Another day to talk about. Today was a decent day. I feel like I didn’t accomplish much today at work, but I did get some things accomplished once I arrived home. I was able to get some kitchen duties completed and some laundry done. I have been putting off the dreded task of packing stuff up, but I have come to the realization that it is time to get started. I plan to mow tomorrow and then start packing stuff up Thursday. I have got to get my home back in order and get ready for a decision on moving to Kingsport.
It is late. I will post again tomorrow if time allows.
I have not taken the time in a while to update my blog. Work, marriage, family, and life kept me away from my passions, this being one of them. I recently filed for divorce from my wife of three years due to the cliche’ irreconcilable differences. It is unfortunate because even though we didn’t get along and were basically torturing each other, I did love her as much as I could love someone. I also loved her children as if they were my own. Life is life though and you really never know people. I suspected issues from day one and in the end my suspicions were warranted. I have nothing bad to say because I am just as guilty of the failure. It takes two to tango, but I can say that I offered my best. All I sought was the same in return. In the end though I realized I always seemed to find myself seeking something I was never going to get. Often times we as humans seek to reach out a helping hand and hope that one day the other party will reciprocate. That is a flaw in my persona and beliefs that is somewhat selfish. I need to learn to give without expecting anything back. That is difficult when all your life experience has taught you that people will alway take and never give. I will most likely never confess, admit, capitulate or concede that I am wrong about this. I will though try to be more open minded.
With that being said I guess it is somewhat obvious that I now have more time on my hands. I hope to get back to some of the passions in my life such as fishing, hiking, camping, and more. I also plan to take more time to take care of myself and get my head back. I lost focus on a great deal of things in my life that made me a better person and I hope to gain back that focus and insight. Hopefully I will have more to offer as the days go by.
I just realized tonight that I haven’t updated my blog since May. I have been so caught up with everything that I simply skipped it. I can’t say that I forgot about it. I have thought about it often, but always seemed to have something else to do. A co-worker mentioned visiting my site before I was hired, which led me here. I hope to do a better job updating the site, but don’t hold me to it.
I am with my wife Staci in Pigeon Forge attempting to relax. My employment at Eastman has been taking a great deal of my time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get to do what I love everyday. I would actually like to get my hands into more, but I don’t think that will happen. I believe they may think I am a bit wild. I just like to learn.
I am currently in the Global Network and Communications Architecture group as the primary network infrastruture monitoring architect,I think. It sounds good anyways. My official HR status is Systems Analyst. An explanation of what I do would be network and performance monitoring and troubleshooting. I also was recently taked with taking over DNS/DHCP/IPAM, which tickles me to death. The more I learn and do, the better. I am sure there will come a time when it is too overwhelming. When that time comes, I will let them know.
Well this is a short and sweet update. Staci and the kids are doing great. Staci has been a bit under the weather lately and has had some tests run. Let’s hope all is well. Wish us luck. We are going to celebrate Valentine’s day this weekend and relax. More to come later.
We have the garden started. I am tickled to death. We planted very early, and was almost wiped out by the latest cold spell, but we came through fine. We actually moved some plants inside and convered a few up which seemed to work. We lost many flowers, and had to replant almost everything, but we are back to where we were. I will post some picture later.
I started martial arts training again tonight. It has been 20 years since my last class. I am working with John Street and have the whole family involved. We are focusing on Kenpo and Aikido. I like both of these disiplines and feel that my family can learn and use these most effectively. I definitely need the disipline of martial arts in my life and hope these can help me to become more focused.
The work at Eastman continues. I have been focused on a single project which at first I was a bit paranoid about due to the stigma it carried and the culture behind it. I was met with a bit of negativity as I plowed through the process of moving forward which caused me to have some worries, but after today I feel great about the project. I made many advances forward today and I am very pleased with the progress of the project.
I really need to get ahead on this project so that I can start focusing on other areas. I feel as though I am falling far behind. I need to get up to date on our current technolgies which are not the standard that most companies have. Eastman is smart. Just because a company holds 80% market share on a product doesn’t mean that it is the best and Eastman proves that daily. I am very impressed with the calibur of employees and the professionalism this company has. I am even more impressed by the local talent we have. I work with what I consider some of the best analysts in the world, and many are from Upper East Tennessee and many are ETSU graduates. That speaks volumes about this area and its people.
Well, so far all is great. It is the best job I have ever had. It is a bit different as compared to my previous employment experiences, but I will learn to conform to the Eastman way. I continue to work on a very exciting project that I think will drive change and expand the horizons for IT at Eastman. Everyone I work with is great and very professional. I look forward to a long career with Eastman and hope that I get an opportunity to make a difference in the company.
One great thing is the meidcal care you receive. Eastman promotes health and wellness and offers many programs that can help any employee lead a healthier lifestyle. I hope that I can take this opportunity to change my eating habits and gain a greater and healthier outlook on life. So far I have been working out in some capacity daily. I missed today because I forgot my shoes, but I tried to make up for it by walking when I got home and by cleaning the house. I can honestly say that I have been gradually feeling much better than I have in the past.
Greetings all! Long time/No write. I know. It has almost become cliche’. I finally started at Eastman. I stared on January 22nd. I have now worked for two weeks. I love it. So far it is an experience like no other. I have never been exposed to such a professional and respectful working enviroment. Everyone is very nice and helpful. I can honestly state that it is nothing like working in a “soap opera” enviroment as many of my previous previous positions exposed me to.
I am working on a very exciting project that I think can revolutionize IT. I can’t wait to see the outcome of this project. I was also able to help the company even before my official start date. I was able to inform human resources of a financial opportunity that they had not been using. The savings can be very substantial to the company. It as an opportunity that many companies do not use or know nothing about.
I guess my next objective is to work on purchasing a new house or to add on to this one. I can’t make up my mind. Staci really doesn’t want to move from Hampton, but I want to move to Kingsport. I have no ties here really other than my mother. I plan on taking her with us if we move. We may compromise and buy a place close by and rent this house and trailer out. That would be a very substantial monthly income that could be added to the rest of the inverment opportunities we have. I am still not sure what we will do. I will make an offer to Renee for her property. That will definitely help in making our decisions. More to come later.
I was recently installed as an officer of Dashiell Lodge #238 in Elizabethton, TN. I am the Senior Stewart. I was very pleased to be honored with this post to which I was appointed. I love Masonry. Out of all of the things I have done in my life, I am most pround of being a Mason. It has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. I was definitely in the dark before. All of the things many others had told me about Masonry was completely wrong.
My next step will be to become a Shriner. I was a patient of the Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, TN from the age of 2 until I was approximately 17 years of age. They helped me with many orthopedic problems. Without them I would most likley not be able to walk or stand normally. They are a great organization and I can’t wait to help out by donating my time to their cause which is helping children.