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I used to be a paperboy... is there such a thing anymore? anywhere?

Anyhow, on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, Donald Kaul wrote a column for the Des Moines Register that I would always read before I started my route.

He is mostly retired but still does a weekly for an online 'zine.

Here's the latest
http://www.minutemanmedia.org/111709/KAUL.htm

Cheers!

Tags: kaul

Well, I am an United States resident again. We went through customs at the Calgary airport and we were officially on US soil.

Now, we get to live the American dream and sign a mortgage tomorrow morning. Moving truck should join us in New Orleans on about Tuesday. Lots to do!

The Canadian experience is at an end.

My wife is employed by Shell Oil and this has afforded us many opportunities to move about the world. I haven't been employed by choice since June 2002 when we first moved from Houston to Washington state north of Seattle.

From Washington we were off to England and for the last 20 months or so we've been living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Well, Shell has a new CEO who is shaking it up but good. At least 20% of senior staff will no longer be employed as of September 1. Some of this is due to world economy issues but it is really providing him cover to clean house - my wife is of the opinion that the new structure he has outlined makes sense and she while she feels compassion for those who no longer have a job (she knows that Shell provides a generous severance package but still...) she is looking forward to working in the new organization that is taking shape.

All senior staff had to apply for their own jobs (again) and any other positions that they were interested (Except for the upper, upper echelon of senior staff who were appointed) and on Friday they found out if 1) they still had a job and 2) what job is it.

Since we have always been open to moving if it made sense for her career she was told by her direct boss to apply for 5 positions - 2 here in Calgary (including her current job as Country HR Lead for Exploration and Production), 2 jobs in Houston, and 1 job in New Orleans.

We found out last Monday afternoon but on Friday it was made official - she will be the VP of Human Resources - Deep Water based in New Orleans.

So we have a month to move.... ahhhhhh! Not really.

Her official start date is Sept 1 but with schools, finding a place to live, and moving it probably will take a couple of months.

My daughter is at camp and does not return until Thursday - she is not going to be happy. She has really come into her own here. She had a great year at school and grade 8 can be tough. She also is feeling very comfortable with her youth group at church. It will be a tough transition for her.

My son is going into grade 3 and does not mind returning to the USA but has Houston on his wish list - he knows that its where he was born - we left Houston when he was 18 months old and he has been back only once since then.

Long post - more to follow....

Tags: family, new orleans, shell
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: mellow

How does this thing work?

Let's see if I can starting posting a bit more...

Abby has all-day track meet today - long story short this is her 1st for the season and if she is not in the top 3 of her events her only meet. Very odd but explainable due to size of her school and size of schools they normally compete against in other sports.

Gretch is off to a community work day project. How nice of corporate to announce major restructuring of the company on an international level. She won't have anyone asking questions on how it will affect them... Heck, she doesn't even know where she will fit in to the organization after the deck chairs are shuffled.

Jackson has been cut off from the Wii by mom and backed up by me. This is a kid who road the massive California Screamin' roller coaster - TWICE - just a week and a half ago but doesn't want to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. This has been going on for over 2 years now. He is so stubborn about some things.

I will workout this morning - no running though, my left knee is giving me some problems and I am giving it some time off for now. I will then clean up and head over to watch Abby at her track meet - need to remember to bring book.

I have been reading a book series written by a Scot-born Canadian - Jack Whyte. It's a historical fiction of the Arthurian Legend. He started the series 3 generations before Arthur is born - I have lost track but I think there are 9 books in the series with another written as a companion paralleling events in the main series from the view of Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father). I started reading Jack Whyte based on a Templar Knight's trilogy that he is writting now - 3rd book due in September I think. Anyhow, I am on the 2nd to last book told from the view of Clothar - we know him as Lancelot Du Lac.

Got to go for now... here's trying to post more . CHEERS!

Tags: update
Current Location: Calgary - Home
Current Mood: content

A lot of things going on in McCain's mind, BUT.....

When you do not look at your opponent during 2 debates now it looks very odd.

I see it only as a sign as a lack of respect for the person. And in this case, one of these 2 men will be POTUS and the other will still be a US Senator. Both men have earned respect regardless of your personal views in politics.

Boring... if there was a winner it was minimal at best.

This debate format should be reworked - the town hall format should keep us awake at least.

Current Mood: tired

A new mantra....

Katrina, four dollar gas, a trillion dollar war, rising unemployment, deregulated housing market, global warming...no more.

Reading an article about how the U.S. economy has turned from the greatest capitalist to the newest socialist economy - not exactly agreeing with all the arguments but number 2 on the list was no longer having leaders with moral character.

It reminded me of a guest lecture I heard when I was a college student at Cornell College way back in the mid-1980s. The speakers were 2 journalists who had written books and met with world leaders of some note. One of the speakers was William Shirer who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. He was a close acquaintance of Gandhi and later reported from Germany during the early stages of WWII. I do not remember the other journalist right now but one of his big name interviews was with Golda Meir.

The focus of the talk was their experience with world leaders but the message was how we should not rely on extraordinary leaders to lead us in the future because there are few who will be able to break through and the incentives to do so have all but disappeared and can be perilous. Instead, we should focus on leadership - a skill that can not be taught as such but is cultivated and developed.

I have more thoughts on this but need to sort them out with respect to the economic crisis the U.S. and world is experiencing and the U.S. presidential election before I write more.

Here is a picture one of the more awesome sights at the Calgary Stampede parade.

A parting idea formed in my head about the guts to ride a bull for 3 miles in a parade and the guts to show leadership.

Tags: leadership
Current Location: Calgary
Current Mood: contemplative

Earlier this month...

Waiting for the parade to start.

A pre-parade visit from a certain Dark Lord of the Sith. He's shorter in person...

Had the chance to go to Lake Tahoe last week celebrating my 20th Anniversary with my bride. We brought the kids and flew out my in-laws too. This is a picture of me with my son Jackson.