Posts
7 years ago
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Family history find
Thanks to Bri and Grant for this great find on the migration on the Atkinson family to America: http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:account/id:227/keywords:Atkinson+Alfred#.UQV4T2t5mSP
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Catching up - how time flies
I just noticed that my last post was over a year ago. I guess Facebook is taking its toll on the blog authorship. Anyway, I thought I'd got down a few notes on a Sunday afternoon, particularly after attending our Elder Quorum activity last night, on the subject of Family History. There were quite a few very interesting stories shared, and some surprises, like one of our members is related to Pocahontas, or at least her husband. Anyway, on to catching up my personal history . . .
Last May, I lost my job of 6 years with Akamai Technology. I was sad to leave the company, but not so sad to leave the latest group I had been placed in after the most recent reorganization. It had never felt like a good fit, and even though I still enjoyed working with many of the same customers, the internal camaraderie or esprit de corps had been shattered by long distance relationships with people never met face to face. A lot of this was due to the extremely restricted travel policy. In fact, the first face-to-face meeting I had with my new team was my last, after more than a year of working with them.
I went on unemployment and began my job search. I focused on getting a job locally in Vancouver/Portland area, then Seattle area, and also Utah, so we could be closer to family. I had a few interviews with the LDS Church, but nothing that panned out. Finally, I got an offer from Metasys Technologies, Inc., as a contracting company, with the client AT&T in Redmond WA. I have worked there now for three months. My contractor position however, due to an internal reorg of the at&t leadership, was converted to a full time position. As such, the position was opened up to public and other internal at&t employees, and I will be in competition with all of them to keep this job. The full time position, however, will have benefits that I do not currently have as a contractor, which will be very nice for the support of the family.
We are still living in Vancouver, but if this new full time position with at&t becomes a reality, we will likely reconsider moving to the Seattle area, likely renting a house, rather than buying again.
Last May, I lost my job of 6 years with Akamai Technology. I was sad to leave the company, but not so sad to leave the latest group I had been placed in after the most recent reorganization. It had never felt like a good fit, and even though I still enjoyed working with many of the same customers, the internal camaraderie or esprit de corps had been shattered by long distance relationships with people never met face to face. A lot of this was due to the extremely restricted travel policy. In fact, the first face-to-face meeting I had with my new team was my last, after more than a year of working with them.
I went on unemployment and began my job search. I focused on getting a job locally in Vancouver/Portland area, then Seattle area, and also Utah, so we could be closer to family. I had a few interviews with the LDS Church, but nothing that panned out. Finally, I got an offer from Metasys Technologies, Inc., as a contracting company, with the client AT&T in Redmond WA. I have worked there now for three months. My contractor position however, due to an internal reorg of the at&t leadership, was converted to a full time position. As such, the position was opened up to public and other internal at&t employees, and I will be in competition with all of them to keep this job. The full time position, however, will have benefits that I do not currently have as a contractor, which will be very nice for the support of the family.
We are still living in Vancouver, but if this new full time position with at&t becomes a reality, we will likely reconsider moving to the Seattle area, likely renting a house, rather than buying again.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Power 90 progress
I'm not going to gross you all out with my before and after pics (well, maybe the after), but Matt and I are both doing the Power 90 program. Day 8 today, and down 4 lbs. Glad David K. recommended p90 before p90x. I have a friend that tried p90x and said he couldn't even do the warm up exercises. Hope to be ready for that in 90+ days. Heather does p90x. It is obviously working for her.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Holidays and a New Year
Well the tree is down, and most of the Christmas decorations are put away. The dafodills are shooting through the soil to see when Winter is over. I just noticed that I haven't posted since the end of Summer.
Akamai has kept me really busy through the pre-holiday and holiday season. We had lots of retail customers that needed help this year with distributed denial of service attacks that Akamai is uniquely in a position to help with. This kept us very busy, even beyond the normal seasonal business as eCommerce prepares for black Friday and Cyber-Monday (which this year was like M-F of the week after Thanksgiving). As of the new year, I'll be focusing more with the strategic larger accounts for Akamai in the eCommerce group, Western Region. Akamai has been hiring like crazy trying to keep up with the demand, and it is difficult to find the kind of people that can be successful in the Professional Services: Solutions Architect and Technical Project Manager roles.
Last weekend I drove to Provo to deliver the truck Kristi bought from the Azar's in the 1st ward. She has been looking for a truck for some time, and when Jason said he had a new car and was looking to sell, I jumped on the opportunity and then got the truck ready for her. For a 1991, it is in remarkably good shape and had a great sound system, and was a steal at the price he offered it, even after repairs that nearly equaled the purchase price. This should serve KristiAnne well in snow country, and provide great utility for a college student with lots of stuff to haul around. All in all a very sensible choice, and the delivery gave me an opportunity to visit with her, the Zabrikies, the Mathers, Andy and Eliane's Family, and the Hokansens while in the Utah/SLC valleys.
Mom just broke her leg two days ago, so I may be going back to Utah if needed to help out, as she gets out of the hospital on Monday if all goes well. Scott and Heidi are there now helping Dad out with the logistics and support. Thanks to Holly and Terri for letting everyone know via phone calls. We had a very quick gathering of the extended family to pray for Mom's successful surgery and the Lord blessed her and the surgeons with a successful out-come.
Akamai has kept me really busy through the pre-holiday and holiday season. We had lots of retail customers that needed help this year with distributed denial of service attacks that Akamai is uniquely in a position to help with. This kept us very busy, even beyond the normal seasonal business as eCommerce prepares for black Friday and Cyber-Monday (which this year was like M-F of the week after Thanksgiving). As of the new year, I'll be focusing more with the strategic larger accounts for Akamai in the eCommerce group, Western Region. Akamai has been hiring like crazy trying to keep up with the demand, and it is difficult to find the kind of people that can be successful in the Professional Services: Solutions Architect and Technical Project Manager roles.
Last weekend I drove to Provo to deliver the truck Kristi bought from the Azar's in the 1st ward. She has been looking for a truck for some time, and when Jason said he had a new car and was looking to sell, I jumped on the opportunity and then got the truck ready for her. For a 1991, it is in remarkably good shape and had a great sound system, and was a steal at the price he offered it, even after repairs that nearly equaled the purchase price. This should serve KristiAnne well in snow country, and provide great utility for a college student with lots of stuff to haul around. All in all a very sensible choice, and the delivery gave me an opportunity to visit with her, the Zabrikies, the Mathers, Andy and Eliane's Family, and the Hokansens while in the Utah/SLC valleys.
Mom just broke her leg two days ago, so I may be going back to Utah if needed to help out, as she gets out of the hospital on Monday if all goes well. Scott and Heidi are there now helping Dad out with the logistics and support. Thanks to Holly and Terri for letting everyone know via phone calls. We had a very quick gathering of the extended family to pray for Mom's successful surgery and the Lord blessed her and the surgeons with a successful out-come.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
August is half over . . .
It's been a great summer so far as it draws to the end.
We got a good start on the deck refinishing. Matt and I have got all the sanding done and are mostly ready to paint. We had to replace a couple of 12' boards due to dry rot this year. They are $10 a piece. That brings the cost in lumber alone for the deck to over $2000. Knowning that makes me feel a little better about painting these old boards to preserve them a little longer. Last year's got rain before the paint cured and got all pocked up. We are hoping to paint on Labor Day weekend as a family. This year we are adding antislip strips to the high traffic paths that get slick when it rains, and also to keep Koda from scratching them up so much as he runs in and out. Its amazing what dog claws can do to a deck, particularly an old deck that is getting a little soft.
I helped with cub scout camp this year as a volunteer, going up on Friday, and then staying through the picnic at the end. It was very fun to see all the cub activities, like the water bottle rockets. They sure do make it fun for the boys. They also LOVE going to the trading post with a little money in their pockets to exchange for trinkets and junk food. Not much nutitional value there. We had a lunch packed, but Johnie left it on the kitchen counter, where I though it was in his backpack (teach me to double check), so at lunch, John and I abscounded to McDonalds (which I later found out is NOT acceptable without checking your cub scout out at the admin table). John tried to warn me, but I thought they couldn't have a problem with me taking my own kid to lunch . . . WRONG. I also found out that it is not acceptable to take a pocket knife and whittle on your walking stick at a cub camp. Something about blood circles, being a bad example for the boys, not displaying a toting chip, etc. I just put the knife away and smiled. The cubs all loved my wood spirit carved into my walking stick (at least as far as it was done to that point anyway). It is a work in progress I started on a slow fishing trip to Payson Lakes in the Utah Uinta mountains on the Mt. Nebo scenic loop. Fishing was great, catching somewhat less great. Appearently, only the very early or very late day fisherman catch there during the summer cause the shallow lakes get too hot and the fish pout in the deepest coolest holes they can find when the suns out. So, anyway, found this great stick that reminded me of Gandalf's staff in LOTRs Trilogy and just started carving a wood spirit into it, and that is the staff I was carving at cub camp.
Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary at Bear Lake was awesome. Bryan created a very cool slide show that had pics of Mom's family I had never seen. Aunt Helen had shared some of her archives with us. There were also some great family pics of all the siblings as newlyweds (when we were all good looking and much more fit that we are now). Rodney and I got lots of hoot calls (I guess folks don't think we look much like those photos anymore).
I have now lost over 40 lbs. My lipids and thyroid all came back in normal ranges (thank you Dr. Aldanda and "The culprit and the cure"). I continue to loose about 2 lbs a week - more during vacation when we could exercise more (hows that for a switch).
Traci and I have been invited to hunt on the Navaho reservation with Bryan and DeAnza in October. We are SOOOOO looking forward to this. Our hunt will be with telephoto lenses, capturing the hunting action and the wildlife, and enjoying nature. Bryan and Dee did not draw tags this year, so will also be on the sidelines, but will still teach us about the hunt and how to clean and dress the game (we plan to hunt to eat, not for sport, when and if we ever get to hunt on our own).
Matt is going back to public school this fall. He wants to try out for the swimming team, and experience the social scene at Skyview. His education will not be as tailored as it have been at VHC, but, it will be good for him to see how the rest of his peers have been doing it. I am worried about the abrupt change in social environment, but Matt is now nearly my height, and trained in martial arts, so I think he will fair better than before in public school.
Kristi is finishing up her bachloriate from BYUi remotely. She moves to Provo in a couple of weeks and will be living and working there while she decides if BYU is the right place for her Masters.
Hazel Dell ward is starting to shape up. Most positions have now been called. Folks are learning their duty. Home teaching is way down, but will improve as folks get back from summer persuits. We couldn't even get appointments with our families in July. August is looking better already.
We got a good start on the deck refinishing. Matt and I have got all the sanding done and are mostly ready to paint. We had to replace a couple of 12' boards due to dry rot this year. They are $10 a piece. That brings the cost in lumber alone for the deck to over $2000. Knowning that makes me feel a little better about painting these old boards to preserve them a little longer. Last year's got rain before the paint cured and got all pocked up. We are hoping to paint on Labor Day weekend as a family. This year we are adding antislip strips to the high traffic paths that get slick when it rains, and also to keep Koda from scratching them up so much as he runs in and out. Its amazing what dog claws can do to a deck, particularly an old deck that is getting a little soft.
I helped with cub scout camp this year as a volunteer, going up on Friday, and then staying through the picnic at the end. It was very fun to see all the cub activities, like the water bottle rockets. They sure do make it fun for the boys. They also LOVE going to the trading post with a little money in their pockets to exchange for trinkets and junk food. Not much nutitional value there. We had a lunch packed, but Johnie left it on the kitchen counter, where I though it was in his backpack (teach me to double check), so at lunch, John and I abscounded to McDonalds (which I later found out is NOT acceptable without checking your cub scout out at the admin table). John tried to warn me, but I thought they couldn't have a problem with me taking my own kid to lunch . . . WRONG. I also found out that it is not acceptable to take a pocket knife and whittle on your walking stick at a cub camp. Something about blood circles, being a bad example for the boys, not displaying a toting chip, etc. I just put the knife away and smiled. The cubs all loved my wood spirit carved into my walking stick (at least as far as it was done to that point anyway). It is a work in progress I started on a slow fishing trip to Payson Lakes in the Utah Uinta mountains on the Mt. Nebo scenic loop. Fishing was great, catching somewhat less great. Appearently, only the very early or very late day fisherman catch there during the summer cause the shallow lakes get too hot and the fish pout in the deepest coolest holes they can find when the suns out. So, anyway, found this great stick that reminded me of Gandalf's staff in LOTRs Trilogy and just started carving a wood spirit into it, and that is the staff I was carving at cub camp.
Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary at Bear Lake was awesome. Bryan created a very cool slide show that had pics of Mom's family I had never seen. Aunt Helen had shared some of her archives with us. There were also some great family pics of all the siblings as newlyweds (when we were all good looking and much more fit that we are now). Rodney and I got lots of hoot calls (I guess folks don't think we look much like those photos anymore).
I have now lost over 40 lbs. My lipids and thyroid all came back in normal ranges (thank you Dr. Aldanda and "The culprit and the cure"). I continue to loose about 2 lbs a week - more during vacation when we could exercise more (hows that for a switch).
Traci and I have been invited to hunt on the Navaho reservation with Bryan and DeAnza in October. We are SOOOOO looking forward to this. Our hunt will be with telephoto lenses, capturing the hunting action and the wildlife, and enjoying nature. Bryan and Dee did not draw tags this year, so will also be on the sidelines, but will still teach us about the hunt and how to clean and dress the game (we plan to hunt to eat, not for sport, when and if we ever get to hunt on our own).
Matt is going back to public school this fall. He wants to try out for the swimming team, and experience the social scene at Skyview. His education will not be as tailored as it have been at VHC, but, it will be good for him to see how the rest of his peers have been doing it. I am worried about the abrupt change in social environment, but Matt is now nearly my height, and trained in martial arts, so I think he will fair better than before in public school.
Kristi is finishing up her bachloriate from BYUi remotely. She moves to Provo in a couple of weeks and will be living and working there while she decides if BYU is the right place for her Masters.
Hazel Dell ward is starting to shape up. Most positions have now been called. Folks are learning their duty. Home teaching is way down, but will improve as folks get back from summer persuits. We couldn't even get appointments with our families in July. August is looking better already.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Elder's Quorum IceCream Social
Saturday we hosted the new Hazel Dell Ward's Elder's Quorum for an Ice Cream social. We've had two weeks of rain, pretty much non-stop. Enough to seriously injure (over watering) many of the veggies growing in our garden. The back yard was a little bit of a quagmire, with even the grass covered spots sinking into mud when stepped on. So, to prepare for the social and generally improve accessibility to the pool and the trampoline, we dug paths clear of the sod and then covered them with pea gravel that drains the waters more quickly (like a french drain).
Friday, the weather cleared and the yard started to dry out, and then Saturday was like we had custom ordered the weather for the party. It hit a peak of 83 degrees just in time for the party, and the pool water warmed up to 70 degrees. Not quite the 79 that makes for comfortable swimming, but tolerable for a short period of time. That didn't stop Anne from swimming most of the day.
We had most of the EQ Presidency from 3 to 5 PM, and some other families dropped in from 5 to 8. The missionaries even stopped by. We enjoyed root beer floats, watermelon, and when the YSA's Lake Merwin boat outing's boat broke, several of the YSA came to the party and brought hot dogs. Misti got some hamburgers and S'mores supplies and we fed all that were here at 7 PM. Then all gathered around the fire pit for stories and S'mores. We even got our new neighbors to come visit over some S'mores in the evening. All in all a very enjoyable evening.
Friday, the weather cleared and the yard started to dry out, and then Saturday was like we had custom ordered the weather for the party. It hit a peak of 83 degrees just in time for the party, and the pool water warmed up to 70 degrees. Not quite the 79 that makes for comfortable swimming, but tolerable for a short period of time. That didn't stop Anne from swimming most of the day.
We had most of the EQ Presidency from 3 to 5 PM, and some other families dropped in from 5 to 8. The missionaries even stopped by. We enjoyed root beer floats, watermelon, and when the YSA's Lake Merwin boat outing's boat broke, several of the YSA came to the party and brought hot dogs. Misti got some hamburgers and S'mores supplies and we fed all that were here at 7 PM. Then all gathered around the fire pit for stories and S'mores. We even got our new neighbors to come visit over some S'mores in the evening. All in all a very enjoyable evening.
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