Author: Josh

I found that breathing is kind of good for you. I was sitting at work earlier this week, chugging through some html that we had generated from Excel, and I sighed. It then dawned on me that I hadn’t been breathing for about two hours. So, I started taking deep, concentrated breaths and my eyes opened and my mind cleared. I need to put a Post-It note on my computer that reads “breathe.”

On Tuesday, Elise and I went to Central Market for the first time since being back in Austin. We bought mushrooms, some spicy, mayonnaise-based dipping sauce and some tortilla chips. It was nice to be in one of our favorite grocery stores again. The mushrooms were for the turkey tetrazzini that I made last night.

I have a bunch of stuff on eBay right now. The extra cash will be nice.

Travis came over last night and we started hammering out the details for his site’s relaunch. That’ll be a fun project for a while.

Elise’s birthday is Sunday. We don’t know what we’re going to do in celebration. Some friends are coming in from out of town. I guess we’ll just play it by ear.

I finally feel at home now. We have Roadrunner at the new apartment now. A computer seems 80% useless without a pipe sticking out to that www thing.

Work is awesome. Unlike my previous job, I have a ton of stuff to do (versus a ton of meetings to attend). I go in to work every morning know that I have work to start on and have to bust ass all day so I can try to get out of there at a reasonable hour. I really like my new job and the people that I work with.

I ran over to UFCU today and reopened our checking account. I’m really glad we decided to put our money into a credit union. I used to use the Bank of the Northern Hemisphere… actually I banked with Bank of America – same difference (nothing personal Victor). Anyway, Elise and her family used credit unions and when El and I got married, we stuck with UFCU. We get better rates on everything and far better service than any big city/share owner bank. Well, the only ‘thing’ we have is a car loan, but even still…

Money has been tight the past couple weeks. I had to pay rent at two apartments and all kinds of fun deposits for utilities and phones. I’m irritated with the util company in Temple – they just sent me my final bill (that I have to pay), and then they’re going to turn around and return my deposit (which is more than my current bill).

Elise is finally done with Temple. I was done with it two weeks ago. Elise went back yesterday to scrape the blood off the walls and return our keys. Hopefully we’ll get our deposit back on that place as well. I will miss Sherry though. She was the leasing manager and has to be the nicest lady I’ve ever met. When I would go into the office to pay rent or pick up a package, she would make me eat a cookie and tell her how my day was. Sherry told Elise that she used to manage a complex for low income families. She said she would always organize some community event – pool parties, barbecues, etc. etc. Once Sherry took over at the Brooke, she organized a pool party and barbecue for us. She organized trips to local hockey games… all that jazz. Anyway, I don’t know what my point is. I guess I’m trying to convince myself that there are some things about Temple that I’ll miss.

Elise and I lived across from a relatively young couple and their son, Corey. El and I pretty much watched Corey go through his growth spurt. When we first met him, he would say “Hillo!” {high pitch}. Before we moved, he would say “Hellow!” {low pitch}. We made a few friends in Temple. I’ll continue to talk to them via e-mail, so all’s not lost. Elise made real nice-like with some girls she worked with at Sallie Mae. I’m sure they’ll continue to call each other. Other than that, we’re both really happy to be back home.

Oh yeah, Hi Paul Henderson (your roommate told me to say that).

We finally had a nice, calm weekend. When I got home from work on Friday, my stomach started hurting. I attribute that to the leftover chicken that I ate combined with a couple frustrating hours of playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I sat on the couch for a while until my nausea passed.

Elise and I decided to cash in on a free video rental from Hollywood Video. We rented Signs. We both thought it was really good. I was really looking forward to seeing it in the theater but heard that it stunk. I didn’t like any of M Night Shyamalan’s movies, so I figured I wouldn’t like this one either. Anyway, we liked Signs.

I got up early on Saturday and ran errands. I took the Jeep in to get the oil changed. I think the guy we bought the Jeep from didn’t change the oil regularly. I’ve had the oil changed three times now. The lube tech dude showed me how sludgy the oil had become. I had them flush the engine. It was also recommended that I have gear box and differential fluids changed. Didn’t have the cash for that, so that’s another thing we have to get done.

After forking out more money than I had intended, I swung by Half Priced Books to sell some books. After having to wait an hour, I received my $2.00 in cash. Woohoo. Score.

I then went to Goodwill to dump off some stuff we would ordinarily throw away. I got a receipt. We started saving all of our Goodwill and Salvation Army receipts. This year I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of minute tax break we’ll receive for keeping record of our charitable donation.

We went over to Tommy’s later that evening. After many hours of existential conversation, we all fell short in solving any pressing social or government issues. Really we just sat there and made fun of Philip.

Elise and I slept in on Sunday. People called to wish me a happy birthday. I watched a special on Orange County Choppers on the Discovery Channel. We ordered a pizza for lunch and I opened my presents from El.

We went to the Copper Tank with Philip and Rob to watch the Super Bowl. Philip won a Super Bowl party from 101X. He got to invite three friends and was given $50 for food and drinks. We all received non-winning raffle tickets. Philip was entered to win a 52″ TV. Philip claimed he would win it. Needless to say, we didn’t get to help him load a large screen TV into the back of his truck. That would have been nice though.

The game was boring. The company and free beer and buffalo wings were good though.

Elise and I went home after the game. I cranked up Van Halen on the stereo. Eddie Van Halen and I share the same birthday. I always play Van Halen on January 26th.

Two words came to mind after I hung up the phone. Selfish and thankless.

My Dad called me last night. I didn’t think anything of it after I first heard his voice. He said “Hey Josh! What are you up to?” Then he went on to tell me that he had to take my Mom to the hospital on Tuesday. I was cooking spaghetti at the moment and my heart literally dropped. I had always heard that expression, but never really knew what it felt like. My heart dropped because I was anticipating what my Dad was going to say next.

My Mom has been feeling pretty sick for the past couple weeks. The short of it: she had surgery today to have her gallbladder removed. I’m sure I’ve heard of the procedure before, but I’m terrified because it’s happening to my Mom.

My parents came up this past weekend to help Elise and me move. Dad and Elise drove to Temple on Sunday to finish moving some little things. Mom and I stayed in Austin and unpacked. My Mom came into the office and asked me to do something. I was really short with her. I had no reason to be.

When my Dad told me that Mom was in the hospital, before he said that she was having a simple surgery, I thought to myself: “The last time I can remember talking to my Mom, I was an asshole.” I know my Mom will be okay, but made me realize that need to be more appreciative.

Life is hectic now. I’m without Roadrunner at home so I seem somewhat cutoff. The cable guy coming tomorrow morning to install cable TV. We get a half price deal for the first two months. The same special applies for Roadrunner, but cannot be combined with cable. So, I’m going to have to wait a day to call and order Roadrunner.

In the meantime, since the move, I’ve accumulated a nice pile of stuff that I’m going to sell on eBay. Speaking of the move… I’ve become reacclimated with my ninja skills, dodging boxes in a very stealth-like manner. Elise has gone back to Temple the past two days to take care of miscellaneous business. We’re managing by unpacking a little at a time.

Work is going well. I’m staying busy. I received an e-mail from Apollo Hosting today. They said they would like for me to come in for an interview. If memory serves me correctly, I think I sent them my resume four months ago.

My birthday is on Sunday. I can remember only one other time when my birthday was on Super Bowl Sunday. It would be really cool if my birthday fell somewhere during the NBA finals.

This birthday doesn’t seem very significant. I’m going to be 27 (I think). Nothing else really happens after to you turn 25 and your insurance premiums decrease (ever so slightly). Speaking of which… I wonder what happened with that speeding ticket I got in Ft. Worth… Hmmmmmm… better check on that. Anyway, I guess I can just say that I’m in my late 20’s.

Don’t want to write too long – it’s after hours at work and I’ve been itching to get home all day.

Elise drove in to Austin on Friday evening to pick me up. We got back to bustling Temple around 8:00 p.m. We stayed up until 3:00 a.m. packing boxes.

Elise and I both woke up at 7:00 so we could finish packing and so I could run some errands. Mom and Dad came up to Temple at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. We loaded up the goose-neck trailer and headed to Austin. We didn’t leave Temple until 3:30 or so.

Needless to say, you find out who your real friends are when it comes time to move! With the extra help we called upon, we saved ourselves a few extra hours of lugging stuff up the three flights of stairs to our new apartment.

We’re officially moved. We’re still kind of living out of boxes, but at least we’re finally back home!

My muscles are still aching. I’m going home now.

Life has been pretty rough this week. My back is killing me because I tried sleeping on an air mattress for two days. I deflated the air mattress on Tuesday night. I think I might have slept for an hour. I got up at the sound of my alarm on Wednesday and could barely walk because my back was hurting so bad.

Last night I decided to rectify the situation. I walked to Target and bought two twin sized foam egg crates. I brought them home and put them under the deflated air mattress. That didn’t give me quite the comfort that I was seeking. I put a pair of my jeans under the air mattress. A little better. I put my only bath towel under there as well. Getting better. A couple fleece pullovers. Hmmmm. Two bath mats later, I had a pretty nice cot.

My new job has been keeping me very busy. I really couldn’t ever say that about my last job. I’m happy that I’m busy now. I’m think I’m still a ways from being really productive – right now, I’m in that rookie-who-asks-a-lot-of-questions-phase.

The new apartment is really nice. I have some books, a small television, my PS2, a collection of DVDs, some food, my customized cot, alarm clock and a guitar.

Tonight it is going to freeze. I’ll probably walk to work tomorrow. I (I say I right now because technically Elise is still living in Temple) live 3.2 miles from work.

Tomorrow Elise is coming to pick me up and we’re going back to Temple to pack. My parents are driving to Temple on Saturday to help us move. That’ll be it – we’ll be done with bustling Temple.

I miss Elise.

Today was my last working day at Scott & White. It hasn’t sunk in yet nor has that enormous weight been lifted. I find solace in knowing that I will be happier and more fruitful in the coming weeks.

It’s funny to go back and read previous posts on this site. Man, was I excited about working at S&W. I was excited about moving to bustling Temple as well. I just think that’s hilarious.

I had to endure the corporate exit interview mumbo jumbo today. I spent most of the day cleaning out my e-mail box, all of my files on my computer and all of the files and papers on my desk. The marketing department had a little going away party for me at 1:30. That was really nice of them. Someone baked a killer cake. Red velvet something or other with a really sweet cream. It was good.

Being the rebel that I am, I wore dirty jeans and my motorcycle boots to work today. I semi-complied by tucking in my shirt. I didn’t have any meetings and I didn’t see myself getting fired. One of these days I’m going to really let loose and run with scissors.

Elise and I are going to some new years eve party tonight. I think there will be a lot of people from Elise’s work there. I’m sure we’ll stay up too late and sleep in tomorrow.

I’m going to take the rest of the week to clean up, get organized and start packing.

Alas, Christmas is over. All of the presents have been unwrapped and the traveling is done.

As part of our premarital planning, Elise and I decided that we would spend every other Christmas is Des Moines with her family and the other Christmases with my family in Cat Spring. This was our first Christmas together in Des Moines.

We bought our plane tickets back in early October, so we saved quite a bit of money. Our plan was to spend December 22 – 26 in Iowa. Because of a family emergency, I had to change my flight plans and didn’t arrive in Des Moines until Christmas eve. Elise’s travel itinerary didn’t change. We woke up early last Sunday and I drove her to DFW to catch her flight. As I was driving back to Temple, I got a speeding ticket in Ft. Worth. I woke up early on Monday, called the Ft. Worth Municipal Court and got information on received deferred adjudication. Hopefully I’ll hear from the City of Ft. Worth soon. We don’t have the money to pay for a ticket and our auto insurance premiums to increase.

I drove to Austin Monday morning to have lunch with my parents and attend a memorial service for Todd. I left Austin and headed to Dallas to stay the night at Jenni’s house so she could take me to the airport at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Tuesday was travel day. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and got to Des Moines a little after noon.

Steve and Elise picked me up from the airport and we went to the Boeckman house. We had soup for lunch, went to church (which I only do once a year – voluntarily) and drove around town looking at Christmas lights that night. There was a teeny tiny snow flurry as we were driving through Des Moines, so I can say I had my first white Christmas. Needless to say, it was cold the whole time. When I say cold, I mean cold for a native Texan. Those Midwesterners laughed at your narrator’s shivers. If you’re a northerner, here’s a way to impress a Texan in the winter: Take a cup of hot water, take your Texan outside and have him throw the hot water into the air. It vaporizes. I was mesmerized. If you’re a Texan and want to impress your northerner, take him outside in August and show him how to fry an egg on the ground.

We woke up on Christmas morning and everyone opened presents. Then we ate. Then we ate again. Then we ate again. And again. I didn’t step outside on Christmas day. I ate again.

We woke up on Thursday to get ready to head back home. Elise and I had a long layover in Chicago so we sat in the terminal and watched people. That was fun. We saw a young pregnant woman who thought she was attractive enough with-child to let her belly stick out from under her little t-shirt.

Elise and I got back to bustling Temple at 11:00 p.m. We woke up on Friday to go to work. That was stupid. We both should have just taken the day off. I didn’t get anything done at work and I don’t think Elise did either. It didn’t help that no one else was working on Friday.

Friday night Elise and I drove to my parents’ house to spend the weekend with them. We got in at 10:30 and chatted until around midnight. We woke up on Saturday to open presents with my parents. We ate. We ate again. You get the picture. In 2004, I think we’ll just walk to Des Moines so we can regulate the calorie intake/burning ratio.

We slept in on Sunday and got up to eat, sleep and watch football. I washed the Jeep and ate some more. We left my parents’ house around 5:00 and came back to Temple.

So, it’s all over with for this year. Tomorrow is my last day at Scott & White. I’m excited. The new year is looking good for us so far.

On Monday, I sat to the right of my father, fought back tears and listened to a very strong man speak.

I fought back tears because I was trying to be as strong as Clay. I fought back tears because I didn’t want to think about standing at that church podium myself. I fought back tears because at the age of sixteen, a boy is supposed to be begging his father for car keys, not begging for one last chance to tell his father he loves him.

Last Thursday, December 19th, a very close friend of our family was killed in a car accident in Oklahoma. I debated internally, over and over, whether or not I should mention this on my website. My words could never serve justice in describing how wonderful a person Todd was. He was and still is a mentor to me. I guess this is my closure.

Todd married my older sister. Kathy is not my sister by blood, but by love. Kathy was there when I was born. Kathy has been and always will be in my life. I remember the days when Todd and Kathy were dating in high school. Todd would come to Don and Linda’s house to pick Kathy up. Todd always talked to me and we made each other laugh. Todd always had the little brother seal of approval.

Todd and Kathy had a baby boy when they were young. Society probably told them that they were too young to have a child. They did it anyway – and they did it well. Todd and Kathy had Clay when I was ten years old.

Don, Linda, Sharron, Kathy, Todd, Clay and I went on a water skiing trip when Clay was at that potty training age. I was Clay’s hero at that point-in-time. Everyone was trying to convince Clay that big boys wore Underoos, not diapers. Linda, Kathy’s mother, told Clay: “Josh doesn’t wear diapers, he wears big boy underwear. He has underwear with Superman on them!” I was twelve at the time and didn’t wear Superman Underoos. It was my job to convince Clay that diapers were for babies. It was hard to tell Clay that I didn’t have my Superman skivvies on at that moment, but that I normally wore them. Todd helped me and together we convinced Clay to wear normal underwear. It was a triumphant moment for me.

I convinced Clay to wear big boy underwear. I never changed Clay’s diapers. I never gave him a bath. I never fed him or burped him. Todd and Kathy never asked those things of me. Kathy did those things for me when I was a baby. Todd and Kathy did those things for their own children.

Todd and Kathy went on to have three more beautiful little girls: Lauren, Morgan and Julia. Luckily I wasn’t commissioned to convince them to wear Superwoman Underoos.

Todd went on to receive his MBA and provided for his family in every sense of the word. The Mennens moved forward in their busy lives. I started my busy life as a young adult. We would see each other during brief family visits. Though the times we spent together were limited, I cherished those moments. They went out of their way to come to my college graduation. They were there on my wedding day.

Todd always made it a point to talk to me. He always asked about news in my life. Todd always cared about me. I cared about Todd. I wanted to be like Todd. I still want to be like Todd.

I hugged Clay at his father’s funeral. I looked into his eyes and saw Todd in them more than ever. Clay is going to have to grow up faster than I could begin to imagine. Todd and Kathy made him strong. I know that the Mennen children will all do well because they have their father in them.

I wonder why Todd is gone. Todd was nine years older than me. Todd was a successful father and a successful husband. Todd was a successful man. I wish that he were here so I could ask him questions. I wish that he were here so he could give me a hint as to how to be as great as him. I wish that he was here so that one day I could tell my son that Todd wears Superman Underoos.

Todd didn’t have to wear Superman Underoos. He was Superman.

I’m really excited about leaving Temple and moving back to Austin. As I was walking in to work this morning, I saw something that made me think about how there are some things that I’m going to miss. I currently work at a rather large hospital. Hospitals tend to employ physicians. Physicians tend to make more money than most people. People who make more money than others tend to have cool toys.

I saw a brand new Infiniti G35 Sport Coupe parked in front of the Conference Center this morning. It’s not a Ferrari or a Viper, but a pretty slick car nonetheless. It looks like a 300ZX that’s been washed and waxed with $100 bills. I see a fair share of Audi’s and Porche’s on campus, but this G35 really stood out.

I’ll probably miss seeing helicopters take off and land on a daily basis as well. I work in a building a couple hundred feet from the main hospital. Between me and the hospital is the helipad. It’s really cool to see a helicopter take off from just a few feet away.

That’s probably all that I will miss. No, I take that back, there are some perks that I’ll miss – like free flu shots and the health plan benefits one gets while working at a hospital. I wonder if they were going to give us Small Pox vaccinations. Maybe it’s good that I’m getting out now – I heard that people died from the vaccination. They also gave me a free turkey for Christmas and a movie pass. I think that’s all that I’ll miss.

After ten hard months, I have decided to leave Scott & White and take on a position with another company in Austin. You can’t begin to imagine how excited I am.

Though Scott & White is a great place, it’s not the place for me. I’m happy to say that I learned a lot during my tenure and am proud to have worked with a great group of people on a very challenging project. It kind of makes me sad that I won’t be around for the completion of the project, but at least I made a contribution.

The project that I was hired to work on was the Scott & White consumer website, or “portal”. We used IBM’s Websphere product to serve the site and Interwoven’s Teamsite as our content management system. Two complex products that my knowlege of makes for a nice addition to the ol’ resume.

I don’t think I’m at liberty to disclose any intellectual property and speak of a specific launch date for the consumer portal, but the Scott & White Health Plan launched their portal this week: http://www.swhp.org/.

There are some very smart and talented people behind this initiative and I wish them all the best!