Tuesday, October 24, 2006

I'm leavin' on a jet plane

I have to fly this afternoon to Houston, then fly back tomorrow night. Academy is sending me and another manager to a human relations seminar. After I get back, I'll know how to hire you, document everything, and fire you, without sexually harassing you in the process.

I'm a bit nervous, this being only the second time I've ever been on an airplane, and the plane being one of the junior sized prop planes that they use for commuter flights between Abilene and Houston.

Two days after I get back, Shana is flying to Illinois for her cousin's wedding. The boys and I are going to my parents, and we'll probably go to my grandparents as well.

I took my only test of the semester today. I was the first one finished, which always makes me a bit nervous. I began to doubt myself so badly that I went back an hour later and asked the professor if I could check to see if I had left anything blank. I hadn't. I guess I'm just fast. I've put my testing philosophy on here before, but here it is again: either you know it or you don't, and it doesn't take that long to write it either way. I also got an A- on my latest essay for that class, so if I can get somewhere in the 90's with this test, I should be great unless I bomb the final.

By way of update, I did go bowhunting on Friday. I saw a doe and a yearling, but couldn't get a shot at the doe. Maybe next time. It is supposed to rain today and/or tomorrow, so maybe my rye will grow by the time I get to hunt again some time late next week.

That's about it for now.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

First School Pictures


The boys had their first school pictures the other day. Two little cute fellas. I wore a very similar shirt in my first grade or kindergarten picture, if I recall.

I also got to go bowhunting this morning. I saw two bucks, six does, and twenty five or so pigs, and guess what I shot....

Nothing. I had a very marginal shot at the first buck, a nice eight point, but I would have had to shoot between two limbs. Three more steps and he'd have been just right, but he came in down wind and those three steps turned into a run away. I also had a shot at a pig in the forty pound range, but I was holding out for one bigger. They were also down wind and didn't hang out like I hoped they would so that I could pick a better one. I also had a shot at a doe, but it was less than two minutes after the bigger buck, and I could hear the pigs grunting, and it was still only 7:30.

We'll see if I am a farmer. I bought some rye seed at the feed store the other day and planted about 300 square feet of ground that I worked with a rake and hoe. Now if it will just rain, I'll have some food plots.

I found a 1951 New Mexico truck license plate in the middle of Trey's pasture. Another one for the "How the heck did that get there?" files.

I also shot a couple of 700 dollar bows today. They were kind of cool, but sure not worth 700 bucks if you ask me.

We're going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. Should get some cute pics of the boys and the pumpkins.

I'm going hunting again tomorrow, so maybe I'll have some meat in the freezer, some pics to post, and a story to tell tomorrow

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

No Problem!

I got back from Dallas just fine. Bryan did invite me fishing one evening, and I caught one 12" bass.

I have now been indoctrinated in how to give away David Gochman's money. Academy has a "no problem" policy. We take care of our customers. If each store spends half a million dollars per year on advertising for customers that might come in the store, then it's no big deal to spend some money on the customers who are already in the store. We believe that most people are honest, and so we treat our customers as if they are honest. If someone takes advantage of the system, it's on them, not on us, and they will continue to buy things at our store. If we are stingy about our return policy, we might make people mad and they might not continue to buy stuff at our store.

The natural turn is this: what if the church had a no problem policy? In some ways it would be a mess, as there are clearly things that really are problems. You can't just "no problem" everything. In other ways, if we accepted people as generally honest, and didn't hassle them in their dealings with the church, maybe we'd have a few more long term customers and a few less disgruntled former customers.

I managed A's on my first two papers for Childers. Will they be enough to keep me afloat?

Bow season is upon us, and I have no place to hunt. The place I do have requires that the landowner be there also, and he's in South America.

The fish are still around. I caught a few bass the other day, and broke off one about 5 pounds when he wrapped my topwater around a bush.

The family is doing well. The boys have school pictures today, and Jared got a new buzz haircut. He's cute.

We also bought the boys a swing set. We thought about it for Christmas, but someone put Christmas in the middle of winter, and so we thought we should get it when they could actually use it.

That's about it for now.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Now why didn't I think of that?

I'm in Lewisville for core values training, kind of Academy management 101. The class has been kind of interesting. Not exactly Childers' Church History that I had to miss, but informative.

My internship at Farmers Branch in '98 has finally come in handy. Coming to Dallas last night, I missed a turn somewhere around Texas Stadium. As the roads got smaller and smaller, I finally recognized Webb Chapel and Marsh and was able to take Marsh up to 635 and get back on track. Turns out the Academy is right across the highway from Vista Ridge Mall.

And finally, the title. One of the other guys in training here is from Waco. He used to be a pro fisherman, and he pulled his 20 ft. Bass Cat up here to fish in Lake Lewisville, which is only 3 miles or so from the store. Why didn't I think of that?

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Apparently I'm more popular than myself

It has finally happened... my anonymous religious self is getting more blog hits per week than my real self. Could it be that all the stuff I really have to say that's interesting is religious? Some of the people who drove me to anonymity would actually benefit from reading the other site, as I hoped they would from this one before the split.

Funny how I'm more popular when people don't know who I am.

If there's still anyone around who cares that hasn't got the link to the other blog, email me and I'll send it to you.