cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, & Maxine Shirts
"Well here it is Sunday evening, I'm two weeks behind on Thoughtlets, and it's already 8:00 PM. Maybe I won't be able to think of much to write. Sort of how I find myself clamming up when I talk to those I love.
Two weeks ago today, the 9th of November, I wrote the thoughtlet on Books (0343.html). However, Andrea didn't proof it until Friday, and so it came to you last weekend. And then when I moved it over to a web page, I discovered there was already a Thoughtlet named books, and so it was renamed as Books II. If anyone other than me ever goes back and looks at this record, it will be interesting to see how they rank the importance of the different thoughts I have attempted to capture. I just reread this Thoughtlet and I'm sure the importance of this week in my life is not reflected in the words that were written. Oh well!
The week of November 9th to 15th was basically a week of being on hold. I originally had an appointment with Mike Dunn at Geophysical Development Corporation (GDC) on Wednesday the 5th of November. It got postponed, and then it was to happen on Monday, and it finally did happen on Friday. I never have heard back from Hill Geophysical. BHP requested some information I responded with a proposal, which they were not interested in.
We had a nice Family Home Evening. We played Uno and each of us had to say something they liked about the person they gave wild cards or draw two cards to. It was fun, and I think both Andrea and Matt liked it.
Tuesday I had the meeting with Clif Naylor at Plains Exploration and Production. They are on the 31st floor of the Pennzoil Tower. He is a geophysicist and he just hired a geologist. They are responsible for Texas. I showed him Offshore Texas and Colorado County. He loved it, and talked like he is going to do a good sized project with us . . . after the first of the year. Oh well! It is nice to see the excitement when someone recognizes what I have been working so hard on.
On both Tuesday and Wednesday morning the same program was aired on The Engines of Our Ingenuity. It was by a guest artist named Megan Cole(a), and was episode #1856. I thought her comments were interesting the first time, and the second time I wrote the following possible stanza for Prime Words:
Wednesday morning I had my annual dental checkup. Dr.
Crabtree charges a lot, and wanted to do a $90 X-Ray.
I explained we do not have insurance and can not afford
it right now. I'm not sure he believed me. Oh well!
Then I had lunch with Dave Ridyard at what used to be
Houston's. I don't remember the new name. I had shrimp
and it was really good. Dave now works for Input/Output
and Bob Peebler has just come in as the new President.
He basically wanted to learn what I know about Bob. I
told him how nice Bob had been to me with the two
lifetime software licenses. It was a nice lunch. There
is still an employee lawsuit against Kjell Finstad. It
has not gone anywhere in the last six months. He told
me Jeff Hume told him `Nobody goes to Houston's anymore
because it's so busy.' Nice quote.
Friday morning at 9:00 I was at 1 Riverway and the 21st floor to meet with Mike Dunn. Mike is now the Business Development guy for the holding company of Geophysical Development Corporation (GDC). There is a new president of GDC, David Johnson. David is also X-Shell, and also was an executive at Conoco and Phillips. He is bright and a nice guy. Roger Anderson also was in the meeting. It was a fun meeting. Roger and I were basically passing back and forth descriptions of all of the stuff we have worked on over the years together. There really are some good stories. As Roger said over lunch, we need to write a book about it someday. The bottom line is that both David and Mike liked what they heard. They committed to hiring me to do a specific project between the middle of November and the middle of December, with the plan to bring me on as a full-time employee at the first of the year.
Fred Hilterman has returned to the University of Houston and only works at GDC 1 day per week. They just finished their refinancing and the investors wrote off a $30 million loss. They have good profits coming from their acquisition company. And the future looks good. They need someone to be the company technical spokesman and technical visionary. I worked with several of the folks at the Seismic Acoustics Lab (specifically Richard Verm and Luh Liang). One of my main responsibilities is to interface with Fred Hilterman and keep him tied into what GDC is working on. All in all it feels like a pretty good fit. It will probably end up killing Dynamic Resources Corporation, and that is a hard pill for me to swallow. Oh well! It's not like there hasn't been companies I've started closed down before. Andrea was particularly happy with the report.
Saturday morning I went to a regional training for Ward and Stake Employment Specialists at Bering Drive. Lots of memories. It is interesting recognizing I'm now one of the old guys. It was one of the better regional training meetings I've been to. The church is setting out a good initiative in the employment arena. I have no doubt about the fact it will be of great benefit to the members of the church over the coming years. The concepts around of employment, self-worth, value to society and family, etc. are interesting. Based on my life experience, I'm not sure my philosophy fits with the general philosophy of our society. And I do not have the words to describe my philosophy yet. Maybe they will come someday. I came home to an empty house. Andrea was at an all-day Relief Society Enrichment Meeting. Matt was at a Stake Youth Service Project. I spent some time playing the guitar, reading, and then started to work on the GDC project, and to clean up other projects so I will be able to focus.
Sunday was quiet. Matt and Tiffany Feil talked in Sacrament Meeting. I pulled two possible stanza's for Prime Words out of their talks:
Scott Whitrock and I went out three times to Home Teach
the Schmidts, the Jaspers, then the Riches. Hayden
Hudson was not home and I did not call the Thompsons.
When I got home I wrote two Thoughtlets. And I must
admit my thoughts were mostly tied around my interview
with Geophysical Development Corporation (GDC)."