Short & sweet.  The traffic reports today mentioned a derailed train in Arlington.  The reporter misspoke and said ‘deranged’ train.   That is definitely a ‘loco-motive.

That is what I was greeted with at the 2008 McFBC Men’s retreat. As I signed in, I got a packet that contained the above. There is much to explain, so I should start at the beginning…

I packed Thursday night and planned on leaving work at about 2:30. I was close. I left work at 2:50, which was not bad. I changed into sandals for the drive, which was a great idea. It was casual Friday, so I just kept everything else the way it was. Traffic leaving Dallas was about average. There were not any wrecks, but a lot of cars and not enough pavement. The drive out there was uneventful, and the directions were perfect. I did fill up when I exited I-20, just I would not have to fill up on the way home. Read the complete article »

• Monday, April 21: Softly call to Muster…Aggie Muster aka San Jacinto Day. I went to the McKinney A&M Club’s Muster at the ElDorado Country Club. We had good Italian food, but Muster almost always calls for B-B-Q. I do like how close they are, but the roll call is only for McKinney Aggies, not all. That is kind of a drag, but it is Muster nonetheless.
• Tuesday, April 22nd: Probe Banquet…I left work early two days in a row! Only if you count 5:45 early. I attended Probe’s 35th Anniversary banquet at the Westin Galleria. It was a good time. The two original founders were there too. That was kind of neat. I have a lot of respect for this ministry, so it was good to be there. I however did not have the chance to see their screening of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
• Thursday, April 24th: LOST…I did get the chance to see Ben’s future flash, Alex get executed,  Ben summon smokie (that was a trip), Ben manipulate Sayid, the doctor from the boat die, Benard use his dental morse code skills, and a whole slew of Other stuff on LOST.  Hey, what can I say, I like the show.
• Saturday, April 26th: Cub Scouts…We have been pummeled with storms the past weeks as my trampoline can attest too. So, spending the night at Camp Wisdom during thunderstorms was not high on my list of things to do. Luckily, the Cubscout Master thought the same thing. Our camping trip turned into a day trip. We settled in at the Castle and had a good time. Trey did graduate from Wolf to Bear and Crisana made some new friends. Imagine that? We made foil packs for dinner, toasted marshmallows, made smores, and got really dirty. It was a late night, but a good time. The kids did get to sleep in a tent that night, just set up in the playroom. In fact, it is still set up. I may try it out, just to ‘get away.’
• Saturday, April 26th: AM stuff…Before the Camp Wisdom day trip I did get some chores done. That in itself is amazing, because of my insane workload. I got word from the lawn mower people that Troy (not very well) Built has a recall on my mower and has a replacement front axle for it. Well, THEY SHOULD!!! See earlier posting for details. I also finally got the tires rotated on the Pilot. That has been nagging me for a long time. I also had the oil changed as well, but that is another story. It was nice to get a couple things off my list.
• Sunday, April 27th:Day of rest…We skipped church this day due to the late night from the day before. I logged time on the project, but did spend some good time with the family too. That was a treat.
• Everyday: Work…My project is due in one week. I have worked sick, worked from home, logged time on it everyday for the past six weeks or so, and it has a long ways to go. I got some help about four weeks ago, and then a little bit more off and on by two other people. I am just trying to get the big picture stuff done now. The little stuff can be issued my addenda. I am happy with the quality under the circumstances, but schlock is still schlock. I know there will be a lot missed. Hey, seven days to go and my (un)civil engineer has not even given me a grading plan. I don’t care about it a whole, but my structural engineer certainly does. Schlock in is schlock out. The good bit of news is that I keep my resume updated.

That is all I have for now. Not a delicate piece of prose, but an update at least.

Last night the McFBC Men’s group, band of Brothers, went down into Dallas to hear John Eldredge speak.  It was pretty cool.  He is good speaker, and can relate to men very well.  This was my first introduction into him.  He has written several books, but have not had the chance to learn of them, much less read them.  While tonight was good, it was also a sales pitch for his latest book.  The main gist was ‘listening to God.’  That listening only comes easily with a deep intimacy with God.  God does speak through His Word, but also in our hearts as well.  He told many stories of God’s conversations with him, some silly, some not.  He also showed a clip from Bruce Almighty when Bruce is asking for a sign from God.  God provides many signs that Bruce just completely misses.  While funny, it is also very true.  How often do we miss what God is trying to tell us.  John was driving cross country and wanted a word from God.  A large semi passes John with the word ‘Grace’ on the side.  Not ‘Grace Moving’ or ‘Grace Industries’, just ‘Grace’.

Band of Brothers is starting ‘Wild at Heart’ after the Pine Cove Men’s retreat.  I am looking forward to going through the book with the guys now that I have a little bit of knowledge of the author.  Several in BoB have been to the Wild at Heart Boot Camp in Frasier, Colorado.  That would be cool too.  I bet Niles, Colorado would be just too orderly.

just not very well….

I awoke at about 4am Thursday morning with the storm hitting at full force.  I went to the back windows to look at all the excitement.  The wind was really blowing.  I noticed our trampoline and was actually surprised it was still there.  It was at that moment that it decided to exit stage left.  Yes, I saw it just leave in an instant.  It was like the trampoline was raptured.  One moment it was there, the next it was gone.  The trampoline was deposited on our metal fence on stage right.  I guess it felt like circling the yard before resting.  We are very lucky that none of the metal framework went through any of our windows.  Very lucky.  Today is cleanup day, so I must get started.  You can read Debily’s account of the storm here.

This is a unique way of solving math problems.

I wonder if this is how Reuben does math……

I am working 60+ hours per week and it is taking its’ toll. I had to get out of the house this morning. I just could not stare at AutoCAD anymore. I had to get out.  So, I volunteered to run a couple of errands and pick up lunch for Debily and myself. The errands went reasonably smooth, then came lunch. Read the complete article »

Well, I think I may have more than ten readers now.  I am not entirely sure of that though.  Most of you know that I am alive, but I figured I would give a quick update.  I am working on a project with a completely insane schedule.  I am taking a 20-24 week project and doing it in about six weeks or so.  All for the glory of lining the partners pockets.  I doubt I will even get a pat on the back for it.  I am working about 65 hours a week or so now, so blogging is pretty low on my list of things to do.  I did mention to management that the schedule was insane and that without divine interference, it just was not going to happen.  Management replied, “Do you want to quit?”  Yeah, that’s the way to motivate your employees!  I actually did not know that was an option.  Hmmmm…..

Wll, it was down, even out, but it has been raised from the dead. My computer is back amongst the living. While I am happy about this event, my son is just ecstatic. I no longer have to hoard use his computer. I described my epic diagnosis of my old PC in a previous post. I will not repeat that. Read the complete article »

Larry the Cable Guy would be proud..

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