianist.  They had to use a fork lift to get the grand piano into the space and then had to have it tuned.  The evening was awesome in spite of how the day played out.

  Life is full of ups and downs.  I am so blessed to have the support of the better half during this period of growth.
  

  • 1:22 am
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