Sunday, August 17, 2008

August 17, 2008 - Happy bday Dad & thanks Hazza/Richard







Hey there, hi there and hello there all. I know it's a bit late in the evening, but I just arrived back home from a wondermous weekend in Savannah, GA. First off, happy birthday dad ... glad you enjoyed the collage and hope you had a good time with the fam and grandparents!



I've come to terms with the fact that work is just going to be Crazy Busy (good book by the way) for at least the next month ... or year:) We had a good bit more of business planning this past week and it turns out our boss-man was very well-prepared for his presentation on Thursday ... but of course, changes need to be made! I was a bit disappointed to learn that a project profile that I worked on for a good week creating and revising got cut pretty much before the meeting started; bush league! Our team has taken on more and more projects and this past week was a very productive week for everyone on the team, it was pretty uplifting I must say. I did get to have the first goal session with the new gal on our team Connie, and she is going to be awesome. She has a very positive outlook on life through all of the circumstances/challenges and it appears that she is very appreciative of the opportunity. I also was asked to help get the new SIFE crew acclimated, especially Alisha in Policy Services. I talked with both her and Patrick and it appears that their first week was a success, so hopefully they can begin to become fully engaged and on some meaningful projects here in the near future.



This week Jason and I also had a breakthrough with the professor from CSU. He emailed me for lunch and it looks like all of our efforts are finally going to pay off as he is starting up the SIFE team back at CSU. We get to go "motivate" his class on Thursday, and possibly two other classes next week. He's making SIFE 10% of their grade and encouraging them to come up with creative projects so it looks to be a great success thus far; I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also had a great opportunity to work with the Hands on the Valley crew and the government filming channel. They were doing a showcase for Hands on Georgia week and Terri, from United Way, asked if I would be the featured volunteer. We shot a half hour long program that will run throughout the rest of the month and part of September ... it was wicked cool if I do say so myself!



Best part of the week though was booking a trip to Savannah, GA. I've been here for a year and never ventured to the historical landmark, so after I learned that a couple pals from across the pond would be stopping through I found a great excuse to go. I met Harry & Richard when I did my European tour two years ago and they were so kind to put Casey and myself up at the end of the tour when we stayed in England a couple more days. I told them if they ever came over to the states, I would meet up with them ... so Friday night I drove four hours to Savannah. Unfortunately, their Greyhound Bus did not get in until Saturday night so I just chilled in the city by myself. I had some amazing seafood and jumped on a haunted tour called "Ghosts and Gravestones." It was pretty interesting to ride in a trolley through the haunted historic district at night. Then I hung out a bit on the Riverfront which is very peaceful and serene. Next day I woke up to take a day tour of all of the sights, including where the movie Forrest Gump was shot (yes, that is me impersonating Forrest, Forrest Gump). The whole city is made up of these historically preserved squares and buildings, quite fascinating indeed. They had an immaculate Cathedral and great shops all up and down the City Market and Riverfront ... including the most delicious freshly made praline and taffy, scrumtrulescent. Then I headed out to Tybee Island for a bit of fun in the sun before the boys arrived. We went and chilled on the Riverfront before a wonderful meal including fried green tomatoes, okra and the best tilapia I've ever had. It was a pretty relaxed night and today we headed over to Hilton Head Island. We made a pit stop at the Legends putt putt course and since they have no Wendy's in England, Harry fancied stopping to have a world famous Baconator! We hung out at the beach and kicked the ball around a bit before hopping in the water only minutes later all three of us were stung by something, we said a jellyfish because it makes for a good story! After we made the trip back, it was pretty much time for the good-byes. They're continuing on to Orlando, Tampa and Miami so I gave them some pointers for Disney World and how to spot Tigger and the gang. They were pretty excited to hear about the Animal Kingdom, so I think they should have a great time. Thanks for a great time guys and wonderful stories, hopefully our paths cross again in the future ... stay in touch.



That's about all that I could pack into one week I suppose. I've started a new book, "What got you here, won't get you there" so I will share a pretty darn good quote with you ... "When we do what we choose to do, we are committed. When we do what we have to do, we are compliant." Try to find those things in your life that you choose to do, that is truly when you will be happy and you'll never walk through life just being complacent with what is going on.



Best wishes,



Nate

No comments: