Sunday, April 19, 2009

April 19, 2009 - One of the best weeks ever!


Hey there, hi there and hello there.  Not many weeks can I say that just about everything went right, but this past week, I think I can.  It started off with a celebration of life for my late Grandma with all of my family back home, which is always good to see family.  Then, it just got better from there:)
It was a short 3-day work week coming from back home, but I think we fit about a full week in there anyways!  Wednesday we had our first Policy Service Support Awards Recognition Ceremony with all of the creative awards that we put together ... let's just say, one of the traveling trophies had half an antler rack on it;)  
I worked a bit more on my six sigma project and started tracking some of the stats for the presentation and class next week.  Since working with the CSU SIFE team, I found out they were sponsoring a speaker series featuring the President/CEO of the WD-40 company, Garry Ridge.  
So, I decided it'd be a great idea to have my team attend the event and learn what this Aussie had to say about the importance of values, hard work and "learning moments."  
Everyone on the team commented about how great the event was and I think we really walked away with some good tid-bits of knowledge that we can transfer over to what we do.  This next week at the Duck should be pretty interesting with the unveiling of a new campaign ... let's just say, it should be flap-tastic.
So, today also marks the beginning of National Volunteer Week across the nation.  I've been asked to speak about volunteerism at the annual Tri-County Volunteer Luncheon on Tuesday, which I am stoked about!  
Last week was a great volunteer week as well as we made great progress on the Columbus Heroes Read project to happen on May 2nd.  We now have a TV media partner and I was interviewed by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, so hopefully we'll get some good press for this event with the Literacy Alliance.  
In addition to that, we finally got the En Fuego soccer team back on the pitch after about a month off due to rain.  After a couple of rough practices, we had our first game in about a month on Saturday ... and what do you know, we pulled off a big "W" with a 1-0 shut out.  Not only did the kids win, but they had a blast and played their little hearts out, I was very proud.  We have another couple of games in the next couple of days, so keep your fingers crossed that they keep playing hard:)
We also won our co-ed soccer game on Wednesday with a goal and a few assists from yours truly ... and I didn't even get a card!  This week is also my final week of preparation for the District 14 Toastmasters International Speech contest in the ATL ... wish me luck!
All that right there would've been great enough of a week ... but, like the title of the blog says, 
this week was one of the best ever so let's keep going.  As of Thursday, the bank that held the home at 605 Sonoma Court in Columbus, GA had counter-offered my original offer ... and I accepted!  
It's an absolutely gorgeous three year old 3 bed/2 bath home in a fantastically nice/convenient neighborhood nestled near a sweet park.  You can check out the video at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfZDErUyIGY).  Jenny and I are very excited, so we're hoping to close no later than June 15th ... what an exciting piece of news I must say ... yes, house warming parties will ensue after appliances are placed, surround sound is set and paint is well, repainted:)
And to top off the week, my best friend Ryan and good pal Jenna Flugum (who both happened to be married to each other) stopped down for a wondermous weekend.  They dropped by on Thursday night and enjoyed the Dinglewood delicacy of a scramble dog for lunch followed by BBQ in the even and a great movie, State of Play (would highly recommend this one).  Saturday we went around and looked at appliances, 
TVs and picked up some fishing tackle before heading off to Flat Rock Park for some fishing.  We almost caught a fish this BIG, but it got away;)  
After some chillaxin' at the park, the Gump family were there to witness the first En Fuego victory of the year.  After the game, we drove up to Atlanta for a night at Dave & Busters.  Which if you have not been, it's basically an adult Chuck E Cheese's.  We played a good bit of pool, ate some good grub and then headed off to the game room for some skeet ball, basketball, Area 51 and of course we had to try our hand at the dropping-claw-in-the-sea-of-stuffed-animals game.  And yes, we won ... back to back to back fluffy animals!
That night we stayed at the Double Tree (which was by far the best $60 hotel of all-time with the most comfy beds and warm cookies:).  Today we woke up and ventured at about Atlanta and the mall before heading to the Atlanta Zoo.  It was a great time to see the elephants, giraffes, panda bears, lions and yes, we even saw an orangutan Buddha, it was amazing.  
I can't thank you two enough for coming down to spend some time with an old roommate.  You both are amazing and the best friends a guy could ask for ... thanks and can't wait to see you again.
Well, there it is ... one of the best weeks ever!  And now, I start on another great week that could be just as good because it will be capped off with a visit from Dad and Barb, what more could a guy ask for!
Thank you all for everything and I wish you a wondermous week!
Alwayz,
Nate

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