If you don’t enjoy food and don’t get excited about learning new recipes, then you can skip this post.

I love Koto’s.  A lot.  For those of you poor and unfortunate souls that don’t know, Koto’s is a Japanese Steak House about a block from my office.  It is quite the favorite place to have lunch.  I love me some Hibachi Steak.  There’s really nothing special about the restaurant, but I love the food.  It just your standard “cook on the table” Japanese restaurant, but the food is great.  It’s also quite economical.  I can get salad, soup, fried rice (the best part), grilled vegetables, and the best mouth watering steak around for 8 bucks.  Where else can you get that?

It’s also a big favorite of my wife.  We used to go to Shogun’s every year on our anniversary.  But since we’ve found Koto’s, we prefer to go there.  And my wife could eat the fried rice alone and be happy.  And the mustard sauce.  She loves that.  So much so that I tried to recreate the whole hibachi experience at home on my little griddle.  Let’s just say, I need more practice.  The key ingredient is the mustard sauce.  I looked high and low for a recipe for mustard sauce.  You can’t just buy it in a store.  You have to make it.  And there are not many places out there that have a mustard sauce recipe.  Every recipe I found was drastically different than the other.  So when it came time to make it, it was like playing Russian Roulette with different ingredients.  It did not turn out very good.

All of that is about to change though.  While at Koto’s today, I asked the chef if they make the sauce or if they buy it.  And he said that he made it.  I asked if it was a secret recipe.  He said no and asked if I would like to know it.  I almost came out of my seat and jumped over the table.  After he finished cooking, he went in the back and actually wrote the recipe down for me.  Everybody at my table was asking for a copy.  That guy was awesome!  So, since I could never find a good recipe online, this is my contribution to the rest of the world that likes a really good Japanese Mustard Sauce.  Obviously, this makes a lot of sauce so feel free to cut it down to your own specifications.

Koto’s Mustard Sauce

3.5 oz Ground Mustard

2 Onions

2 Carrots

1/2 cup Garlic

1/2 cup Sesame Seeds

2 cups Mayonaise

1 cup Sugar

3 cups Soy Sauce

1 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Salt

Finely chop onions, carrots, and garlic.

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until it has a creamy consistency.

There.  It’s done.  Granted, it’s not like I’m posting the cure for cancer for all the world to enjoy, but it is quite a delectable addition to a Japanese meal.  Enjoy.

I used to have a boss that was quite a character.  He was an amazing guy; he just didn’t always make the right decisions.  You see, he was this up-and-coming young firecracker.  His name was Rick.  Everyone one at work loved him the moment he started.  He was hired in as a Supervisor, but was fast tracked to management.  He just had this, this, …. I dunno.  This air about him that exuded excellence and hope.  It didn’t matter what he did, all he had to do was open his mouth and he could disarm even the most hostile client.  We kept a lot of accounts because of him.  Great guy.

Even though he had all of those amazing qualities, he was still lacking in some areas when it came to judgement.  Most of you know that I work with computers.  Well, most people work with computers, I guess.  But I work in software development and design.  Quite a stretch from the Theater degree that I got.  But that’s a different story.  Well, one day we got a virus on our system.  Don’t know how it got past our anti-virus software.  But like most viruses, it entered our system via someone’s email.  Luckily, we have an off site back-up that it didn’t affect.  Bad thing was that it hit everyone’s computer.  So, we were all out, at most, a day or 2 of work.  Our Kansas office was unaffected though.  I don’t know how, but they were okay.  Anyway, it was pretty chaotic when it went down.  Everyone at the office was freaking out.  Now you gotta understand, we had about 105 people in our office.  Our Kansas office is just a remote office that had about half of that.  So, everyone was running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky was falling.

The few of us that worked in the Software/IT division knew it was going to be okay.  We knew the procedures for when something like this happened.  Basically, we would have to push the reset button; format all the hard drives and restore from the offsite backup.  Well, here comes Rick to the rescue.  He gathered everyone into the conference rooms (we had some big rooms).  We got the Kansas office on the phone and he told us not to worry and that everything was under control.  We were all given the rest of the day off since no one could work anyway.  That really made a lot of people happy.  At first they were scared, but now they were pretty psyched that they were getting the rest of the day off…with pay.  So, we all went home and enjoyed our day off.

Nothing could compare us for the next day.  I got to work earlier than most, because I had a pretty long commute.  So, getting there early lets me leave early so that I can spend more time with the family, but I digress.  Anyway, as soon as I got to my desk, I noticed that my PC was gone.  No big deal, I thought.  IT was probably still working on it.  So, I took a stroll through the office and noticed that all of the computers were gone.  I thought it was pretty weird that IT would still have all the PCs.  Once everyone got to work that day, it looked like a scene from Night of the Living Dead; people aimlessly wandering around the office.  They even had that “I haven’t had coffee yet” look on their face that made them actually look like zombies.  Anyway, once everyone rolled in (and were properly medicated with their daily dose of caffeine) we were called into the conference room again.  Rick was there to meet us with that perfect face of his and that solid stance that seemed to say, “I did it again.  I saved us.”  He proceeded to tell us that since all of the computers were infected they decided to throw all of them in the dumpster.

*tick*tock*tick*tock*

At first, a few people just chuckled.  And then we realized he was serious.  Now it really was like Night of the Living Dead.  The horror of the situation spread throughout the ranks.  Still, some people thought it was cool, because since we didn’t have computers, we would more than likely get another paid day off.  But Rick stepped up and said, “It’s okay.  We are purchasing new computers for everyone.  Since the old ones were infected, we decided the only option was to buy new ones.”

Everyone was quiet.  Then one of the guys from IT spoke up.  “Uh, Rick.  We could’ve just formatted all of the hard drives and then restored from the backup.  Why buy all new computers?  This is going to cost us a lot of money.”  Okay, you gotta understand, that up to this guys question, a majority of our company thought this was a good idea.  They didn’t know that much about computers, so they thought that was what you did when your computer was infected.  But when IT spoke up, it turned a few heads.  I was sitting in the back of the conference room with my jaw on the floor.  I was waiting for Rick to say April Fool’s or something like that.  But he was serious.  He also didn’t take too kindly to being questioned about his decision.  He stated that something had to be done.  We couldn’t sit around and not do anything, so he acted.  He said that doing nothing was not an option from his perspective.

IT spoke up again, “Uh, okay, Rick.  I don’t really agree with that approach.  Essentially, reformatting the hard drives is pressing the reset button.  We’re down for a couple of days, but after restoring the backup, we’re back on our feet in no time.  Your “solution” is going to take weeks, if not months, before we are able to recover from this incident.  Also, if you threw away all of the PCs, where are the printers and monitors?”

Rick didn’t miss a beat, “Well, you can disagree all you want, but we need everyone to be team players here.  We have to do what’s best for the company right now.  It may take us longer to see the results, but we have to act or our company is going to suffer.  Oh, and I threw out all of the printers and monitors with the PCs.  I figured that since we had to spend the money on new computers, it seemed like a good time to upgrade to the flat panel monitors and laser printers.”

I thought the IT department was going to demonstrate spontaneous combustion.  You could tell they were livid.  I’m still thinking this is a joke.  I mean, c’mon, who throws away perfectly usable equipment to spend a ton of money on something that is not necessary at the moment.  To top it all off, our company had been struggling, so this is not what it needed.

Then Rick stood up and put on his best smile.  The sunlight was beaming through the window at just the right angle, bouncing off of the whiteboard behind him to make it look like he was glowing.  At that moment, he said, “The plan is not perfect.  No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by all of us.  At this particular moment, with the company so weakened by this incident, the management team is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our company back to life.”  And all of the zombies were nodding their heads in agreement.  I wanted to jump up and shout, “What the hell are you talking about?  I feel like Will Ferrell in Zoolander.  Doesn’t anybody notice this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”  But I didn’t.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any more insane, Rick told us that the new computers wouldn’t be sent here.  They were going to our Kansas office.  Now even some of the zombies were confused.  Rick said that the new PCs (and monitors and printers) would go to Kansas and that their old ones would be sent to us.  Once again, blank stares from the audience.  Someone, I don’t know who at this point, asked how that was going to benefit us.  He said that the IT department would be moved to Kansas during the transition to configure all of the new computers.  And that since the Kansas computers were already configured, they would bring them back to our office and set them up so that we could get back to work.  This would all take a few weeks, maybe months to get underway.  There would be a lot of time dedicated to the planning of the move and a lot of logistics that would occur.  The company would have to hire a few logistics experts to do all of the planning.

Meanwhile, our office would have to close temporarily, since we didn’t have the computers we needed to work.  Someone, reluctantly, asked the question if we would get paid.  Rick put on his best concerned face and said that the company didn’t have the resources to cover the paid time off.  He encouraged everyone to sign up for unemployment during the transition.

Luckily, I was attached to the IT department, simply because my company didn’t really understand how to categorize me.  They kept us on so that we could coordinate with the PC manufacturer.  So, after the 6 week planning phase that was conducted by a (rather expensive) consulting company, we shipped off to Kansas.  Once we got there, we were able to get the Kansas PCs sent back to the home office pretty quick.  And it took us about a week and a half to get all of the new PCs up and running.  I really wasn’t a lot of help, but it was better than being temporarily laid off.

As soon as we got back from Kansas, I started looking for a new job.  No matter how impressive Rick was, I had lost all confidence in his ability to make the right decisions.  Sure, he was a great guy, but he wasn’t cut out to make the big decisions.  I’ve since left that company and have found another job.  Last I heard, my old company was filing for bankruptcy.  Rick had also moved on to manage an even bigger company.  I saw a picture of him in the paper the other day.  He still has that same smile and that glow about him that says, “I have everything under control.”

Oh, yeah…here’s his picture.

Oh yeah…I’m gonna apply for this job.  And I encourage everyone I know to apply as well.

FOXNews.com – Australia Offers ‘Best Job in World’ On Paradise Island – International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News.

Answer me this:

If you are in meetings all week, how are you supposed to get your job done?  That’s what I’m struggling with.  In meetings all day…all week.  That equals no fun.

On another note, I’ve gotten back to my training schedule and ran with my friend Jon Monday night and we are planning on running again tonight.  So, now I just need to register for the marathon.

I’ve spent the past week in Jacksonville, FL. At first glance, that seems like a nice vacation. But, alas, it not vacation; it is work. Amy was really wanting to go to this trip but I found out kinda last minute and there was no way we could afford the price of that plane ticket. I really wanted both of them (Iliana and Amy) to go, but turns out, it’s good that they didn’t. You see, they wanted to go to the beach, which is only a few miles away from here. So, Amy was really jealous that I was going to be this close to the beach without her. I told her that it was no need to worry because I was going to be working all the time. Anyway, it has rained all week, so even if I had time and wanted to, I couldn’t go to the beach. And now, as we wrap up and are waiting to go to the airport, I’m looking out the window to a beautiful sunny day. Typical.

So, hopefully the flight back will go just fine. We fly out from Jacksonville to Atlanta and then to Little Rock.

Okay, so, here come the food reviews for Dustin. Lunch was provided each day at the office, so, once again, nothing to write home about.

Monday Night

Sticky Fingers – Great barbecue. I had a Half Slab & Half Pulled Pork. One word: Delicious. I’d have to give that meal a 8 out of 10 rating. The ribs were so tender that I could just pull the bones out of the meat. I topped them off with a Carolina Sweet Barbecue Sauce. A-MAZ-ING! I also tried a new beer called Yuengling. Really nice smooth beer.

Tuesday Night

Sneakers – This restaurant was right next to our hotel. Actually, it was the restaurant that provided room service for the hotel. I got a Smothered Burger (at least that’s what I think it was called) and Onion Rings. It was delicious. Or as Backpack on Dora the Explorer says, “Delicioso!” This night I tried out the Sam Adams Seasonal Summer Ale. Good smooth beer.

Wednesday Night

Sneakers – Went back to Sneakers and got the Western Burger with Onion Rings. Once again, a great burger. I went back to the Yuengling beer this night. Great place to go and watch the Olympics. Since it was a sports bar, there were TVs and projection screens everywhere.

Thursday Night

River City Brewing Company – On this night, we had our company outing to celebrate the end of our 3 week Discovery Workshop. This restaurant was awesome! They really took care of us. They brought out a great appetizer tray that was full of broiled shrimp, coconut shrimp, crap cakes, breads, and some chicken. They had a their own brewery there (obviously) and I tried the Jack Light. It was really good. As you can tell, I’m more of a light beer kind of person. It sounds like I drink a lot, but the only reason I drank any was because I didn’t have to drive anywhere and it was an interesting beer. I usually only drink twice a year. Anyway, I ordered a House Salad to start with followed by the Prime Rib. Both were great. I finished it up with a scrumptious Bread Pudding. I was in pain by the end of the night.

Well, it’s Friday and I can’t wait to get back home. So, I’m about to pack it up and head out. See ya later.

You may have seen my note that I was in Boston last week. I flew in on Monday with 6 co-workers to train on a new admin system that we are purchasing. I have to admit, I was pretty pumped to go. I have always wanted to go to Boston because of all the history in that city. But, I was also a little upset because I couldn’t take Amy with me. She has probably wanted to go to Boston more than me. I was planning on taking her, but we didn’t find out until the last minute that I was definitely going. So that made booking a flight for Amy nearly impossible. So, I was very sad for a week.

Monday – 4:30 am

Got up early so that I could get to the airport an hour before my 7:30 flight. Boarded a little “puddle jumper” bound for Cleveland. Flying into Cleveland was educational. I didn’t realize that Cleveland was on the “coast.” That being the coastline of Lake Erie. Once we landed, we were only in the terminal long enough to get to our connection before we had to board again.

This is something I can’t figure out. That’s a lie, I have a pretty good idea why they do it, but we took a little “puddle jumper” from Little Rock to Cleveland and then a big 737 from Cleveland to Boston. What’s up with that? I believe that Continental Airlines are just a bunch of sadistic freaks.

We arrived in Boston around 1:00 and, after filing a missing bag claim by one of my co-workers, we were off to the hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Boston/Natick. It was really convenient because it was right across the street from the company office that we were training at. It was also located right across from the Natick Mall, which was a really nice mall.

Well, once we got situated, we decided to all meet for lunch and ended up going to the mall and we ate at a cafe in Nordstrom’s called Cafe Bistro. Which brought 2 questions to mind:
“Have I ever eaten in a department store cafe before?” to which the answer is “No.” The closest that I have come to that is eating in the food court of a mall or McDonalds in Wal-Mart.
And the second was:
“Isn’t that name a bit redundant? I mean isn’t a Bistro just another word for Cafe?” Yeah, this is the mind of Dusty.
Anyway, and this is for Dustin, the food was really good. I had the Honey Chipotle Steak Sandwich. This is the description:

seared sliced steak, caramelized onions, roasted sweet peppers, baby spinach, spicy cumin aioli on toasted ciabatta

And yes…it was as good as it sounds.

After lunch, the ladies wanted to go shopping…which I wanted no part of. So, I set off in search of a movie theater that I had heard was in the area. I walked all through the mall and out the other side and couldn’t find it. So, I decided to duck into a store and ask directions. So, the closest thing was a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store. I didn’t even know it was a franchise. I mean, I knew about the ice cream, but I didn’t know it was a chain like Baskin Robins.

On the way in, I decided it was time to start having fun with these “Yankees.” Let me explain. My stepdad’s brother lives in Boston. When my mom, stepdad, and sister would go visit, everyone from Boston would try to keep my sister talking because she has this thick southern drawl. So, they got a kick out of it. Well, now it’s my turn. I mosey (yes. I said mosey. I had to get in character) up to the counter and in a nice southern drawl, I address the girl at the counter:

“Skuze me, ma’am. Eye’m lukin’ fer the A.M.C moovie the-ater. Kin you point me in the rite die-rection?”

As soon as I started talking, her eyes got real big and she grinned from ear to ear. Northerns…it’s almost too easy. Anyway, she starts telling me where to go and asked if I’m parked in their parking lot and I say,

“No ma’am. Eye’m akshoe-ly walkin’. Eye’m stayin’ at a ho-tel over by the mall and fig-ured eye’d git out fer a walk.”

(More grinning on her part.)

Long story short, I get the directions and am on my way. Good times at Ben & Jerry’s.
I decided to do a double feature and watched Hancock followed by Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Both films were okay, but would have been just as good on DVD.

Tuesday

Tuesday through Friday were all pretty much the same. From 8 to 5, we had training classes across the street at SunGard. Once again, this next part is for Dustin. The lunch menu each day was nothing to write home about, but he dinners were pretty good.

Tuesday night
Joe’s American Bar & Grill – Pretty good food. By the end of the first training day, we were all beat and ready to eat. We just got a bunch of appetizers and munched on them. I think we had the Spinach and Artichoke dip, the Chicken Quesadillas, and the Chicken Nachos. It was a bit more upscale than, say a Chili’s, so I expected a bit better service. We sat there for about 10 minutes before I had to go to the hostess to ask for a server. Worked out in the end because she comped a couple of desserts for us.

Wednesday night
Legal Sea Foods – This was a bit of a sore spot for me. You see, Monday night before I split off from the ladies, I made the comment that I at least wanted some good seafood before I left the Boston area. To which they replied, “Legal Sea Foods.” So, I thought, cool, we’ll go some night. Well, when the rest of our group from the Jacksonville, FL office got in later that afternoon, they all went to Legal Sea Food. Where was I? Either finishing up Hancock or just starting Hellboy 2. I was a little peeved, but I quickly got over it. So, on Wednesday night, I decided I was just going to walk down to Legal’s.
Side note: Everybody thought I was crazy for walking everywhere. They’re all telling me to take the hotel shuttle. To which I respond, “It’s only a little over a mile. That’s nothing.” City folk. Go figure.
Anyway, a couple of the other girls met me there and I ordered the Lobster Roll. Not too impressed with lobster. Everything else was pretty good though.

Thursday night
Duck Tour and Legal Sea Foods – This was the night I was really looking forward to. SunGard organized a company outing. We went into Boston for a Duck Tour and then on to another Legal Sea Foods for dinner. (I guess I was making up for missing the first night.) The Duck Tour was really neat. Our driver was Captain Mack. Really neat guy. Boston is so full of history, I was running on information overload and was loving every minute of it. I didn’t get a lot of really good pictures because I was toting a disposable camera. I had left the digital one with Amy back home. But, I’ll try to remember to post some later.
Once the Duck Tour was finished, we walked over to Legal in downtown Boston. They had a nice menu prepared for us. We had a choice of a few different items, but I went with the New England Clam Chowder, Grilled Salmon, and everyone got the Boston Cream Pie for dessert. I had never had clam chowder before and I must say I was a little hesitant. But it was AWESOME! Loved it! The salmon, of course was delicious and the Boston Cream Pie was out of this world. If you go to Boston, go to Legal and try to order that exact same menu. You will be glad you did.

Friday

Friday started out like the others. But we only had class until noon. Then we all split up until about 2:30 where we met for the shuttle back to the airport for our 4:30 flight. So, this is where the trip got “fun.” We got to the checkin counter and found out that we had been bumped to the 3:30 flight to Newark. Which was great. Currently, we were on track to get home at 10:00 pm. So, an hour earlier would be great. Then they tell us that the 3:30 flight is an hour delayed. So, now we’re back to 4:30. Oh well, we have time to kill. So, where do we go? We went to Legal’s Test Kitchen. That is the Legal Sea Foods airport restaurant. I actually had a burger this time. And it was really good.

Well, we thought we were going to have to get our food to go because they started boarding our plane. But, it was a false alarm. Anyway, we got on the plane, and, wouldn’t you know it, get seated in the back across from the bathroom. Sucktastic. The pilot comes over the intercom and says that we are going to be a little delayed in taking off because of traffic in Newark. So, I’m thinking, “I hope we don’t miss our connection. There aren’t that many flights from Newark to Little Rock.” We ended up sitting in the plane, on the runway, waiting to take off for 2 hours. We landed in Newark at about 7:25. Our connecting flight was scheduled for a 7:30 take off. We had 2 people on the phone talking to the airline trying to get them to hold the flight. They didn’t hold it. What was stupid was that about 15 people missed that flight. The plane holds, at the max, about 50 people. I found it odd that the only flight that wasn’t delayed at Newark was our flight to Little Rock.

So, now we’re off to the Continental Customer Service desk. Long story short, we have 2 options:

1) Wait for the next flight to Little Rock, which would be the next day sometime.

2) Catch a flight to Houston in an hour and then take a 7 am flight to Little Rock the next day.

We go with the flight to Houston. At least we’re getting further south and it’s in a bigger plane. Which means a bit more comfortable ride than the puddle jumper. Also, we get our bags re-routed so that they’ll meet us in Little Rock since they didn’t make it on the last Little Rock flight. So, now we have about an hour to kill because the 8:15 flight to Houston is … surprise, surprise… delayed. We finally board and someone else is in my seat but at this point I’m beyond caring and just sit down in a seat somewhere. I end up sitting next to this couple from New York that are on their way to Houston for a friend’s wedding. We had some good conversations. They were really nice. It’s funny though, because I’m starting to think that all Northerners secretly want to be Southerners. A few of people that I met told me the same things or asked me the same questions:

I love grits. Especially cheese grits.

I love sweet tea.

Do you guys have Waffle House in the South.

I started laughing at the last one. Please. Do we have Waffle House? Where do you think it got started. Anyway, we had some fun conversations.

Saturday

We landed in Houston at midnight. The airport was like a ghost town. We had decided not to get a hotel because by the time we got checked in and in bed, we would only be able to sleep for 3 hours before we would have to be back at the airport. So, we made our way to the B terminal which was where our flight was scheduled to depart from. We didn’t know what gate our flight was scheduled to depart from and evidently neither did the departure monitors. We just made a guess and decided to set up camp in one of the four corners. You see, the B terminal at George Bush International, is set up like a big X, the gates are at the top corners and the food and security area was in the middle. We camped out in the top right corner of the X. Little did we know that our flight was going to depart from the lower left corner. Anyway, we were wondering what the best place to sleep would be: floor, chairs, possible sofa? Luckily, we planned ahead and “borrowed” some pillows and blankets from the previous flight. We get to the “camp grounds” and look around. Not a lot of options. A couple of people slept on the floor, a couple of people slept in the chairs, and a couple of the ladies slept on top of the chairs. That was a real sight to see. Here’s what the seats look like:
Notice the metal armrest. Can’t lay down on them. The people that slept in the chairs just balled up in the chairs. The ladies that slept on the top of the chairs just laid down across the top like they were on display at a funeral wake. It was weird. I have yet to say where I slept. Well, I wanted to make sure everyone was situated before I went down and I was also surveying the situation. I tried lining up a couple of chairs from a restaurant table, but that didn’t work. Then I remembered passing by a few massage chairs on the way in. Those turned out not to be as comfortable as one would think. You see, the cushion is cut out in the middle of the back so you sit down and you’re all hunchbacked. So, right across from me is one of those airport carts. You know, the golf carts that are always running around the airport. Well, I figure I can curl up on one of those seats and I finally got a little sleep.

I woke up around 5:15 and wandered back down to the rest of my group. We were all feeling pretty rough. We collected everyone and everything and wandered to the other side of the terminal to await our flight. Everything else went off without a hitch. I never thought I’d be so happy to see downtown Little Rock from the air. The trip was finally over. All I had to do was collect my bag and it was off to Greers Ferry Lake to meet Amy and Iliana. So we stand around the baggage carousel and start to wonder where our bags are. Remember, we had them re-routed. Well, I head off to the Continental ticket counter to see what’s up. Evidently, they didn’t go to Houston with us. They were still, more than likely, in Newark waiting on the next Little Rock flight. And I say “more than likely” because the Continental clerk really had no idea.

By the way, Continental customer service sucks. Just thought I’d throw that out there. If anyone that works for Continental Airlines ever reads this, your company sucks. Every part of it. Suck-a-riffic. I mean, you guys excel at sucking. If sucking were an Olympic sport, you would not only medal, but you would get the Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

I decide to file a claim and leave for the lake. And that sums up my trip to Boston.

I really enjoyed Boston, just not the traveling part. I found out yesterday that I have to go to Jacksonville, FL in 2 weeks. If I can’t figure a way to take Amy on that one she’ll probably divorce me.:) I’m going to try to talk my company into just letting me drive down and pay for my gas. That way, I can take Amy and Iliana and we will have a car while we are down there. Amy and Iliana can go to the beach during the day while I’m at work. It’s only about 20 miles from Jacksonville. Oh well, we’ll see.

Anyway, thanks for staying with me for this long. I know it was a bit wordy. If you know me, you know I’m wordy. So…here ya do.

Well, so far, so good. I really like the new office. Everyone here is super friendly. Maybe that’s because they haven’t asked me to do anything yet, who knows. A few new people start this week. They pretty much tripled the size of their team with this round of hirings. Thursday we had a meeting that basically outlined our projects that we would be working on. Looks exciting. I work in the PMO, Project Management Office. Our job is to coordinate, implement, and track any changes to systems and processes in the company. I’m pretty excited about it. I’d be really excited if they sent me down to the Florida office for about a week for some “training.”

Oh, and for Dustin, the move to downtown Little Rock coupled with the fact that I’m carpooling now results in me visiting in some really tasty restaurants. My company doesn’t offer paid parking and there are only so many spots on the parking deck, which are for upper management and people with more seniority than me. So, the guys I ride with are management. We use their spots when I drive, but I have to have them to get in and out of the deck. So, when they drive, I’m stuck here. When I drive, I’m stuck here. I said all of that to say that if I don’t bring my lunch, I have to walk to somewhere to eat. This, so far, has turned out pretty good. And this brings me to my first review:

Your Mama’s Good Food

If you like country cooking, you’ll like this place. You get to choose what size plate you want: Veggies, 1 meat and 1 veggie, 1 meat 2 veggies, and so forth up to All You Can Eat. Some of the choices for meat were Meatloaf, Fried Catfish and a couple of other thing. The veggies are the basic southern veggies. I got the Fried Catfish and Twice Baked Potato. Food was really good and lived up to it’s name. My only problem was the price. My total came to $7.50, that included the plate, a roll, and a drink. A little pricey for the amount of food that I got. Other than that, it was great.

So, there you go.

Well, today is my last day at PBSI. I’ve just about got everything boxed up and ready to go. I’m kinda scared and nervous and excited all at the same time.

I just took my replacement to a few of the areas that I visit and work with on a regular basis and was totally caught off guard by their responses. A lot of the users that I work with are great people and some of the managers and users were actually mad to see me go. Mad in a good way. I felt really bad for my replacement because these people were going on and on about how nice I was and how easy I was to work with and how I always had a smile on my face. I never realized that these people thought that, so I was a little embarrassed. I felt really bad for Joey (my replacement) because a few people looked directly at her and said, “You’ve got some big shoes to fill.” Joey said she new this was coming, but I wasn’t even prepared for statements like that. It was nice to be appreciated, but that really caught me off guard.

So, tomorrow is my orientation for my new job at Life and Specialty Venture. I’ll be doing a lot of what I currently do. I’ve heard great things about this company and look forward to working with them.

Okay, I gotta finish packing. Just wanted to take a break and jot down a quick note. Please continue to pray for me that I might have a painless (at least semi-painless) transition to my new job.

And by the way, I was able to get into the carpool that I wanted. So, that was another blessing from God.

It has been quite a week. I got a job offer this week and accepted. Good news is that it allows us to have Amy home full time. Most people are more excited about that than the fact that I got a new job. Seems like a really great company to work for. It’s called Life and Specialty Venture. They own USAble Life Insurance. I would basically be doing the same thing that I’m doing right now. Still, it’s pretty exciting.

Also, Amy and I have been trying to sell some land for the past 2 years. Well, we sold it and closed on Friday! Praise God! God is definitely good. He has really blessed us and we deserve none of it.

So, May 27th is supposed to be my last day at PBSI and May 28th is my first day at LSV. The only downside is that I was hoping to keep my 7:00 to 3:30 schedule, but the earliest shift that LSV has is a 7:30 to 4:00 shift. So no carpool. That was one of the main reasons that I wanted this new job since gas prices are so high. I am looking at another possible carpool that I think goes at that time, so I’ll keep you updated.