Africa Encouragement

What a cool day at Freedom today!!! I got another chance to speak to the church about our mission trip to Botswana and WHY we are going. We also ended that part of the service with the church surrounding us with prayer. It was very cool and I can't wait to return and share more. Thank you God for a church family like Freedom.

Just waking up from the "oh so good" Sunday nap to find it raining again.

What's going through my head right now:

->This drier-than-normal spring is really something ;-) My neighbor, Barry, went out yesterday to the beaver dam and did some "destruction work". He said it was an amazing sight of construction. I think those beaver really know what they are doing. Glad to see some of that "backwater" go away as it was starting to look like a mosquito farm.

->I still think "The Office" is the funniest TV I have ever seen. Tricia and I watched another episode this afternoon following lunch. It was the "Company Picnic" episode.

->I am still mad as Hell about the Bernie Madoff scheme. I watched a Frontline 1 hr investigation last night. It just proves that deregulation is NOT the way to go and partially responsible for the mess we are in. When you have the wolves watching the sheep, some of the sheep are not going to grow old... The fact that whistleblower's attempts to uncover the scheme were denied for so long and then judged to be untrue at least once by the SEC is a shame of all shames and an indication that we cut the budgets and regulatory power of the bodies governing our financial markets way too much during the Bush years. We now have this to show for all of it.

->Listening to my recording from the show at the Handlebar on Friday. It was Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Jason spent 6 years in the Drive By Truckers before stepping out in 2007. Good show. I really like his songs; but, will be honest and admit the show is totally different and a more subdued engagement than the DBT. Not bad, just different. I enjoyed it, it was a free WNCW show for me and the recording turned out really good. On a Handlebar note, can't wait to see my old college favorite, Drivin' n' Cryin', there in July. It's gonna be a great summer night show!

->I finished Blue Highways yesterday. This is a book I will be revisiting again as I continue on my own journey through life. A vivid portrait of the backbone of America through one man's looking glass. Recommended summer reading.

->Really excited about my new job with Iatric Systems. I am travelling to Connecticut for work under my current position this week. I "officially" start in my new capacity on June 1st (ie, that's when the raise kicks in ;-)); but, I am already going full-speed ahead with plans and work for my new position. The best way to describe the position is to say that I will be the Harry Truman of that product line.

While I will have manager duties for the 2 consultants, I will be primarily the product champion for the line of applications in my suite, IatriConnect. The main applications are portals that allow physicians to view hospital information about a patient using only a web browser. We are also working on a patient portal to allow patients to schedule exams and procedures as well as review information from a previous admission (discharge paperwork,etc).

I will be steering the development work, doing the market research (there is a lot going on in this arena due to the recent federal stimulus funding and mandates), and responsible for most of the sales demos and conference presentations. It will be a HUGE responsibility; but, it's all based on applications that naturally attract me and I look forward to the challenge. I worked on a portal development team at my last hospital job and have some history with the development focus and intent.

So, I am buckled up and ready to move forward. I am planning to meet with my team of consultants this week while travelling to Connecticut. Both of the consultants live in Massachusetts and we are planning on a dinner while I am in the area for my other training duties. Since we all work remote, this will be an excellent opportunity for some team-building time. Glad I thought of that one!!! It's perfect timing since my travel and meals are already covered under the implementation contract that has me going up there in the first place. Basically, that means the hospital where I am going to train is paying for me to be there. That allows me to get more out of the trip without added expense for my company.

->I have about 5 roses blooming right now. I will post a picture this week once all the blooms are out. Nice viewpoint from the hammock on the porch.

Well, that's a snapshot today. Hope you have a great week! See ya!