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Travel has been pretty intense through June and July…

• San Diego, CA (Post graduation trip with the family)
• Pittsburgh / Steubenville, Ohio (Franciscan University Youth conference)
• Kansas City / Atchison, Kansas (Benedictine College for LTLC)
• Prescott, AZ (Camp Tepeyac)
• San Diego, CA (Family Vacation)
• Hiawassee, GA (Family Visit with parents)
• Atlanta, GA (Steubenville Youth Conference)
• Tiger, GA (Family at Camp Covecrest)

I don’t know if there will be time to reflect on the experiences that I had in each of those places. I’ve got plenty of stories and cool photos, but not enough time to collect them into a blog. It’s a good thing that Candyce has a blog too.  Soon she will stack her blog with photos and sweet memories.

This recent 2-week vacation to Georgia (we got back a couple days ago) was really good for our family. I got to spend a lot of time with my daughters, with Candyce, my parents, sisters, brothers, and my grandmother. I also spent a lot of time with teenagers (2500 at Steubenville, 220 at camp) who benefit from my hard work throughout the year at Life Teen. It was encouraging.

Just for fun, I’ll be impulsive and write about whatever is on my mind. I’ve got 20 minutes before I have to go.

1. I need a haircut. We’ve been out of town so much that I couldn’t schedule in a trim with my barber here in Tempe. I told myself that I could get a haircut while out of town, but we were always having so much fun that it seemed like a waste to ruin the party by driving down the street for a haircut. I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror.
2. Oil change. Seriously, it’s been over a year since I’ve changed the oil in my car. While I was in Georgia I rented a loaded Chrysler 300. I love that car. It was fun to ride around in style.
3. Recession etc. My classmates and I felt confident back in 2009 that by the time we graduated in May 2011, the recession would have passed and the economy would be on the rebound. To a degree, we were right. However, the “rebound” is hardly a reality. I spent a lot of time with students entering college over the past few weeks, and each of them talked about how they were grateful that they could weather the recession through four years of college.
4. Sharp-dressed man. It’s hard to dress well every day. My standard attire during the work week is a pair of leather shoes, chinos, and a shirt with a collar. I’ve been doing this for about three years and it has its benefits. But the downside is that I spend a lot of time ironing pants and shirts. When I meet the girls for lunch, Norah usually wrinkles/dirties/thrashes my well-pressed attire. I take it in stride, but again, it’s hard to dress well every day.
5. ReadyMade. I learned this morning that my favorite magazine over the last 10 years is closing up shop. I think the Internet ran away with their zeal for DIY.
6. Facebook. It gets boring in the summer. Every time I login I am remarkable uninterested. For the sake of documenting technology as it happens, Google+ started a few weeks ago. It may or may not be a replacement for Facebook, LinkedIn, and SomeThing Else.
7. Rebuilding Interest. With school done, I’m trying to get up to speed with new technologies/trends/innovations/Apps.
8. Compassion. There is a lot of hurt in this world. Everyone needs compassion and love.

Well, time is up.

Here’s a photo journal of my life over the last three months. Click on the photo and look for captions below…

So I’m out here in San Diego taking a week or so off as a post-graduation celebration. I’m flipping through iPhoto looking at photos from the past year and realize I how much that I haven’t shared in my blog. This is a fun one…

Late last fall I discovered an unfinished contemporary house near Camelback Mountain near Paradise Valley. I was immediately curious about the home. Based on the weathered construction materials, the house’s exterior looked as if it hadn’t been touched in about a year.

After doing some research, I discovered that the home was in foreclosure and would go up for public auction late in the winter.  It appears as though the property was purchased at the top of the Real Estate bubble and the new owner decided to do an elaborate reconstruction to convert the traditional ranch home into a modern house. My guess is that he got discouraged with each month—he was pouring out tons of money during construction, all the while the housing market was crashing down around him. So he stopped making his payments and walked away. He left behind his half-finished dream. A dream that few people could understand.

Could this be my next house? I explored the property and made note of what was left to be finished. After running the numbers, I knew what price-point I’d have to get the house to make it a sound investment.

What it could become? I imagined a two-story extension (left) to balance out the imposing volume of the 3-car garage (right)

I was discouraged the week leading up to the auction when the bank released a very high starting bid for the property. It didn’t make sense for me to go to the auction if the bank was convinced it needed to make that much to make up for their loss.  I expected the home to go up on the block and not get any bids. Then a month later, the bank would adjust the price down and put it up for auction again. Maybe then I could pick it up?

Long story short: someone paid top-dollar for the home. I have no idea how the new owners could possibly finish the project as a strong investment. I wish them the best. Honestly, shortly after the first auction I got caught up in the business of graduate school and other investments. Although the dream never materialized, it was still a lot of fun.

Saturday, May 19, 2011

This photo means so much to me. On my back is my precious Eleanor Grace. This is the little girl whose world was rocked by me leaving for two years of graduate school.

I snapped this photo early Saturday morning at REI, about twelve hours after I walked across the stage at graduation and received my diploma. We never bought the backpack, but we had a lot of fun running around the store, jumping in and out of isles. I could hear her giggling in my ear. She swooned my name with such joy.

I can’t help but be surprised how the memory of this morning almost feels nearly as sweet at the day Norah was born. There wasn’t anything particularly exciting about the morning. Candyce was hosting her ladies prayer group at our house, which meant that Dad and I needed to take Norah and spend the morning away from the home. We spent some time at the coffee shop, and then explored a mall before any of the stores were open. We finished with an exploration of REI.

It was my father, my oldest daughter, and me. No place to be, but completely happy spending time together. There was no distraction from work or graduate school. Just family. Just happiness.

So I graduated with a Master of Business Administration on Friday. It’s too early to say that I am relieved because I am still burdened by the fatigue from the final eight weeks of my degree. Every bit of this MBA thing has been difficult, but the last two months were particularly demanding. So I don’t quite feel “free” yet, but with each hour that passes I am reintroduced to the privilege of ordinary life.

One of the more subtle changes over the last two years is that I was given a new identity. I was introduced to new people, both classmates and professors. These people surrounded me for three days of each week. The newness of group wasn’t what made it so different, it was that all we had in common was the subject matters of business. These were not matters that I thrived in from the beginning. I was thrown into a pool of accounting and finance and I had to learn how to swim. Through each trimester, the classmate became friends, and the subject matter became more familiar and exciting.

So what’s next? I’ve accepted a position of VP Strategy & Communication at Life Teen. I’ve been in talks with our CEO since September of last year about the position. I’m excited to have the authority and resources to move our organization forward.

What I want out of this summer is to be with my family. It’s been a very difficult two years for all of us.