Jenny is now up in Baltimore/Philly getting the job fairs set up. She’s due to come back September 1. It’s kinda sad being a bachelor again, and it’ll be great to have her back. Mom and I are supposed to leave for NY on Sunday for the US Open. When we’re not watching tennis, we hope to go see a play in Central Park and visit Ground Zero. I haven’t been to New York since 1999. I used to have a great picture of the Twin Towers, but I’m not sure where it is. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get around on the subway. Mom’s been trying to figure out how to protect us from muggers. We have tickets to the day and evening sessions of the US Open on Monday and Tuesday. Sunday and Wednesday we should have a little time for sightseeing. Go Andre!
One to Go…Almost
If all goes as planned, by the end of the day Thursday I’ll be done with class #12 and have one more to go. Woohoo! I’ll be a little sad when this class ends because it’s been one of my favorites. Our textbook is The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman, and I highly recommend it if you have any interest in America’s place in the world and in globalization, the ever-increasing interdependence/interaction of all the world’s nations, economies, cultures, people, and ideas. Friedman presents big ideas in accessible language, making the book an east but fascinating read. We’ve had great discussions in the class about where people fit into this new world and society’s role in helping them or leaving them to fend for themselves.
Traveling Fools
The Boxes plan to very a lot of the world over the next couple of months. For starters, Jenny has a 10-day trip to Philadelphia at the end of August to help with a couple of job fairs for ramp agents. At the same time, Mom and I are scheduled to go up to New York to see the opening round of the US Open, which will be Agassi’s last tournament. Then Jenny and I head out to Vegas in September for a few days. She’ll be working the LAS Spirit Party and another event, and I’m going along for the ride. Finally, to celebrate my birthday and the end of my MBA classes, we’re planning a Carnival cruise to the southern Caribbean in late October. Whew!
Half-marathon training is going well. I’m up to 12 miles per week and trying to increase it by a mile or so each week. I also joined Jenny’s gym, LA Fitness, to strengthen my muscles and swim a bit. I guess at some point I need to register for the race to make sure I don’t chicken out. =)
Need a Good Firefighter?
I’ll dedicate this blog entry to my best friend Lacy. After many months of hard work, he completed firefighter school this week and passed his state exam, so he’s now a certified firefighter. He worked a tough job all day and spent his evenings in class on top of being a good husband and father. Now he’s looking for a firefighting job, so if you know of any, drop me an email. He gets very excited any time you bring up his new career, so I know it’s a perfect fit. It feels a bit odd to be so excited about seeing your friend pursue such a risky career, but if my house were on fire, I’d want him on the scene.
And in other news, I want to give a shout out to my homegirls in the Labor and Delivery unit at Baylor Irving. Apparently they check out my blog sometimes between deliveries, especially on the night shift. Thanks for stopping by! “Empuje el nino!”
Finally, I want to make sure you know about one of my other favorite websites: babelfish.altavista.com. You can type in a word or phrase in a variety of languages and have the site translate it into various other languages. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun to play with. Give it a try!
The Next Challenge: Ordeal in the Sun (dun dun dun!)
I’ve been thinking for a while about what to do once I finish school and have more free time. The Playstation 2 will definitely be involved, but I think I’ve found a new challenge: PF Chang’s Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon/Half Marathon. As the name implies, it’s a marathon or half (I’ll stick with the half) in the Phoenix area with about 70 live bands playing for you along the way to keep you motivated. I’ve loved the idea ever since I heard about it several years ago, and I think I’m going to sign up. I doubt I can run the whole way, but now that I have some decent running shoes and time to train, I’ll give it my best shot in January. I’d better get in shape!
Five Years at Southwest
Last week was my five-year anniversary at Southwest. I started on June 25, 2001, so I was quite grateful that Southwest didn’t lay off all the new guys after September 11. To celebrate our anniversary, many of the new hires from my SMART Camp group (Technology new hires fresh out of school) met for lunch, and I got to join them. It was great to see some folks I hadn’t seen in months and catch up. About 2/3 of us are left from the original group of about 22, which is pretty high for technology workers. I think the high retention rate is partly due to SMART Camp, which was 6 weeks of orientation to the company, its various departments, and its history along with lots of fun. Sure, it was a long program, but it helped make us die-hard fans of the company.