Goal 1: Save 3-6 months in an emergency fund.

Task 1: Survive until February, sticking to the budget and conserving money where possible.

Since it’s February 1, this task is complete!  We even ended up with about $400 left over in our emergency fund.  I’m happy to report that the new water heater is continuing to produce hot water, so the money was well spent.  I’ve looked back at our budgets for the last few years (yes, I keep them… pretty sick, I know) and our budgets remain pretty slim through the first quarter.  I suspect that is going to happen again this year, as we have budgeted for tax preparation and Teddy needs a phenobarbitol levels test too.

Task 2: Get taxes prepared (hope for a refund!) and save $500 more this month.

Onward and upward!

Today at work, I got into it with one of our Technical Managers who was hellbent on trying to design our system during a high level planning workshop.  These workshops have a way of bringing out the worst in me… stuck in a training room with 18 people, only 8 of which actually give a crap about the stuff that is getting proposed is not a recipe to endear me to days of productivity.  At very least it becomes a cautionary tale of what not to do.

So I came home from work tonight and had to go back out to Church to help set up some AV equipment.  I got Eve all situated, and we ended up on the road.  We were in a 40 mph zone, and this white SUV in front of me was doing about 20 for quite a long time.  I wasn’t tailgating him, but I was secretly (outwardly) wishing that he’d step on the gas.  I eventually get tired of waiting for him to learn to drive, so I switch lanes to go around him and he flips me off.  I looked a him perplexed for a second, since his inability to drive must have angered him so much that he took it out on me.

Last, but certainly not least, we have a woman at Church who felt it necessary to lay into my friend Tom and I for getting the AV equipment set up for our session.  There is a big common area at our Church center, so we pulled all the equipment into the galley to set it up in order to not disturb her class that was taking place in said common area.  We ultimately needed to plug it in to a jack in the common area, so with about 3 minutes left at the end of her class we went and wheeled the cart into the area.  Note: her class was at the back of the area and there was nobody remotely near us.  We do our thing (less than 10 minutes) and are headed out.  She stops us and says “for future reference, I’m going to need you to wait until the class is over entirely before you are moving through.  I have to, because of the children.”  My first response was apology, and a question of how we bothered things by moving the cart through the common area.  She repeated her request.  I thought for a second she was actually in one of the classrooms (again, we were so far away I didn’t recognize her as being part of the common area class) and asked if we accidentally switched on the equipment in the classrooms and that’s what distracted her.  She didn’t acknowledge any of this and repeated herself again.  I said “ohh….. kay…..” and turned to go.  My friend Tom said (loudly, within earshot) “Don’t worry about her, she’s just a control freak” and away we went.

Now I’m sitting here in my house, the baby is asleep, and the only asshole to be found is my dog who is consistently sleepfarting right now.  I think I’m going to go out in the back yard now, and hope I don’t run in to any more.

After the marathon Church session, Tasha and I headed out to Denny’s for lunch and then home for some relaxation prior to a game night at The Ballews.  Just like that, another weekend disappears!  This week is going to be a whirlwind at work, so I’m going to have to find some weeknights to unwind between here and there.  Cross your fingers for me!

Jeremy delights in taking old discarded equipment and stripping them down for components, then using those components to create an excellent audio experience.  We struck out on the audio equipment front, but we did find a cache of old vinyl.  I added 7 new records to my collection and spent less than $8, he added another 25.  I got stuff from Billy Joel, Elton John, Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, and for some reason I don’t quite understand Godspell.  I think I remember my Mom really liking that musical and for $1 I didn’t question my gut.

After that I had to go and get my final measurements for my tuxedo sorted out.  It went smoothly and it is currently being tailored so I can pick it up next weekend.  I also had a 40% off coupon that came through my email, as well as other sales.  Eric, the person helping me out at Men’s Wearhouse, took very good care of me and had found a tux that was 50% off, shoes that were 50% off, and applied the 40% for the coupon so I made out pretty well.  While I was standing at the checkout, I decided to pick up an extra shirt too.

To wrap up the day, I went to Church.  In light of the big Denver game (which turned out disastrous), we opted to change the format slightly so we could keep it short for everyone that wanted to watch the game.  So I ended up just going to to the front of the Church and getting introduced and didn’t have to do any talking yet.  It was a nice primer to get used to having a few hundred people staring at me again.  Next week it will be my turn though!

Tomorrow I will be doing that same thing three more times, then lunch followed by a get-together with our friends.  Where did this weekend go?

What I really need to do is get a decent night’s sleep.  I had some mild success using Breathe Right strips while I was home over the Christmas break, so I might try that and some Benadryl which always seems to knock me out for awhile.  Before those of you that worry begin worrying, no I am not having this problem all the time and no I don’t take Benadryl exclusively to knock myself out.  You guys worry too much.

This weekend we have many things planned: I have to pick up my tux (it’s here, woo!) and then I have to speak at all four Masses this weekend to advocate for That Man Is You!  It should be a good time.

I’ve been on a minor roll at work lately, so far 2012 is going pretty darned good.  Here’s to hoping I haven’t just jinxed it!

This would accomplish two things: I would get to play the Xbox more often and I would get to play my guitar more often.  I’m still on the fence, so we’ll see.  That’s all for now!

I also found out tonight that the older guy won’t be around the following weekend, so I will have to fly solo for those Masses.  It’s been quite awhile since I’ve spoken in front of a group of people so large, so it’s going to be a return to my high school days and the few times I had to speak in front of an auditorium full of employees at work.  I haven’t acquired enough experience at speaking in front of groups to not be nervous, but I tend to have a knack for it so I’m sure it will turn out ok.

So if you need me the next two weekends, I’ll probably be at Church.

Goal 3: Read more books, targeting 10 non-fiction books for the year.

Task 1: Finish reading ‘Leadership Gold’ by John C. Maxwell, for half-credit.

I was able to complete this task, I finished reading the last of ‘Leadership Gold’ while airborne between Omaha and Denver.  Many of the lessons that John Maxwell talks about really resonated with me, especially given the current condition of my workplace.  It is very interesting to read leadership books sitting in my current job role, where I am aware of the decisions and the decision-making process of those above me but also in touch daily with the results of that process.  This book really crystallized some of the anecdotal evidence that I’ve been collecting about where leadership fails at my workplace.

Not being one to consider myself perfect, I also had to take stock and figure out if I was contributing to the problem, either in mindset or by my actions.  I took away a few corrective actions I can make now, and a wealth of cautionary tales.  Whether our not my own leadership chooses to make changes, I hope that the experience of reading this book will help me be more educated and not repeat the mistakes that I can observe.

Now it’s time to set a new task so this goal keeps on a-rollin’:

Task 2: Finish reading Ervin Somogyi’s ‘The Responsive Guitar’ for half-credit.

This one is in support of my guitar building hobby as well as my desire to finish up reading books that I have started.  This one may take a bit longer to complete, since Somogyi’s book is considerably academic in nature and can be a more difficult read.  I really want to make the effort to get through and understand this one before I move into his next book and get further into completing my first guitar (see previous goals post).

Total Books Read in 2012: 0.5 / 10

Michelle makes a shepherd’s pie (technically cottage pie because it uses beef) and it is PHENOMENAL.  She made it for us shortly after Eve was born and it contains a ton of things that I like: cheese, mashed potatoes, beef, and biscuits.  The only thing that could possibly make it better is if someone put some bacon in there, but suffice it to say I am still full as I write this.  Gaming with them was fun!  Eve had a new experience tonight… Ed and Michelle have some very well-mannered cats, and Eve grabbed one of them (named Gandalf) by the tail.  Gandalf was really cool about it, but Eve had a death grip on that thing and was thrilled with herself.  We quickly ran to Gandalf’s aid and Eve went back to playing with her toys.

The rest of the night was spent doing some chores and relaxing.  I played one of my new guitars for awhile and surfed around on the Internet, and now I’m spending some time relaxing and listening to The Beatles.  Life is good!