what the future may hold

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord..
Jeremiah 29:11-14a

To Start my week, I'll be on my own at our West Bend store. It's a one man store, so I have the chance to be very busy. I've been told this is a test to see how well I've progressed, and to gauge my potential as a store manager with Hein. I'm both excited and anxious about it. Obviously, excited due to a potential promotion.

Anxious...let's explore that: I've only been in the electrical supply business for 11 months. I've learned a TON, but there's still quite a bit I don't feel I have a good grasp on. Enter my boss Ron. I emailed Ron a couple weeks ago, asking him what opportunities were coming within the company, and what I should be doing to position myself for those opportunities. Ron stopped by the store I work at in Menomonee Falls and we chatted about it. Basically, I'm in the future plans for the company.

We'll see how things go, and what lies ahead

can't sleep

I hate it when I can't sleep. I have too much on my mind and I'm worrying about all of it.

A shot of scotch to calm me down and hopefully dull what worries me.

overall thoughts from the last few days...

TMNT....I giggled through the entire movie...loved it..

The Gonzalez deal in D.C.: just another attempt to derail the Bush Administration. Clinton fired ALL 93 Federal prosecutors in 1993 without so much as a fart from Congress, yet Bush fires 8 for not doing their job and it's a witch hunt...hmmmm

Take me out to the ballgame: Opening Day is Monday!! I'll be there :P

I'm dual booting Windows and Linux on my laptop, with 2 Linux desktops and one Windows desktop.

more randomness to come

vacation destination

London perhaps?

hint: skip to step 20

oo oo...my turn!!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

some pictures

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was going to the Chicago Auto Show. Here's a couple of shots of me with cars I can't afford :)

meh

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned; it's been 10 days since my last post

Well, 31 has come...so far, it's just like 30

Spring could arrive soon and I wouldn't complain

I'm aching to see a live band...as luck would have it, I can do that next Saturday...

work goes well; Joe and I have a mutual respect for each other and a common goal. Makes going in to work easier :)

The Linux experiment continues...I've changed distros (type of Linux) so we'll see how this goes.

I'm trying to take my lunch to work....so far 3 days in a row...tomorrow will be 4 :P

Spent a good deal of last Sunday with Holly trying to get her car taken care of. It seems her oil pan cracked and was leaking oil. By the time church got out, it was out of oil. A couple of folks had noticed it, so she wasn't going to drive off....that would have been bad...I took a look and couldn't see an easy fix, so I took her home, and explained things to her folks while she changed. Her Dad suggested checking to make sure the oil filter was tight, so Holly and I headed back to the church to check. No dice...call AAA to get a tow truck...the wait is anywhere from 20 minutes to almost 2 hours. We run to grab lunch and wait. At about 3:30 the tow truck arrives. We follow him down to Wilde Toyota to drop the car off. Back to my place for a while then off to church for 4:12. Drop Holly off at home then come home and crash myself. Come to find out the oil pan cracked somehow and wouldn't hold any oil...I'm glad she was able to make it to church and wasn't on the freeway between Milwaukee and Madison when it went dry...

I think...thatisall

and so another year has past

31

huh...30 didn't feel so bad.

I wonder what this year will bring.

all good things come to an end

it would appear that Morpheus has died...Morpheus...that's my laptop.

All I know is that is he was running fine when I left my apartment to get dinner across the street, and when I came back...black screen. I've troubleshot everything, short of completely disassembling him, but I'm not sure that would help.

thank you in advance for your sympathy

100

to celebrate my 100th post, I'm letting everyone know that I've now gone Linux full time. I desired a new challenge on the computer front, and since I can't afford a new Mac and don't want Vista, I went with Linux. I found a nice primer on Suse (Soo-say) 10.2 that gives me all the functionality of Windows or OS X.

I turn 31 next Tuesday...go me

haha

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash8.htm


too funny

STEAK N SHAKE!!!

IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! did I mention IT'S HERE?


yeah...so I'm a little excited...ten minutes away instead of fifty...yes, I drove to Gurnee JUST for Steak 'n' Shake, and I took a few of you with me.

I was able to eat at the new SnS in Wauwatosa tonight after work. They're in training mode, so I expected a few hiccups. My server was polite and did a good job, and the food was good....although...the burger tasted a wee bit different than I recall. I'm sure they'll get things ironed out. I found it amusing to be a seasoned veteran in a sea of rookies. The place was full...reminded me of the good ol' days in Pekin, after going out on a Saturday night, heading to the SnS for food.

Busy busy busy lately. My days have been up by 6am, work at 7 til 4:30, then off to a client in the evening, home by 9 or so...wind down...head to bed by 10-10:30. Lather rinse repeat.

Chicago Auto Show this weekend. I'm going with Holly's Dad and Brother-in-law. Should be really cool

I'm getting tired of the cold. It's not so much the cold really, but the wind. And the dryness...my hands are dry. My nose dries out while I sleep, and I wake up having breathed thru my mouth, and my throat is dry as well. Time to snag a humidifier.

Superbowl was fun to watch...even if it rained the entire game.

Daytona.....mmmmmm...racecars.

so.....

so while my Windows box is updating, I'll post from my Linux box :P

Things are going well lately. Work is going smoothly. I believe part of it is my adjustment in attitude that I may very well have a career that I have landed in, as well as the new store. Joe's been in a fair mood lately, so that helps.

I'm going to bed at a reasonable hour, so I can sleep at night and not drag my tail the next day. I've also stopped caffeinating after 8pm on most night, so I sleep better. It seems to be helping as I feel more rested when I wake up.

The hardest part of my day...is getting out of bed. Once I'm out of bed, I'm golden...it's throwing back the covers and setting my feet on the floor that seems to be difficult.

"Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life" Proverbs 22:4

how do you see yourself?

So, how do you see yourself?

I made this little picture at www.weemee.com, courtesy of a link from my friend Julie

How'd I do?

a cold caught me

Forgive me Blogger, it's been 19 days since my last post

it's Friday night, and I'm home sick. Head cold. I don't say "I caught a cold", I say "a cold caught me" because I don't go looking to catch colds.

The walgreens across the street has a layout in mind like a grocery store, meaning, you have to walk to the far back corner for cough medicine and vitamins.

Shockingly, I did NOT get carded when buying my Tylenol Cold Multi-sypmtom ("NEW!"), so it must not have any ingredients capable of producing meth.

I want my head to stop hurting. It feels like it's in a vice. The only time it hasn't lately is when I came home early from work and laid down. If I lay on my back, my headache ebbs and my sinuses open up a bit, but I can only lay down for so long without falling asleep. I have the Bucks game on my clock radio, but even that can't keep me from wanting to do SOMETHING..ANYTHING..but be sick.

the night air on the walk over to Walgreens felt nice, even though it's weird to have a January evening be 45 degrees. I wonder if the warmer temps have anything to do with my cold, perhaps some germs that didn't die off due to the weather not getting cold enough...

bleah

Forgive me Blogger, for it's been a long time since my last post.

I'm angry

I try not to post angry, since I'm working on being more tactful...I tend to shoot from the hip, so I'm going to do my best to hold my tongue...

In case you look at the time, I'm in church right now...I'm up in the sound booth.

I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only one who makes things work at church...no one else would fill the baptismal...so I did it....I'm doing all the sound for the children's program, which meant practices for the last couple Sunday mornings, and yesterday from 9-12ish, then I filled the baptismal for today...

Holly's worried about me, that I'm doing too much...I worry that if I don't do these things, who will? Is that pride...or is it desire to serve?

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned; it's been 17 days since my last post.

Patience is the lesson lately. Waiting for things to sort themselves out...work, relationships, waiting for the holiday weekend so I can drive home and see my family.

Work is going well actually...Joe and I had a discussion and things are much smoother now. This week has been slow, since so many electricians like to hunt. One more day...

the side business continues to draw interest...patience in not wanting too much, too soon

patience in waiting for the Steak n Shake to get built in Wauwatosa....so close, yet so far...

Patience with myself, in many areas

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned; it's been nine days since my last post

This week was an interesting one. I wasn't home before 8 any night this week. Work was up and down, but ended on an upswing Friday. Monday night was the second night of Upwards evals, and we have 260 kids signed up for basketball...I'm looking forward to coaching again

Tuesday I drove the truck for work...nothing exciting, just a bit of extra cash.

Wednesday I had a client. Turns out we're doing a solid upgrade to replace a motherboard. As soon as the parts are in, I'll go back to take care of business. Holly came over after her class so we could hang out a bit :)

Thursday...long day at work. Got done about 45 minutes after the usual time. Called my client for that night, who told me to take my time and get dinner, no need to rush. Got the computer taken care of, went home, and read a day in the book study we're doing in our young adult group at church.

Friday, work was light. On my way home, I check my phone and see that I have a message. Turns out, an old friend of mine is in the hospital; his sister called me to tell me. I head to Froedert to see Chad. Chad managed to end up in the hospital with a nasty foot infection. A couple of years ago, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and lost a toe then. Now, one of his feet had blistered up and gotten infected, due to walking alot for one of his jobs. The doctors were discussing how much of the foot to amputate. I sat with Chad for a bit, talked seriously about his condition, then lightened up and caught up with each other for a bit. Before they wheeled him off to surgery, I prayed with him. I went to sit with his folks and sister, then his dad and I went to get a bite to eat. After that, we all met up again, then I headed home.

Saturday, inventory at the Mothership in Brookfield. Company provided doughnuts, then off to count. I was partnered with Laura, who's pretty cool. Got a call from Chad's sister Carrie, informing me that the doctors had taken Chad's foot at the ankle, and would have a follow up surgery in a day or two to take some more of the lower leg. I've been thinking about Chad all day. Holly and I have tickets with her folks to Romeo and Juliet, and I think at some point my mind will be distracted enough. It pains me to feel helpless in times like this, when I have a friend going through such a trial. I know God is in control and puts us through nothing we cannot bear, but it's still hurts.

gamebreak

so, I called Detroit in 6 for the Series...

Holly noticed that I'm rooting for the Cardinals.

allow me to explain:

I am sticking by my original predicition of Detroit in 6. This pick was based on the different match ups between the clubs and the pitching rotations. Now, having said that, I would like to see the Cardinals win the whole thing.

thatisall

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned; it has been eleven days since my last post...

Once again, many thoughts, but how to expound on them?

Work is interesting...I'm still getting used to my manager/co-worker...he's obsessive and anal, but in a mostly laid back way...I think that makes sense. We chatted a bit today about how I was doing, and overall he's pleased with my work ethic and my ability.

I'm calling it now: Detroit in 6

The purge continues...Holly is a great motivator in spite of me

Got to hook up with an old friend last night...for a while I gave Matt a hand teching at his church...I happened to be in Racine last night, so I stopped by his place for a spell...helped him fix one of his machines and hot rodded his router :D