It has been a while since I've written anything that hasn't been an assignment of some sort. It's an interesting feeling to write something without some sort of weight that is being placed upon it. Now, I can filter down my writing absence to four categories: School, Work, Church, and Family.
School: In August, I went back to Graduate School. I enrolled in the UA Masters of Public Administration program. I knew going into this program that I would have one absolutely awful semester. That semester ended up being this past spring. I took 3 courses: Economics for Public and Nonprofit Managers, Program Evaluation, and Public/Nonprofit Management Information Systems. Since the MPA program caters to working professionals, all of my classes are 2 1/2 hours on a weeknight. I was in school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 8:00. This was after working all day, and I don't exactly live close to the UA Downtown Campus (where two of the classes were held), so I was usually lucky to get home before 8:45.
Work: I'm still working full-time at the University of Arizona. I've been a Senior Business Analyst in our central IT department for the past four years. For those wondering what a Business Analyst is, it is a person that examines the process that a person uses to perform a task, and then determines if the process can be done more efficiently through changing the process or utilizing other tools to perform the task. In my case, I am responsible for keeping track of how sections of UA Human Resources does its work and determining if they can do things more effectively through the use of our PeopleSoft HCM system. It is a mentally challenging task that has its rewards and frustrations.
Church: Last July, I was called at the Executive Secretary in one of the largest wards in our stake. Keeping our bishop's schedule straight was almost a full time job in and of itself. My phone would ring almost every day, many times during class. Then, our stake rearranged all the ward boundaries in March. We were moved into a different ward. I knew the Bishop from our interactions when he was on the Stake High Council and I was Elder's Quorum President in the University 4th Ward. We were out of town the day that everything happened, hearing about everything second hand. The next morning I got a Facebook message from our new Bishop asking me to give him a call. I didn't think much about it. Having been Executive Secretary, I knew most of the members making the shift in wards and figured he would want some insight into the people in the ward. I was correct in that assumption, but another shoe dropped in our conversation. After a pair of interviews later that week, I was called and sustained as the 2nd Counselor in the Pima Ward Bishopric. The added responsibilities have taken their toll on my schedule, but I've been able to also enjoy the blessings that result from the opportunities that come from the those responsibilities.
Family: Annie is closing in on being 8 months old. She's a handful, as she has quite the personality, four teeth (two on top, two on bottom), and is now mobile. I put up a video of this glorious experience on Facebook recently. She's eating a few solid foods, and is starting to sleep a bit more at night. Of course, that sleep doesn't usually start until close to midnight, which isn't all that pleasant. She really is a wonderful little girl, and we love having her as a part of our family. Being a parent is a joy, but is also very tiring.
So, now that the summer is upon us, I hope to have a little more time to write, read some books, and generally work towards maintaining my sanity. Well, we'll have to see if maintaining my sanity is a possibility. That might not end up working out.
Thus Sayeth Your Haus
The Protection of Saint Dogbert
20 May 2013
26 February 2013
New Hobby and PHX Road Trip
Late last year I picked up a new hobby...I started learning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Earlier this month I took a road trip up to Phoenix to attend a seminar taught by Rener Gracie, a 3rd generation GJJ Black Belt and one of the Head Instructors at the world-famous Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrence, CA. The Gracie Academy puts out a video blog from time to time, and I managed to spot myself in it (near the end). Kinda cool to see yourself on the internet. There was also a picture from the seminar that was posted. Being a tall person, I'm in the back row. (Update: I found another picture, but the quote was from a seminar that was done later the same week.)
The topic of the evening: Triple Threat Back Attack Mastery. Once you take your opponent's back, the techniques shown at the seminar would allow you to properly maintain this position and finish the fight in a myriad of ways. Of course, learning how to take the back is a topic broad enough that it would require many, many more hours than we had at our disposal that evening.
It was 2+ hours of learning and fun. The only downside...it was a Tuesday night from 1900 to 2130 hours, and a 2 hour drive each way. I got home late, but it was worth it.
The topic of the evening: Triple Threat Back Attack Mastery. Once you take your opponent's back, the techniques shown at the seminar would allow you to properly maintain this position and finish the fight in a myriad of ways. Of course, learning how to take the back is a topic broad enough that it would require many, many more hours than we had at our disposal that evening.
It was 2+ hours of learning and fun. The only downside...it was a Tuesday night from 1900 to 2130 hours, and a 2 hour drive each way. I got home late, but it was worth it.
19 February 2013
Books I Read in 2012 - What I'm Targeting in 2013
Let me just say...yes, I know it's been a while since I've written anything. Do I have a good reason for being so absent? It depends on your definition of 'good'. To give a quick insight into life right now, I am still working full-time at UA, I started Grad School in August, there's a 4 month old in the house, and in July I was called to be our ward's Executive Secretary. When you combine a small child, school projects/finals, the annual benefits Open Enrollment and University's charitable giving campaign (I provide functional-type tech support for both projects), and tithing settlement in a ward of over 600 people...it takes up 25 hours of a 24 hour day.
How do I manage to stay sane? Either reading, or listening to, books. That and looking at my daughter's smiles, but this post is about books. This year's reading went in two very different directions. One direction was 'grown-up' books. The other direction...children's books. I ended up reading 40 books last year...with a ratio of 23 grown-up books to 17 children's books.
As a recap, last January I had written that I planned on reading these books:
In keeping with last year's template, I'll run through a few of my favorites from the year and give a brief description of what they're about and what I thought.
In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
This is the story of William E. Dodd, FDR's first ambassador to Germany. He was in the US Embassy in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power in Germany. You get to see from the inside what the US saw in Germany during the Nazi Party's rise to power, how family conflicts influenced diplomatic power, and why the US Government didn't respond as it probably should have to the Nazi rise in Europe.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen - Christopher McDougall
The Tarahumara are a tribe of Indians in Mexico that has survived by using the 'flight' side of the 'fight or flight' instinct. They are tremendous long distance runners. And I don't mean 5k or 10k, I am talking about 50+ miles. This person built a relationship with these people, and then managed to bring a group of ultra-marathoners to their grounds to participate in an annual race amongst the tribe. The author also participated in the race, as he looked into 'alternative' methods of dealing with injuries he would sustain while running. What he found out...he was doing it all wrong from the beginning.
The Absolute At Large - Karel Capek
A story about how outside influences can bring down an entire civilization when different people interpret the same entity in different ways. Draw whatever parallels you wish.
The Big Miss - Hank Haney
Hank Haney was Tiger Woods' swing coach from 2004 to 2010, a time period in which records were set and 6 major championships were added to Tiger's current tally of 14. He tells about what he experienced, what he saw, and what it took for Tiger to become the #1 golfer in the world and what brought about his very public fall from grace.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Colonel Roosevelt - Edmund Morris
The first and third parts of a 3-part biographical series on our manliest president, Theodore Roosevelt. Read them for yourself, and learn from Roosevelt's manliness.
The Unforgiving Minute - Craig Mullaney
Mullaney is a West Point Graduate and Rhodes Scholar. He wrote about his military education, his time at Oxford, his training as an Army Ranger, and his experiences leading a platoon in Afghanistan. The point of the book is the question he asks the reader to answer: Did his education prepare him to be a leader of men in a war zone?
A full list of what I read in 2012 can be found on my Goodreads profile, if you're curious about the rest of the titles that went into the 40 books I read last year. As for 2013, I have a few things on the radar:
Thus Sayeth Your Haus
How do I manage to stay sane? Either reading, or listening to, books. That and looking at my daughter's smiles, but this post is about books. This year's reading went in two very different directions. One direction was 'grown-up' books. The other direction...children's books. I ended up reading 40 books last year...with a ratio of 23 grown-up books to 17 children's books.
As a recap, last January I had written that I planned on reading these books:
- In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 - Mark Twain
- The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man - Brett and Kate McKay
- The Garden Tomb - Andrew C. Skinner
- Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN - James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
- Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? - Steven Tyler
- Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman - Jon Krakauer
- Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
- John Adams - David McCullough
- The Ancient State: The Rulers & the Ruled (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 10) - Hugh Nibley
In keeping with last year's template, I'll run through a few of my favorites from the year and give a brief description of what they're about and what I thought.
In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
This is the story of William E. Dodd, FDR's first ambassador to Germany. He was in the US Embassy in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power in Germany. You get to see from the inside what the US saw in Germany during the Nazi Party's rise to power, how family conflicts influenced diplomatic power, and why the US Government didn't respond as it probably should have to the Nazi rise in Europe.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen - Christopher McDougall
The Tarahumara are a tribe of Indians in Mexico that has survived by using the 'flight' side of the 'fight or flight' instinct. They are tremendous long distance runners. And I don't mean 5k or 10k, I am talking about 50+ miles. This person built a relationship with these people, and then managed to bring a group of ultra-marathoners to their grounds to participate in an annual race amongst the tribe. The author also participated in the race, as he looked into 'alternative' methods of dealing with injuries he would sustain while running. What he found out...he was doing it all wrong from the beginning.
The Absolute At Large - Karel Capek
A story about how outside influences can bring down an entire civilization when different people interpret the same entity in different ways. Draw whatever parallels you wish.
The Big Miss - Hank Haney
Hank Haney was Tiger Woods' swing coach from 2004 to 2010, a time period in which records were set and 6 major championships were added to Tiger's current tally of 14. He tells about what he experienced, what he saw, and what it took for Tiger to become the #1 golfer in the world and what brought about his very public fall from grace.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Colonel Roosevelt - Edmund Morris
The first and third parts of a 3-part biographical series on our manliest president, Theodore Roosevelt. Read them for yourself, and learn from Roosevelt's manliness.
The Unforgiving Minute - Craig Mullaney
Mullaney is a West Point Graduate and Rhodes Scholar. He wrote about his military education, his time at Oxford, his training as an Army Ranger, and his experiences leading a platoon in Afghanistan. The point of the book is the question he asks the reader to answer: Did his education prepare him to be a leader of men in a war zone?
A full list of what I read in 2012 can be found on my Goodreads profile, if you're curious about the rest of the titles that went into the 40 books I read last year. As for 2013, I have a few things on the radar:
- Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN - James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
- Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? - Steven Tyler
- Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman - Jon Krakauer
- Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
- John Adams - David McCullough
- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 - Mark Twain
- The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Globetrotter - Christian Graugart
- The Voice of Reason: A VIP Pass to Enlightenment - Chael Sonnen
Thus Sayeth Your Haus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)