Swiss Cheese –

My family has a tradition where we meet at my sister’s house on the Monday before Halloween to carve pumpkins. It is always a fun time. This year was no exception.

I used a drill this year to create the masterpiece you see above.

Here are some more pictures of yesterdays Halloween ‘party’.

Scott

If I had a dollar for every time I saw this face…

Bobbing for Apples

We tied donuts to strings to see how long it would take the kids to eat them without hands…Here it looks like we caught Damian cheating.

Carving my pumpkin with a drill.

I think I'm starting a new trend...

Service -

This weekend I took my scout troop to a service project in Phoenix where a group of volunteers were painting an elementary school. My boys did well—they were excited and willing to help. I had to talk the person in charge into letting them volunteer because 12 and 13 year olds are apparently ‘too young’ to paint. I assured them that the troop was responsible and they would do a good job.

I think the kids really enjoyed it. We started prepping the buildings by masking the doors, windows and floors. Then we scrapped off the old paint and started repainting. I think they learned that service is fun, and probably will want to do something like this again (getting a free T-shirt didn't hurt).

On Sunday Lynette’s car broke down and I had to come help her. I was in a meeting, so I went to help her in my church clothes. Yesterday was the first day that I wore a new pair of pants, and got grease on one of the legs. Ooops. Anyway, the wires and connectors that attach to the battery where completely corroded. I just jiggled one of the wires and it completely broke off, on the other post, the bolt snapped (because of the corrosion) when I was loosening it. I had to replace the battery post clamps.

When I was done, I told Lynette that I like it when her car breaks down if it only costs $5.00 to fix, and I can do all the work myself. It makes me feel like I can provide for our family. That was a good feeling.

Lynette said that one day this past week when she was walking out to the car to go to work, in her mind she was hoping that the car wouldn’t start and the battery was dead because she didn’t want to go to work. In a sense you could say she was praying for it, by saying it over and over in her mind. Her desire came true, but not when she was expecting it.

Moral of the story: Most of the time prayers are answered, just not in the way or timing we expect—and…

Be careful what you pray for

Scott

One Great Day –

Lynette and I went for a day trip up near Payson to take some pictures for her photography class. Afterwards she told my mom that Saturday was “the best day of our marriage”. We had a great time because we were doing things we both love and doing them together.

Part of Lynette’s assignment is to take landscape pictures. We talked about a few places we could go and decided to explore a couple of areas near Payson. We found some neat spots, and I think Lynette got some good pictures. She will be developing them this week.

As she was taking pictures for her class, I was taking pictures of her taking pictures. Some more of those pictures are below.

I hope Lynette and I can do something like this more often. Picture taking is something that Lynette loves, and I think this will be a skill that she develops throughout her life. This works out great for me because I like being in the outdoors and seeing nature, but don’t like leaving Lynette for the weekend. Now, if there is film in the camera, I think Lynette and I will be more likely to get out into the outdoors to see what nature has to offer.

But to me, the trip was more fun because Lynette and I spent the entire day together. Our schedules are so busy that we don’t have a lot of time to see each other. It was fun talking with Lynette and getting to know her all over again. The best part was on the drive home we discussed another part of her photography assignment—to take self portraits. These pictures have to represent Lynette’s life figuratively, or literally. We focused most on the figurative imagery.

As an example, we thought we could take some pictures of the gears inside of a clock to represent the fact that she is always busy, and never stops. Or, the same image could represent how she is very precise and exact as an artist. If one gear is misaligned or missing the whole clock does not work. Like a clock, her 3-D artwork generally represents a well thought out design and skilled fabrication to achieve the final result.

We thought of several ideas, but couldn’t think of enough to fill a whole roll. Do you have any ideas? What image do you think could represent an aspect of Lynette’s personality?

Anyway. I hope some of you comment on that, but we found that it is difficult to come up with anything. Here are some more pictures of our trip.

Scott

Go Suns!!!

Lynette called me yesterday at work and asked if I wanted to go see a Suns game. I said ‘YES!!!’ She then asked who I would want to take I said ‘You of course.’ Unfortunately she had to work, so I had to find someone else to take. That was a little tricky. I first called up David (brother-in-law) but he was coaching a ball game…so then I got this great idea to ask my sister Heather.

She sounded excited to go, but said that she would only go if I couldn’t find anyone else to go with. She also warned me that she has been told she is ‘boring to take to sporting events’. So I hung up, determined to find someone to go with me. But, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted go with her. I ended up not calling anyone else and called her an hour later and told her I wanted to go with her. She said ok. We figured a meeting place and time and then hung up.

So, when I got to the meeting place at the appropriate time, I couldn’t find my sister. I did see my dad, which I thought was weird. When he saw me he said, ‘where did you park?’ like he knew what I was doing there. I told him I was waiting for Heather to go to the game with, and we started walking to the car together. I figured out that Heather had sent my dad instead of her.

I was really never disappointed. I’m glad Heather sent my dad instead of someone else. He probably was one of the few people that I would have considered a good ‘replacement’.

Heather, you’re not off the hook yet. I still want to go to a ball game with you.

Anyway, the game was great. Dad noticed that the arena plays load ‘frantic’ sounding music when the away team has the ball. This probably is psychological, putting the away team on their heels in a more frantic mode. When the Suns have the ball there is no music, or the music is a little calmer. Next time you go to a Suns game you should try to notice that. It will surprise you.

I love watching the Suns. I’ll be a fan for life. I’m confident they will do well this season.

Scott

Change in Plans -

I was planning on going on a scout campout this weekend, but had to change plans. A multi-troop backpacking trip was planned for the Superstition Mountains, but at the last minute (for unknown reasons) it was cancelled. That was a little annoying because we could have planned something that probably would have been more fun, but we decided it would be better to have the kids interact with other troops on this outing. Then it was cancelled, two days before we were to leave and we didn’t have the time to plan another outing.

This is the first month in 1½ years that the scout troop I’ve been involved in hasn’t gone on a monthly campout. That makes this a sad month for me.

But, I was able to have fun doing other things. In the morning, I went hiking with my mom and nephews on South Mountain. It was fun talking with my mom and being with my nephews. I sort of got after my mom about spoiling her grandkids, and she cleverly replied, "sure you can talk." She did bring up a good point. She did spoil me, so now I know better than to say she can’t spoil my nephews.

There are a lot of good trails on South Mountain, hopefully I will get to go back (with Mom, Marcus and Jacob). The weather was beautiful. There were black rain clouds in the sky that contrasted on the slopes of the mountains with a golden hue from the morning sun. Scenes like that make getting up at 5:00am worth it. When we stopped for a snack (oranges and granola bars) we saw jackrabbits and a whole bunch of other hikers. A perfect ‘in city’ morning hike.

Then in the afternoon I went with my sister to check out a cool camping spot that I heard about from a friend. We saw a 200 foot tall waterfall (yes, this was in AZ), but we were not able to find some Indian ruins that were supposedly up near the falls. I was disappointed that we couldn’t find the Indian ruins, but it wasn’t because we weren’t trying. We tried three times to find the ruins having to climb steep slopes, and sometimes we even had to ‘rock climb’ up the face of the cliff. Three intense, short climbs—but to no avail. My sister was a good sport about the climbs.

Unfortunately, I left my camera in the truck, so I didn’t take any picture of the waterfall. You will just have to trust me, we were there.

Semi-Funny Story: As we were climbing the mountain looking for the Indian ruins my sister noticed mistletoe and mint plants. I mentioned that this probably would have been a good place for the ancient people to live (referring to the abundant plant and wildlife) and she said, "Yah, that way they had good breath when they kissed each other." I thought it was funny, but maybe you had to be there.

I’m glad I got to spend the day with two important women in my life, my mom and one of my sisters. It was a lot of fun.

Scott

Ps: here are some more pics of South Mountain

My Career Goals—

I’ve almost completed 2 weeks at my new job and I like it. It didn’t even take me a full day for me to know that I fit in very well with the group, and what my role will be there. I am very pleased with what I have been asked to do because it builds on what I have already learned and will challenge me further. I feel a sense of responsibility, as I have already been given specific tasks and projects to work on.

I still am not sure if I made the right choice to change jobs, but at least I didn’t make a bad choice. I still miss my old job, and the people there. I ride my bike by there every weekday and wonder how everyone is doing.

My new boss asked me to put together a list of goals so he can get a feel for what I expect and what I would like to see happen at my new place of employment. I’m guessing he will use this to determine some of the projects I will be working on, and how I can best fit into his transportation team.

Since this blog is currently serving as my personal journal I figured I throw this up here to archive it…you may or may not be interested:

1 to 3 Months

• Focus on school, finish the semester with good grades
• Refresh Microstation skills
• Learn and apply MMI CAD standards and naming conventions to every drawing and project I work on.
• Familiarize self with current ADOT level standards and practices
• Get a general overview of the project history for all current transportation projects that I will be working on (the essential information)
• Work with and interact with everyone on the transportation team
• Achieve these goals and exceed all expectations of my managers

3 to 12 Months

• Graduate from ASU
• Pass FE exam
• Slowly gain design experience (starting off with small projects)
• Get to know design policies and guidelines for local municipalities (city and state)
• Attend a public meeting to discuss a potential transportation project
• Become an expert on the MMI CAD standards for Microstation
• Continue to improve CAD skills
• Begin to use InRoads on a regular basis
• Achieve these goals and exceed all expectations of my managers

1 to 5 years

• Gather knowledge, skills and training needed to be an excellent project manager
• Never stop learning
• Pass P.E. exam
• Under direction of a project manager learn the ‘nuts and bolts’ of managing a transportation project
• Strengthening CAD skills, keeping up with latest releases
• Always improving design skills
• By observation of others and by hands on experience
• Research new, potential projects
• Help write proposals
• Learn to distinguish between ‘productive’ projects and those that aren’t worth doing
• Take the lead and manage a local large scale transportation project
• If possible, enroll in a part time graduate program with an emphasis on transportation engineering.
• Achieve these goals and exceed all expectations of my managers

If you think I am forgetting something please let me know. Also, when you see me, feel free to ask me how I am doing at achieving these goals. A little accountability wouldn't hurt. I plan on achieving all of these goals.

Scott

Books I've 'Read' -

If I have listened to every word of an AudioBook (formerly known as ‘Books on Tape’) can I say I’ve read the book?

If I can’t, then what do I say?...that I’ve listened to the book?

Maybe its just semantics, but I have an internal dilemma every time I tell someone about the cool new book I’ve been ‘listening to’.

Over the past year, or so, with the help of the Mesa Public Library I have been able to experience approximately 30-40 different books, by listening to them while I work. Whether or not you think I can claim to have read them or not I’ve come across a few books that I think everyone should read.

My favorites are

Brave New World—By Aldous Huxely (1894-1963)
The Adventures of Robinson Caruso—By Daniel Defoe (1661-1731)

My favorite books that I have actually read

Lydia Bailey—By Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957)
Northwest Passage—By Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957)

Other Books I’ve ‘Read’

20,000 Leagues under the Sea—By Jules Verne
A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-3, 7-8—By Lemony Snicket
Black Wind—By Clive Cussler
Code to Zero—By Ken Follett
Da Vinci Code—By Dan Brown
Devils Code—By John Standford
Divide and Conquer—By Tom Clancy
Falls the Shadow—By William Lashner
Fellowship of the Ring—By J.R.R. Tolkien
Harm Done—By Ruth Rendell
Killer Smile—By Lisa Scottoline
Line of Control (OP-Center)—By Tom Clancy
Marked Man—By William Lashner
Pearl Harbor—By Randall Wallace
Phantom of the Opera—By Gaston Leroux
Red Rabbit—By Tom Clancy
Sacred Stone—By Clive Cussler
Sea of Fire—By Tom Clancy
The Enemy—By Lee Child
The Hard Way—By Lee Child
The Persuader—By Lee Child
The Runner—By Christopher Reich
The Secret Supper—By Javier Sierra
The Time Machine—By H.G. Wells
The Vendetta Defense—By Lisa Scottoline
Total Control—By David Baldacci
Valhalla Rising—By Clive Cussler

Books I Can’t Remember if I’ve ‘Read’

The Altman Code—By Robert Ludlum
Without Mercy—By Jack Higgins

Book’s I Haven’t ‘Read’ Yet

A Cold Heart—By Jonathan Kellerman
A Farewell to Arms—By Ernest Hemingway
Around the World in 80 Days—By Jules Verne
Dead Aim—By Iris Johansen
Lord Jim—By Joseph Conrad
Lord of the Flies—By William Golding
The Hunchback of Notre Dame—By Victor Hugo
The Wonderful Land of Oz—By L. Frank Baum

So…Can I say I've 'read' all these books? and, more importantly: Do you have any recommendations for me? Good Books/Authors?

Thanks-
Scott

My Hobbie

Two years ago I was not able to answer the question: What are your hobbies? The truth is, I didn’t have one. I realized the other day, that now I have a hobby: Boy Scouts. I come from a family where scouting was stressed since the 1920’s. My grandfather received his Eagle scout award in 1926. My own father received his in 1946 and I received my award when I was 15 in 1995. In addition, when my Grandpa and Dad became adults they were selected to be scoutmasters and were proud to serve. Now, as an adult I am following in their footsteps serving as an assistant scoutmaster for a local troop.

Why do I do it? you ask—Family tradition?—Pressure from the troop sponsor? Maybe both those reasons were true, but now the truth is, I do it for boys I get to work with.

It would be easy to justify not having enough time. Most weekdays I leave home about 7:30am and return about 9:30 pm. I’m either studying, in class or at work. How can I fit in one night a week and one weekend a month to already overbooked schedule? Well, I just do, and its worth it.

After a recent campout, I tried to explain to Lynette why scouting is so important to me. I had a hard time articulating my thoughts, and I’m sure I didn’t express them very well. No doubt, I participate because I love to camp and being outdoors. But to me scouting is so much more. Scouting is where boys become men.

A smile comes to my face every time I see a kid cast away his fears and do something he has never done before. As a leader it is very rewarding to be apart of a program that builds boys to have successful futures. I feel lucky to be apart of such a good program, and a little fearful of the responsibility that is mine as their leader.

I hope I can be a good influence to the boys in my troop. As leaders, my father and grandfather prepared many boys to become men. I respect and honor that legacy, and am glad I have their footsteps to follow.

Here are some more photos of me and my boys.

Scott