cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, & Maxine Shirts
"It is all Jared Wright's fault I haven't written a thoughtlet since the one about Matt's Sea Cadet Boot Camp (13 July 2003 #0328.html). So for those of you who have told me you miss the Thoughtlets (which isn't very many) you can blame Jared, and it will make us all feel better to have a scapegoat. You see, Jared asked Melanie what the status on my swallows was, because his Dad had a health scare and has lost 30 pounds and asked him. Well, I've done a very good job of writing down my swallows each day this year. And I have been so busy the last few months, working 60-90 hours per week, I have not had time to keep the spreadsheet charts up. So when Melanie asked me on Sunday, July 13th what the status was, I realized I needed to catch up the spreadsheet charts before I wrote another Thoughtlet. So it is all Jared's fault. However, Jared, maybe you will feel better if you blame it on your father, since he asked the question originally.
Well, now that I have that off my chest, I can report I have caught up the spreadsheet charts. I am attaching two to this e-mail, and will include 6 with the posted version of the Thoughtlet (see table below). The bottom line is that so far this year I have lost 257 days by counting swallows. Jared, I must admit your audacity about asking has got me thinking a lot. And I realized this was what I let slip about a year ago on my swallow diet. I stopped thinking about it. It became a habit to count swallows. Sure I have strived to honor my integrity by keeping an accurate count. And I have not taken time to think about the consequences of the number of swallows I have been making. If you will, it became a habit, and I lost sight of my goal. I tend to look at the big picture too much, and to loose track of the details (see the chart showing swallows so far this year). It is pretty obvious to me this thinking thing is why I have lost sight of the goal. If I intend to have the success I had the first months of counting swallows last year, I now realize I need to keep the results and the goal in front of me. I need to think about it, ponder what I am doing and not doing, and make changes day by day. Thus the second chart attached (swallows for September with my weight goals plotted against my early morning measurements). So now that Jared's question has been answered, I can get on with writing my diary, opps, I mean the Thoughtlet for the week of July 13th.
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| 2003 Swallows Count To Date | September Swallows Count with Goal |
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| Graph of all Swallows to Date | Percentage of all Swallows to Date |
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| Integral of all Swallows to Date | Normalized Derivative of all Swallows to Date |
Since I am so far behind, it seems appropriate to give a preview of the next few Thoughtlets, i.e. their name and number and web reference:
Last time I caught up on Thoughtlets at Grandma Shirts' place, about July 30th, I sent out 5 of them. Melanie asked me to resend some of these, I forget how many, and as I was putting my notes together for this marathon writing project, I realized I forgot to put Rachel on the mail list for the last 5. so Rachel will hopefully get 13 Thoughtlets this weekend. Oh well! It's all Jared's fault. At least it has been so long since these events happened, and I am getting so old, I won't be able to remember much to write about. I wonder if there is some way I can make that Jared's fault too?
I guess I must be stressed out as I read over my notes from Sunday, July 13th. Melanie was substituting as the Gospel Doctrine teacher. She was getting ready for a big show in Chicago. She agreed to be a Young Women's chaperone on a youth trip to Nauvoo. She is pregnant. She was definitely stressed out. And I'm sure it must all be Jared's fault. On this Sunday I wrote the Thoughtlet on work (0321.html), in which I outlined 8 Thoughtlets I was behind on. Isn't that the number listed above? Maybe there is a pattern here?
On Sunday, July 13th, I was sustained and set apart for a new calling: Ward Employment Specialist. I think most of you know, and most of you have laughed with me about this calling. Paul and Melanie were particularly viscous: `But Dad, you don't have a job.' Bishop Camp wasn't much nicer, with, `Well maybe this will help you find a job.' As he described my calling responsibilities, he said I was to have training sessions and teach people how to be independent. So I asked, it seemed logical to me, `Does this mean you want me to teach entrepreneurship?' His response was something like, `Look Roice, if we end up with a bunch of unemployed people in the ward looking to the church for help because they attempted to start a business that didn't work, you will be released.' OK with me. In the meantime, I will attempt to be the best ward employment specialist I can. For those of you interested, you can follow my success and failure at:
http://www.walden3d.com/mncw/employment
On this day I was pleased to learn that Sarah has got a new job in California as an Assistant Director of Admission at a Private High School. I was really pleased with how fast I was able see success with my new calling. I learned this news within six hours of being set apart. This news from Ben reminded me of the possible stanza I wrote for Prime Words in Sacrament Meeting, based on a talk by Shane Gillette:
Monday I worked at the house until noon, then worked
on the Phoenix 2-D India seismic interpretation. In
the evening Rachel, Matt, Andrea, and I went to see
`Pirates of the Caribbean.' Fun movie. Although I
don't care for the skeletons. Fascinating graphics.
And it reminds me too much of the byproducts plant
and the load of bones, skulls, and guts to be slashed
open and drained every night after working on the
killing floor at Nelson Meat Packing Plant. Now
there's a job! Wonder if I could get anyone in the
ward to take on that job, if it was still available?
Tuesday, July 15th, I had scheduled to go to NASA for a disclosure of a new geomorphology technology one of their contractors had invented. There was no one available by phone, and finally the legal connection canceled the meeting. Then a little while later the secretary called back to see if we could still hold the meeting. It was raining, and I ended up being about a half hour late for the meeting. It was really interesting. I told them they could never sell their idea to the oil industry. It is a concept, and I've attempted to sell concepts for the last 2 years. Doesn't work. Told them they need to throw out their patent, and either: (1) give a whole series of papers on the concept and transfer it to the public domain as quickly as possible, or (2) hire someone (like me) to put together a series of 90 AMI agreements (Area-of-Mutual Agreements), and sell these to oil companies for a fee and a percentage of any hydrocarbons discovered over a 3-5 year time period as a result of the AMI agreements. They are going to consider my agreement. They have not made a decision that I know of yet.
Wednesday the 16th, I sent a summary e-mail to NASA, which was responded to on Monday, August 25th. I'm under a confidentiality agreement, and so I won't disclose the e-mail at this time. I talked to Bob Stanton at Church Headquarters and made arrangements to meet with him the following Monday. I was kind of excited about the possibility of getting a job working for the church. Phone conversations with both Frank Lott and John Bernard put the Casey Ranch project in better perspective. There were problems with the computers, and Les had to fix them. Rachel, Matt, Andrea, and I went to see `The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' in the early afternoon. My reaction is kind of the same as `Pirates;' i.e. it is a fun movie, with a lot of action, and I do not care for vampires and people who live forever. It is a newer version of the Indiana Jones trilogy.
Thursday was the first day my notes mention the passwords for the Casey and Pitzer projects in North Central Texas. I must have been busy doing the seismic interpretation during the days. Friday there was a call from Charles Walker at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. However, weeks later, they still haven't paid the invoice due before that. Friday evening Andrea and I went to see `The Italian Job.' I liked that movie. Even though it glamorized being a thief. It is really sad how our society treats basic principles like the 10 commandments.
Saturday Andrea and I went to see `Whale Rider.' Guess it was our week to get caught up on movies after the trip to London and such. Great movie. Everyone of you should go see it. It is very much into the Maori Culture of New Zealand, and the message of hope and honoring traditions is universal. I came home to a VGP (Visiting Geologist Program) invitation to give a presentation to geological students at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado in October. For the step-kids and cousins, this is where Grandma Jackson lives. I want to support the program, and I'm not sure I can afford to go to Ft. Collins financially or emotionally.
Sunday morning Andrea and Matt left for Cedar City so Matt could go to EFY (Especially For Youth) at Southern Utah University, and because I wanted to make sure he spent time with his real Dad. Little did I know about what Andrea and I now refer to as the `kidnapping conspiracy,' which had been surreptitiously planned ever since we brought Matt up to Audrey's graduation. When kids are involved in secret plans, not realizing they are breaking the law, it has to be very hard to develop a real relationship with the parent under attack. Jared, maybe this is your fault too. Certainly it isn't my fault!
Although it is my tendency to take responsibility for things which I have no control over. This has created problems in my past. Sort of like kids who personalize everything I write in these Thoughtlets. Even when I am in a very sarcastic mood.
If something I write or have written makes you feel uncomfortable, examine why. It is much better to work through issues by contemplating a Thoughtlet than it is contemplating why you were fired, went bankrupt, are struggling with marital problems, etc. Jared, thanks in advance for being a good sport and this week's example. Maybe it would be a good idea if we internalized what I always thought we had, and really developed a no-fault family. After all Matt loves being here. I seldom spend time with him. He is usually able to do whatever he wants. He is almost always upstairs alone. What more could a kid want? I haven't even used my new position as Ward Employment Specialist to force him to get a job so he doesn't cost me so much. And I am never sarcastic in what I write.
In Ward Council, my last attendance as Activity Committee Chairman, Gary Jones told me he has been laid off by Landmark. My response was, `Great, how long is your severance?' He said until December. Told him I would be glad to have him working with me on the projects I'm doing, and if they come in, then he would get paid something. Sister Jasper listened to our conversation all a gasp. Gary explained I just wanted free labor, and it didn't help her reaction. It is kind of sad to see one's child (Landmark) fire one's friend (Gary was employee of the year at Landmark two years running). Oh well!
I left the meeting early to come home and teach a temple preparedness lesson on symbols to Adam Salt and Michael Cahoon. Adam is out of work, and can not find a job. I got Michael to help him where he worked. Maybe I do have something to offer as the Ward Employment Specialist.
Sacrament Meeting was very good. I sat with Harold Burnham, whose wife was helping with the birth of a new Grandbaby. Michelle Roe, Floyd Lunt, and David Pickerd talked about how our weaknesses become our strengths. Cheryl Stine signed the song. I attempted to hide my tears. After Sacrament Chris Schmidt came up and reminded me he wants to improve his job situation. Brandon Peterson is still looking for a job (he graduated when Paul did, 0317.html). Floyd Lunt has been laid off. And Harold Burnham is looking for a job. Harold came over to the house and had chicken fettuccine with Rachel and me. Harold has so much to offer. It is like he is overqualified, and certainly his salary history is too high for starting a new job. Brother Mason brought Matt's towels by, as I was leaving to go Home Teaching with Scott. When we went to Hayden Hudson's we learned that Bo has been laid off, and is looking for a job. As the week wore on, I became pretty convinced the Bishop knew I could be of some benefit as the Nottingham Country Ward Employment Specialist."