From the Desk 6/24/2008

Today I got up at 6:00am to get some extra time working on video editing. I managed to import all the files into the project and lay down the opening footage and menu backgrounds and music before I had to go to work. I worked on various project throughout the day, with the main focus being on finding data plotting software to help analyze our customers' locations on our mailing list. It was slow going mainly because most of the services out there either do not allow for the level of customization that we are looking for or they are way too expensive. I did manage to find a couple of sites that would let me download trial versions of the programs to play with and see if they would meet our needs. I also worked on a bit more printing for the new teacher letters for Leland to pick up mid-July.

For lunch today we went to Willy's in honor of Carmen's last day before her vacation. It was great food as usual and it was good to laugh for almost a solid hour too! I returned to work and then struggled to stay awake due to my early start to the day. I assembled and laminated new headers for the 3-ring binder displays in a small effort to make sure all our racks have signs before BTS. I also spent a good deal of time sifting through the multiple offers for sponsorships, donations, and advertising that I have received over the last week. The flow of these offers seems to come in waves about every three months. I also knew that once Chris and Dave returned to the office, there would be limited time to spend dealing with these things since we now need to turn our focus to Back-to-School Sales, the next catalog mailing, and fourth quarter planning. I left the office shortly before 5:00pm to run to Target on my way home.

I picked up a case of bottled water and the new release movie "Definitely, Maybe" on DVD. I went home and immediately began working on editing the wedding videos. I managed to get about 3/4 of the way through the ceremony and then I needed to eat a quick bite and get ready before my company came over. Christina came over around 8:00 to watch the new movie I picked up earlier. We watched the movie and I must admit that it was one of the better movies I have seen lately. It has most of the same elements of your typical romantic comedy, but it also threw in lots of serious moments with some underlying tones of the harshness of life at times. I walked Christina to her car and then returned to video editing in an effort to push through my sleepiness to make some more progress. I managed to finish the ceremony and all I had to do was to set the menu links in the morning before burning it off to DVD. I went to sleep smiling about the movie, thinking of the quotes I could use in the next few days before I slipped into a deep sleep.

Meditation for the day: Jeremiah 23:24 “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.”