Well, the WBC had the year end concert at the end of April. Grandma and Grandpa B came out to watch, and I think they enjoyed the concert. Nathanael thought he sang well, and really liked having the extra family members present to listen. The whole choir did a great job, and we had guest artists from the U of M who did some wondering Jazz Music for us at the end.
Next year, there will be a lot of stuff for the boys to sing - plans are for concerts throughout the year, as well as the two the choir puts on themselves. Should be a fun season.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May News
Wow.... been a while...
You would think that with the amount of time I spend on computers, I would have time to spend on writing something in here, but alas, that is not the case.
What it has come down to is that I am doing other things with this machine, and not spending time on the browser as much. Likely not a bad thing, but....
I've got 5 things in the head right now, so I'll enter them as separate posts....
You would think that with the amount of time I spend on computers, I would have time to spend on writing something in here, but alas, that is not the case.
What it has come down to is that I am doing other things with this machine, and not spending time on the browser as much. Likely not a bad thing, but....
I've got 5 things in the head right now, so I'll enter them as separate posts....
Sunday, February 17, 2008
HTC Update
Job changes....
Well... it was due to happen sometime.
Yesterday at my second job, I was told (with lots of others in the same situation) that my job description has changed. We are now to "promote" - ie sell - a product that we provide technical support for.
It's been two years since I did the training for this phone support job. At the time, we were told there was no sales involved. Since the new product came on line, there have been incentives to promote it to people calling in for assistance with other products, but the promotion part was on our own, at least that was what I inferred.
Yesterday's session was good in that the expetations were very clear - the job has changed. Start doing it.
A bunch of years ago, I did outbound sales for phone companies from the states. I lasted 4 months before I couldn't do it any more. I hope that this is different. At this point, the "Promotion" part is the only part I'm uncomfortable with.
Yesterday at my second job, I was told (with lots of others in the same situation) that my job description has changed. We are now to "promote" - ie sell - a product that we provide technical support for.
It's been two years since I did the training for this phone support job. At the time, we were told there was no sales involved. Since the new product came on line, there have been incentives to promote it to people calling in for assistance with other products, but the promotion part was on our own, at least that was what I inferred.
Yesterday's session was good in that the expetations were very clear - the job has changed. Start doing it.
A bunch of years ago, I did outbound sales for phone companies from the states. I lasted 4 months before I couldn't do it any more. I hope that this is different. At this point, the "Promotion" part is the only part I'm uncomfortable with.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday Thoughts
Today is the first day that I have tried to do a post with the new phone. It is quite different trying to use the tiny keyboard or the writing area to make the words. So far I would say the easiest is the keyboard with the stylus and the word prediction turned on.
Just got the Bible installed as well - even got some surfing done.
Well, should go and do some other stuff for awhile.
Just got the Bible installed as well - even got some surfing done.
Well, should go and do some other stuff for awhile.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
New Toy.....
The old Palm has finally bit the dust this past week. The right top corner has stopped working, and it is starting to drive me nuts, as what started as a small section gone has turned into a large 2cm by 3cm unusable corner.
So Friday I took the plunge into the market and am trying out a HTC Touch. It's on a Rogers $10 plan, and I still have a week to see if I like it. So far, I am liking most of what it can do - the calendars working OK, and I figured out the syncing part Sunday night. The only part I don't really like too much is that it uses Outlook to sync to. I've gotten so used to Palm's desktop and to Thunderbird that to use Outlook again seems weird.
I did briefly consider Blackberry as an option - except that the plans were not really good - most of the carriers out here wanted $30-45 a month for the data plans. The neat thing about the Touch is that it has Wi-Fi - I've already got it surfing at home and at the dance school Nathanael goes to, and today I got it linked to a Second Cup hot spot.
What gets me is that most of the software that I have on the Palm will not be usable on the Touch. oh well.....
So Friday I took the plunge into the market and am trying out a HTC Touch. It's on a Rogers $10 plan, and I still have a week to see if I like it. So far, I am liking most of what it can do - the calendars working OK, and I figured out the syncing part Sunday night. The only part I don't really like too much is that it uses Outlook to sync to. I've gotten so used to Palm's desktop and to Thunderbird that to use Outlook again seems weird.
I did briefly consider Blackberry as an option - except that the plans were not really good - most of the carriers out here wanted $30-45 a month for the data plans. The neat thing about the Touch is that it has Wi-Fi - I've already got it surfing at home and at the dance school Nathanael goes to, and today I got it linked to a Second Cup hot spot.
What gets me is that most of the software that I have on the Palm will not be usable on the Touch. oh well.....
Sunday, December 30, 2007
New Year's Letter 2007
Well...... I can't call it a Christmas letter, can I? That was Tuesday.
Feel free to read and reply to if you wish.
Chris, Suzanne and Nathanael
Greetings to Everyone!
As a family, we have tried (and failed) to write out Christmas cards for the many people we would love to communicate with yearly. So, we are going to do a New Year's Letter, and hopefully this will get to everyone in a timely fashion....
January saw us returning from Swan River after spending part of our holidays there, and beginning to really settle into the house we moved into at the end of October. By the end of March, we had pretty much moved in, and made a list of items to be taken care of around the house. A few home renovations; some expected, some not, have been tackled by the end of this year. The most interesting was the furnace, as it involved removing the old furnace and hot water tank. Over the summer we got to meet our neighbours, and have learned quite a bit about the neighbourhood and it's history. We're still meeting more people from the area – we think that we are still “the new family” on our street! This winter we have spent mainly at home, completing the house renovations we started, and planning new ones. We are working on windows at the moment, and hope to get started on the basement and insulation next.
In September we made a church switch. While we didn't leave Springs Church, we changed which service we attend regularly. Our move to Inner City has let us be closer to home for church, and to be involved with a smaller group. It also fit into our plans to take Spanish Dancing (for Chris and Suzanne) on Sunday mornings.
Nathanael moved from grade 2 into grade 3 over the summer. He's still in French immersion, and is doing well. His speaking in French is beginning to get better – he's gotten over the shyness, and is now carrying on short conversations. Chris is trying to talk to Nathanael in French too, but both Suzanne and Nathanael think his accent stinks. Nathanael did a summer course in dancing over the summer in Alberta, and did well. He continued his studies in dance this fall with two Ballet classes, one Jazz class, and a Musical Theatre class. He is also continuing to sing in the Winnipeg Boys Choir. This winter the WBC sang for the first 3 performances of the RWB's Nutcracker. He had auditioned to dance, and was on the waiting list (in case someone couldn't make it).
Chris is at the same school for a third (!) year. He was evaluated for tenure in May, and was offered a permanent 0.5 contract in September (for music). He is continuing with the Reading Recovery program for the other half of the teaching time in the school. Outside of school, Chris is working casually at Convergys (Internet Tech Support), and is playing in the Band of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as a volunteer. The band did two trips outside of Winnipeg, one to Regina and one to Moose Jaw. The Regina trip stands out for Chris, as he met the honourary Colonel of the Regiment, The Princess Anne.
Suzanne continues to look after the boys, dogs and the house, and is studying for her certificate in Interior Design, which she will complete in 2008. She is hoping to start working with paying clients in the summer or spring. She is already doing some rooms for friends as extra projects.
Mojo and Ezra are still with us, each of them getting a bit slower. Mojo has reached 11 years now, and we have a noticed some days when she doesn't enjoy the stairs anymore. Ezra is still as spry as ever, but she does calm down faster. At 9, she still acts like she did when she was 3.
Well, there's the 2007 letter. We wish you all a great winter season, and God's blessings for everyone!
Chris
Suzanne
Nathanael
Mojo and Ezra
Feel free to read and reply to if you wish.
Chris, Suzanne and Nathanael
Greetings to Everyone!
As a family, we have tried (and failed) to write out Christmas cards for the many people we would love to communicate with yearly. So, we are going to do a New Year's Letter, and hopefully this will get to everyone in a timely fashion....
January saw us returning from Swan River after spending part of our holidays there, and beginning to really settle into the house we moved into at the end of October. By the end of March, we had pretty much moved in, and made a list of items to be taken care of around the house. A few home renovations; some expected, some not, have been tackled by the end of this year. The most interesting was the furnace, as it involved removing the old furnace and hot water tank. Over the summer we got to meet our neighbours, and have learned quite a bit about the neighbourhood and it's history. We're still meeting more people from the area – we think that we are still “the new family” on our street! This winter we have spent mainly at home, completing the house renovations we started, and planning new ones. We are working on windows at the moment, and hope to get started on the basement and insulation next.
In September we made a church switch. While we didn't leave Springs Church, we changed which service we attend regularly. Our move to Inner City has let us be closer to home for church, and to be involved with a smaller group. It also fit into our plans to take Spanish Dancing (for Chris and Suzanne) on Sunday mornings.
Nathanael moved from grade 2 into grade 3 over the summer. He's still in French immersion, and is doing well. His speaking in French is beginning to get better – he's gotten over the shyness, and is now carrying on short conversations. Chris is trying to talk to Nathanael in French too, but both Suzanne and Nathanael think his accent stinks. Nathanael did a summer course in dancing over the summer in Alberta, and did well. He continued his studies in dance this fall with two Ballet classes, one Jazz class, and a Musical Theatre class. He is also continuing to sing in the Winnipeg Boys Choir. This winter the WBC sang for the first 3 performances of the RWB's Nutcracker. He had auditioned to dance, and was on the waiting list (in case someone couldn't make it).
Chris is at the same school for a third (!) year. He was evaluated for tenure in May, and was offered a permanent 0.5 contract in September (for music). He is continuing with the Reading Recovery program for the other half of the teaching time in the school. Outside of school, Chris is working casually at Convergys (Internet Tech Support), and is playing in the Band of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as a volunteer. The band did two trips outside of Winnipeg, one to Regina and one to Moose Jaw. The Regina trip stands out for Chris, as he met the honourary Colonel of the Regiment, The Princess Anne.
Suzanne continues to look after the boys, dogs and the house, and is studying for her certificate in Interior Design, which she will complete in 2008. She is hoping to start working with paying clients in the summer or spring. She is already doing some rooms for friends as extra projects.
Mojo and Ezra are still with us, each of them getting a bit slower. Mojo has reached 11 years now, and we have a noticed some days when she doesn't enjoy the stairs anymore. Ezra is still as spry as ever, but she does calm down faster. At 9, she still acts like she did when she was 3.
Well, there's the 2007 letter. We wish you all a great winter season, and God's blessings for everyone!
Chris
Suzanne
Nathanael
Mojo and Ezra
Friday, November 30, 2007
Happenings....
Well, it's been a while since I posted on here. Facebook has been the page of use lately, although it doesn't seem to allow for the unlimited ramblings that a blog allows.
It's almost December, and the concert season is upon us. Nathanael's choir is singing in five performances this month - December 9 with the Bison Men's chorus, December 16 in their own Christmas concert (parents sing too...), December 21, 22, and 23 with The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. Then there's the school concert - December 19 - as well as my Band concert (dec 8) and my school concert on December 13.
Needless to say, we are busy this month. After Christmas Day I plan to take some time and relax.
It's almost December, and the concert season is upon us. Nathanael's choir is singing in five performances this month - December 9 with the Bison Men's chorus, December 16 in their own Christmas concert (parents sing too...), December 21, 22, and 23 with The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. Then there's the school concert - December 19 - as well as my Band concert (dec 8) and my school concert on December 13.
Needless to say, we are busy this month. After Christmas Day I plan to take some time and relax.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
Old Photos..
We (both of us) were going through some old albums looking for baby pictures of Nathanael... (it was his homework... but we liked doing that part!) and we came across this photo of Suz when we were dating.... Hard to believe that I was once that good at manual photography
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