Firearms Friday: Local Shops

I have been meaning to get out and explore a bit to see what the local shops have to offer but haven’t really been able to find much time for these little excursions. However, there were a few small windows that allowed me to get out of the house and drive finally allowing me to make it to a few local shops over the past several weeks. So far, there really isn’t much that I have been missing.

Maybe it is because of the simple fact that I have found the really good gun shops in a few other counties that, when I am able, I try to visit on occasion. Sometimes I may pick up a little something, sometimes I am there to sell, and other times it ends up simply being a great conversation that allows me to keep my wallet in my pocket. Of course, then there are the instance when I am able to bring others to those stores… a time when I can let them spend their money.

So far, while pretty on the outside, there isn’t much to be found in the way of deals or customer service at many of the local shops around me. Bear in mind that there is still quite the long list of places that I have yet to see. Many of these stores look really nice on the outside and have the prices on the inside to match their high end appearance. Needless to say, I didn’t make much in the way of purchased beyond finding a few used magazines in the discount bin (buy one, get one).

Hopefully, the places that I have come across aren’t part of a new trend in the industry although, based on the grand opening announcements that I have seen lately, this is probably the case. The small family stores are becoming harder and harder to find but they are still out there. It just takes a little more time and effort to find them. Commodities that I am in short supply of at the moment.

At this point, with none of the places around me worth a second trip, I am going to take a little break from trying to find the right store. I have great places where I enjoy spending time and the limited times that I am able to get out I would rather go there. Instead, I am going to focus on finding a good range where I can relax and enjoy time with friends and family. That seems like it will be a better use of my time for a multitude of reasons.

Driving Down To Media

This morning I decided to give my wife a small respite. Following breakfast and a short stint in the playroom to get some early morning energy out, I packed everything up in the diaper bag and strapped my son in his car seat. It was time for a little road trip to someplace new. I had been thinking about driving my son to the main line for some time now to show him a new place but also somewhere where he could walk. I also wanted to test something out.

As we passed the sights that our son has seen dozen of times before he was rather talkative and wanting to play peekaboo with daddy from the back seat. While on the highway he also wanted to hold my hand as we coasted past the slower cars. Eventually we made it to some unfamiliar roads and his demeanor changed. Like his daddy, he wanted to see as much as he could and was glued to the window of the car taking in each new sight, street, and intersection.

It was actually rather interesting for me as well since it had been a long time since I had driven down these roads and some of the things that I remember passing were no longer part of the suburban landscape (like the Granite Run Mall). Surprisingly on schedule, we made it to Media shortly after ten and, shockingly, found a legal parking spot along the street about a half block from the surprise I had planned for that morning. Similar to during our drive, he was wide eyed as we walked passed all the new buildings, turned the corner, and slowly climbed the steps.

Inside he was mesmerized by the small shiny disks lining the cases and gladly kept browsing as he finished his morning snack. Given my sons previous interest in pocket change and, more so, in paper money, I knew that this would be something to hold his interest and it wasn’t surprising when he decided to meticulously analyze each of the coins in the display case through the glass. This also allowed me to catch up with the proprietor of the store whom I had not seen in years. When I had finished catching up and my son had finished his snack, I finally asked for what I had hoped to pick up while we were there… wheat pennies.

I guess you could say that this is something that I am passing along from my youth as I remember sorting through bags of them and filling in the empty spots in the folders. It is also a way to connect our families as we have a few that have been passed down from my wife’s grandfather that I want to make sure that our son has in the future. They’re inexpensive and every coin shop has them making it easy to pick them up from time to time. What did surprise me this time around was that the store owner handed over a full bag and refused payment saying that my son was “the most well behaved that that has ever been in the store.”

We gratefully accepted and parted ways that morning with my son eyeing his bag of treasure all the way to the car where we locked them up for the remainder of the morning. After strolling up and down the street a few times we returned to the car (with time left on the meter) and made our way back home pretty close to schedule. Tracing back through the same streets and excited from our time out, the baby babble was much more intense on this leg of our excursion and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Fellowship… With Horseshoes

It was nice knowing that when I arrived at the lodge last night that there were no emergencies, no meetings that needed to take place, and nothing that needed to be completed that night. It was an opportunity to go to the lodge and enjoy the fellowship while casually discussing topics that happen to come up in conversation. What I didn’t expect was that those conversations would be happening over a game of horseshoes in the back yard.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that I tossed a horseshoe across the grass in the hopes of hearing it ring on the post. It has probably been at least fifteen years since I flipped the steel from my fingers so there was quite a bit of relearning taking place throughout the evening. Of course, the last time that I recall playing was simply as a fill in while one of my uncles took a break so there wasn’t much of a technique to be found in my past either.

The most important part of the whole evening was that fact that we could enjoy the fellowship with our brothers without an agenda to be mentioned and we were able to get to know one of our newly raised brothers a little more and in a relaxed setting. While we have had conversations in the past and I have spoken with him at great length, there is something to be said about seeing a person’s personality during a casual competition. Safe to say, more so than I was before, I am glad to have this new mason as my brother.

It is this type of environment that I would like to see constantly fostered and built upon as we move forward. This is a return to the way brothers used to interact with one another all over the world not just at lodges here and there. This is what we need if we are going to see our lodge and our fraternity as a whole thrive in the coming years and decades. Brothers of all ages and experiences simply going to lodge to enjoy the fellowship found in our fraternity.

Nights like this are part of why I decided to become a mason. It is not just about learning something new and striving to be better men, it is a brotherly bond that you share with your fellow mason, with whom you truly enjoy spending time with at the lodge and beyond the confines of the building. This is certainly something that I have to improve upon and embrace as I rarely see the brethren outside of a masonic setting. I guess I have another goal for the summer.

Saying Goodbye To The Jeep

March 2016: Jeep at the scene of the accident. 

Once I heard back from the repair shop following my first accident this past March stating that the Jeep was going to be repaired my wife and I had an important decision to make. With the frame having been bent in the accident (and now having to be bent back) were we comfortable driving and riding in the car? More importantly, did we trust the car enough to have our son in it? In the end, it wasn’t the same car and we no longer had the confidence in the vehicle to continue using it as my daily driver (especially on those days when I have my son in the back).

While we knew that it would be a costly decision, we decided to start looking for a replacement vehicle (a process that I have written about before). The Jeep was a great car so that is exactly where I started my search. I went online and priced out the 2016 version of the exact make and model of my car. Once I input that information I added the features that I wanted in the new car to see where the price would fall. Seeing a replacement price within inches of $40,000 I quickly questioned whether I would be buying another Jeep. So, given the new price point, I searched for a few other options.

June 2015: The day I bought the Jeep. 

With a full roster of cars on my list (a compilation I never thought I would pull together in my lifetime) we dedicated a weekend to hopping from dealer to dealer looking at all the options that I had uncovered and determining whether or not there was any wiggle room beyond the USAA price. A few cars were eliminated because of the lack of fit and finish while others were great cars but simply not the right one for me. In the end, I had to decide between the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and the car that I picked up today the Mercedes Benz GLC 300 4Matic.

May 2016: The Mercedes replaces the Jeep.

Once everything was factored in including price of the car, the options that I wanted, the interest rate on a loan, the cost of insurance, fuel economy, and other numerous factors the Mercedes just made much more sense. Believe me, I was shocked by this revelation too. While there are certain trade offs between the two (i.e. off road capabilities vs. highway comfort), I am completely happy with the decision that we made. On top of all this, in a bit of creative financing, we actually traded in my wife’s car and leased a GLA 250 4Matic with all the options that she wanted on the car. In the end, we both ended up in new cars and, considering all financial commitments before and after, pretty much broke even financially.

All that is left now, besides enjoying our new vehicles, is to complete the insurance claims which should, to put it nicely, be the most ‘interesting’ part of the whole process. We also still have to come to terms with the simple fact that we are both driving Mercedes which, at the very least, is one of the more surreal feelings that we have encountered in a long time. Just add one more thing to the list of changes over the past couple of years.

Firearms Friday: (Temporarily) Out Of Stock

I have seen the frustration both online on various forums and Facebook pages and also in person when the firearm that they have been looking for is currently nowhere to be found. And this is a regular occurrence for one reason or another and I guess you could say that ammunition falls into the category too. Thankfully, there have only been a handful of times over the year when I was looking forward to seeing something in the store only to find it long gone from the shelves… usually my situation is that I just want to be able to see it in person not necessarily to buy it.

These disappointing moments usually come down to two very simple reasons… legislation/politics/current events and new products. Those are the two basic categories that cause the shortages on the shelves. While there are other reasons that we encounter from time to time (i.e. low production numbers, recalls, poor ordering by the shop, etc.), those moments are few and far between. Especially lately when there have been lines of people either in person or on wait lists trying to purchase certain products.

Over the past couple of year, even so recently as a week ago, there have been constant attacks on our right to own certain firearms, magazines, and even ammunition. These usually cause what I like to call the camper lines when people are showing up hours before opening or even the day before and waiting for the doors to open so they can be one of the few to walk out with what they want. For everyone else, it is out of stock. We definitely saw this cyclical pattern when there was talk about banning AR15 rifles. While I was never one of them, I remember seeing the pictures and Facebook posts of people lining up the night before the local shop opened its doors on Saturday morning.

The other times when I have been unable to inspect a firearm was basically because it was a new release. From the successful Springfield Armory Mod 2, the single stack Glocks, and striker fire products from Sig Sauer and H&K to the failed Remington R51, each was hard as heck to find on the shelves as the wait lists didn’t just consist of a few names, those lists were pages upon pages of interested buyers. And some are yet to be determined as Remington still has to do a full rollout after the recall and Ruger just released the American line of pistols. I am curious to see both in person if I can find them in the stores and some of the other items that come out of SHOT show this month.

I guess what this all comes down to is that we have to be patient. Once the legislation failed, the supply went right back up and AR15 rifles and pistols are once again readily available. And all the new pistols are no longer new and I have even seen a number of them in the used cases. Out of stock rarely lasts and if you can wait there will be plenty of opportunities to buy what you want in the future (and most likely save you a lot of money).

Last Notice Of The Year

For the first time in months I am actually on schedule… the final notice of the year is done and ready to be mailed. This is usually the hardest message for me to write or at least it has been these past two years as there is limited space to both reflect on the previous year while also looking forward to the following year. Of course, it also wouldn’t be an end of the year message if I didn’t include another appeal to pay dues.

The past year has been a bit trying but we managed to get through it and now we are entering the new year with a clean slate. Actually, with an almost completely new slate as I will be one of the few staying in my elected office. While there were times over the past twelve months when I questioned whether I even wanted to run for reelection it all came down to living up to the promise I made to myself and others to see this to the end. We are at a point of turning things around at the lodge. While we may fishtail a bit at times, we are still moving in the right direction.

It is with this at the forefront of my mind that I wrote my final message of the year to the brethren. It consisted of wrapping up the events for the year as well as a warm welcome to the incoming officers. While I will in some regards miss the routine that I have enjoyed over the past couple of years under the current leadership, I am also looking forward to the changes on the horizon and getting to know some of the other brothers a little better. This is one of the benefits of being Secretary that only those who have held the office can truly appreciate… you really get to know the people with whom you work and the bond that you have with them is something that is shared, for a brief moment in time, among the officers.

Having missed the final meeting of 2014 due to a medical emergency, I am interested to observe the transition first hand. My first time as a sitting officer and only my second time as a mason. And during this upcoming meeting I am looking forward to seeing the faces of those taking office for the first time. I remember the feeling well and I will never forget it. It truly is a time to remember and an experience that I look to share with some newly elected brothers.

Sunday Search: Exploring The New Ancestry

It has now been some time since I updated my ancestry.com account to the new format. I was a little hesitant to do so as I felt I was just starting to really get a handle on the old site. Besides, what would I really get out of the new format if I wasn’t able to find everything that I wanted? But, not having the time that I used to have to comb through the digital volumes that I once had and getting tired of the constant requests to upgrade, I finally just decided to go ahead and make the change. After all, the constant promotions promised an enhanced experience far superior to the supposedly antiquated site that I had been using so let’s see what all the fuss is about.

Well… there isn’t much difference between the old site and the new one. At least, nothing significant that I have noticed in my occasional browsing through files, searching for documents, and skimming across the vast family tree that I have constructed. While I can clearly see the shiny new layer of digital shellac, where is the revolutionary change in functionality? It was really a letdown when the new site was laid out before me on the computer screen.

With that said, there is one minor feature that I particularly enjoy but it isn’t anything that will rock the genealogy world. While I am constantly cognizant of the world and sometimes local events that took place during the lifetime of my ancestor, ancestry now has those historical reminders integrated into each family member’s timeline. And I have to admit that it is helpful from time to time having those simple reminders clearly displayed on the screen.

Other than that, I haven’t come across anything that is making things easier or more interesting… of course, my family history is already deeply fascinating so it would be hard to enhance that. At the same time as the update were occurring, ancestry.com kept making more and more collections available for search… these have been more useful than the prettier package that the website is now offering. This is what made me think, what if they put their money and effort into making more documents available rather than redesigning the website? How much more data would we all have access to? What could we have already discovered?

That is, first and foremost, where the focus should always be not on how fancy the site looks but what information the site contains. So I ask ancestry.com to spend those membership dollars on data not on spit and polish. After all, the reason why we give you our hard earned money is to learn more about our family not the fanciness of the page framing the digital document.

Behind Door Number Four...

A week ago I wrote about the decision my wife and I had to make regarding a new car to replace my 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. It had been a great car since I bought it new three years ago but it had become impractical as of late with the arrival of our son. So, once again, we began looking for a new car with the criteria being an all-wheel drive SUV priced under $25,000 with reasonable insurance rates, leg/head room (front and back), with a few other basics found in most cars these days. Additionally, we were hoping to find something with Bluetooth, remote start, cruise control, a full sized spare tire, roof rack, regular outlet, and side molding. This initial wish list led us to the Chevrolet Equinox, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot.

I was able to drive all the cars a couple of times and spent some time at a couple of dealerships with my wife last weekend. Having driven them all I was leaning slightly more toward the Jeep models but didn’t have a really strong feeling either way. Thankfully, my wife was able to help me narrow down the options and almost immediately eliminated the Equinox upon inspection. She had her reasons and I wasn’t going to argue with them. So that left us with the two Jeep models.

The only real difference between the two is the body style. All the other features match up nearly identically with the only difference that I could see being that the Compass had a rear view camera. Being that this was not one of the features I was focusing on it didn’t really help with my decision. By the end of the long day we were able to sit down and make an initial decision on what was available (ordering was not possible as manufacturers have already switched over to 2016 production). We left the dealer on Saturday having put down a $500 deposit on a Jeep Patriot High Altitude Edition.

Throughout the week I spent some time going back and forth with the dealership, securing financing through USAA, and looking around to make sure I got the best price with the options that I wanted on the car. It never hurts to double check. As the end of the week neared I had finalized everything and was eager to pick up the car and dig through the mountain of paperwork. By Friday morning I was able to drive to work in my new 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.

That’s right, over the course of the week I had looked around and compared the pricing of a few models. I also had the dealer check the stock on hand to see what was available. I had previously ruled out the Cherokee (especially the Trailhawk) because of the higher base price but looking at what needed and didn’t need to be added, the difference was much smaller than initially thought. It was actually a very similar situation to when I got the Malibu.

In the end, when we originally put the deposit down, I had to make a few compromises with the Patriot so when I came across the Trailhawk with nearly everything on it that we were looking for (everything else can be purchased/added later at a nominal cost) I had to talk to my wife about the slight increase in price (still staying close to our budget). Once she saw how much more we could get for our money we agreed to make the switch. Driving around today, I know that we made the right decision.

What We Have Done And Have Yet To Do…

There is a certain amount of frenetic stress that enters into the picture as a stated meeting approaches and this month that was magnified by the fact that this was going to be our official district visitation. There was a lot of work that went into the meeting which I previously wrote about. Thankfully, everything was taken care of and by the time I got to the lodge the long list of tasks was completely crossed out (due in large part to the assistance that I got from a variety of brothers from the lodge).

Official visitations are an interesting night. There are a lot of different ceremonies and presentations that take place as well as recognition given to those individuals who have earned the honor to be noted in front of all the lodges from the district for their accomplishment. While in an odd turn of events there weren’t any brothers in attendance to be recognized for their long masonic service (we have a number of 25, 50, 60, and 65 year members this year as well as a 70 year member), many of the newer brethren were present.

This group included two brothers who have met the requirements for the Master Builder Award. Having received this honor myself, I know the great sense of accomplishment that comes with this recognition. It continues to be a great mark of achievement for the lodge that we, as the smallest lodge in the district by membership, have nearly twice as many Master Builder Award recipients than the rest of the district combined. This is a distinction that we continue to pursue thanks to the dedication of our new brothers.

However, the greatest honor of the evening was not one presented to an individual. Toward the end of the meeting, the District Deputy Grand Master addressed the lodge with plaque in hand. The efforts of this lodge were being recognized with the Grand Master’s Award. We are the first lodge in the district to receive this award and, again, it is because of the efforts of the lodge as a whole that this was even a possibility. We may be small but we are active, we are growing, and we are motivated to better ourselves, our lodge, and our fraternity.

With all the honors bestowed throughout the night it would be easy to sit back and enjoy what has been accomplished. However, we are already half way through the year and there is still a lot that needs to be done. We have accomplished a lot but, speaking for myself, I know we can do a lot better and I personally can do a lot more. The foundation is here and now is the time when we have to build. 

Brother Helping Brother

With a rather hectic day behind me I found myself trying to catch up and take care of those quick phone calls that seem to get lost in the minutes of the calendar. Having checked off a few of the things that I had fallen behind on I made one more call before I left the office. It had been well over a week since I placed the print over at Staples for the lodge and I haven’t heard anything from them. I am glad that I decided to pick up the phone as I was able to swing through Bryn Mawr and pick up everything that we needed to send the notice out this weekend (with the exception of the notice which will get done later this week).

With a fresh stockpile of dues cards, an address stamp, and newly retrieved mail in hand, I walked through the front door just as the Worshipful Master was heading out. After reviewing a few quick items (including the aforementioned dues cards which have a very minor change over the old stock), we circled up on a couple of things, shook hands, and parted for the evening. When I walked in I didn’t notice many brothers in the hall with the exception of a new mason putting together the announcement board in the corner. However, it was quite and I soon found myself finishing up a few items a little faster than usual and heading up to the lodge room to grab the embosser.

It was here where I found all the brothers that I thought would be at the lodge. Split into a couple of groups to work with new candidates, many of the recently raised brothers were instructing them on what they had just learned the previous week. Can’t say that I would have been able to do the same thing so soon after being raised. It really was something to behold as this was for them a normal part of being a mason. The fellowship that we have tried so hard to foster over the past year was slowly becoming part of what is expected from candidates and, therefore, new masons.

It was the epitome of brother helping brother. The room was mostly filled with those who have been masons for two years or less with a Past Master offering his wisdom and experience when needed. While I offered a few tips here and there to the new masons, I pretty much stood back and enjoyed being in the midst of such a drastic change over what we experienced last winter. While there are things that need to be done every week at the lodge, this is really what makes me look forward to driving to Ardmore every Tuesday night.

December Extra Meeting: Take Two

I’m not usually at the lodge on the weekend but there have been a few changes in the schedule this month which had me walking through those doors yesterday for the second Saturday in a row. After a successful, albeit small, blood drive, many of us returned to confer a couple of degrees. That’s right, the second extra meeting of the week… it has been that kind of year and while I am not a morning person I am definitely not complaining about being so busy.

There is usually a pretty light turnout for extra meetings and having one on a Saturday was definitely no exception. While we didn’t start the meeting until mid-morning, we all had the look as though we had just completely a rather long week. Thankfully there was plenty of coffee ready for consumption prior to walking up the stairs to the lodge room.

The degrees conferred demonstrated a beginning and an end to this stage of the masonic journey as we started the morning with a third degree and ended with welcoming a new brother who had just received his first. The third degree is always an interesting thing to watch as it is something that the new mason has never experienced before and watching that person go through it does say a lot about what they are feeling at the moment. Some are visibly uncomfortable while others go along with what is happening trusting the brethren around them. Our newly raised brother was one of the latter.

The first degree which immediately followed is also interesting to witness as a man is guided into the room completely blind of what is about to happen. He must trust those in the room and be confident in his decision if he is going to move forward. Those that choose to proceed are soon welcomed as brothers and the smiles that I have seen when they are given that appellation are something I will always remember (and I remember what I was thinking when I was first called brother).

It just goes to show that these degrees are not just moments to be remembered by those going through the process but also by those who take the time and look forward to seeing our brothers advance in knowledge. It really is a feeling of pride in seeing a brother succeed… it is as close as one can get to familial bond without actually being family. While some may prefer to do nothing during a weekend (I know that is my preference now and again), putting in the work to welcome and advance new brothers adds more value to those days off than almost anything else they we could do as men and masons.

Three Years Later…

In addition to everything else that has been going on in our life recently, we have also been looking here and there for a new place to live. This really isn’t a surprise given the issues that we have had with our current residence especially over the past year. Well, we have finally found a place and we are busy packing the apartment. Between the other things that are on our schedule this month, we will be packing and moving everything about 45 minutes away in Chester Springs.

The new place will significantly shorten my wife’s commute to work while it will cut about 5 minutes \off of my drive despite being a few more miles each way. However, the biggest change will be the drastic increase in the amount of living space. The apartment that we have spent the last three years in has approximately 700 square feet while our new dwelling is 1400 square feet plus a finished basement. And, better yet, we will go from one bathroom to two and a half (those of you who are married understand the importance of this upgrade).

However, at the moment we are carrying two leases. We are attempting to ‘play nice’ in our request to terminate the lease for our apartment and hopefully that will come through. Although I am planning for the usual cluster that has become increasingly commonplace during our time living in the building. I guess we will have to wait and see if they want to play nice as well.

In the meantime, we are not going to let that stop us from moving forward (westward actually). There is a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, and a few other upgrades in the new place that we are looking forward to and I will have my own office and workbench area in the basement. The move has already begin with a few dozen boxes stacked in the corner and even more boxes packed and piled in the apartment. Once we have some more time, we will get a few movers and finish the job.

So, with the year coming to an end there is another change happening. We would have liked to have done this sooner but some things you can’t really plan for and you have to just let them happen. It’s not an easy time to move but nothing that we can’t make happen. And while no one enjoys the process of moving, we are looking forward to settling in to a new space and starting the next stage of our life.

I Finally Got A New Phone…

For the last 5 years I have been relying on the iPhone to be my mobile office. There were only a handful of times when it didn’t hold up in this application so I can’t say that, overall, there is anything wrong with the iPhone as a whole. However, lately there have been a few issues that have become more prominent as the battery life has become shorter and shorter and the speed of the phone has been anything but fast at times. Having become eligible for an upgrade, I had an important decision to make as to whether I should stay with Apple or to cut the cord and move on to another company and operating system. That was the basis of my question last weekend.

So, what did I decide to do?

After considering what I really needed the phone to do during the day I made the decision to go a different direction and pick up the Nokia Lumia 635. That’s right, this past week I hopped off the iPhone bandwagon and joined my wife in using a Windows based smartphone. While I am not a fan of Windows 8 on a laptop, it makes a lot of sense on a mobile device.

Having been using it for a few days, I am pretty impressed with the functionality of this phone especially considering that the MSRP is about a quarter of that of the iPhone 5s which I was also considering ($140 vs $550). Especially convenient is the fact that the battery, with fairly regular use while I have been trying to figure out the functionality, lasts for about a day and a half. And while it may not have the same apps that are available from Apple, I can’t say that I am missing anything. In fact, some of the comparable on the Windows are actually better than the iPhone.

It has been interesting so far in that more people have asked me about this phone in just a few days than had asked me about my iPhone in the last 5 years. I guess people are just curious when someone doesn’t buy an Apple or Android based product. Of course, this is my initial experience with the phone.

There may be some things that I don’t like that will come up and there are certain operations that will exceed my expectations once I create a Microsoft account and gain full access to the entire suite of operations. With that said, having played a bit with my wife’s phone already, I am looking forward to the benefits and not expecting many shortcomings beyond simply learning a new operating system. Only time and use will really tell and I will be sure to write about the experience at a later date.

First Full Day Of Fall

It never got too hot this year and so the transition was not as noticeable as it has been in the past but today was the first full day of my favorite season. The weather is getting cooler (comfortable for me) and the leaves are slowly catching fire as the air becomes lighter and crisper as the pages of the calendar float into the past. It is a time of year when people seem to try and embrace the last semblance of warmth before shutting out the world hibernating in the warmth of their homes.

There is an openness to the fall that is more welcoming than the other seasons of the year when we tend to embrace the opportunities to be out and spend time with the people close to us. One would think that this is a characteristic of spring or summer but during those times we tend to want to get away leaving behind our homes and apartments. Those are the seasons of exploration, fall is the season to embrace what we have and enjoy the place where we live.

I have always enjoyed the fall as a time to begin a new year. I guess it was from all the years spent in school when I was able to start things all over again. Of course, as I have gotten older this seems to be right around the time of year when I would start a new job… at east all the ones where I have spent a reasonable amount of time. Now, it is time when the lull of summer comes to an end and the PR programs ramp up again in the final quarter of the year. Work is not the only place where the activity picks up as we are also back to our usual routine at the lodge as we work toward completing another successful year.

So, while some may look at spring in the same way, I see autumn as a time for new beginnings. At the same time, it is the season when we are all brought back together. It is a time of great comfort and a lot of activity. It is a busy season but also one that allows me to relax in the fact that I am never without something to do, somewhere to go, and people to be with. Fall is, by far, my favorite time of year for precisely those reasons.

Ever Lose Track Of Your Vacation Days?

That is exactly what happened to me this year. It has been tough to take time off this past year as business has been constantly busy and I really haven’t had a good reason to stay ways from the office. With that said, I find myself with a couple months to go before I get a new crop of vacation days. Well crap, I guess I am going to have to take some time off since they will not carry over. So, this past week I finally sat down and took a look at my calendar.

It is difficult for me to take the time for myself as, and I have been very clear about this in previous posts, I enjoy working. I like going to the office every day and making things happen. To do anything else would make the week feel a little incomplete. But I guess that is something that I have to get over especially now with how tired I have been lately and the massive changes that are on the horizon. Something has to give and if taking time off with help that situation then I am happy to oblige.

However, I know that the next couple of months are going to be critical to ramping programs back up for the busier time of year so my decisions on what days to take are influenced by that factor… no long blocks. Additionally, all of us that started around the same time are in the same position and we are making sure that our days don’t overlap… a few less options but nothing I was looking at anyway. What was left were a few long weekends that will do wonders for the rest of the year and while I don’t plan on using every one of my days (I might use about half of my work from home days as well), there are a few breaks that have been worked into the schedule.

There are a few days that I am taking off for the simple convenience of it (i.e. late night at the lodge the night before) but, for the most part it is going to be a few weeks of long weekends and doing my best to finally get caught up on everything else especially in the home office. Working in my favor I the fact that my wife just got a regular position in a local school district leaving me along for the day to buckle down and get things done. Maybe, just maybe, all of those projects that have been pushed back since I started working regularly will get done and we can go into the end of the year with a clean slate.

So, expect a few different posts in the coming months as I will have more time to enjoy and focus on other things. It will be an odd feeling not going to the office ‘just because’ but it give me an opportunity to relax, enjoy something else for a change, and record it all right here. Who knows, maybe there will be something that you aren’t expecting and if you want to get together during those days send me an email and maybe we can coordinate something a little different.

Does It Make Sense?

In addition to the changes mentioned previously regarding the annual encore of this blog I decided to give something else a try… AdSense. While I have enjoyed an ad free environment during this past year it was time to face the reality that this simple inclusion doesn’t cost me a thing and doesn’t interfere with me posting content on a daily basis. Of course some people may be annoyed but this is the state of the internet and everything else on my blog is free.

We are in an age when browsing websites is quickly becoming passé. It seems as though every other site has a pay portal keeping me from taking a look at the content and reading what people have to say about different subjects. And while the other pages are littered with ads, some to the point of overkill, at least the content is still free and I can think about what people are writing rather than whether or not their work is worth reading before I have a chance to read it. If you couldn’t guess, I don’t do pay portals.

So, this is my way of finding a bit of a happy medium. There will be ads posted in a couple of spots on the blog. It will be minimally invasive and, for the most part, lost in a torrential river of free content. Keep in mind, this is something completely new to me so if the ads seem a bit odd in the beginning it is because I am still trying to figure out the settings. There are different ways to shape the ad content and with the little time that I have, I am unable to explore all the tools at my disposal to hone the content. Of course, you could also see the ads as an accompaniment to the randomness of my posts.

Over time, I hope to find the right mix to compliment the content I post. Maybe it might add value at that point and provide you easy access to various companies, products, and websites. Who knows but that is the goal. At the very least I had to make you aware of this possible change… Of course, all of this may be moot if the blog doesn’t pass through the review process. While I have looked at some of the no no’s in the user policy and I don’t think I am in violation of any of them, you never know and maybe you will continue to read this blog free of ads.

Back To Normal

In the past I have dreaded the beginning of a new work week for various reasons but they all came down to a simple explanation that it was not an enjoyable place to go. Having a drastically different schedule over the past two weeks I have been a bit thrown off and looking forward to this evening and the coming week. Everything should be back to normal with my usual five day work week and the long hours that I thrive on.

Having so much time off may be welcomed by some but, for me, it just throws my whole schedule off both in the office and at home. It is obvious that when you’re not in the office that not as much work is getting done, projects become prolonged, and while deadlines are still met it seems to be a bit more of a struggle to meet them. On top of that, when you enjoy being around the people with whom you work, that can be something that is greatly missed during these temperamental times on the calendar.  

However, at least for me, that is not the only thing that suffers. When I am used to working all day it is easier for me to continue working throughout the night on various projects and even taking care of and responding to emails. I guess I have a diesel work habit. When I have the day off or don’t have that transition from home to work, it is difficult to get the mind focused and the words flowing. Even on weekend, I struggle to find the motivation to get the things done that I want to get done (soon they will have gone so long that they will become a need rather than a want).

This may be the driving force behind my need to adopt various duties and responsibilities that need to be worked on every day. While I can put them off for a little while I still have to find some time every day to at least check and make sure things are going smoothly. Maybe my continued issues with this extra time (which quickly becomes lazy fat time) demonstrates a need for just a little more, one more project, one more club, one more group, one more weekly activity. I don’t know. There seems to be a need for something else. Preferably something that both my wife and I can do together.

I guess it is time to look back at my resolutions and really buckle down on a few things on my list. Maybe it’s not a matter of needing something else but a need to focus on what I have already planned on doing or starting. So, time to step away from the blog for the night and figure out where I need to commit more time in order to make some progress on my list of resolutions. At least I have a normal schedule again to balance things out.