New Year – 2012
During this same time, I wrote up a half dozen television concepts and submitted them for review to various production companies. Although there has been some interest, there has not been any money as yet. I am a difficult person to discourage so I continue this pursuit on the slim chance I will connect with someone who shares my vision and is willing to share their money.
In other writing, I finished my first book – “Working In The Northwest Woods” – and had the first physical copy in hand early in October. I cannot begin to detail what a lot of work goes into such a project. The writing of it is the initial challenge, but there are a whole set of other tasks needed to transform it from a Word document into a book. I am now underway on my next book project, which should be mentioned here this time next year.
Jenney and family are doing well, still living in my hometown of Monett, Mo. Jenney is now in school (again) in a Master’s program for academic advising. The program, through Kansas State University, seems to be highly reputable and she seems highly excited. There is just no stopping this one when it comes to education! The grandkids are well with Josh now at Jenney’s alma mater - Missouri Southern - and the others making their way through dear old Monett High.
Zeke and family remain living in Boise and are still running their now rather well known Idaho Tree Preservation business. The economy has certainly slowed things down but it seems he has managed to carve a unique niche that continues to generate interest and keeps both him and a collection of employees busy. The grandkids here – not so little anymore – continue to challenge both Zeke and Janet as they manage to consume most of the energy and certainly all of the oxygen in whatever room they occupy.
As mentioned earlier, Liz and Ben were married in August on the island of Hawaii in a beautiful sunset, beach front ceremony. It was a very cool event that included a few locals hanging out in the nearby trees drinking beer and watching. They are still living in their house in West Seattle and Liz continues to teach in Federal Way, attempting to survive in the world of publicly funded schools while working on her National Board Certification. Ben is also involved in school and is bact at UW working on his Masters degree.
The other event from Hawaii was the engagement of Stephanie and Duane. He popped the question as the sun set over the glowing crater of Kilauea Volcano while we were all visiting at the end of the week. I was not informed until the following week but couldn't be happier. We are making plans now for a September wedding. Steph is still working at Gene Juarez in Bellevue as a human resources and payroll manager and seems to really love her work. Not to be outdone, Duane starts school this quarter as he explores education in the areas of fisheries or wildlife.
Jamie – or as she is known in her acting and modeling circles – Kiana – is off to LA next week to see if she can generate any interest in a collection of agents before whom she will be performing. This passion surfaced last summer after she applied for some number of open auditions held in the Seattle area and we received a phone call. It will be interesting to see where she takes this but it has been very enjoyable to watch her grow. Suzanne has been very busy as the unofficial manager-counselor-driver for this adventure.
In a break from a past tradition of mine, I have decided to summarize the just completed year not in a Christmas letter – given my seeming complete inability to mail cards during that season to say nothing of having almost no one’s address – and start this new year with a brief history of 2011 for your perusal.
Five days into last year, HR called me in to notify me of my termination. My thirteen-year adventure with Phamis / IDX / GE Healthcare came to a sudden stop. To their credit, they kept me on the payroll for a month and handed me a generous severance. To deal with the trauma, I took the next week and with a couple of friends, flew to Mammoth, California to sample the skiing there. I followed that up with visits to every ski area in the state of Washington on a project I called SkiWashington. This was something on my list for years and this year I finally had the opportunity to complete. It was a good winter for skiing.
In addition to severance, I received a chunk of change with which to pursue any educational opportunities and I took a series of classes in project management through the local community college’s adult education branch. After sitting in class for a hundred hours or so, and studying independently for a hundred more I sat for the Project Management Institute’s PMP exam. I was awarded the privilege of adding that initial to my name in August.
During this same time, I wrote up a half dozen television concepts and submitted them for review to various production companies. Although there has been some interest, there has not been any money as yet. I am a difficult person to discourage so I continue this pursuit on the slim chance I will connect with someone who shares my vision and is willing to share their money.
In other writing, I finished my first book – “Working In The Northwest Woods” – and had the first physical copy in hand early in October. I cannot begin to detail what a lot of work goes into such a project. The writing of it is the initial challenge, but there are a whole set of other tasks needed to transform it from a Word document into a book. I am now underway on my next book project, which should be mentioned here this time next year.
2011 was a big travel year. Starting with an easy local jaunt around the Olympic Peninsula and followed with a few outdoor trips that included hiking in the Mt. Rainier and then Mt. Baker areas, we also made several out of state voyages. First, we went to Colorado in June to visit with one of Suzanne’s sisters and her family – Leslie and Pat. While we were there, we also visited with my niece and nephew – Rachel and Craig – who had moved from Brooklyn to Boulder. Then it was off to Hawaii where Liz and Ben were married in a nice beachfront ceremony. Stephanie and Duane finished that week off by getting engaged so we have another wedding coming up later this year. In my capacity as “Reverend Willard”, I performed the ceremony for Liz and Ben and then followed up with another wedding in August for a couple of friends who held their ceremony on a lakeshore at the end of a trail in the Cascades. Fall came with another trip to Colorado, this time by car (more on that in a bit). Then in November, I waded into the freezing waters of Puget Sound and completed my open water scuba certification. A word of advice – do NOT do this in November. Also in November was a trip to New Jersey to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with family there and the annual December trip to Whistler for some outstanding skiing with friends.
A busy year but with many things on the list of completions. A quick update on the status of the various offspring:
Jenney and family are doing well, still living in my hometown of Monett, Mo. Jenney is now in school (again) in a Master’s program for academic advising. The program, through Kansas State University, seems to be highly reputable and she seems highly excited. There is just no stopping this one when it comes to education! The grandkids are well with Josh now at Jenney’s alma mater - Missouri Southern - and the others making their way through dear old Monett High.
Zeke and family remain living in Boise and are still running their now rather well known Idaho Tree Preservation business. The economy has certainly slowed things down but it seems he has managed to carve a unique niche that continues to generate interest and keeps both him and a collection of employees busy. The grandkids here – not so little anymore – continue to challenge both Zeke and Janet as they manage to consume most of the energy and certainly all of the oxygen in whatever room they occupy.
As mentioned earlier, Liz and Ben were married in August on the island of Hawaii in a beautiful sunset, beach front ceremony. It was a very cool event that included a few locals hanging out in the nearby trees drinking beer and watching. They are still living in their house in West Seattle and Liz continues to teach in Federal Way, attempting to survive in the world of publicly funded schools while working on her National Board Certification. Ben is also involved in school and is bact at UW working on his Masters degree.
The other event from Hawaii was the engagement of Stephanie and Duane. He popped the question as the sun set over the glowing crater of Kilauea Volcano while we were all visiting at the end of the week. I was not informed until the following week but couldn't be happier. We are making plans now for a September wedding. Steph is still working at Gene Juarez in Bellevue as a human resources and payroll manager and seems to really love her work. Not to be outdone, Duane starts school this quarter as he explores education in the areas of fisheries or wildlife.
Royce is currently in Colorado working as a snowboard instructor at Breckenridge. Following our first trip there this past year he seemed to have discovered his immediate calling and is living in an apartment with three other guys at the base of the lifts in Breck and enjoying life in the Rockies. This seems to have whetted an unknown appetite for adventure and he spends time talking about all the places he wants to go and things he wants to do. I think we will be getting postcards from not only the edge, but well beyond.
Jamie – or as she is known in her acting and modeling circles – Kiana – is off to LA next week to see if she can generate any interest in a collection of agents before whom she will be performing. This passion surfaced last summer after she applied for some number of open auditions held in the Seattle area and we received a phone call. It will be interesting to see where she takes this but it has been very enjoyable to watch her grow. Suzanne has been very busy as the unofficial manager-counselor-driver for this adventure.
And speaking of Suzanne, she also lost her job last January at the same time as me. However, unlike me, she had not managed to annoy nearly as many important folks in GE management and was offered another position almost immediately, which she continues to excel at. Clearly, she was meant to be in this high tech business and seems to not only do very well at it, but loves it.
And, if you are interested, the various dogs, cats and the Peruvian Pig are all fine.
I hope you have a wonderful, successful and joyous 2012.
