Update

Here we are in the month of June, '07. A little over three weeks ago I was informed that my position at Accenture @ Best Buy had been dissolved -- either by off-shoring, or by consolidation with another role. (Guess it doesn't really matter to me which one: I'm gone either way.)

Seems like they've done a lot to help: they gave me over four week's notice that my last day was 6/15, I get a severance package for an additional two months and my normal benefits through the end of September if I don't find a comparable job by 6/15.

And we've had a house on the market for the past year. Not so bad, right? Oh, wait: did I forget to mention we already had bought another house and moved into it? So, two mortgage payments. Jeez!

Well, yesterday things began an upturn: we have a good offer on the house and we've accepted it. They'll get it inspected and ask us to do a couple things (like fix the leaking valve in the downstairs toilet tank, I'm guessing). Then we have to bring several thousand $ to the table because the market hasn't been as good to us in the past two years as in the past.

But we sold the house. Only one mortgage payment. Hallelujah!

And I got a great lead on a job yesterday. Interviews follow, and I want it to be a great fit. And it's downtown Minneapolis, which I could do without, but oh well. I mean, I love working down there, but I hate the commute. I love having the Farmer's Market on Thursdays along the Nicollet Mall. Nothing like bring fresh fruits and vegetables home along with a big bunch of daffodils in the evening. And I'm guessing I'd commute either on the train or by bus -- parking rates downtown are outrageous. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

Books: The 8th Habit is very good, and I'm excited about it. Here's what I've learned so far -- well, not learned exactly, but more been reminded: between something happening and my response to the thing that happened, there's a gap. How I choose to use that gap is my choice: positively or negatively.

Deep stuff, eh? It may have lost something in the translation between Dr Covey's writing and my interpretation...

I started working on John Maxwell's The Success Journey, too, and so far have learned about myself that:

• I have a passion for anticipating someone's needs and fulfilling them,
• I have the ability to identify and tap into people's best skills, and
• I am pretty darned good at writing and speaking -- I have what I like to call an "artful command" of the English language.

(I don't have too much life experience, though, so it's hard for me to relate to what others say on some planes of existence. Oh, I can talk vacation spots, limited financial conversations, TiVo and technology and the mundane stuff of life, but I'm talking about political unrest in the Middle East and stuff like that. That stuff comes up and I'm 98% uninformed.)

So, that's sort of an update. Hope it's interesting. I hope to have more soon.

Blessings and Regards,
Pablo

Here's a photo of The Fambly from a recent visit to my home town: