New New Year

Once again it is January and I am starting this blog. Let's pretend that last false start never happened.

Sara and I are now settling in the KC metro after several moves. We caravaned from Greenville up to the KC area and moved in with my parents the first of May and stayed in their basement from that time through the end of July. (Thanks mom and dad!) Our house in Greenville sold in June but it took us some time to find just right new place here. We now have a home in beautiful Lee's Summit (or is it Lees Summit, we are not entirely sure). It is quite nice except a bit colder than Texas right now. We did enjoy the milder summer and the shade provided by a few more trees up here.

Anyway, we are here along with Miele who has solidified her post as an "inside dog". She now has a bedroom that is either referred to as the computer room or Miele's bedroom complete with Miele's bed (which could mean her 2'x3' dog bed or the twin bed she has taken over) as well as Miele's window (we rearranged the room so that Miele's bed could be next to the window and Miele could watch the world wander by). OK, so she is spoiled, we love her and I don't think she is derailing our lives too much....yet.

We really like having a little larger yard and some trees. We are also just around the corner from a nice park with a nice paved trail where Sara often takes Miele for her morning walks. We are slowly learning our way around and finding all the little shortcuts and special places around town.

I wouldn't say we are quite settled here but things are getting more familiar all the time. We have yet to join a church although Wood's Chapel Church is the definite front runner. Sara has begun playing with the bell choir there and we enjoy the services and the pastor. We may try to attend the Sunday School in the coming weeks which could make the decision for us.

My new job is going well as I approach 9 months working there. The people have been very friendly and, for the most part, helpful. There are always so many policies and procedures to work through as well as figuring out how the unofficial things work. I came in working in a group of three. An older gentleman was working electrical issues and our manager had been doing all the optical work. When I arrived my position was created to take some of the optical work and electrical work and do a mixture, roughly 50/50 of the two. I began learning all I could about the software and other tools they use to create the optical designs. I was just starting to get a handle on things when my manager took a job somewhere else. Well, that leaves me with an opportunity to fill the void and take on some more responsibility. That task has been going well but it has certainly slowed the formal training process as I have jumped in and learned on the fly. Anyway, enough boring details on that. Overall the job is challenging and opens up a lot of room for growth for me. I am able to work on many more hands on projects which tends to pique my interest.