Saw the movie Unstoppable last night - great show! I highly recommend it. I was a little drained at the end because of the intensity, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Or maybe it was the after effects of the best prime rib french dip sandwich I've ever had prior to the movie - outstanding!
So as I wind down my current work situation, I have to admit I'm in a fairly nice place. I've already transitioned all my work, and my manager indicated to me that he is happy to have me spend as much time as I need getting ready for my move, etc. So bottom line, I'm not working a lot of hours, and it feels great after many months of stress and tension to have very little work-related worry. I had forgotten how nice it is to start over by taking a new job!
We're trying not to think of the 30-40 degree temperature differential between Los Altos and Provo right now. It has been so amazing the last month in terms of weather - sunny, mid 70s (and even up close to 80 at times), and we know we're headed to colder climes very soon. Should be an interesting winter...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Some cool quotes from John Wooden
John Wooden was the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins during their unmatched championship dynasty in US college basketball. He was also widely respected as a humble, honorable, decent man. A friend shared some of his quotes recently and I thought I'd pass them along.
"The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."
"Listen if you want to be heard."
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.”
"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."
"A man may make mistakes, but he isn't a failure until he starts blaming someone else."
"Some criticism will be honest, some won't. Some praise you will deserve, some you won't. You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
“If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it will adversely affect the things over which you do have control.”
"A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit."
"The star of every successful team is the team."
"Peaks and valleys belong in the Alps, not in the temperament - the emotions - of a leader."
"Be prepared and be honest."
"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
"Never mistake activity for achievement."
"The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones."
"Tell the truth. That way you don't have to remember a story."
"Don't let making a living prevent you from making a life."
"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."
"Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read."
"Talent is God-given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
"The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."
"Listen if you want to be heard."
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.”
"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."
"A man may make mistakes, but he isn't a failure until he starts blaming someone else."
"Some criticism will be honest, some won't. Some praise you will deserve, some you won't. You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
“If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it will adversely affect the things over which you do have control.”
"A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit."
"The star of every successful team is the team."
"Peaks and valleys belong in the Alps, not in the temperament - the emotions - of a leader."
"Be prepared and be honest."
"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
"Never mistake activity for achievement."
"The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones."
"Tell the truth. That way you don't have to remember a story."
"Don't let making a living prevent you from making a life."
"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."
"Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read."
"Talent is God-given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Stuff Going On
A lot has happened since I last wrote. Lots of good things in fact. Let me see if I can recap in rough chronological order...
We had a family member, Meredith, go through the temple for the first time, and even though Ang and I weren't able to travel to join them, it was awesome to be a part of it remotely. We went to the temple ourselves that same day, and had a great time thinking of our close family bonds, and the blessings we've been given. We're so happy for Dave and Mere!
Micah and Angela took a little day trip down to L.A. for an audition that Micah's agent lined up for her. It was a fun experience for them to drive down together, leaving early in the morning, do the audition for like 10 minutes, and then drive home. I think they were really watched over because Angela had no problem staying awake, which if you know Angela, you'll realize how amazing that is. It turns out Micah didn't get the call back, but she was fine with that, and I know of at least one parent who was secretly relieved that there wasn't going to be a repeat day trip a few days later.
And then there's this little thing called the World Series. I completely get why much of the country loses interest in the WS when their team isn't playing. What I didn't really understand until this year was how amazing it can be for the entire broad community when your local team is actually one of the participants, and then even moreso if they happen to win it. It was AWESOME how literally everyone you saw was somehow sporting Giants gear, talking about the Giants, or hurrying home to watch pregame - yes, I said watch pregame... before a baseball game... Anyway, our whole family was really, really into it, and when the Giants won the Series we celebrated with all our friends.
Halloween was fun, but also a little more low-key this year since it was on Sunday. We enjoyed the ward trunk-or-treat, and were surprised to come home with 2x the amount of candy then we went with. The kids really made a killing by circling the parking lot 10 or 12 times and completely filling their bags. We had a number of Halloween parties throughout the weekend, the most memorable being a lady in our ward who goes completely wacko about Halloween, converting her entire house into a shrine to Halloween, and a very good spook alley - very fun! Of course all the trick or treating was done on Sunday, and we decided to participate with some friends in a reserved manner. We stayed all together as a family instead of letting them run off with their friends, and it was actually very fun. We have good kids and they were pretty respectful of the fact that it was still Sunday. Micah was a 50s poodle girl, Kennan was a Greek goddess, Morgan was a Barbie, and Brig was Commander Cody from Star Wars.
And finally, I got a new job. This was a crazy process. I was originally referred to this software company in Provo called Imagine Learning by a close friend who had worked with the company on a deal. I began the process of interviewing, and it progressed to a visit to Utah a couple weeks ago for some in-person interviews. I think our families started to realize at that point that something might be going on, but we still kept it pretty low profile because we never knew what would happen. When I was interviewing at IL, they told me I was one of four final candidates, and they'd let me know early the next week what their decision was. So I waited. And waited. The next week went by, and with each passing day I convinced myself more and more that I had not made the cut. The funny thing was, if it was someone else, I would've encouraged them to be patient, and that it just takes time, particularly if the company has a lot of real work going on ... however, since it was me, every hour that went by meant I had missed out. At the time I was also interviewing for a new job inside Google, and I had a number of interviews for that throughout the week. On Friday late afternoon I came out of a particularly good interview, feeling pretty good about what the new Google job might offer, and I had decided to go over to the Director's office and announce I was ready to start (he had already unofficially offered me the job). And then my phone rang. It was the CFO of IL; he explained how there were two final candidates - myself and one other - and that we both had our pluses. He said it had taken so long because he and the CEO wanted to make sure they made the right choice, so they had each taken a few days to contemplate on their own. He told me how the other candidate had more experience, and was more familiar with Utah County - at this point I was waiting for him to say they had chosen the other guy. He then went on to say that he and the CEO had both come to the same conclusion independently - that I was their guy and they were going to give me an offer. I was completely surprised, and very excited. It was so fun to call Angela and tell her the good news. So when the offer came in the next week, we went through the evaluation process, and it all seemed good. Ang and I both found ourselves talking and thinking as if we were going to take it, and we both felt really good about it, so it just was a matter of finalizing some further details, and then signing my name. It was surprisingly hard to make it official, but we couldn't think of any reason not to other than the fact that we'd miss our friends in CA. So we did it, and we're going to now go through a huge change for our family. The kids were all very surprised and completely excited when we told them. That initial excitement has worn off a little for Angela and Micah as they've gone through the process of telling their great friends about the pending move. They both still feel good about it and are excited, but when you have life-changing friends, it's hard to say goodbye. It would be impossible to overstate the impact our friends have had on our lives while we've been here. They truly are our family in many ways. We love them and will miss them dearly. The one consolation in this is that nearly all of our friends have strong ties to Utah, and almost all will visit there frequently - we plan on hijacking numerous Utah vacations for selfish reasons.
So there you have it - lots of good stuff. We've been very blessed.
We had a family member, Meredith, go through the temple for the first time, and even though Ang and I weren't able to travel to join them, it was awesome to be a part of it remotely. We went to the temple ourselves that same day, and had a great time thinking of our close family bonds, and the blessings we've been given. We're so happy for Dave and Mere!
Micah and Angela took a little day trip down to L.A. for an audition that Micah's agent lined up for her. It was a fun experience for them to drive down together, leaving early in the morning, do the audition for like 10 minutes, and then drive home. I think they were really watched over because Angela had no problem staying awake, which if you know Angela, you'll realize how amazing that is. It turns out Micah didn't get the call back, but she was fine with that, and I know of at least one parent who was secretly relieved that there wasn't going to be a repeat day trip a few days later.
And then there's this little thing called the World Series. I completely get why much of the country loses interest in the WS when their team isn't playing. What I didn't really understand until this year was how amazing it can be for the entire broad community when your local team is actually one of the participants, and then even moreso if they happen to win it. It was AWESOME how literally everyone you saw was somehow sporting Giants gear, talking about the Giants, or hurrying home to watch pregame - yes, I said watch pregame... before a baseball game... Anyway, our whole family was really, really into it, and when the Giants won the Series we celebrated with all our friends.
Halloween was fun, but also a little more low-key this year since it was on Sunday. We enjoyed the ward trunk-or-treat, and were surprised to come home with 2x the amount of candy then we went with. The kids really made a killing by circling the parking lot 10 or 12 times and completely filling their bags. We had a number of Halloween parties throughout the weekend, the most memorable being a lady in our ward who goes completely wacko about Halloween, converting her entire house into a shrine to Halloween, and a very good spook alley - very fun! Of course all the trick or treating was done on Sunday, and we decided to participate with some friends in a reserved manner. We stayed all together as a family instead of letting them run off with their friends, and it was actually very fun. We have good kids and they were pretty respectful of the fact that it was still Sunday. Micah was a 50s poodle girl, Kennan was a Greek goddess, Morgan was a Barbie, and Brig was Commander Cody from Star Wars.
And finally, I got a new job. This was a crazy process. I was originally referred to this software company in Provo called Imagine Learning by a close friend who had worked with the company on a deal. I began the process of interviewing, and it progressed to a visit to Utah a couple weeks ago for some in-person interviews. I think our families started to realize at that point that something might be going on, but we still kept it pretty low profile because we never knew what would happen. When I was interviewing at IL, they told me I was one of four final candidates, and they'd let me know early the next week what their decision was. So I waited. And waited. The next week went by, and with each passing day I convinced myself more and more that I had not made the cut. The funny thing was, if it was someone else, I would've encouraged them to be patient, and that it just takes time, particularly if the company has a lot of real work going on ... however, since it was me, every hour that went by meant I had missed out. At the time I was also interviewing for a new job inside Google, and I had a number of interviews for that throughout the week. On Friday late afternoon I came out of a particularly good interview, feeling pretty good about what the new Google job might offer, and I had decided to go over to the Director's office and announce I was ready to start (he had already unofficially offered me the job). And then my phone rang. It was the CFO of IL; he explained how there were two final candidates - myself and one other - and that we both had our pluses. He said it had taken so long because he and the CEO wanted to make sure they made the right choice, so they had each taken a few days to contemplate on their own. He told me how the other candidate had more experience, and was more familiar with Utah County - at this point I was waiting for him to say they had chosen the other guy. He then went on to say that he and the CEO had both come to the same conclusion independently - that I was their guy and they were going to give me an offer. I was completely surprised, and very excited. It was so fun to call Angela and tell her the good news. So when the offer came in the next week, we went through the evaluation process, and it all seemed good. Ang and I both found ourselves talking and thinking as if we were going to take it, and we both felt really good about it, so it just was a matter of finalizing some further details, and then signing my name. It was surprisingly hard to make it official, but we couldn't think of any reason not to other than the fact that we'd miss our friends in CA. So we did it, and we're going to now go through a huge change for our family. The kids were all very surprised and completely excited when we told them. That initial excitement has worn off a little for Angela and Micah as they've gone through the process of telling their great friends about the pending move. They both still feel good about it and are excited, but when you have life-changing friends, it's hard to say goodbye. It would be impossible to overstate the impact our friends have had on our lives while we've been here. They truly are our family in many ways. We love them and will miss them dearly. The one consolation in this is that nearly all of our friends have strong ties to Utah, and almost all will visit there frequently - we plan on hijacking numerous Utah vacations for selfish reasons.
So there you have it - lots of good stuff. We've been very blessed.
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