I’ve been to a number of presentations lately.  Some of them have been really good. Some were not so great. The information was useful, for the most part.

But one thing that I have noticed of late has bothered me. If you’re going to give a presentation and provide handouts as well: Say something more than whatever you have given in the handout.  Make it worth my time to listen.

It’s one thing I have learned (again) and would simply like to pass that piece of knowledge on.

That was a decent movie from back in the day.  But I would like to take this opportunity to complain about the horrible umpire calling during the AL Playoffs. The Umpires are making horrible calls that always go in favor of the Yankees.

We could use some better umpires. And this is a great case for why we need replay’s in MLB.

</rant>

Normally I’m not one to complain about Monday’s. But today was rough. Tired all day. Work dragged on. The Monday sleep schedule isn’t so great. Oh well.

Life is good here in Wells. I’m looking for some grants to help with a few projects I’ve got cooking. I’m staying busy with the P&Z aspect of my job. It’s really interesting. It keeps me busy, which is also good.

I had a meeting tonight I almost forgot about. I need a good solution to sync my work outlook with Google. The Google solution only syncs to your main G-Calendar, which isn’t a solution.

But now I think it’s time to get ready for bed so I can hit the sack after Big Bang Theory tonight.

I’m not sure where the season that was once called fall went to, but I think we missed it.  Darn global warming, or whatever they call it these days.  A lot of the leaves are off the trees and they are still green. It’s slightly sad.

I’m not a fan of the snow that we got yesterday. It was kind of fun, but it is just too early. And there’s too much snow coming our way tomorrow. It could make the drive interesting. I’ll probably get up a little early and give myself some extra time, just in case.

On the plus side I got some good exercise while raking today! And even climbed up on the roof and cleaned out the chimney today. We have a nice fire blazing in the fireplace right now. I’ll miss the fireplace.  It’s really nice!

And the pumpkin bread that Beth made is done! It’s delicious. Time to eat another slice and have some hot cocoa while we sit in front of the fire.

It’s Thursday night and I’m looking forward to The Office tonight.  It’s quite possibly my favorite show on TV right now, along with How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.  It’s just a good show all the way around.

So I saw on my facebook news feed today that Pam had posted a new video blog on their wedding site: www.halpertbeesly.com It was a good clip.  I looked through the site and it’ set up just like a real wedding site.  They even have a guest book and people signed it like they are real people getting married.

I would assume that the public knows they are not a real couple, but it got me thinking about that.  People identify with tv characters a lot.  They want these people to be real, on some level anyway.  They want these people to be their friends, after all, they know all about them.  But they’re just actors/actresses!

It makes me wonder if people get too involved with television and why that is.  Is their life just not that exciting?  Are they that enthralled with the show that they’ll leave comments for these not real people to read?

I don’t know the answer to that. It may be an interesting social experiment for someone in the sociology or psychology field. So if you’re looking for a thesis topic here you go!  Just credit me in the title page and I’ll be happy!

House hunting is something that can be fun.  You get to see a lot of great places.  Or at least the places look great online.  I’m not sure if we’ll look at that many of them in person.  But it’s still kind of fun. You can think of all the possibilities.

It reminds me of when we bought this place.  The possibilities were endless.  It was kind of a dream to get this place, and we both really like it.  Sadly now we’re leaving it.  We’ll not quite yet, it still has to sell.  But we get to start over with all the dreams and adventures.

But at the same time it can be tiring.  The projects that you’ll need/want to do on the new place, and the fact that it costs so much money.  Life is fun and cruel all at the same time.

And that is all I have for now.

That’s right, I actually had some time to relax this weekend, and it was nice.  The house projects are done, and it’s on the market.  We’ve had a few showings, and it’s going alright so far.  Having never sold a house before I’m not really sure what to expect in the process, but I think it’s going well.

So during the relaxation this weekend I got to hang out with Pat at Old Chicago on Sunday and watch some football.  It was nice to hang out again, and Old Chicago is always a good time.  Especially their Octoberfest Mini-Tour!  They have some good brews on it.

It was kind of distracting to watch a game their though.  The noise wasn’t conducive to really staying focused on the game.  However, it was kind of fun to watch three different games at the same time.

And on that note I’m going to watch some Monday Night Football.

I did some golfing tonight with the City Admin, and it was a pretty good time. The course isn’t too bad, but not the best either. It’s mainly flat, but there are a number of trees. It was fun though. And it was $10 for all you can play. We got in 18 holes tonight, and now I’m beat. Walking the course and carrying the clubs has made me very tired.

Now I’m just chilling at the house watching some cable tv. It’s kind of nice to have cable again. Although it’s a smaller tv, and there really isn’t much else down here. Watching some reruns of The Office on TBS right now, when I could simply watch them on DVD. Oh well, it’s still fun to watch.

Or so we hope anyway. After much hardwork our house is for sale officially and on the market. Check it out! Feel free to make a bid as well!

So I figured it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted, and I should give you an update on things. 

I like the job a lot.  The possibilities are endless really, and the opportunities are there to make great things happen.  It will take some work to make some of the long term goals work, but that’s why they are long term goals.  I am very excited about that.  

It’s been a learning curve trying to get everything together.  There was a lot of catch up work to be done in order to bring the office back up to speed for the 3 months that passed without a fulltime director.  So I’ve been working on that.  I’m also working on moving away from Microsoft Money 1999 for the financials.  It’s a very outdated program, and I’m not a fan.  So moving away from that will take some work as well. 

So overall the job is going good.  Working on one project to bring about 200 or so jobs to the city.  It’s in financial negoiations at the moment, but hopefully that will be finalized before too long. 

We found a house to rent in Wells as well.  So I’m staying about 5 blocks from the office in Wells, which makes for a great walk to work.  It’s really nice to have that.  I enjoyed living with my brother for 2 weeks (Thanks again Aaron and Connie!), and it was great to hang out with him more.  But it’s also nice to not drive an hour and fifteen minutes one way each day.  That adds up to a lot of time in the car, and a lot less sleep.  

I’m liking the job, and liking being home with my wife this weekend!  She’s great!

That’s right!  I’ve got a new job!  I’m very excited about this new opportunity.  It’s the Director of Community Development position for the City of Wells, MN. (Map link)

I’ll be working with Economic Development Authority, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority.  I’ll be using my Master Degree heavily, and it’s simply a great step on my career path.  I’m really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in this position.

Beth and I have checked out Wells, and some houses there as well.  We’re a little disappointed about having to move (we love our house!), but we are really excited about this next step in our lives.  So over the next week or two we’ll be working to get our house on the market.  If you know anyone who is in the market for a house in Blaine let us know!  As for buying a house in Wells, we haven’t found the one we really love yet.

I start the job on Monday, and I’ll be staying with my brother in New Ulm for a bit and be back here on the weekends.  That part will kind of stink, but it should only be for a few weeks. It will make for a few busy weeks, but it will be great!

A week long vacation at Lutheran Island Camp starts today.  By the time you read this we’ll be on our way, or maybe even there.  The first week of August is always Family Camp at L.I.C.  Growing up my family went on a regular basis.  Since we all went off to college, I haven’t been there for it.  But Beth and I are going for the full week!  We’ll be in a cabin with my parents and siblings, which should be interesting and fun.

I’m looking forward to being in the boat a lot.  Doing some fishing and skiing.  Getting away from the city and remembering what the greatness of the outdoors is all about.  It will be fun to be up there again.  Strangely I’m looking forward to no computers for a week!  Or as little as possible, I’ll still have to do some homework I’m sure.

I’ll try and get some pictures posted when we get back.

Okay, that’s not really going to be their name, it’s Jackson.  But that was a fun conversation from a while ago.

Our friends Pat and Tina are getting married today!  I am honored to be in the wedding.  Look for pictures to come.

Congratulations you two!

This past weekend I got to hang out with some college friends and roommates.  It was a lot of fun.  We hung out up in Glenwood on the lake, and got in some skiing and wakeboarding.  I enjoy being out on the lake, and out doors.  It was some really perfect weather and fun to hang out with some people that I definitely don’t get to see enough.

We also got in some good yard games.  Some bean bag toss, which I am slightly ashamed to say I was not once on a winning team.  But either way it was good time.  And of course you can’t go wrong with campfires.

So all in all it was a good weekend.  I don’t have the pictures up yet, but I will get them soon.  Along with some pictures from the Fourth and some good stories about that as well.

Now it’s off to help Beth’s grandpa buy a computer.  Should be a good time.