june music and such

June, June, June...what happened in June...

• we are starting to make some sense out of our house. almost all the boxes are unpacked or put away (in the basement.) It remains to be seen if we'll ever unpack all those boxes.


• I guess the biggest event is that we left the boys with grandma and the rest of us went up to chicago for a little get away. We were joined by some people from church and I attended an arts and worship conference at Willow Creek. The girls did shopping and all that stuff during the day and at night we'd go into the city for dinner and activites. We also made it to Ikea a few times and spent way to much money, but got some good deals on furniture and kitchen stuff - every thing you need to start new in a house.


• the boys completed and graduated from their first class of swim lessons and spend almost every day at the pool.
  
• I took the boys to their first drive-in - Wall E and Kung Fu Panda - and they both stayed awake the whole night.

Here are the albums I picked up:

Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP & Self-Titled

Listen here.

I picked up both of these on a whim in Chicago. This is the third band this year that I have purchased music from with the work "fox" in their name. I have heared the fleet foxes described as "baroque harmonic pop jams." To me it is sunny acoustical folk w/ a little light rock with chorus singing that leans sometimes to the beach boys and sometimes to bluegrass. it is different from my usual tastes, but maybe not that different. A welcome change.

Coldplay - viva la vida

listen here.

I actually bought this album on vinyl. I hear the cd is going the way of the cassette tape, but vinyl is forever. (my vinyl version came with the CD.) I am really digging this album. Yes, it sound more like U2 than ever, but the songs are good. Okay, they are influenced by U2, Radiohead, and My Bloody Valentine on this album. The mbv reference is mostly in some sonic guitar textures and part B of "Yes." I would like to hear a whole album of that shoegaze goodness. I can't wait to hear this material live.

Sigur Ros - med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

Listen here.

Yeah, not my favorite album cover, but it is supposed to emote the happiness and joy of summertime. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear a sigur ros album so soon, especially in june. Their music is heavy...a lot to take in. But this album is a summer album and it does have that joy. The music incorporates a more acoustical and organic approach that includes enough messiness that it still creates the sigur ros sound. Very good and very beautiful.

May Music and Such

FINALLY...Okay here were are mid-June, so what happened in May? It seems ages ago. I'll try to remember:

• The old house is under contract pending inspections. The only major issues are some electrical clean-up and of coarse to mitigate the randon that everyone has under their basement.
• We started collecting boxes from everyone and we are very grateful to those who contributed. With boxes in hand we started to dissassemble our house and pack everything away. I think the boys favorite part of this process was when we had their mattresses and our matress all lined up in our room to form a huge bed. It was great for gymnastics. This allowed me time to dissassemble their bunk beds after their bed time.
• We saw a show at the Uptown Theater - The Swell Season - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova form this band and were in the movie and sountrack ONCE.
• We soon had a pod from PODS delivered to our house. There is going to be a 2 week gap between the time we have to be out of our house to the time we can move in to our new house. We started packing this container full of furniture and boxes. We also made multiple trips to my parents house to store more valuable stuff in their garage.
• We had to do inspections at our new house. In general there seemed to be a lot of paperwork and negotiating going on this month. Our realtor was great and continued to suprise us. During inspections, we met a lot of new neighbors and our boys made friends with the boys next door who are the same age. Within 5 minutes they are all out riding wheels in the cul-de-sac.
• The big day came to move entirely out of our house. We had to be out by 5pm. A long and busy Saturday followed a very late Friday night. We weren't quite out by 5pm. A little after 5pm we were taking the last load over to my sister-in-laws house in my dad's truck when the new owner shows up with her parents. We has so little time to move, that we left the place a mess. I felt bad and we still and to come back for a few small things, like trash and trash cans. We apologized for leaving marks on the wall and showed here were all the paint was. It wasn't really a big mess, but we had patched nail holes in the wall and hadn't yet painted them and we also didn't get to do that final vacuum and sweep.
• My sister-in-law just left to trave Asial for a couple of weeks, so we stayed at her house during that time. She has no phone, we have no phone, so we, for the first time actually used our mobile phones.
• Brian came in to visit and we met him at Homer's Thursday night. After church on Sunday, we met him and the kids and Deb at Chuck E Cheese so that the kids could play around. And for the main event on Monday, Brian and I hit it at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ and then to Starlight to see the Cure. Good show.
• Memorial day weekend we took the kids to Silver Dollar City in Branson for a couple of days and then visited my Grandparents in Arkansas. Silver Dollar City is so much fun, but with the little kids, we can only do about 6 hours a day and go at a slow pace. They love it and I love it.
• For a couple of weeks, we had a very large sum of money sitting in our bank. But we had to take the large check with us to close on the house. Signed a bunch of papers, pick and insurance company and a home warranty, blah blah blah.
• So on the last day of the month, we has some friend join us to load a few things in a truck that was over at my parents and then unload the POD. We topped off the moving day by treating everyone to Z-Man's and fries at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ.
• We were too pooped to unpack and set-up. We plopped mattresses down on the floor and threw some sheets on them and crashed.
• I am glad that is all over with now. I don't want to move again for a very long long time.

Here are some albums I picked up in May:

The Weepies - Hideaway
listen here.

The Weepies are a husband/wife folk/pop/rock band. They both share singing duties. We listened to this a lot on our way down to Silver Dollar City. It is a good album with strong songs and memorable melodies. Very catchy, even my 5 year old sings along to ANT -ARRR - TICAAA. For fans of The Innocence Mission, Over the Rhine, Leigh Nash, Simon and Garfunkle.

El Perro Del Mar - From the Valley to the Stars

listne here.

I love this album. It's like a dream - real hazzy. The songs kinda drift in and out. This Swede's 2nd full length (I believe) is not as sad sounding as her last album and even has a few '60's sounding girl pop songs. Those are placed so you won't be lulled asleep by the church organs. It seems like the music is minimal but the effect is very lush.

Joy Electric - My Grandfather, the Cubist
listen here.

I have been listening to this album non-stop the last few weeks. I could not wait to here this album. I am a fan and look forward to every release, but this one had controversy. When the release date came, I could not find the album in any stores, so I had to order it on-line and wait for delivery. In the meantime, I read on the internet of fans reation to this latest album. The music was minimal and the vocals were raw. A singular raw vocal to go with the minimal effect of the album. I was concerned about the vocals. I like ronnies vocal's with all the effects - the reverb, the multil layers, the harmonies - everything that makes his voice sound lush. People were saying they hated these dry and raw vocals and others were saying that this was a brilliant album. I couldn't wait to hear it and decide for myself. Finally it came. The music is his best- very melodic and easy on the ears. The songs are some of his best, very catchy and melodic and easy to sing or hum along. The vocals are not that bad. Yes, they sound a little different than his usually style, but he has shown hints of these vocals before- but not in a whole album. The vocals work because the songs are so strong and the music is so good. I will rate this album high in the joy electric canon and I feel that Cubist will have lasting power. I do hope, though, that he will return to his lush vocal style.

April - music and such

To me, April seemed like a really long month. I can't remember time slowing down since I was in school.

Here is a list of events that happened in the month of April:

• We finished up all our housework and put our house on the market.
• I coached Eliot's YMCA soccer team through their 6 sessions. It was really low key.
• We continued to take Ewan to his soccer clinic althought there were quite a few rainouts.
• I was selected to contribute a piece of art for the "Genesis 15" exhibit for the Imago Dei art center.
• I made my way down to Wichita to be an evaluator for visual arts, film, and design for the Kansas Fine Arts Festival. This is for junior and high school students.
• For work, I made a day trip up to Chicago to tour a facility. We had some extra time, so we traveled north to Kenosha, Wisconsin to visit the Jelly Belly factory. Later, for dinner we ate at Bob Chinn's Crabhouse Restaurant.
• We had two solid weeks of showing our house, which meant we were kicked out about every day for 2-3 potential buyers to look at our spotless house.
• I did the dishes every night during this period.
• We sold our house for more than we thought we'd get.
• We spent a few days with our realtor looking at houses meeting with bankers, etc.
• Finished up a set of permit drawings and got them off to the city. The last two weeks of this took a lot of my time.
• One week after selling our house, we found one and made an offer. The accepted for less than what we thought we'd have to pay.
• And now we are packing furiously.

...and I manged to pick up a few albums...thanks in part to a "gift" I received for being an art evaluator. (I'll try to make this quick.)

R.E.M. - Accelerate

Listen here.

I know a lot of critics have been saying that this REM's comeback album and a return to rock - which is true. Overall the album is pretty good, but I am not sure I am a big fan of REM's rock. I think their strength lies in the mid-tempo. The album starts out with it's rock, but then settles into what I think is the better part of the album.

Moby - Last Night

Listen here.

I like this album - it is just good fun. It is suppose to be celebrating a night out in NYC - from the upbeat to the chill-out. Some have criticized it for sounding like Moby in the early '90's. I don't get why it is okay for new bands to blatantly be stealing from the '80's or '90's but when an established artist (who was part of the creation of that scene) creates something a little retro, that is a no no.

The Foxglove Hunt - Stop Heartbeat

Listen here.

Brilliant!!!

It is hard to seriously take some of these new bands that are borrowing they '80's sound from some of my favorite bands. I mean, they like dropped out of high school two years ago to join a band and their musical canon is only 6 years deep. There is a difference from listening to a few New Order records and growing up and being immersed in the culture that created those sounds. I am happy to say that Rob (Fine China) and Ronnie (Joy Electric) are products from the '80's and understand the elements of creating good synth pop music. Afterall, they are about my age or older. It's is getting harder to trust young bands.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Listen here.

I don't know what possesed me to buy this album. I don't have any of their previous music. I saw an add in the paper for $7.99. Something told me that this would be a good album. I love it. Sonically it is amazing- a great studio album. It is a "whole" album that must be listened from beginning to end and some of the most beautiful songs that I have heard in quite some time. On the back page of the booklet, I see TurnMeUp.org Basically, this album was recorded with the intention of quite parts and loud parts. The website talks how most modern music is recorded to be at the same volume level (loud), well you should check out the website if you care about the info...

M83 - Saturdays=Youth

Listen here.

A new album from my favorite French digital shoegaze band. M83 is mostly seen as an electronic band, but with this record they seem to take on the structure of a rock band - and a good one. The focus of this album is to capture the nostalgia of youth.

Portishead - Third
Listen here.

I have been waiting for this album for a long time. It does not disappoint. Gone are the trip-hop beats replaced with experimental, yet it sound like the same band and different from any other band right now. I have been listening to this quite a bit. It is challenging and there are quite a few layers to uncover.

home

We just signed a contract on a new house.

We have two weeks left in our current house.

We need to pack quickly.

Oh boy!

house

We just sold our house.

We need to buy a house, soon.

Oh boy!

my first solo show

A Place to Bury Strangers at the Record Bar.

One of my favorite forms of entertainment is live music. At my age going to shows is becoming more and more difficult. Late nights (not really a problem for me), family, funds, other interest, conflicts etc. get in the way of going to shows. One of the biggest hurdles is finding someone who is like-minded to go to shows with. Your average mid-30 something guy isn't really into music or at least to the extent of shelling out 10 bucks to check out some obscure indie rock band that you know is on to something but is unknown to the public at large.

This was not problem when Brian was in town. He'd say "show?" I'd say "when?" But he has moved on to Portland and when he comes to visit we always find a good show. This year we have Cure tickets.

I still check the paper to see who is coming through town and have missed many good bands. So, I finally decided to go by myself. This is odd for me. I have always been a "have a friend with you sort of guy." I must admit I have always been afraid of standing around and looking out of place. I remember as a young kid seeing a guy eat alone at a diner and I felt sorry for him. I thought to myself, I will never eat alone (in public)- I can always get it to go and eat alone at home.

I realize now that it is a matter of confidence. So after the kids where tucked in bed, I went to my first show alone. It wasn't bad. When the bands were playing no big deal. The only awkwardness was between bands, when everyone tends to group up with their friends and you try to look purposeful.

I'll definitely do it again, but I will see if Looney or somebody wants to tag along. It is alway more fun to have someone to talk to.


*****

Listening:

The Seventy Sevens - the Lust, the Flesh, the Eyes, and the Pride of Life
Ladytron - amTV
The Jesus and Mary Chain - I Hate Rock N Roll
The Innocence Mission - Joan
St. Vincent - All My Stars Aligned

I Can't Resist...

I am an email junkie.

At work, I have my office email and my gmail opened all the time. When I see that I have new mail, I can not resist the urge to drop whatever I am doing to check it. I am doubly excited to check my gmail, because it will not be work releated.

However, I am not so excited to see the dreaded light on my phone indicating that I have voicemail. I am relieved when it is only my wife calling.

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Currently listening:

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Starflyer 59 - no revolution

Maps - it will find you

Run Lola Run - supermarket

Keane - a bad dream

Bill Mallonee/Victory Garden - flowers

299 - I am so going on a diet...

...starting January 2.

Some emails floating around the office.

A basket of Godiva chocolates and other goodies in our area.

Cookies…Jason’s Deli brought an assortment of cookies as a Holiday gift. The cookies are located at the Front Desk while they last.

Cookies of various descriptions on the light table outside Jon H’s area.

Shortbread Cookies…Courtesy of MZ, by our quad.

Chocolate pudding cake, homemade brownies, and candy canes…at our quad.

Come get it…muffins and cookies from Perkins at my desk.

A huge basket of chocolates in front of Henry’s area.

We have almost twice as many desserts for the luncheon than we do side dishes. If you would consider bringing a side dish instead, please e-mail me. Thanks!

Jason’s Deli sandwiches, chips, cookies and more are up for grabs in the South Main conference room.

Fruit Pizza and Pumpkin Cake in our area.

Popcorn…The first of the season – on the light table outside Mike’s spot.

Cream cheese pumpkin bread…At the coffee pot.

donuts in the coffee room... Help yourselves!

Cake…The 2nd floor is sharing their cake with others so you’ll find it at the front desk (until there’s no more).

298 - Which is scarier?

A couple of weeks ago, the family went down to Union Station/Crown Center to eat lunch and take in all the Christmas festivities. But that's not really important here.

Which image below frightens you more?

Here is a photo of Santa Claus. This life size St. Nick was one of many on display in the garden atrium of the Crown Center Hotel. It was a historical "Santa throught the years" series, but this guy in the right light was just downright eerie.

This animated display has been set up for years, probably since I was a kid. This one is just plain weird. The features on Santa are unproportional (check out his massive shoulders) and watch out for those elves.

294 - Daylight Savings Time

Just curious...with the extra hour we gained this weekend, do you use it for an extra hour of sleep or for an extra hour of awake time?

Me...

I always use it to stay up later. It's not really 3am; it's only 2am.

292 - Candy

Yesterday was Halloween.

Candy was everywhere.

All sorts of chocolate bars, candy corn, lollipops, jellies, and gum.

In the office, at church, at people's homes as well as ours.

My boys brought home way too much.

How many pieces did I eat yesterday?

None.

How many have I eaten today?

None.

Why?

Crazy - maybe.

or...

just to see if I could

and let they hype pass.

(...it's killing me, too!)

291

I had thought of something

the other day

that I was going to share with you

but

I forgot what that was

Oh well

285 - Waterfire - 08sep2007

A couple weeks ago on a Saturday night, E1 and I drove down to the Plaza to check out an art installation event called 'Waterfire.' Basically, Brush Creek was set on fire and it was all sequenced to live music. Speaker boxes were placed all along the creek and the echoed out everything from classical to Gregorian Chant to opera to Spanish flavored tunes. It was very peaceful and quite hypnotic not to mention the wonderful smells coming from the burning logs that were floating on braziers along the river. A large crowd came out for this event. People were lined along the creek and standing on top of the bridges. People of all ages were out. Kids were rolling down hills and playing at their parents feet. Middle age couples were on blankets with wine and cheese. And everyone was strolling along the walk. The streets along the creek were closed for food booths and gypsy street performers were gathering crowds. It was a good time. They are going to have this event again in October.

282 - chilled coffee and shoes

I kinda feel silly posting this after just reading Darwin's post, but I know he is a kindred spirit and has a thing for shoes. How are my feet?

Last week, I participated in a focus group. They wanted to know my opinion and they wanted to pay me $75 dollars for it.

I will honor the coffee company and not say their name, but a certain national coffee chain (not from Seattle, but maybe Colorado) that has a 4 legged animal with a rack of horns on it logo wanted to test their new add campaign for their new chilled coffee in an aluminum can. (Whoa, that is a long sentence.)

We got to look at eight billboard ads and listen to two radio commercials. Several of the billboard ads hit on the trend of "office" humor and the radio ads where making a point of their coffee being for the average Joe vs. the snooty coffee drinker. The radio ads were funny in the vein of "real men of genius."

I am real honest with my opinions, but part of me feels like a bit of sell-out...and I bet that is how all advertising and marketing is. I helping them come up with ideas or preferences that would help sell their product, when I know that I won't be buying it. Why won't I buy it. I try to live healthy and that involves making healthy choices. It is probably too expensive for me to consider. I have a bad Coke Zero addiction I am trying to break; I don't need another one.

The highlight was when they brought out the product for us to sample. Chilled cans of French Vanilla, Espresso, and Regular flavored goodness.

It is no secret that I have a thing for shoes (and jackets- maybe a future post sometime.) I have had my eye on this pair of shoes all summer and now thanks to a couple of hours of drinking coffee and giving my opinion (which I loved to do), I am $75 for the better and I ordered my shoes online.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you my new kicks - Keen Ventura

280 - whoops

Last Christmas, I had talked about redoing our master bathroom. Such thoughts included a new tile floor, new cabinet and countertop to replace our current sink, fix a couple spots on the ceiling, and figure out if there is a way to replace the shower with a tub and shower. It's not a large bathroom, so the tub thing might not work.

Now I have the chance to put those idle thoughts into action.

The other night, I was going to do a quick repair on the faucet. The water was not coming out quite right. The spray was not uniform. I was going to loosen the nozzle and clean it out. I ended up braking the nozzle off. Our sink and faucet is now out of comission. It would be easy to replace just the faucet and continue on as normal but...

now I have the opportunity to do the whole thing. The only problem is...

• can we wait?
• this isn't the best timing with the extra busyness of a new child.
• do we have the funds?
• and I sorta like to plan things out before I jump into something.
• can I do it? Sure. It shouldn't be that difficult. I can get help from my dad and there are how-to books and the internet. No problem.

Oh well, I guess I'll start exploring and pricing things out. Wish me luck.

277 - back again

Back to work today. Bummer.
I enjoyed my time off last week.
I was literally up at the pool every day with the boys.
And when they went to the sand pit to make castles and rivers, I got to read Harry Potter.
I am almost done; I got a few chapters left.
I know, how can I stop reading when I am almost there.
Work...in the morning.
Will finish tonight.
I literally stayed away from the computer last week.
Will try to catch up soon.
Will soon post on recent music.

276 - Forget the Lifeboat, let's play values classification on Southwest

This week, I had a quick trip down to Dallas for business. We flew on Southwest Airlines and I have never flown Southwest before, so forgive me if this been like (where have you been the past century?)

Southwest is like a bus in the air. There are no assigned seats. You can check in online 24 hours in advance and the earlier you check in, the better chance of getting that coveted 'A' boarding group. The boarding groups are 'A', 'B', and 'C' and each gate has a line-up area for each corresponding letter. My boarding pass was with group 'B' and the co-worker I was flying with was in group 'A.' He had obviously flown many more times than me and knew when to check in.

My co-work then gave me the low-down. The plane has one central aisle with 3 seats on each side. The first seats to go are usually the aisles and then the windows, which means the middle seats are last.

And then it hit me, the horrid realization that I might have to play the values classification game in picking a seat. Certain seating situations will lead to a more comfortable and enjoyable flight, but what can one infer about my choice that may or may not be true. Let's play out possible scenario's:

• A seat between two big guys with their elbows over hanging the armrest. This obviously would not be comfortable as I would be sitting with my arm tucked-in between my legs, but it might look like I have a prejudice against big people and that I think they are smelly.
• A seat between two attractive girls. Very comfortable choice as I would have plenty of room for myself and that they would probably smell good, but it seems like every guy's first obvious choice and one that a player would take.
• A seat between two guys about my age. They are hoping an attractive girl will choose their spot and will be wondering why I passed on the seat between the girls. There will be awkward moments when our arms make contact on the arm rest.
• A seat between to people of a different race. Nothing wrong with this choice, but if I pass it up will I look racist?
• A seat between a man and women with their laptops, blackberry's, briefcases spewing out of their seat as they talk loudly into their bluetooths. Actually, no one will fault you for passing this seat with way too much ego.
• A seat between a couple people who are engaged in a book and zoned out on their iPod. Stop right there. I found my perfect choice. I just want to read, listen to music, and zone out.

Luckily, since I got in the 'B' line early, I never had to choose a seat between two people.

*********

After we landed in Dallas, the flight attendant gave us the usual seat belt and mobile phone message and the burst into song singing:

We love you

You love us

We are faster than a bus

We hope you enjoyed our hospitality

Marry one of us and you can fly for free

**********

After returning my rental car, the shuttle bus driver (I was the only one on board) and I engaged in some small talk. He asked me where I was from and when I told him Kansas City, he grinned from ear to ear. Yes, I know that grin. And he said "Gates BBQ, have you been there? Arthur Bryant's! Yes, that is good stuff. Good BBQ." Mmmmmm! I'm hungry.

273 - Taz speaks

I meant to post this earlier.

Last Sunday was the holiday schedule at church, which means no morning classes, one combined service and no evening service. The do this because they take into account many people traveling and to give everyone else a break to spend time with family.

It would have been one of those perfect Sunday to skip or sleep in (what's that?), since I did not have the responsibility of teaching my class. Our pastor was in Mexico and you never know about that guest speaker.

I did go to church and our friend Taz who is a Chaplin in the Unites States Army was our guest speaker. I have never heard him speak from the pulpit. I have hear him many times over a cup of coffee. Taz was eloquent, funny, and he gave a great message that I think challenged a lot of believers. It was a simple message and I am not sure that I remember everything.

He related what it is that he does as a chaplin and what it is to live the Gospel or to live out the life of Christ. What it is to love somebody without an agenda. To listen and love without evangelizing or better yet following the Holy Spirits direction. He also spoke of unity amonst believers and respect of other faiths.

I have always been impressed by Taz. I've seen little things he does that is unselfish and loving to strangers - those things that I tend to struggle with. (Taz would probably tell you that he struggles with them too.)

I like that fact that Taz is sometimes frustrated with Christianity or the christian ghetto and his simple reaction is to be more like Christ, to love God and love others. If more of use would follow Christ's commandment...

Good bye and good luck, Taz. I hope our paths will cross again soon.

272 - I'm gonna try harder

It's no secret - I have been a bit bored with the whole blog thing for a while now.

I guess I felt embarrassed by it...like I am some teenage girl who feels that they have something to say and the world is collectively rolling their eyes.

So as you can tell, most of my post over the last year have been impersonal.

But a lot of my Homers have moved away:

Darwin is in Madrid.

Doc is in Wisconsin.

ActungBrian is in Portland.

Dash is in Indiana

Taz is in the Military going somewhere soon.

Our crew is down to Dust and me on Thursday nights...and we are looking at a rebuilding effort to keep things alive.

I am going to make an effort to try harder at this. Maybe give you a story every now and then. We started the whole blog thing when Darwin left our group in hopes that it would be a good way to keep in contact. And it has been successful.

I am saddened when I think of all the good friends that I have had in my life that I have let slip away. I blame it on being a guy, but maybe it is just laziness. I just don't keep up very well and when friends move away, the contact is gone and soon the relationship naturally ends.

Here is to a better future with this blog and hopefully maintaining contact with my friends.

(besides, it will be nice for Dust to have something to read considering all the work he puts into his.)

267 - I'm back

I've been putting this off. Here is a quick update. I'd like to say that I've been busy, but everybody is busy. I blame my absence of posting on not being in a multi-tasking mode. Lately, I have been of a singular focus.

This is what has happened since March:

• Tried to finish a lot work before my trip to Italy. I stayed at the office a little late and worked during lunch.
• Went to Italy with my Dad. Spent time in Padova, Venice, Verona, Milan, and Biella. We spent the majority of our days in Venice.
• Tried to catch up on a lot of work the was building up during my trip. I had 2 projects that happened to line up with deadlines at about the same time as my trip. Not the best situation. It should not have been a problem, but the owners delayed the projects and caused this problem.
• Spent about a month flirting with the idea of working elsewhere. Two different offices were interested. It was difficult, because I wasn't actively looking. I took the job with the office that had the most to offer to make life better for my family.
• Been enjoying life and family for about 2 weeks between jobs.
• Just returned from a little trip to St. Louis.
• I now have 2 more days before I start at a new office with new people.
• I'd rather keep living the way I have over the last 2 weeks.