I Approve This Message

Cheers.

Haven't posted in a few days, and thought I would craft a relatively quick post just to stay in touch -- I've been working overtime this week to try to get caught up enough so that I don't feel bad about taking my week-long vacation to the mountains.  I know, I shouldn't feel bad about taking vacation; Stacy always tells me, "That's what it's for!"

But we are already behind schedule on "by far the most important software release" that my business area has signed up for since I have been employed at my company (a little over 2 years now) and probably a lot longer than that.  Officially, my group develops Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software for utility companies.  In other words, rather than developing custom software for a particular high-paying customer, we develop a reusable, configurable software suite that can be resold to many different customers for a lower price than it costs to build the entire suite.

However, in this case, we are effectively doing just the opposite.  One particular high-paying customer is funding a huge effort to expand capability of the existing, standard software suite such that it could be sold into other markets.  And as the first official customer of the this new functionality, it is key for our future business that this project is successful.  Bottom line, a lot is riding on this.... And we've all been informed of this point..... repeatedly.  On top of that, it doesn't help that I am terribly responsible when it comes to my work duties, sometimes to a fault.

But the overtime is well worth it to earn this vacation.  I can hardly wait to see my family in the mountains.  My immediate family of 6 will be headed to my uncle's mountain home in North Carolina to meet up with my parents, my nieces, my aunt and uncle, and hopefully my cousins.  My Uncle Wayne affectionately calls it a "cabin," but it's really much more than that.... I'll post pictures when we return.

We made the same trip last year for Memorial Day, and it was the best vacation I can remember; at least as an adult.  It would be fine with me if this became an annual (or even semi-annual) tradition.  The area and climate are gorgeous, the facilities are luxurious and spacious, and there are plenty of things to do...... or even better yet, there are plenty of things "not to do," as typically desired.  But the best part is having the opportunity for our respective families to get caught up, keep in touch, and build lifetime memories.  I'm literally hurting with anticipation, so I'm gonna stop writing about this now.

Before I go, I'll share a recent Braden quote that my mom relayed during our recent trip to Pensacola.  Mom took Braden and Zachary to McD's playground to let them expel some energy while we were cleaning up our house for re-rent.  For some silly reason (I honestly can't remember; Mom, you can comment and give more details), this little girl wasn't happy with Braden -- And so she told him, "I don't like you."  Without missing a beat, Braden tried to reconcile, "I don't know why not.... I'm Braden Michael <last name>, and I'm a very nice person."  All the adults within earshot just fell out.

I told my mom that he should run for office.  He could have followed up his appeal with, "...and I approve this message!"

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are having a blessed week!