From the Dek 6/16/2008

This morning I went into work around 8:45 because I had to make some final adjustments on the video for the Summer Training to make the presentation go smoother. I finished that, burned it off to disc, and then headed into work. I got there and found that Mike had brought me a "toy" to play with. He brought a writing pad that converts your drawing strokes onto an graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator. It also acts as a mouse, which I tried using briefly, but found that it would take longer than I had to get used to it at a functional level. You can see an example of my artistic abilities by the picture to the left. (There is a reason why I manipulate graphics that already exist instead of drawing them...cause I can't really draw well at all). I soon gave up on playing with the new tool and abandoned it to get some real work done. I had a long list of emails to send to the mailing house, the catalog printers, a local printer, and Chris to keep her in the loop with everything that was going on. It took me almost until 12:00 to communicate everything with everybody. I took a short lunch break and then finished working on the logistics of picking up the leftover catalogs and BTS flyers that would remain at the mail house after we mail out the quantities needed. Once I got everything that had to be done today wrapped up it was almost 3:00.

I left work and headed home to change into comfortable clothes before heading down the road a bit to First Baptist Atlanta to unload the truck and set-up for the Summer Training Seminar tomorrow and Wednesday. I arrived easily as I remembered how to get there from last year's sessions. I arrived and along with a couple of the workers from the warehouse we unloaded the six pallets of products and samples in just over an hour. I then played tech support for Kenny and Aimee as they were preparing to rehears their class on Customer Service. It seems that my formal training in soundboards and other AV instruments proved valuable on this day as I was able to connect the laptop to the projector and the sound board. I did a last sweep of the hallways to make sure all the boxes were in their correct place and then I headed over to the Holiday Inn to meet my Knoxville School Box friends.

They had come down earlier and were glad to see me. I picked up my bag I left in Knoxville that Bobby brought to me and we all talked for a bit catching up on what new and exciting things were going on in my life. We all decided to go over to the Perimeter Mall and walk around for a while. After traversing the two levels and what seemed like miles of stores we loaded back up in Sue's van and made a stop at Olive Garden for dinner. The service was good as was the food and company. I got caught up on how everyone in the Knoxville store was doing and then we ate to our heats' content. We drove back to the hotel where I picked up my car and headed home for the evening. I worked briefly on video editing in an attempt to prevent falling further behind, but I didn't get much accomplished. I tried to force myself to go to bed a little early tonight as I was picking up Stacy, Corey, and Leslie at the Box at 7am to ride down to the Summer Training together. I didn't fall asleep as quickly as I had hoped, but it was still earlier then usual.

Meditation for the day: "The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature." ~Anne Frank