Something A Little Different At The Office

Every once in a while there is something a little different that happens at the office. Well, not at the office necessarily but with our clients. I’m not talking about anything major just a minor change in the routine. This was the case last week when we took a momentary step back from our usual public relations duties and assisted in the creation of a video case study. For me, this was a first, as in all my years of experience there has been an odd gap in this area… plenty of written case studies but nothing that was committed to film.

Unfortunately, due to a previous obligation, I was not on site for the shooting of the interviews or the organization at work but I have been taking part in about every other aspect of the process from coordination to script creation. Come to think of it, it has been some time since I have been involved in writing for the camera as I believe the last time I ventured into that genre was during a screen writing class in grad school the lessons and techniques from which I am still employing today.

Of course, while some may see the filming as the culmination of our work. It is really on the midpoint at best as there has certainly been plenty of work prior and there is still a multitude of objectives that must be met afterward. This includes editing, dissemination, publication, and making sure that everything is ready to go for a trade show in a couple of months. Additionally, this project might lead to similar projects with a few other customers down the road including the possibility of filming at the aforementioned trade show. It just goes to show that most of the time great work leads to more great work.

In the week since the raw footage was captured, it has been a waiting game as we are all eager to see the resulting product. We pretty much know what to expect but nothing is ever certain until you see it for yourself. In the meantime, many of those other projects are slowly unfolding and there has been a plethora of other projects both for this client and others that have occupied my time and my mind. This includes some upcoming travel and a few things that are finally coming to fruition. All of these things took a considerable amount of time and energy to get done but, in the end, our clients are happy which means we are doing our jobs and exceeding expectations.

Back to School?

No, this post has nothing to do with gold!

When I got the email on Sunday night informing me that the office was closed and that we would be working from home the following day, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to the remainder of my schedule. About halfway through the morning about half of the items on my schedule had either been cancelled or moved with a few more being altered during the first few hours of the day. Thankfully, there was one appointment that held and just as my son was waking from his afternoon nap, I was heading out the door on my way up the highway to Reading.

This was not work related. This was something extra on my calendar that I wanted to take a closer look at. After all, I have already been out of school for nearly 8 years and the academic itch is becoming unbearable once again. Not being one to rest on previous accomplishments or, in this case, degrees, I reached out to Alvernia University a few weeks ago to inquire about their PhD program focusing on Leadership. On Monday afternoon with resume in hand I met with the Chair of the department and had a great conversation about the program and why I had taken an interest in pursuing my doctorate.

Me, a doctor. Kind of a scary thought isn’t it?

Understand that this is just one of the things that I am looking at to satisfy that academic hunger that I feel. But it was a nice feeling returning to a campus and being in that atmosphere again. I actually really like the program as it was outlined, the school seems to be on the upswing, the cost is very reasonable, and the proximity to home is ideal. There are a lot of things going for it but I also hesitate knowing what the program entails.

In the end, I think it is all going to come down to the time element. This would be a five year commitment of at least 10 hours per week. That is time away from my family, my job, and the other things that I enjoying doing. You know me, I already have so much free time in my schedule to take on another long term project and I enjoy the things that I am doing now and would not want to have to sacrifice any of them. But this might be as good a time as any to start this. Time is a tricky part of the decision but also the main part of the decision that my wife and I will have to consider. Until then, I have plenty of other things that I can work on!

Investing Again

When I started at my current company there were many things that were discussed. The firm was newly formed when I first walked through the door in September 2013. In fact, the owner of the company was still waiting for the cable company to arrive later that afternoon to set up the internet. It was an interesting experience and much different from the previous conversation I had with her.

It was during that initial discussion when we talked about the clients, my role in the company, and many of the other benefits that would be part of my employment including healthcare, profit sharing, and a 401K (among others). Every salary position I have ever had, and then some, have offered healthcare so that was not a surprise to me. However the other two piqued my interest and were really bonuses to the position that I was not expecting.

Since that time over a year and a half ago, she has been true to her word. While none of us expected any sort of profit sharing at the end of 2013 we weren’t really holding out for 2014 either. After all, we are a new company. However, we were all pleasantly surprised at the end of the year when we each received an extra deposit into our accounts (which was particularly useful at that point in time).

Toward the end of last year we also continued our conversations regarding setting up a 401K. It had taken some time but things were progressing and as the calendar turned over we all started contributing to the future. While we don’t have much extra at the moment, I started with a small contribution from each pay check.

While I have had investment accounts in the past, this was my first time having a 401K. Previous accounts have long since been liquidated to pay for graduate school and other expenses. Many would consider this a tremendous loss but given the fact that I finished graduate school in the spring of 2008, it wasn’t a bad way to use the funds.

Since that time, my ‘investments’ have been on a much smaller scale and consisting of hard assets. I honestly can’t recall how many times I bought silver (and a tiny bit of gold) over the past decade but it is safe to say that I didn’t lose money or break even. A coin here and there can add up especially before the market shifted and the prices began to spike.

All the small items were nice and served a purpose when we needed that little extra. Now, it is a great feeling to be contributing to our future even though it may be one small deduction from my pay every couple of weeks. It may not seem much at the moment, it never does, but it will certainly add up in the end (especially when I start decreasing my take home pay). And it sure beats flipping coins.

Time To Look At The Records…

I have been thinking a lot about my college days as of late. Things have changed so much since those years when my biggest worry was getting my writing done and sending them out for publication. While this writing holds some of the same qualities as the work that I was dong then it is still a completely different process but in the actual writing and, of course, all the other things that are swirling around in my mind as I put my thoughts on the page.

Thoughts of these days have been popping into my head both because I am itching to publish again but also because my wife is embracing her education in a way that I was never really able to do. Throughout my higher education I was always working on numerous projects in addition to getting the usual work done for class. I guess some things really haven’t changed.

My wife is completely different. She takes her education very seriously and always has which is why she has always exceeded my limited educational achievements. From graduating with honors from her undergraduate college to completing her first graduate class this past week with a 4.0. Both of these hard earned honors are things that I never even came close to in the years I spend in college. Honestly, I wish I had her focus.

It really makes me think about all the things that I have going on at this moment and all the energy that has been spent just trying to keep things moving forward. But I can’t imagine things any other way. As I have said before, I have to keep busy and if this keeps me from being an academic then so be it. A few years ago there may have been room for change but I am enjoying the hectic life too much to slow down. My wife is able to keep an academic pace and focus that has long escaped me, if I ever really had it, and while I am a worker, she is the thinker. Our respective academic records support me on this.   

I have always been a proponent of backing up your statements with facts. Unfortunately, I have to regrettably call my wife a liar at this point for a very simple reason… and I think you will all agree with me. I make this bold statement because for all the years that we have known each other and the nearly five years that we have been married my wife has always made some self-deprecating statement or allusion that I am so much smarter. Well, I am calling BS on that because if you look at the facts, I am clearly not the smartest one in this marriage.

Waking Up To Brisket

I woke up this morning still not feeling well but I couldn’t keep myself in bed past 9:30 as I was already beginning to feel a little achy and my nose was not being receptive to oxygen. Once I was able to get on my feet, stumble to the bathroom, and clear my head I caught the slightest whiff of brisket in the air. As it turns out, my wife was having, as she puts it, a domestic day. Brisket was only the beginning of the cooking for the day as a duo of soups were also on the menu.

I don’t understand why my wife gets in these moods but I find it best to stay out of her way and just enjoy the outcome. It was nice to not have to make lunch and dinner on the weekend especially when there is still a hint of plague on my breath. However, while I was only asked a couple of times for small things, I did offer to assist her in the kitchen and even provided some time saving appliances long forgotten in the closet. Plus I didn’t have to worry about my wife losing a finger by finding a few easier and safer cutting options.

With a full dose of cold medicine in my system, I did make the decision to venture outside a few times. Not surprisingly, it was snowing again. Actually, the weather was a bit bipolar today as the snow started and stopped on several occasions throughout the late morning and early afternoon. By the time dusk came around the cars and streets were covered with an additional two inches of fine white dust. Just enough to cover your shoes and spin the tires.

With the arrival of early evening, dinner was ready to go and my wife’s sporadic study sprints had come to an end. As we sat down to eat some split pea soup (my mom’s recipe) and brisket (two separate courses not one strange concoction), I noticed the reversal of roles that my wife and I had throughout much of the day.

 

Much of my time is spent working, cooking, and generally trying to get something done either at work, at home, or somewhere else (usually lodge). Today, my wife was the one shuttling between the kitchen and the office as she made enough food for at least half the week and studied for her grad class. While I got a couple of minor things done here and there, the majority of my day was centered on recovery. It’s nice to change things up every once in a while.

"You Won My Kindle!"

I was already having a good day up to that point and what happened next made it a great day... I won the free raffle I knew nothing about heading to the campus that night. I wasn't even going to go until I decided last minute to accompany my wife to the Graduate School Open House at St. Joe's University. I'm kind of glad I went instead of just sitting around on Thursday night.

As I have mentioned before, I like free stuff and what makes this situation better is unexpectedly getting something for free. After my wife was two numbers away for one of the runner up prizes I even made the comment that we should just throw our tickets away and not pay attention when the grand prize numbers are announced. This is why I try not to listen to myself.

Needless to say, they called my numbers, 326066. My only response was to turn to my wife and comment "No S**t" and walk up to the stage to claim my Kindle. After sitting in on some of the graduate department overviews, I got my picture taken my admissions, and we headed to the car to go home and rest for the night.

Since I said those words to my wife, she has regularly been telling me "You Won My Kindle." Actually, I think I won my Kindle but you can have visitation rights every now and then.

To read more about this interesting turn of events from my wife's perspective visit her blog at

http://samanthat4d.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/he-won-my-kindle/.