God Is Good All The Time

I had prayed that I could see the path that God has put us on. Well If you look back the path is quite clear. Just this week so many things have gone right for us.  That is very impressive with all the stuff that has happened to Oklahoma in the past month.

This has been a pretty good week! I have been working with John Miller Homes and we have started work on a storm damaged home.  This is the house with the new roof, but all the windows were still broken

 
 

 They all looked like this...

 
The cool thing about this project is that is the house of the parents of a friend from High school. It’s sad when tornados do so much damage, but I am very happy to be part of the crew that is putting the home back together. Part of the roof was torn off almost all the windows in the house were broken and the work shop in the back yard was leveled. All in all not bad for what happened in Moore. The house next door had plywood sticking out of the walls

and the house across the street is just gone.  The trees that were on that lot were ripped out of the ground. The house sat behind the telephone polls and the pile of rubble next to the driveway, is all that is left of this house.

That is the difference between a direct hit from a F5 tornado and missing that tornado by 200 yards.                                                                                   Working with Lonnie has been great.

He really knows what he is doing, he is another survivor of Yukon High and he always has a smile. His good friend Jonny worked with us most of the week until the band he plays for went on the road. Jonny is a drummer... Jonny Walker is a drummer... What an excellent name for a drummer. So for most of the week it was Lonnie, Jonny,... and Bob.  Wow it's like the new stooges.

 

Other great news LRDezine, the business Linda and I started last week has been active. Less than 12 hours of sending our web page live, we had booked our first consultation. Thursday night we picked up our new business cards and pamphlets,

and Friday morning we participated in the Yukon Chamber of Commerce’s Friday coffee. This week’s coffee was called Stores without Doors. Normally a store hosts the coffee and everyone goes there and checks out their business but for all the home based business in town we go to the Dale Robertson Center and put up tables and highlight our business to the rest of the chamber. It was a great time we gave out lots of cards and brochures and booked another consultation. Now let’s turn the consultations into jobs.

 

Linda has applied for a position as an office manager for a company in the city if that comes through that will be a blessing. They know she homeschools and they are ok with Josh coming to work.

 

So overall a good week and I can see the starting points to the path that God is leading us, income right away, a business, and hope. Now if you would like to check out the new web site for LRDezine then go to LRDezine.com or go like us on Facebook.

 

On your mark, Get set, Go!!!

Life is funny!  Sometimes it is ha, ha funny like “Three men walk into a bar…don’t you think the third one would have ducked?”  Then there is the odd funny that makes you think. Well today is that odd kind of funny. 

I have been working this week with John Miller Homes.  This is what I was doing before I got the Job with Mid-States. Life as a painter is not that bad at all. I have been taken under the wing by Lonnie, a long time painter. He has been showing me the ropes and making this time a lot of fun.

Todays lesson is that rain is no good for paining.

 I plan on helping out with the painting until…..wait for it …. LRDezine takes off. 

 

 

 

Now you may ask, what is LRDezine? I would say that is a very good question.  LRdezine is Linda and Robert Design, our new company that we started today.  First, we will be offering organization help for the person who has lost the time to organize. Second, we will create systems for companies who need to organize anything from their inventory to their daily paperwork. Third, consultation for anyone who wants to get started organizing but does not know where to start.

Why is this an odd funny thing? Last week prayed that I can’t wait to look back and see the path that God has lead us through to get where He wants us. Today I see part of that path. Yes that is cool but it also just makes me stop and re-mind myself, God listens and he answers. All I got to say is “Wow”!

Coming soon our web page and business cards (in the works now) and a face book page (to be started soon). I you are local come by and join us next Friday for the Yukon Chamber of Commerce coffee.  It will be on the 21^st at the Dale Robinson Center at 8am.  

 

 

Added Note: Last night was Brandon N's Eagle Court of Honor. 

 

So, I volunteered to cook. Unfortunately that meant I had to miss the Court of Honor and sit with my fire while the cobblers baked.

As I was finishing up The Scout Master, Chuck comes out and says I need to get into the church. When I arrived in the sanctuary Brandon awarded me a mentor pin. The Silly punk made me cry. Like I said he is a good kid.

 

 

The Gloves Are Off

Warehouse 13 is precisely NOT where I used to work. (Note the phrase “Use to work”) What a nice group of people who are getting the crap kicked out of them. 

 

 Mid—States seemed like a really nice place with some decent people who worked there, but Mid—States was not a company all on its own.  They are a subsidiary of a larger company called Ches  a peak.  (and yes there is a reason to not type their name correctly).  The first reason is they are very protective of their name and second they have some really big jerks working the mid management team.  I never thought a company that big could get there making dumb decisions.  Most likely there has been a turnover in some level of management. I say this because a lot of the decisions being sent down are every modern shortsighted and money hungry.  The best model for business, in my opinion, is to build customer loyalty with great products and great customer service. To treat your customers with contempt and to belittle your employees and think that is the way to motivate and increase sales is insane. Since I do not want to be associated with this kind of business model, I left. 

With that rant done, let’s get on with the real world. 

We have moved again! The house we were living in was sold and we needed to find a new place.  So in one weekend we packed everything we had out of storage packe it into the car and van and moved while volunteering at the Iron Thistle Fair.

Scouts are helpful

Having your belongings in your cart,even for one weekend is kind of scarry.

 

 

 

 

 

Now we are back in the outskirts of Yukon staying with Scout Master Chuck and family.  It is a very nice place and very comfortable. Oh did I mention it just went up on the market.  Yeah it seems like we will just keep jumping house to house helping people sell their homes.

 

 The latest project to help the sale along was fixing a window sill, while the tornado sirens were going off. I know God has a plan and I trust that it is good and beneficial. It will be fun to look back on this time of our life and map out the road that God has us on. To understand why we were in certain places at certain times and to see how God worked through our situation. 

So what are we doing instead of working? Well looking for work is a top concern, but there is so much more.  Bobby and Jordie got married at the Myriad Gardens.

 

 The wedding was wonderful and they took off a week later for a honeymoon in So. California.  Linda and I have been helping Chuck prep the house for sale.

 

 

 

 

 Joshua and Steven went off to his Ordeal for the Order of the Arrow. 

Troop 300 celebrated a new Eagle Scout.

 

  I got to put a team together to go receive a Cub Scout who bridged into Boy Scouts.

 

 Karate, Church, Family time and Sleep round out the rest of the time.

Oh and just for fun we picked up the newlyweds from the airport in a hail storm. 

 

We had to make a few pit stops to avoid the bigger Hail. (I don't eat McDonalds and we didn't need gas, but the cover kept the hail off the car).

Life is not setteled yet, but it is interesting.

Change is in the air

There is a time for a change and that time is now.  First Change will be the name of this blog.  I am leaning toward “The Life of Bob” and that will be the working title, but if you have an idea I will be open.  

Now for the rest of the story.

Two weeks ago (that would be 3/18/13) the day before my 50^th birthday, Storage Management Associates, the management company my old boss hired at the first of the year sent an area manager to Yukon Oklahoma to relieve Linda and myself from our servitude to the company. In other words we got fired. Ok not really a big deal I didn’t trust SMA anyway. Now I will let you know I do not hold any real grudge with SMA I could tell from the beginning it was never going to work.  The style of business that they do and what I have been so successful with are diametrically opposed.  So in the big scheme of things it was not a big surprise. 

Now on that day they fired us they also gave us 7 days to move out, and that did give Linda and I a fairly blue night.  Remember Tuesday is my Birthday and on my birthday for the past 6 years I have baked cookies and given them away last year I did 21 dozen.  This year I really wanted to make 50 dozen so Linda jumped in and started baking. Hey job or no job my 50^th birthday only comes once. That is when we got the call from a real close friend in California that her husband had passed away.  No matter how bad your problems seem there are always people whose problems are worse.  Anyway God is the one who is ultimately in control and he will lead us where he wants.

Tuesday happens and since Linda and I no longer have Jobs we could spend the whole day handing out Bob day cookies. The actual name of my Birthday is “Unofficial International Bob Day” I have networked this day with friends of mine to reach people on six continents.  It is crazy to think on March 19^th people all over the world are making and giving away cookies just to bring a smile.

 

 

Armed with 50 dozen cookies in 100 Red solo cups Linda and I gave cookies away from the north side of Oklahoma City through Yukon and ended up in El Reno.  We spread as much joy as possible and promoted the Military Prayer Group of Yukon an organization that prays for our men and women who serve our armed forces.  Bob Day ended very well.

 

Wednesday we woke up and started packing like crazy.  With the help of our friends lead by the unstoppable Joyce Roper

 

 

 we moved our 300 Square foot storage and our 200 square foot shop to 5 Star Storage owned buy one very honest and honorable man Rick Opitz.

 

Thursday I put my wife on an airplane to California to be with her best friend at the funeral of her husband.   Joyce and Samantha Matthews continued to move wood and boxes from Guardian to Five Star and Started packing up the house.

 

Friday we had more help come in and continue packing the house up. Once again Joyce led the charge and kept me focused.  Without my wife I can get bogged down in the little things it is nice to have someone step in and help.

 

 Saturday night Danielle and her son Gavin came by and packed like crazy. It was the final touch that made me feel ready for the morning.

Saturday was the big move our son Bobby brought the Red Neck army over to help.

 

My dad stopped by and lent a hand packing cleaning and moving.  My body had taken as much abuse as it could stand and it was nice to have the help. Saturday also brought the rain. So it looked like it was going to be a soggy move but Pastor Ron Rasmussen from Christ Church of Yukon brought a line of pickup trucks and we had the house cleared in no time. At one point it felt like we had so much help that I could easily lose control. God is so good he blessed us with an overflowing cup.

Monday I did some cleanup work in storage and ran errands around town. Then spent a long night at scouts explaining what just happened to Linda and me.

Tuesday I started work with John Miller doing some work on a home he was refurbishing. I also received a call from a company to come in for an interview.  Then I spent a long night at Joshua’s Karate class explaining what happened to Linda and me.

Wednesday I came in late to work on the house because of the Job interview.  Then I received a call that afternoon offering me the job.

Thursday I never made it to the house due to the fact it took most of the day to fill out employment paperwork and take a drug test. I then had the great pleasure of picking up my wife from the airport.

Friday I spent the day working for John and the evening with my family.

All that to bring us to today, we are staying with friends, my new jobs starts Monday,  we are blessed with more friends than you can imagine, tomorrow is Easter and God is good… all the time.

Auctions 2013, we work hard to make them small.

Auction Day!!!!  Another chance to sell other peoples stuff to pay for debts owed.  That sounds kind of cold doesn’t it? The cold hard fact is, that is exactly what it is.  If you do not keep up you monthly payments a self-storage company can sell your stuff, but that is not the end you want.  If cash gets tight and you get behind the first thing you need to do is contact the manager and find a way to get caught up. Remember a working payment plan will keep you out of an auction only if you keep working it.

So where do you start when you need to save your stuff from auction?  The first and most important step is to choose your Self Storage Facility well.  You may feel more secure with a big name nationally known company, but the bureaucracy that comes with the big company can often keep the managers from being able to work with you.  Owner manager facilities mean that when you talk to the manager you are talking to the decision maker. Smaller companies tend to trust their managers more and you get to deal with decision makes again.

What can you do if you get into trouble? Payment plans is always a great way to get back on track.  A pay and move is a technique that is as close to a cut and run as you can get.  The moment that the manager says auction status, you offer 50% to 60 % of what you owe and you get yourself out a.s.a.p. That storage company gets more money than an auction would bring and their unit back that they can rent again. When all else fails a letter of abandonment is a polite way to walk away.  When you just walk away because the amount owed is too much not only do you lose your stuff but you make the storage company go through the auction procedure. Please remember it was not the managers’ fault that you got behind, so don’t take it out on them. The letter of abandonment will allow the manager to do with the space as they see fit. They can throw it into the next auction or throw it in the trash; it does not matter because you have given them the permission to do it.

Remember the managers are just people trying to follow the laws and make the owners happy. By treating them nice you can make life easier on yourself.

If all else fails and auction happens make sure that the storage company has your updated contact information.  Many times auction buyers will leave photos and important documents behind and without good contact information you won’t know if any is left. Another thought is that on the rare occasion your unit sells for more than you owe that money goes to you, but only if they can find you.

As for our auction day it went off without a hitch both units at my facility were paid off the night before so I ended up with nothing to sell. Linda started with four or five units and ended up only selling two. Not a bad day for auctions .

Now for somrthing completely diffrent

Here is a quick fun fact! We got power to our new sign

 

So what is so fun about this fact you might ask

 

The answer is in the 21 years that I have been working in storage I have asked electricians a thousand times (maybe 10 times in total) to add an electrical outlet to the outside of buildings signs and polls.  In 21 years they always forget to do such a little thing and I end up running extension cords all over the property.

If you look to the bottom of this sign, this magnificent most tricked out sign I have ever been blessed to work with, you will see an electrical outlet.  Such a small thing and such a large time saving, frustration removing gift. 

 

And in other news ...Yukon gets over run with wild turkeys!  Ok, ok, it was only two turkeys but this was in town by the post office.  Not exactly what I expected.

The Lights 2012 night one

The first night at the Christmas Lights at the Park was last night and it went pretty well.  The night started out warm enough but by 10:00 it did get cold.  Once again I got out of the cold by donning the Rudolf costume and running around for three hours acting like an idiot, but I got a lot of smiles from kids and adults alike.

 

Now not everyone was as warm as I was. Linda and Josh had to find their own places to get out of the wind.

 

The City of Yukon goes all out to make this the best light display and every year you find new lights.

 

 

As I said before if you get the chance to come down to Yukon and see the lights make it happen, you will not regret it. If you come on the 20^th be real nice to Rudolph.