Convention Time

Right up front, I'm going to tell you that I'm stealing the title of this blog from my friend, Sherry, who has her on blog and wrote about attending a floral design convention in Louisville.

Similarly, I've been on the land surveyors convention circuit lately.

It started here in Indianapolis with the convention of the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors where I was sworn in as the new president. The week started with a Board of Directors dinner on Tuesday night and ended on Friday afternoon. To say the least, I was worn out by the time our convention was over.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the convention of the Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio. It started on Thursday and finished Saturday but I came home Friday evening. Being the frugal person that I am, I thought I'd get up and out the door Thursday morning at 4:30 a.m. to arrive in Columbus at 7:30. And it worked well. I was, indeed, there by 7:30 and enjoyed my two days there. I felt a little bit like a fish out of water as I didn't know anyone there but enjoyed some great seminars.

This past week, I was invited to the Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyors in Lexington. Same setup - Thursday through Saturday but again I came home Friday night. I really enjoyed my time there, was able to meet a few of the presidents from adjoining states and several surveyors from Indiana were there as well. The seminars were good - the food was great! The trip there didn't quite work out as well as I had planned. Leaving at 4:30 a.m. again, the roads were snow-covered and slower than normal. At about 5:35 a semi jacknifed in front of me, leaving his cab in the median and his trailer across both lanes of traffic. I was at a dead stop for about an hour and 20 minutes waiting for the tow truck to move him. Needless to say, I missed the opening sessions on Thursday.

Certainly it's great to be back home with the convention season over so I can concentrate more on home and work.

And to get some rest!

I'm Not Worthy!

I've been very busy over the last month trying to prepare myself as I become the president of the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors next week. Today I had a meeting with the past president, the current president and the 2009 president-elect to iron out agendas for the coming year and to share knowledge with one another about the many items that are currently "in the works" for the society.

In our membership roster is a chronological listing of the past presidents of the society. I've read over the list several times recently and am always amazed at the great men (no, no women yet) that have presided over our society. I've been fortunate enough to know some of them and have seen surveys performed by many of them. I'd be lying if I told you that I've accomplished half as much as most of these guys. I certainly feel honored and most definitely humbled to have been chosen to lead our great society.

What I'm Thankful For

I was reading an article today about investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway fame. In this Thanksgiving season, I'm really thankful that I've not lost near as much money in the stock market as he has. Believe it or not, Buffett has lost 13.6 BILLION dollars this year! If I'd lost that much, I'd be owing somebody about 13.599999999 billion dollars.

I'm pretty sure he's not downsizing his turkey for tomorrow - he's still worth $48.1 billion.

Being a big fan of the Oracle of Omaha, I've noticed that he's been buying stocks for the last few weeks so he must think a turnaround in the stock market must be in sight. Of course the Dow, NASDAQ and the S&P are all down nearly 50% for the year. Think about it for a second: If you went to the supermarket and everything was 50% off, wouldn't you be stocking up, too?

Now to what I'm really thankful for: A great family. Outstanding friends. Lessons learned from my parents about the value of hard work. Enjoying coming to work. Knowing that my kids are going to be tremendous adults. The ability to help others in need. Good health.

The list could go on and on. I've truly had a blessed life.

For Men Only

I noticed on the MSN homepage today that there was a link to an article about 100 Things Every Man Should Know How To Do. Thinking I'm pretty handy around the house and growing up with a dad who could fix anything and a mother who cooked, sewed and generally ran a tight house, I figured I'd surely ace this thing. I only know how to do 77 of them.

Here's the link to the story.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/bigger-picture/articlepm.aspx?cp-documentid=11258170&GT1=32001

Let me know how many of them you're able to do. By the way, I was disappointed that "filet a fish" was not on the list!

My Brush with Greatness

I had written about my daughter's chance meeting with Paula Abdul. Honestly, I was a bit jealous because I never meet anyone famous or even semi-famous. Okay, there was the one night I saw Peyton Manning in the men's restroom at the Murat Theater in downtown Indianapolis but looking at a guy while standing at the urinal is generally frowned upon so we just won't mention it.

Anyway, every once in a while I work concessions at a Colts, Pacers or Indianapolis Indians game to raise money for my daughter's dance. It's not a bad deal - sell a little food, a little beer and collect money to help pay for her costumes and lessons. This past Saturday night we were prepping the stand and food when a tall older gentleman walked up to the counter and asked if we had any coffee ready yet. I got him a cup, he paid me and as he walked away, nearly everyone in the stand yelled "Boom Baby!". It was Bobby "Slick" Leonard - former coach of the Pacers in the ABA days and current color man on the Pacers radio broadcasts.

Charlie's Angels

Since my oldest son, Kyle, has been singing a capella music for the past few years, I've become a big fan. A few of Kyle's friends graduated last year and moved on to Ball State University. They've now formed an a capella group there, Charlie's Angels.

The name comes from the fact that the Ball State mascot is a cardinal named............you guessed it.........Charlie. Anyway, here's a shameless plug for them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXuhpLOxnU

Also, if anyone likes this music, check out Straight No Chaser. SNC started as an a capella group at Indiana University and the group still exists. Anyway, most of the original guys in SNC were recently signed to an Atlantic Records contract and just put out their first CD, "Holiday Spirits". Their most well-known song "12 Days of Christmas" can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Hope you enjoy it!

Life with Libby

My good friend, Shelley, has her own blog that she's much better at keeping up-to-date than I am with mine. Being much more computer-experienced than myself, she has her blog arranged by different categories. One such category is titled "Life with Libby" where she writes about her relationship with her brown lab, Libby. Every time I see that category, however, I always think of my 13-year old daughter, Libby. Feel free to browse through Shelley's blog here: http://whatifitdid.com/

The past few days my kids have been on Fall Break and my wife is in New Orleans on business so I decided to take a few days off just to hang around the house with the kids. Now, if you've ever had a teenage daughter, you'll understand when I say that they're not always easy to deal with.

My wife left early Wednesday morning and won't be returning until mid-day Saturday. We've talked on the phone every day and I find it interesting that she asks the same question every day: "How was Libby? Have you killed her yet?" You'll be happy to know that we've actually gotten along very well in spite of her moodiness and haven't had a single confrontation yet. Yes, I'm surprised, too! Hopefully, we're rounding the corner on all this puberty stuff and she'll actually become somewhat likeable in the very near future. Of course, I'm not really holding my breath as my soon-t0-be 15-year old son is still driving my wife and I completely crazy!

And for those of you who are wondering: Yes, we did eat some meals at home. Yes, the dishes have been done. Yes, the house is recognizable. Yes, the kids did get everywhere they were supposed to be. And most importantly, yes we are ready for my wife to come home!