Las Cruces, New Mexico
is located 40 miles northwest of El Paso, TX. It is home to New Mexico State University and one of the best Mexican restaurants, La Posta. After another long day in Juarez, Mexico we ventured to Las Cruces for sight seeing and dinner. We met an elderly man downtown and he recommended eating at La Posta. He and his wife have eaten at this restaurant every Tuesday night for the past 35 years so we assumed it would be alright to eat there and he was right. It was some of the best Mexican food I have ever had and I have eaten a lot of Mexican food over the years. Plus the atmosphere at this restaurant was amazing. In the center of the restaurant it has an open roof so trees, plants and sunshine can thrive. There is also a hallway with little rooms that represent stores where they sell jewelry, clothes, pottery, food, etc. And at the end of your meal the family comes to your table to see how your meal was (grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, children, etc.). I showed off my Spanish skills at that point and talked to the grandma about the delicious tortilla soup. Of course the recipe is a family secret! A place we will return to during our business trips.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
And even more sad news...
Mr. Vern Morrow past away today from a massive heart attack. Mr. Morrow was a great family friend and I will miss all of his knowledge, stories and history conversations we had especially about Detroit. I will always remember going to the theatre, symphony, Tigers and Lions games, and eating at many restaurants with him. If he rode with us to an event, we never drove directly to or from our destination as he had to educate us on something that day. He will be deeply missed.
Mr. Vern Morrow past away today from a massive heart attack. Mr. Morrow was a great family friend and I will miss all of his knowledge, stories and history conversations we had especially about Detroit. I will always remember going to the theatre, symphony, Tigers and Lions games, and eating at many restaurants with him. If he rode with us to an event, we never drove directly to or from our destination as he had to educate us on something that day. He will be deeply missed.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Alamogordo, New Mexico
While in Juarez, Mexico last week, I actually took some time to venture out and see more of the southwest. I usually don't have time to do such travel since I am extremely busy with work, but managed to get done with meetings early on this particular day. I spent a few hours in Alamogordo, New Mexico visiting the White Sands National Park and the nearby mountain range. What an amazing area and views. The white sand dunes cover about 275 square miles with wildlife and vegetation and is the largest such area of dunes in the world. Of course, I didn't have a camera to take any pictures. The change in temperature was also weird to experience. At ground level it was around 102 degrees, but up in the mountains was 72. Check out the below links to see some on-line pictures of the white sands and the mountains in the background.
http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/united_states/white_sands.html
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/
While in Juarez, Mexico last week, I actually took some time to venture out and see more of the southwest. I usually don't have time to do such travel since I am extremely busy with work, but managed to get done with meetings early on this particular day. I spent a few hours in Alamogordo, New Mexico visiting the White Sands National Park and the nearby mountain range. What an amazing area and views. The white sand dunes cover about 275 square miles with wildlife and vegetation and is the largest such area of dunes in the world. Of course, I didn't have a camera to take any pictures. The change in temperature was also weird to experience. At ground level it was around 102 degrees, but up in the mountains was 72. Check out the below links to see some on-line pictures of the white sands and the mountains in the background.
http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/united_states/white_sands.html
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/
Friday, July 6, 2007
Happy Birthday America!
I spent the 4th of July in El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico. Needless to say I was not happy to be working on a holiday and to spend most of the day in a foreign country.
I have been blessed to meet and become friends with so many people from different cultures. It makes me appreciate where I was born and what I have. We must remember that we share a border with a third world country and every time I am in Mexico I understand why they want to come to America. For what they lack in wealth, they make up for in compassion for family and friends.
I spent the evening of July 4th in El Paso, TX with some of my Mexican friends. They did not want me to be alone on such an important day for Americans so they came across the border to spend the evening with me. We started the evening with the most important 'Ds' - drinks, dinner, dessert! After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went and watched the West El Paso fireworks in the mountains. I have always been very patriotic, but never felt so proud to be an American as I did watching the fireworks with hundreds of thousands of Mexican-Americans, who call themselves Americans. I am sure many of these people are not American born citizens and this is why they are so proud to now be Americans and live in this country. I have never seen such enthusiasm, pride, tears, and joy all at once each and every time a firework was launched. There was so much shouting, laughing, dancing, and partying. I couldn't even tell you if it was a good fireworks display or not. I spent most of the evening people watching and listening to my Mexican friends tell me how lucky I am to be an American. I ended up enjoying being in El Paso for the 4th.
I learned on this 4th of July that it is truly awesome to be an American. It doesn't matter how you received your US citizenship; the important thing is that you have it.
I spent the 4th of July in El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico. Needless to say I was not happy to be working on a holiday and to spend most of the day in a foreign country.
I have been blessed to meet and become friends with so many people from different cultures. It makes me appreciate where I was born and what I have. We must remember that we share a border with a third world country and every time I am in Mexico I understand why they want to come to America. For what they lack in wealth, they make up for in compassion for family and friends.
I spent the evening of July 4th in El Paso, TX with some of my Mexican friends. They did not want me to be alone on such an important day for Americans so they came across the border to spend the evening with me. We started the evening with the most important 'Ds' - drinks, dinner, dessert! After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went and watched the West El Paso fireworks in the mountains. I have always been very patriotic, but never felt so proud to be an American as I did watching the fireworks with hundreds of thousands of Mexican-Americans, who call themselves Americans. I am sure many of these people are not American born citizens and this is why they are so proud to now be Americans and live in this country. I have never seen such enthusiasm, pride, tears, and joy all at once each and every time a firework was launched. There was so much shouting, laughing, dancing, and partying. I couldn't even tell you if it was a good fireworks display or not. I spent most of the evening people watching and listening to my Mexican friends tell me how lucky I am to be an American. I ended up enjoying being in El Paso for the 4th.
I learned on this 4th of July that it is truly awesome to be an American. It doesn't matter how you received your US citizenship; the important thing is that you have it.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Sopranos - Series Finale
I started watching The Sopranos from the beginning (I was always a week or so behind watching the episodes because I didn't have HBO. One of my US Steel co-workers at the time would tape it for me so I could watch it the next night. A few years later I finally got HBO). I was hooked right away; maybe because I have always been intrigued by 'The Mob' or 'Mafia'. I love watching those types of movies.
If you are a Sopranos fan, the series finale aired on Sunday night (and will air again and again if you missed it - do not read any further if you want to see the final episode - I don't want to ruin it for you!) and there are a lot of speculations to the ending. Here are my thoughts and what I believed happened:
He was killed....
In fact, the ending was great, if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well developed, well thought out plots that all tie together, and if you have a great memory to remember it all. The ending was simple; he got killed, but let me tell you why I think this and explain in detail...
There were 3 people in the room who had a reason to kill Tony. The two black guys were paid before to kill Tony, but he was only shot in the ear (this was in one of the earlier seasons). The truck driver, who was sitting at the bar stool, was Nikki Leotardo, Phil Leotardo's nephew (he was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down).
When Tony walked in the diner, the camera focused on him, then it switched to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth where he is going to sit down. The camera switched back to Tony's face, then it once again switched to his perspective. You then see Tony looking at the door and watching people come in to the diner.
Every time the door opens, chimes sound. Carmela walks in, chimes. AJ walks in, chimes. Then Meadow finally parks the car and starts running in to the diner. The door is about to open, Tony looks up and no chimes, no music, everything goes black (I thought my cable went out at first and I thought, "Great! Now I won't know how it ended!" Then the credits started rolling. What an awesome ending.)
In one of the early episodes of The Sopranos, Tony talks to Bobby about what it must feel like to die. Bobby said, "At the end, you probably don't hear anything. Everything just goes black." So in the end, the Journey song was playing, the chimes on the door sounded, but when Meadow came in to the diner, the guy in the trucker hat came out of the bathroom and killed Tony. The reason you didn't hear or see it happen is because it is from Tony's perspective...and everything went black.
The ending has received mixed reviews by the 11.9 million people who saw it. I will watch it again!
I started watching The Sopranos from the beginning (I was always a week or so behind watching the episodes because I didn't have HBO. One of my US Steel co-workers at the time would tape it for me so I could watch it the next night. A few years later I finally got HBO). I was hooked right away; maybe because I have always been intrigued by 'The Mob' or 'Mafia'. I love watching those types of movies.
If you are a Sopranos fan, the series finale aired on Sunday night (and will air again and again if you missed it - do not read any further if you want to see the final episode - I don't want to ruin it for you!) and there are a lot of speculations to the ending. Here are my thoughts and what I believed happened:
He was killed....
In fact, the ending was great, if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well developed, well thought out plots that all tie together, and if you have a great memory to remember it all. The ending was simple; he got killed, but let me tell you why I think this and explain in detail...
There were 3 people in the room who had a reason to kill Tony. The two black guys were paid before to kill Tony, but he was only shot in the ear (this was in one of the earlier seasons). The truck driver, who was sitting at the bar stool, was Nikki Leotardo, Phil Leotardo's nephew (he was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down).
When Tony walked in the diner, the camera focused on him, then it switched to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth where he is going to sit down. The camera switched back to Tony's face, then it once again switched to his perspective. You then see Tony looking at the door and watching people come in to the diner.
Every time the door opens, chimes sound. Carmela walks in, chimes. AJ walks in, chimes. Then Meadow finally parks the car and starts running in to the diner. The door is about to open, Tony looks up and no chimes, no music, everything goes black (I thought my cable went out at first and I thought, "Great! Now I won't know how it ended!" Then the credits started rolling. What an awesome ending.)
In one of the early episodes of The Sopranos, Tony talks to Bobby about what it must feel like to die. Bobby said, "At the end, you probably don't hear anything. Everything just goes black." So in the end, the Journey song was playing, the chimes on the door sounded, but when Meadow came in to the diner, the guy in the trucker hat came out of the bathroom and killed Tony. The reason you didn't hear or see it happen is because it is from Tony's perspective...and everything went black.
The ending has received mixed reviews by the 11.9 million people who saw it. I will watch it again!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Alex's Lemonade Stand
What an amazing story! http://www.alexslemonade.org/
Shortly before her first birthday, Alexandra "Alex" Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form a childhood cancer. At age 4, before one of her surgeries, she told her mother that she wanted to help her doctors raise money for other cancer children. And thus began the Lemonade Stand legacy. She and other children have raised over $1 million! What impresses me most is here is a 4 year old girl who hasn't been formerly educated, but was already smart enough to figure out a way to help others. We all can learn so much from her.
What an amazing story! http://www.alexslemonade.org/
Shortly before her first birthday, Alexandra "Alex" Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form a childhood cancer. At age 4, before one of her surgeries, she told her mother that she wanted to help her doctors raise money for other cancer children. And thus began the Lemonade Stand legacy. She and other children have raised over $1 million! What impresses me most is here is a 4 year old girl who hasn't been formerly educated, but was already smart enough to figure out a way to help others. We all can learn so much from her.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
San Juan Islands
During my visit with my brother's family, we spent a few days on the San Juan Islands. We took an hour ferry ride to Friday Harbor, WA on the San Juan Islands. Even though we arrived at the ferry dock 2 hours ahead of departure time, we were still put on standby for boarding the ferry. If we missed this ferry we would have to wait another 2 1/2 hours to catch the next one so we were very excited to board this ferry.
The San Juan Islands are located on the western coast of the United States in Puget Sound off the coast of WA. Victoria, BC is about 5 miles from the islands. The ferry ride was incredible as we viewed many islands and enormous homes while commenting on the beautiful blue color of the water. My pictures do not do it justice.
We visited the Whale Watch museum which was fascinating as I learned so much about the orca whales. The scientists are currently tracking 3 different pods and one of the females in the pod had a calf. We then were off to catch our boat to our whale watch tour. We saw lots of orca whales, including the calf and the oldest orca whale and she is 91 years old. Many came so close to our boat. It was amazing. A great trip!
During my visit with my brother's family, we spent a few days on the San Juan Islands. We took an hour ferry ride to Friday Harbor, WA on the San Juan Islands. Even though we arrived at the ferry dock 2 hours ahead of departure time, we were still put on standby for boarding the ferry. If we missed this ferry we would have to wait another 2 1/2 hours to catch the next one so we were very excited to board this ferry.
The San Juan Islands are located on the western coast of the United States in Puget Sound off the coast of WA. Victoria, BC is about 5 miles from the islands. The ferry ride was incredible as we viewed many islands and enormous homes while commenting on the beautiful blue color of the water. My pictures do not do it justice.
We visited the Whale Watch museum which was fascinating as I learned so much about the orca whales. The scientists are currently tracking 3 different pods and one of the females in the pod had a calf. We then were off to catch our boat to our whale watch tour. We saw lots of orca whales, including the calf and the oldest orca whale and she is 91 years old. Many came so close to our boat. It was amazing. A great trip!
Lighthouse at Lime Kiln Point State Park. This lighthouse is used for whale watching and whale research. We hoped to see some whales from here, but no such luck.
No whale sightings at Lime Kiln Point State Park, but I did see my first bald eagle! Amazing!
We spent about 4 hours on a whale watching tour. Saw lots of orca whales, which I wasn't expecting to see any. Trust me, there are 3 whales in this picture.
Spencer and Garrett waiting for the ferry boat to Friday Harbor.
Garrett on the ferry boat.
Spencer looking for whales on the ferry boat.
View of the islands from the ferry boat.
Friday Harbor, WA
Some More Pictures
from my trip to Seattle
I was able to see 2 of Spencer's T-ball games. Here he is ready to knock it out of the park!
from my trip to Seattle
I was able to see 2 of Spencer's T-ball games. Here he is ready to knock it out of the park!
Spencer, the Catcher, ready for action!
Spencer and Garrett having fun playing on the slide.
Garrett, knocking the ball out of the park, literally!
Spencer playing with his new birthday gift (an automatic baseball tee). I am not sure who had more fun, Spencer, Garrett (below) or me (not pictured)!
My Seattle Vacation
A clear day in Seattle allowed us to see the Olympic mountains.
A view of the downtown Seattle skyline from the Space Needle.
I spent a week with my brother and his family in the Pacific Northwest. I had been almost 2 years since I had visited them in Snoqualmie. I had a great time seeing everyone again and playing with Spencer and Garrett. Here are some pictures from my trip.
A clear day in Seattle allowed us to see the Olympic mountains.
A view of the downtown Seattle skyline from the Space Needle.
The famous fish throwing at Pike Place Fish Market. We enjoyed the biggest and best king crab legs I have ever had for dinner. And can't forget the world's best clam chowder and lobster bisque soups.
A hard to see view of Mount Rainier (way in the background).
Saturday, June 2, 2007
A Year in Review
I can't believe it has already been 1 year since I left my beloved state of Michigan and moved to the south. I've made my home in the metro Nashville area which is a new experience for me to be so close to a major city. I love having the option of going to downtown Nashville to hang out with my new friends. And Nashville has a small town feeling with big city attractions. I really like the community I selected. It is a growing area with a new library, police station, community center, mall and train depot (the four corners near my subdivision recently replaced the 4-way stop signs with an actual traffic light). I also picked this area because it is a short commute to work and the airport. Housing values continue to rise in the Nashville area with all of the business growth with Nissan and Dell.
Work has taken up a lot of my time. I actually spent 119 days away from Nashville this past year traveling to my customers in Mexico. There are some definite changes that I am still getting used to with living in the south.
I can't believe it has already been 1 year since I left my beloved state of Michigan and moved to the south. I've made my home in the metro Nashville area which is a new experience for me to be so close to a major city. I love having the option of going to downtown Nashville to hang out with my new friends. And Nashville has a small town feeling with big city attractions. I really like the community I selected. It is a growing area with a new library, police station, community center, mall and train depot (the four corners near my subdivision recently replaced the 4-way stop signs with an actual traffic light). I also picked this area because it is a short commute to work and the airport. Housing values continue to rise in the Nashville area with all of the business growth with Nissan and Dell.
Work has taken up a lot of my time. I actually spent 119 days away from Nashville this past year traveling to my customers in Mexico. There are some definite changes that I am still getting used to with living in the south.
- Life is a lot slower in the south. My driving habits have changed and I don't drive as fast anymore (I can't because I can't speed around the slow cars in front of me!).
- Sports are a bit different down here. The majority of southerners are into college football and basketball (in that order) and not too many follow pro sports. And of course NASCAR ranks right up there.
- No state income tax!
- High sales tax 9.25% because there is no state income tax (keeps me from shopping!).
- One of the best things about Middle Tennessee is the weather. It is sunny and warm most of the time.
- Country music - still can't get into it!
- Central Time Zone - only 1 hour difference from Eastern, but I still cannot get used to it. It seems I am always an hour late watching something on TV!
- I have great neighbors who look out for each other.
For the most part, I am happy I chose to move to the south. I can't wait to see what's in store for me as I enter my second year in middle Tennessee.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
What a Storm!
I am once again on another business trip to Juarez, Mexico. The one nice thing about going to visit this particular customer is that I stay in El Paso, TX and cross the border to Juarez daily. I heard there would be storms in West Texas but I assumed storms are storms. Boy, was I wrong! It started with 65 mile per hour winds, then came the thunder and lightening. It was cool to see since it is desert and very warm so the storms are a bit different in the desert. The best part was the hail. Grape size hail fell from the sky and there was so much of it that it was hard to see through it. We watched the majority of the storm from the Concierge Lounge at the hotel then we went downstairs to gather up some hail pellets because we couldn't believe they were that big. The worst part was El Paso and Juarez then experienced flooding because the desert doesn't absorb water. In order to fully understand the magnitude of floods in Juarez is to drive there and try to dodge all of the pot holes (holes that would swallow a small child or car - no lie). When there is standing water you can't see the pot holes! What a thrill when you driving! Now I know why Hertz always gives me a dented up vehicle when I say I will be going to Mexico for the week.
I am once again on another business trip to Juarez, Mexico. The one nice thing about going to visit this particular customer is that I stay in El Paso, TX and cross the border to Juarez daily. I heard there would be storms in West Texas but I assumed storms are storms. Boy, was I wrong! It started with 65 mile per hour winds, then came the thunder and lightening. It was cool to see since it is desert and very warm so the storms are a bit different in the desert. The best part was the hail. Grape size hail fell from the sky and there was so much of it that it was hard to see through it. We watched the majority of the storm from the Concierge Lounge at the hotel then we went downstairs to gather up some hail pellets because we couldn't believe they were that big. The worst part was El Paso and Juarez then experienced flooding because the desert doesn't absorb water. In order to fully understand the magnitude of floods in Juarez is to drive there and try to dodge all of the pot holes (holes that would swallow a small child or car - no lie). When there is standing water you can't see the pot holes! What a thrill when you driving! Now I know why Hertz always gives me a dented up vehicle when I say I will be going to Mexico for the week.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
What A Great Day
to watch sports on TV. The Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons were all on TV today and they were on National TV so I got the rare opportunity to watch all 3 games. All 3 teams played well; both the Wings and Pistons won, but the Tigers lost in the 10th inning. I love this time of year because the NBA and NHL play-offs have started and both of my favorite teams are playing. And MLB has started which means summer is right around the corner (although I think it has already arrived in middle Tennessee because it has been in the mid 70s to low 80s already).
to watch sports on TV. The Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons were all on TV today and they were on National TV so I got the rare opportunity to watch all 3 games. All 3 teams played well; both the Wings and Pistons won, but the Tigers lost in the 10th inning. I love this time of year because the NBA and NHL play-offs have started and both of my favorite teams are playing. And MLB has started which means summer is right around the corner (although I think it has already arrived in middle Tennessee because it has been in the mid 70s to low 80s already).
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Hindsight IS 20/20
So why doesn't the media stop badgering Va. Tech's President and the Chief of Police?? When you look back on any major tragedy you can always find something that could have been done better. We can learn from these situations, try to improve them or be better prepared for the next one, but for the media to exacerbate the situation does not help. I was impressed with 2 things yesterday while watching the media coverage; #1. A group of VT students were being interviewed by Stone Phillips and he asked, "Do you blame the University for their decision to wait 2 hours before notifying students of the first shooting?". One student responded, "None of us know what it is like to be a part of the VT Administration or to be the VT President. We have to support the decision they made with the information they had at the time. Why should we focus on what could have been done instead of what to do now?". #2. During the memorial service at VT when President Steger was announce to be the next speaker, a standing ovation broke out in the arena. What an impressive way for the VT community to show their support of their leader. And to finish the memorial service with chants of "Let's Go Hokies".
This was a tragedy and we all hope never happens again. My thoughts are with those families who lost a loved one.
So why doesn't the media stop badgering Va. Tech's President and the Chief of Police?? When you look back on any major tragedy you can always find something that could have been done better. We can learn from these situations, try to improve them or be better prepared for the next one, but for the media to exacerbate the situation does not help. I was impressed with 2 things yesterday while watching the media coverage; #1. A group of VT students were being interviewed by Stone Phillips and he asked, "Do you blame the University for their decision to wait 2 hours before notifying students of the first shooting?". One student responded, "None of us know what it is like to be a part of the VT Administration or to be the VT President. We have to support the decision they made with the information they had at the time. Why should we focus on what could have been done instead of what to do now?". #2. During the memorial service at VT when President Steger was announce to be the next speaker, a standing ovation broke out in the arena. What an impressive way for the VT community to show their support of their leader. And to finish the memorial service with chants of "Let's Go Hokies".
This was a tragedy and we all hope never happens again. My thoughts are with those families who lost a loved one.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
He Gone!
Kudos to the NFL for taking a stand on Pacman Jones' behavior and suspending him for the entire 2007 season. I am tired of hearing about him on the Nashville news everyday with his run-ins with the law.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6665234
Kudos to the NFL for taking a stand on Pacman Jones' behavior and suspending him for the entire 2007 season. I am tired of hearing about him on the Nashville news everyday with his run-ins with the law.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6665234
Monday, April 9, 2007
Easter Sunday
My parents and I had a nice Easter together. We had a delicious brunch at home with home made Eggs Benedict and Mom's special Hollandaise sauce. Mom had cooked a ham earlier in the week so we used this ham for our Eggs Benedict. We then watched the Pistons game which I don't get to see too many games because the Pistons aren't on TV very much in Nashville. I expect to see more games with the playoffs starting (Wings too). The weather turned cold in Nashville so it limited us on our outdoor activities. We did manage to go geocaching in the afternoon as it warmed up a bit and found some micro caches in the Hermitage/Mt. Juliet areas. I can see why so many people love this hobby.
My parents and I had a nice Easter together. We had a delicious brunch at home with home made Eggs Benedict and Mom's special Hollandaise sauce. Mom had cooked a ham earlier in the week so we used this ham for our Eggs Benedict. We then watched the Pistons game which I don't get to see too many games because the Pistons aren't on TV very much in Nashville. I expect to see more games with the playoffs starting (Wings too). The weather turned cold in Nashville so it limited us on our outdoor activities. We did manage to go geocaching in the afternoon as it warmed up a bit and found some micro caches in the Hermitage/Mt. Juliet areas. I can see why so many people love this hobby.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Chattanooga, TN
My parents and I took a day trip to Chattanooga, TN on Saturday. The City of Chattanooga spent $800+ million to renovate the city. It was voted one of the dirtiest cities in the US and now it is one of the cleanest. It is a very scenic city with lots to do. We even visited Georgia for a couple of minutes. I-24 takes you into Chattanooga, but there is a small stretch of highway that dips south and takes you into Georgia. We also were in Georgia during our drive to the top of Rock City. We enjoyed seeing Rock City, Ruby Falls, The Incline (2nd steepest in the US) and eating at Sticky Fingers.
The Incline on Rock City.
Ruby Falls entrance.
View of Chattanooga halfway up Rock City.
Mom and Dad at Ruby Falls.
Some Home Projects
My parents have been here in Nashville for a couple of weeks and helped me do some projects around the house. Maybe a better way of putting it is 'My parents are here and DID some projects at my house'. They will be heading back to Michigan tomorrow because they finally got all their chores done! I bought some new furniture for my deck and they even had to put the deck furniture together! Mom and Dad are enjoying sitting on the deck after a hard day's work on the landscaping. Some of my trees in my landscaping had already died so we replaced with some other things and put in pavers. It is hard to see from the pictures all the work that was done. It really looks nice in person. They also fixed my new DVD player, hung pictures on the walls, and hung some window treatments. I sure will miss home cooked dinners on the table when I get home from work every night!
My parents have been here in Nashville for a couple of weeks and helped me do some projects around the house. Maybe a better way of putting it is 'My parents are here and DID some projects at my house'. They will be heading back to Michigan tomorrow because they finally got all their chores done! I bought some new furniture for my deck and they even had to put the deck furniture together! Mom and Dad are enjoying sitting on the deck after a hard day's work on the landscaping. Some of my trees in my landscaping had already died so we replaced with some other things and put in pavers. It is hard to see from the pictures all the work that was done. It really looks nice in person. They also fixed my new DVD player, hung pictures on the walls, and hung some window treatments. I sure will miss home cooked dinners on the table when I get home from work every night!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Busy 2007
It has been a busy 2007 for me so far and I have been in Mexico every week since January 8th. Several quality issues warranted my presence in Mexico. Ah, the life of a salesperson!
This week I am in town only to deal with fiscal year closing. What amazes me the most is we all know when closing is (it comes the same time every year) and it seems every year we are not ready for it! I even tried to push my various teams to get things done ahead of time so it would leave 3-4 days of dealing with "oh, I missed that" or "oh, I forgot about that". But instead everyone told me not to worry that all open issues would be resolved. So for 2 days straight I did not ask for a progress report, knowing this would irritate my team members. It did take us to the 11th hour on the eve of closing to put the finishing touches on our open issues, but as my team reminded me "we got it done!". And yes, it got done and did a pretty good job getting it done. I am not a last minute person because I know mistakes can happen so time is needed to correct those mistakes. Next year I plan to start working on fiscal year end at least 3 months earlier and I hope to convince my team to do so also. I want to sit back and enjoy "fiscal week" and watch everyone else panic!
It has been a busy 2007 for me so far and I have been in Mexico every week since January 8th. Several quality issues warranted my presence in Mexico. Ah, the life of a salesperson!
This week I am in town only to deal with fiscal year closing. What amazes me the most is we all know when closing is (it comes the same time every year) and it seems every year we are not ready for it! I even tried to push my various teams to get things done ahead of time so it would leave 3-4 days of dealing with "oh, I missed that" or "oh, I forgot about that". But instead everyone told me not to worry that all open issues would be resolved. So for 2 days straight I did not ask for a progress report, knowing this would irritate my team members. It did take us to the 11th hour on the eve of closing to put the finishing touches on our open issues, but as my team reminded me "we got it done!". And yes, it got done and did a pretty good job getting it done. I am not a last minute person because I know mistakes can happen so time is needed to correct those mistakes. Next year I plan to start working on fiscal year end at least 3 months earlier and I hope to convince my team to do so also. I want to sit back and enjoy "fiscal week" and watch everyone else panic!
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