Update From Saginaw

OK, I'm finally updating this thing because Jeff told me he'd pay me big money to change it. I have not thought out any elaborate prose, I will simply type for a few minutes.

Work is going very well! I love what I do! It is very stressful right now because we have acquired so many assets under management. There is a lot of trading going on because we have to allocate the new clients' assets, but with the markets a little fuzzy, and no general trend established, we're easing the money in on an incremental basis...which translates to more work on the trading side. In fact, all I did today (in between the small issues that popped up in operations) was trade. It is very stressful at times when there are a lot of trades to be executed, and not enough time before the markets close. I had an unfortunate experience today. Last Thursday we made some pretty big exchanges, but amongst the chaos, we didn't get them uploaded by 3pm, so we had to upload them yesterday. Well, I reallocated about 30 accounts today that were off target, but I failed to realize that I had reallocated 2 of them last Thursday, so the trades were executed twice. To make a long story short, I had to cancel out some of the trades, and I cost the company about $100. That is a very small amount in comparison to other trading errors that have occurred, but I still beat myself up over it. I tucked my tail between my legs, went in to Byron's office (the owner) and explained to him the problem, how and why it happened, and what I will do to prevent it from happening in the future. As expected, he was very cool about it, and was pleased with how I handled the small error in a very serious manner. What a cool boss! Anyway, this was a great example of how stressful the job can be under big time constraints. An error on 2 accounts is not too threatening, but an error that effects 400 accounts could be very damaging to the company. And, as Director of Operations, it falls on my shoulders to make sure this never happens. As stressful as I may make it sound...it's really not too bad, as long as the procedures are followed and you don't get in too big of a hurry. It is a lot of responsibility, and I LOVE IT!!

The house is awesome! It's noticably bigger than our house in Wichita Falls. In fact, I told Jenn tonight that you have to walk a lot more in this house going from room to room! HA! We're slowly getting settled in. We got DirectTV a few days ago, and I love it! It came with a free dual receiver TIVO, and that is way cool! DirectTV is cheaper than cable, so it was an easy decision. I look forward to buying a new grill this weekend so we can cookout on our covered patio while the kids play in the backyard. Our backyard gets the morning sun, so in the evenings there is plenty of shade back there. No trees though...I guess that comes with the territory of buying a new house. At least I won't have leaves to rake this fall!

Jennifer has been very sick lately due to her pregnancy, but just a couple of days ago she started feeling a lot better! She's beginning her 2nd trimester. We haven't found a new doctor down here yet, but she's not scheduled to go back until around the end of April. She'll probably find one by the end of this week. We should be having a sonogram in the next month or so. Kylie was sick for about a week, running fever and stuff. Cara was sick for several days, then got better, but then got a bacterial infection in her eyes, and started running fever again, so now she's on an antibiotic. So, it's been difficult to establish a routine so far, but hopefully in the next few days everyone will be healthy. Karissa has not been sick, thank goodness, but she got her toe jammed in a bicycle she was riding barefoot, and had to get 6 stitches!! Her 10 days were up yesterday, so I removed the stitches last night for her...which she thoroughly enjoyed! HA! She started school today, and hated it. She said they didn't have music class or PE, and she had homework!! She learned at her old school that you only have homework if you don't finish your work in class. Well, today at her new school, she was assigned homework, so she thought she was getting in trouble. She also said a mean boy stepped on her toe and laughed at her. They eat lunch at 10:30 and don't have any snacks or anything until she gets out at 3pm! She had snacks at her old school twice a day!! She didn't get to play at the "centers" and they don't get to sit on a "rug" for story time. She also doesn't like her table partner, but she hasn't said why. :) She will adjust to her new school in due time. I don't think I will ever like public schools, mostly due to the stupid TAKS test. I have a feeling my mouth will get me in trouble when my kids are old enough to be involved in all that crap. I won't bore you, but here's what I think about the TAKS. The idea of having a standardized test for all schools to compare each other with is a great idea, so we all know how each school compares to our entire education system, and the strong schools can continue to foster their success, and the weaker schools can adjust their programs to provide the children with a higher quality of education. However, the underlying incentive structure is damaging the most important element of our education system...and that is the quality of education our children are receiving. Our teachers are pressured into teaching the kids how to score higher on the TAKS, and are sacrificing education out of fear of losing their jobs. You can't put all the blame on the teachers, because they need their job just as bad as you and I. That is why the incentive structure is what is corrupt, in my opinion. Don't link school funding to TAKS scores, or at least not as much as it is now. I could go on and on, but I'll wrap it up with this: The current system is preparing high school graduates to go out in the real world and do really well at multiple choice exams...but they are lacking in problem solving and critical thinking skills (this is obvious anytime you ask for help in any retail establishment). Just teach the subjects and they will naturally score well on the TAKS because they actually know the material. Don't hand out TAKS practice exams and fool yourself into thinking you are teaching something! Anyway...this makes my blood boil, and when my kids are of "TAKS age", I will not be able to keep my mouth shut. Maybe I will lead a movement against it or something! HA!

WOW! I only intended on typing for a few minutes. I better end now before I think of something else to blab about.