From the Desk 5/19/2008

Today I arrived at work planning to spend just a little bit of time to finish up the video, but I was wrong. I completed the changes Dave and I talked about yesterday and then finalized the project and burned it to disk. It played fine, but it took longer than I expected. I left for lunch with the group at 11:00 to take part in a welcome back Stacy lunch. We went to Panda Express, and this is the first one I have been to that was a stand-alone restaurant instead of being in a mall. It was decorated very nicely inside with lots of light-colored wood and stainless steel fixtures that gave the restaurant an upscale appearance without the price tag that usually accompanies it. We returned to work, full of fried rice and orange chicken.

When I returned to my desk I begin putting the final touches on the DVD menu before rendering the video and burning it to disc. I finished the project at 2:00 and then called the lady at Mount Paran Christian School to come by and pick it up for a final test on their system at the school. I had a little bit of time to catch up on stuff that I had let drop since I started working on the video project. I sifted though some emails and added things to my current projects list. I spent the majority of my afternoon working on creating a new flyer for the Knox County New Teacher Academy Graduates. This was the first coupon that I followed my newly created checklist for coupon design sheet that is prominently featured on my bulletin board to ensure that I don't forget any vital elements. I also used a free barcode generator online to make the coupon scannable and therefore easier to track in the point of sale system. In order to make this work, I had to create a new item and then attach the quick-entry number from our system to the barcode generated online. Once that was done I saved the image and then added it to the coupon I created in Photoshop. I placed all of the elements into InDesign and then created the final version for approval by Sue, our Knoxville Sales Rep. It took longer to get all the settings right on the coupon item in our system so when I was finished it was 5:00 and time to leave for the day.

I went home for a few minutes and then got a call from Stacy as to our dinner plans. I stopped off at the Papa John's en route to Stacy's to pick up a pizza for Stacy, Leslie, and I. I arrived at Stacy's a little before Leslie, and used my extra time to talk to Hickey about this weekend when he comes down for a visit. We ate and drank until we had consumed everything in sight. After dinner, we found ourselves searching online looking at wedding dresses (not my idea of course) and then found that we still wanted to hang out. So we made the quick call to go to Marlow's for some French fries and drinks. I had never been to Marlow's before but it looked like a good place so I agreed to drive us there. We arrived, already in a silly mood as we all tried to take pictures of the yellow moon that seemed closer than normal, and were all unsuccessful. (Otherwise I would have posted a picture here for you to ooh and ahh over) Marlow's is a very classy looking place outside and in. We sat at the bar and I must admit that it was the only time I have seen someone order French fries with some wine. I stuck to my Coke and Woodford Reserve as I am too picky about my wines to pay money for something I might not like. We watched some of the NBA Playoff game between the Spurs and the Hornets. We realized it was about 10:15 and we needed to head home so we could get some sleep before hitting the grind again tomorrow. After Leslie realized that she left her cell phone sitting on the bar at Marlow's and I ran in a picked it up for her (after leaving her a funny message on the way in) we left to return to Stacy's house. The ride home was equally as entertaining as the trip there. We all took part in singing (though Stacy was the only one dancing) in whatever songs came on my iPod mix. There were also some jokes made in reference to the present that I bought for Leslie's birthday, but I will leave those out as you had to be there to understand them…in context. I dropped Stacy and Leslie off at their cars and then drove home to crash for the night. Laughing non-stop for almost 4 hours will tire a person out.

Meditation for the day: Romans 15:5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”