Christmas Surprises

The Christmas party. At the festive time of year it is custom for a company, similar to the one I work in, to have a Christmas party. Well, the Soderquist Center is a little different than most companies due to the fact that we have two Christmas parties; one for the whole team and one for each individual business unit.

As is tradition, the Christmas party for the whole team met at Andy’s (the CEO) house. The food was good. We had some fun fellowship, but this year was a little different.

Surprise #1:

Let me introduce you to Frank. Frank works on the lovely grounds at Greystone with Rex. Frank is a very outgoing guy that loves to joke around with people. A while back, Frank lost his work keys. He searched high and low for those keys checking all of his pockets. But they were not to be found….. or were they?

After dinner on that afternoon at the team Christmas party, Andy had a special announcement. Frank’s keys were found, but where they were found was the interesting. Upstairs in the Greystone Estate, there is a sitting room that has a couch that you just sink into. A cushion of that couch was lift and Frank’s keys magically appeared.

When Rex handed Frank his keys, Andy stated an interesting observation. “Nothing really falls out of your pocket when you sit down, it usually only happens when you lay down. So Frank, what exactly were you doing?”

Surprise #2:

Lynette, my roommate from college who currently has my boss’ old job, sent me a picture that she found in her file of Gary when he first started working at Indiana Wesleyan University. The pictures are so priceless that it was important to reveal them at the right time and in the perfect way.
Well that perfect way came this Christmas. I rounded up a few accomplices to help with the special project. Each had the assignment to get a picture of the rest of the directors that had the same priceless quality that the picture of Gary possessed.
I must say that I picked the right people to do the job because they came through with flying colors.
The final product was a Christmas card that had all of their pictures on the inside top of the card so when the card was opened it had the element of surprise that would only produce a great reaction.
After all of the staff signed a card for their head director, the cards were presented to the directors as the lined up in the front of the room. All the effort was worth it as they opened the card and a wave of expressions swept over their faces. It was so great!










Surprise # 3:

Showguns Japanese Restaurant was were the Experiential Learning team and the Leadership Development team went for our business unit Christmas party. Our chefs did a fine job of entertaining us but the highlight was the awards ceremony. Many of the staff didn’t know about this portion of our event so it was a great surprise.
Some of the best awards:
Bob received the #1 OCD (#1 obsessive compulsive driller) award. When you put a drill in that boy’s hands that has a 36 in bit on it, he just starts drilling holes in things that don’t need a hole drilled in it.
Dusty was awarded the Chick Magnet award included a little black book which is the prefect place to write all of the numbers from his adoring young, female fans.

Winter Found Arkansas

December 1, 2006

















Winter finally arrived in Arkansas. Although it seems that it wants to leave as quickly as it came. Wednesday, all was well. A little windy but a nice 68 degrees. By Wednesday evening, the temperature dropped 30 degrees and the rains came. Through the night the temperature continued to drop causing a wintry mix for most of Thursday. Thursday night all that precipitation turned to ice and snow began to fall. Naturally this southern town shutdown. Many schools were closed today. I walked to work enjoying the inch and a half of snow that was on the ground. Here are some shots of what I saw this morning on my way to work. I took advantage of the opportunity because as I look out my window, there isn't much snow left. Hopefully this won't be the last I see of winter.

Holiday Sale

November 10, 2006
























*This coupon is no longer valid
(It isn't authentic either. Matt (the Media guy at work) did a fine job making it believable. He also took the picture.)

New Chapter

November 3, 2006

Once apon a time, a baby’s cry rang as Mark Sephton was born in the country of England. A few years earlier, Hilary Westbrook was born in a small American town of no consequence except for those fortunate enough to have lived near it.

Time passed, and each grew up encountering many joys and challenges that life has a tendency of bringing.

One summer evening, Mark met Hilary while visiting many of his friends in the States. That meeting was the first of many, and soon their relationship blossomed.

Late that following spring, Mark and Hilary were joined together in marriage. Many came to share their joy.

The decision was made that they would share their life together in England.

The first years of marriage passed quickly; each adjusting to one another, job changes, and becoming home owners.

Over three years has passed since their marriage, and now a new chapter in their life is starting to take shape. One that has caused much joy, as they take their extended family into territories that they have never experienced.

Mark and Hilary will soon be known as parents. My parents will move up to the level of Grand. And I will be called Auntie Heather by a child with an adorable English accent! I get so excited just thinking about it!

Congratulations Mark and Hilary!

Autumn in Arkansas

October 29, 2006
Lincoln Lake, AR

365 and Counting...

October 13, 2006



















366 days ago, I moved to Arkansas. 365 days ago I started my job at John Brown University. To many of you who have been working at the same job year after year this might not seem like a big deal. But for someone like me, this is HUGE!. Since college I have had a hard time staying in one spot. Let me give you a time line...

Dec. 2003 - Graduate College. Moved Home to Michigan
April 2004 - Had no luck finding a job. Went to England
Mid May 2004 - Landed a job in Sandusky, OH. Moved.
Late August 2004 - Flew to LA for an 8 week Photo. Internship. Ended up staying 14 weeks.
Dec. 2004 - Flew back home. Went to England.
Jan. 2005 - Moved to Newport Coast, CA to be an Au Pair
June 2005 - Found a job in Wisconsin.
June 2005 - Never made it to Wisconsin (job feel through) Stayed with friends in Denver.
July 4th, 2005 - Got hooked up with a one time Job that paid pretty well
Mid. July 2005 - Left Denver for Indiana to visit friends
August 2005 - Moved Home
Mid August 2005 - Moved to Indiana in hopes to find a job.
October 12, 2005 - Moved to Arkansas
October 13, 2005 - Started working at the Soderquist Center at John Brown University

So as you can see, I have quite the history of moving around from job to job. I have had to fight the urge to leave on several occasions. The above timeline is a testament to why being here a year is such a great accomplishment. I still like my job, don't get me wrong. But there is still that little part of me that wants to start the learning process all over again; that wants to see new places and adjust to new environments. Life is an adventure! That little part of me won't just go away when I tell it because of two reasons: 1. I am still young and 2. I am unattached.

Do I see myself staying in Arkansas forever? No, not really. Until one or both of the above reasons change, I will still keep going and waiting to see where I end up next!

Westbrook Manor

October 12, 2006

As an employee of JBU, I am allowed to take 3 credit hours per semester tuition free. I would consider myself somewhat of an idiot not to at least try and take advantage of my situation. So, this semester I signed up for a graphic design class that takes place every Monday night. The first program that the class focused on was Adobe Illustrator. Most of the time we just copy other peoples work to figure out how to use the program. Well, the last assignment allowed me to use some of my creative juices. The Assignment: design a business logo that incorporates your name in some fashion (either your first name and/or you last).

So I imagined Westbrook Manor. A wonderful bed and breakfast that has a few secret passage ways and a laundry shoot in every bedroom making it easy for the staff to dispose of dirty linens. If I were to open a real Bed and Breakfast, I wouldn't name it Westbrook Manor. I would call it Nobody's Inn. That has a much nicer ring to it, don't you think?

Nut Shell

August 31- September 4, 2006

My trip to Florida in a nut shell:
Starting top left:

Went to visit my Aunt Crystal and Uncle Erv in Venice, FL. Went for a walk on the beach and saw two dead blow fish. One was all puffed up and one wasn't. Pretty bizarre

Went to a place called Wonder Works. Got to lay on a bed of nails among other things.

Went to visit my buddy Bret in Orlando. Went to Walt Disney World with Bret and Rebecca (who got us in for free. She is the best!)

In Disney World (MGM), went to Turtle Talk with Crush from the moving Finding Nemo. Pretty amazing how an animation had conversations with the kids at sublevel. It "totally rocked Dude!"

Went to downtown Orlando for lunch. Had my first taste of gelato.

Overall the trip was too much fun. I had trouble returning to the land of Arkansas were there aren't as many fun attractions all in one area!

Would you like an aisle or window seat?

August 26, 2006

So here is the big news as of lately. I would love to say that it is something so exciting and earth shattering, but that would bring about disappointment on your end. But in my small Arkansas world, I am happy to report, that I am moving up the Soderquist Center desk space ladder. No longer am I in the middle of the high traffic area. No longer am I the center of what I like to call the fish bowl (meaning at least 50 people can see what I am doing at my desk at any given time).

So instead of listing all of the things that are different, I thought I would show you. But first you need a reference point. So click here to see the desk I started with. Then come back.


Now that you are back, I will go into a little more detail of what is different.

Please direct your attention to item #1. Before I only had one cabinet to store all of my work toys and books. Now I have even more space to store all of my legos, sidewalk chalk, carabineers, tangrams, and other useful tools to help build teams.

Now take a look at beautiful #2, the New Computer. Not only did I get a new computer, but I also got more desk space because my other monitor was bigger than me curled up in a ball. Seriously.

Now #3 really isn’t a great improvement in respects to my desk area, but it something that I had to point out because it has improved the status of my resume. I am now certified to run a forklift. A condor lift to be more specific. If you aren’t quite impressed because you lack the knowledge of what a condor lift is, let me enlighten you. Check it out.

Now direct your attention to our last exhibit, #4. "Where is #4?", you ask. Well, it wouldn’t fit in the picture above so I changed my angle slightly in the next photo to reveal the best part about my new desk…..A Window!! Hard to believe that I haven’t even been here a year and I get upgraded to a window seat. So now every morning, I sit down at my desk that is completely lit by the rising sun.

One more picture I would like to add as a tribute to the changes going on in our office. This past month there was a turn over in the graduate students (aka Soda Fellows) that work in our office. Six wonderful people have moved on and four new folks (names in bold) have moved in to take their place.
Pictured Left to Right:
Seth, Bob, Leah, Dusty, Ray, Amy, Christine.

Pull Back the Curtain

August 1, 2006

Important Notice! Please Read Before Continuing!

Many of you know that in college I was a photography major. What is not as commonly known is that part of the core curriculum with that major I had to also take a painting class. Oil painting to be more precise. Well, sense graduation I have picked up the paint brush a few times and have produced some works of "art". Now I put art in quotes because, as we know, art is completely subjective. Some say that an over size canvas paint in blue is art, others might have a different opinion on that matter. So as you look at my work just keep in mind that I am no Van Gogh, De Vinci, Picasso, or Monet. I also struggle with drawing and painting anything from my head, so I will also show the original painting that I essentially copied. I like to refer to it as a study because the best way to learn is to imitate those that know what they are doing. That is why they are referred to as Masters. I must also warn you that the photo quality is not the best so please bear with me on that score. So are you ready? Okay here we go...Pull back the curtain... Or you could just scroll down....








Keep Going......






Just a little more....






TA-DA















Now I will also show the painting by Christina Kieltyka-Ehl titled "Stained-Glass Trees". I wanted to do a painting that looked like stained glass. When I was doing my research this one really caught my eye.

On the Road Again

July 2-9, 2006
Well it is about that time again. Although I am still fully employed, the time came for me to leave Arkansas (including its humid weather) and head north for a little road trip. My first stop: Nashville, Tennessee. If you are thinking that Nashville isn’t really that far north, well you are right. And it did end up being more hot and humid than Arkansas, but like I said this was my first stop.

Why go to Nashville? Well, I’ll tell you. Nashville was the location for the 28th annual Wing Ding rally. My parents joined the Goldwing motorcycle club a few years ago. So really I just went to see them. But let me tell you, I saw a whole lot more that is really hard to express in words. But whenever you bring a large group of people together because of a common love for something you are bound to see things that you never imagined. The human race never ceases to amaze me!

Need an example? Okay, not only do these people spend all this time and energy making there bikes look good, but many of the husband and wife duos try to go all out in the matching outfit department. I know this picture is kind of small but you get the idea…

Another thing that amazed me was the Gaylord Opryland Hotel that the convention was in. If you ever go to Nashville just go in and look around. It is like a small city under one big roof! Plus there was this Di-vine Lady that walked around on stilts and would finagle her body into these positions against the wall to make herself look like ivy growing up the wall. She was pretty sweat!

Even though my parents don’t own a Goldwing any more, my Dad entered his trailer into a competition. He designed and built the trailer in about a years time. In Nashville he walked away with first prize. Nice job Dad!
Of course I couldn't leave Nashville without taking the Harley out for a spin. Too bad I don't know how to drive one, but I like to look like I do.

After Nashville, I headed up to Marion, IN to meet Lynette and Ginger. Last year the three of us decided that every year we would go on vacation together at one of our living locations. Last year they came to visit me in California, and this year it was Lynette’s turn.

To start the vacation off right, we went down to Indy to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory for my birthday. I went there last year for my birthday in Denver and thought I would try to make it a tradition. The rest of our time was spent doing what most people do on vacations in the summer: go swimming, get some sun, go shopping, eat an elephant ear, go to a movie, have a lot of laughs, eat, have some more laughs, eat again….you get the idea.

Because the location of this vacation was were we went to college, the whole trip revolved around eating. We had to go to all the places that we loved going to back then like Ivanhoe’s for ice cream and J&L’s for 2 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon, and 2 eggs for $2.76 (every college students dream!). Lynette loves to cook so she cooked on the grill and baked up a storm (pumpkin muffins, homemade wheat bread, and strawberry pie). For those of you that know her, you know she’s got skill.

Before my drive back to Arkansas, I stayed with my friend Sheena in Indy. With Sheen there is never a dull moment and that is what I love about her. We had some great fun with some other IWU graduates that live in the area. But all good things must come to an end, or at least be put on pause until we meet again.

Marrwige is what bwings us togever today

May 30, 2006
Well, I hit my first wedding of the season this past Sunday. Cindy Darr, one of the former Soderquist Fellowship members, is now Cindy Crowder. I guess I better clarify that I didn't actually go to the wedding. She wanted a nice small wedding in her parents backyard with more of an intimate setting. So I just got to go to the party afterwards. No complaints here. Had some good with, had a few laughs and then got "jiggy with it" if you know what I'm saying. ;) I did manage to shock a few people from work with my moves and my dress. Most people only see me in shorts and a tee-shirt (the best part of my job!), so like I said it caught a few people off guard. People that weren't even at the wedding were stopping me today and telling me how nice I looked. I was a bit confused but then I did a little digging to find out that some of the pictures from the wedding were sent to everyone in the office. Nice... no not so much, so I thought that I would post the pictures to prove that they were just over reacting. Congratulations to Cindy and Tim Crowder!













Just a side not and kind of a funny story, in the picture above, I hate to admits this but, I am actually standing on my tip-toes! The guy in the white shirt (John) is 6'4" and the other one (Michael) is just over 6' so I had to do something to try and even things out. As you can see, it really didn't help. The funny part of this picture is that neither John, Michael, or myself even know who the other girl is. We had to get our picture taken for the guest book. We didn't want here to have to get her picture taken all by herself, so we invited her to join our picture. I will just call her Wendy because then I will have had my picture taken with John, Michael, and Wendy and one of those lights in the background we can pretend is Tinkerbell. Next stop, Neverland. (Yeah I know what you are thinking.... and I will confirm it by saying that you are right. I am a dork!) Later

Clarification

May 20, 2006

I apologize for the delay and the confusion that seemed to arise from my last entry. It was ambiguous by design in hopes to gather some interest and cause you to believe that I was up to my old ways. But I am happy to report that all is well. I remain employed at the Soderquist Center and have moved up a step in society in terms of my living accommodations. I no longer live on campus but still remain with in walking distance. Although the walk to work is slightly longer in distance, I have come to enjoy its solitude and the opportunity it exposes to reflect on life. (pictured right)

Now allow me to introduce you to a new acquaintance. Laura Shank has agreed to share these new accommodations with me and, as I have discovered during this past fortnight, brings a great dramatic flare to our home. She will be returning to school in the fall by which time I believe we will have become good friends.

So as the world continues to turn and one day runs into the next, I hope that you will know that my door is always open to visitors. I can offer you a comfortable bed or couch, and if you are in need of warm weather, Arkansas provides intense heat and humidity during the summer months.

Although the summer heat can be quite ghastly, Arkansas has its charms and has brought about many new experiences. (After spending many days in the beautiful wooded Ozarks, I finally found my first tick. I am sure it will not be my last. I also happened to come upon two turtles doing all they could to ensure that the turtle population of Northwest Arkansas does not decline. I wish I could offer some visual proof, but I have none. Jason was also a witness and will testify to the shocking truth on what was seen.)

I hope that all confusion that might have come about concerning my present state has been put to rest. Life's adventures continue and as you may have guessed by my style of writing, I still manage to watch a quality Jane Austen film from time to time.

I am etc.,
Heather

Moving…Again

April 14, 2006 (Good Friday)
As of yesterday, I have been in Arkansas for six months. This has been a huge milestone for me. Believe it or not, I haven’t been at one job for more than five months sense I graduated college. If you doubt this statement, go back through my archives and you will see that I seem to be always on the go.

Those of you that know me best understand my need for change. Some fill that need by changing their hair color or rearranging their furniture, and others redecorate their homes. Well, options like that used to work for me, but I don’t have enough furniture to rearrange and my landlord would not appreciate it if I started pounding holes in the walls after applying a few coats of paint.
So the only option left is to move all together.

Some of you might think I am crazy, but I see this as a positive thing. I will have a new environment, encounter new faces, and have the opportunity to learn new skills. As soon as a I figure out my new address I will pass the word along. But not to worry, the city, state, and zip will remain the same. ;)

(Side note: The picture above really has nothing to do with anything. I took this out at Greystone in the kitchen. It is one of my favorites. Whenever I am having a day that makes me feel like what the picture is expressing, I will post it for everyone to see to serve as a warning. Watch out!)

Behold, Base Camp 2!

March 4, 2006
Well, March 3rd came and went and Base Camp 2 is up and running. We made the deadline with time to spare (like 12 hours). The first group of about 35 went through the course on Thursday. The overall comments were very positive. We have a few things that need a little tweaking, but that is to be expected with that number of people using it. No one was injured, no cables broke, and no boards snapped. The completion of Base Camp 2 is bitter sweet for me. I am happy to see it finished and I can come back in 10 years and say I helped build that. But building is something that I enjoy and will miss it. If I were a poet I would write a verse or two in honor of Base Camp 2. But alas, I am not. If that does happen (which I highly doubt) on some spontaneous, burst of emotion that I can’t control or hold back I will post it for everyone to see. Until then, all you will get to enjoy is the beauty of the finished product. Behold, Base Camp 2!

Base Camp 2 Update

February 6, 2006

Well, the new challenge course that we are building on the Greystone property in now officially called Base Camp 2 (the original Base Camp is at the John Brown campus). For those of you that are still wondering what I do for a living, here are a few more pictures to help you understand. It is going to be close but I think we will have this course completed by the beginning of March. Actually we really don't have much of a choice because we have a group coming out to use it on March 3rd. Talk about pressure!

The view of the lake from the third platform in the circuit. I would say that I am about 20' in the air.


Here are some shots of Jason cutting cable and braiding rope. I know that these pictures make it hard to believe that I do anything at work. Just remember that I had to teach Jason and now I am working on improving my delegating skills ;)












Gary working hard on a platform up high. (pictured right)

I have such a horrible expression on my face in this picture (below) because Jason just tried to cut off the top half of my index finger with the swedger! Just kidding about the finger. You can only blame that expression on bad timing by the photographer.

This (to the right) is what is known as a Burma Bridge. You just walk across on the cable holding onto the ropes on either side.








This (above) is the 2 line Bridge. The first element that we completed at Base Camp 2.