Congratulations Lynette!

One of Lynette's art pieces was featured in the book 500 Necklaces. This is a very big deal! This is a little like a research paper written by an undergraduate being published in a scholarly journal.

There were over 5,000 entries and hers was one of the 500 chosen. Next time you see her be sure to congratulate her. She is a great artist. I love her.

She was featured on page 409. Here it is:

Scott

Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition

Here is the announcement for the art show that some of Lynette's peices will be in. Again, if you want to come see her stuff the opening is on Monday night from 7:00-9:00pm in the Step Gallery. The gallery will also be open during regular daytime throughout next week. Lynette and I will be there on Monday, October 2, 2006 (...although I have an exam on Tuesday and a big report due...) for the opening reception.

You are all invited to come see the great jewelry Lynette has made, and what other artists like her have made.

There is a map in the next post (see Mark your Calendars, September 26, 2006)

Scott

Mark Your Calendars -

Some of Lynette's artwork will be on display next week in a 7 university metals show, at ASU. I hope you all can come and see it. It will be cool to compare Lynette's work with other Artists who have about the same experience as her.

Monday, 10-2-06, 7:00-8:30pm. In the Step Gallery (See Map).


Let us know when you will be coming.

Scott

From Beginning to End -

Are you all wondering if I took the new job? (See A Hard Choice, Sept. 16, 2006).

I did. I gave up a few dollars an hour to receive specific training from a promising company. I’m glad many of you added comments and responded the same way I did. The truth is, it was a hard choice, and I still hope I’m making the right one.

This is my last week at my current place of employment and it is a little weird. I have this strange feeling of ‘anxious nostalgia’—anxious to start a new chapter of my career but nostalgic because of the previous one. I think it was a surprise to just about everyone in the office when they found out I was leaving. It had to be, because it was a surprise to me also. Everything happened so fast.

As I reflect on the experience I had at this job I can only think of good things. I got to know my co-workers well, and feel like we are a family. I can’t say how much I appreciated all of them who helped me fit in to the work environment. I knew what was expected of me, and what to expect of everyone else, I couldn’t have asked for a better office to work in.

In addition, as I reflect on the work I have done at this office I can say I have done my best, from beginning to end. I always pushed myself to do good work, and to be productive. I took pride in my work and tried to produce high quality plans. I learned from my mistakes and never stopped learning.

So, at risk of sounding too sentimental: To Greg, Don, Dick, Trish, Darin, Carol, Chad, Karol, Diana, Steve, Isia, Maria, Shannon, Reynold, Ed, Clif, Art, David and Eloy I want to say thanks. Thanks for being my mentors and friends. I never dreaded coming to work, and enjoyed working with you every minute.

Scott

Change in Scenery -

I changed the layout and color scheme of the blog...originally I chose the other layout because Lynette likes orange. But, since she has not shown much interest in this site I decided to make it look the way I want it to look.

I wonder how long it will take Lynette to notice.

Scott

A Hard Choice...

Deciding ones future is never easy, especially when it concerns more than just you. Lynette and I had to make a tough career decision this week.

The choice was between changing jobs to a promising company that is better aligned to my career interests, or to stay at my current job with a higher hourly wage. The task of quantifying job training, career outlook and workplace ‘happiness’ and then comparing it to an hourly wage is not easy.

I’ve considered leaving my current job occasionally throughout the past six months. After doing some research I finally decided that there was only one company worth changing jobs for. I submitted my resume, and the next morning at 7:00am I received an e-mail stating one that they wanted to meet with me for an interview.

So, I scheduled a time we could both meet and we talked. I found out a lot more about the new company and they found out enough about me to want to make an offer. They gave me a slightly higher wage than what I was currently making with the promise that if I live up to there expectations I would be getting raises periodically until I graduate. That sounded good to me.

Still, I was reluctant because of how my current company had treated me in the past. I felt like one of the group, and to leave made me feel like I was leaving family. So, I went and talked with my boss. Here is where the difficulty came in…unbeknownst to me my manager lobbied that I get a significant wage increase. I had not been privy to this because the office was to all be notified of their raises at the same time (in like a week).

Now I had the choice to follow the money, and stay at my current place of employment, or change to a company where I could get better training to jumpstart my career. Basically, the choice was between money in the pocket now, or preparing for the future.

As you can see, it was not an easy choice. Guess what I chose.

Scott

Upside Down Map
________

Lynette and I have decided to join the rest of the cyber-space world and start our own blog. We named it Upside Down Map because the two of us sometimes have divergent points of view. Artists and Engineers see the world very differently. We constantly are telling ourselves it’s not wrong, it’s different.

Some might say that two people who do not normally agree cannot love each other, or shouldn't be together. We have learned that is not true for us. Our diversity is one of the things that make our relationship stronger.

Of course, we agree on the important things. Sometimes it is scary how much we think alike. Both of us have had unique experiences that have managed to lead us to the same conclusions about values, respect and integrity. Things that we think are very important.

I'm not sure exactly what this blog will contain in the future, but I hope you visit it often to learn more about what is going on in our lives and to get to know how our unique personalities enhance our relationship.

Scott