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.

 

A Day in the Life

I have now started the second week of my new job and it is going well.

Ok, it is going well, but boy am I tired at the end of the day. This is tired, watch out for the signs of tired, If you feel the signs of tired coming upon you, please seek a bed as soon as possible. Remember friends let friends sleep.
Last Friday one of the long term temps was let go.  When working as a temp the employer does not need to give you warning.  An employer can just say don't come in tomorrow and that is the end of your job. Now get a load of how this new company works.
On Monday morning the boss went to this temp and said your in the reorder of the company your job did not get picked up Friday will be your last day.  She could have bolted for the door right then, and that is the risk my boss took. Since he was stand up to her she responded by being disappointed, but stuck it out all week. During that week she got all her work done and helped others to get situated for when we did not have her to go to.  One of those people was of course me.
On Friday the boss brought his smoker and his grill and cooked up a great chicken lunch to say thank you. The other workers brought sides and made it a feast.
This is the way to let someone go

On a side note you will notice I will not use names when discussing my new job, the reason is it is a big company that has their own PR department.  The PR department likes to control what goes out and does not need or want my help.  You know... I am OK with that. This job has been a lot of fun so far and I like the people I am working with so I can play with their rules.

So let me show you what I can


A small Part of the warehouse where I spend most of my time.

and the leftovers from the farewell feast.

I hope to post some Boy Scout news soon.

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.

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.

Todays Fun

I noticed yesterday that the water level in the sump of bay four was kind of high.  Well today it was within an inch of overflowing so I guess it was time to do something.

 

Unfortunately, I know what that entails, me grabbing the shovel and finding the clog.  So I spent most of the morning digging through some of the most disgusting muck.  Now when it comes to muck I know my muck.  Back in California I have had many sewer moments. In fact I may have to tell those stories at another time. For now please accept the fact that I am an expert in the field of disgusting muck and when I say that the odor that came off of this decomposing pile of putrid slime was special, then it really was.

After about an hour I found the drain hole and as expected it was clogged.  Now I need to know how bad,  bad is. To do this I am going to stick my hand down there and feel around.  Who here remembers the scene in the first Star Wars movie ( I do mean the first one made not the crap they tried to pass off years latter) When the heroes are stuck in the trash compactor.  For some reason every time I stuck my hand into the slime I kept thinking of Luke. 

Two hours now have gone by and I can reach no further.  So back to the office I go to clean up and come up with plan “B”.  Unfortunately the only thing I got left is calling in a company to clean out the sumps and that is going to cost a pretty penny. While I am in the office My good buddy and friend Dave Liszeski Stops by to say hi. I should mention that besides being a great guy, District Commissioner of the Boy Scouts, and one of the guys voted not able to post my bail because he is in jail with me…..he is also a plumber extraordinaire. 

He never went out to the sump, he just listed to my ranting  and says “ I got what you need” and he goes out to his truck and brings back this,

 

This is a homemade pipe rooter of his own creation. Just hook it to a hose, stick it into the pipe, and turn on the water.

 

So I did. With the help of John who came in at 1:00 today, I followed Dave’s instructions and inside of three minutes that pipe was clear and the water was draining like it should.

 

 

A happy Bob once again……a smelly Bob, yes, but a happy Bob never the less.

Findding employees is not that easy

Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns.  We have been trying to hire a few part time- employees and have not had very good luck. We put ads in the paper twice and have received very few responses and most of those did not come close to qualifying.  So now I am going to use the direct approach.  I started at my son’s Karate class. I figured who would be better to work with but people who can protect me. Actually it was my wife’s idea.  I will be hitting up the Boy Scouts next; I hope to find some good summer help.

I just don’t get it, I thought with the economy being the way it is, people would want a job.  When I was trying to be an actor in Southern California, I worked for six months on the grave yard shift at a seven-eleven.  To me a job is a job and without one it makes it hard to pay the rent.  Not to mention, acting is a hard way to make a living.  Seven-eleven gives you all the free Slurpee’s you can drink.

Sometimes I do not think very clear

There have been days when I go to bed and think can I just have a re-due.

I spent a lot of time in my car today because I could not get my brains in to anykind of order.  For example I needed to take some duct tape, a hamer, one nail, and a "aa" battery to Access Storage.  After three trips out I still had not remember a single Item on that list. So when I finlly get fed up with not remembering I stoped by Lowes and bought a hammer, some picture hangers an took them back to Access.
"Look " I said walking in the door "I have gifts"  I produced the hammr and the hangers with pride. John looks at me for a second and says " and the 'aa' batteries"?
Aw crap! I stood right next to the "aa" batteries and never thought about picking them up.

Now the kicker.

What about the duct tape?

My brain scares me sometimes.

Wild Weather in Oklahoma Tonight

Some things that happen in storage happen because you choose for it to happen. Then there is Friday the 13^th. The weathermen have been calling for severe weather all week and today it arrived. Hail and tornados happening all around the state and I do not have a garage or carport to protect my vehicles. But I do have 10 X 20 units available and that is a great size to park a car. As the storms came closer I realized I was not going to come close to getting my errands done for the day, so I headed back to the office to tuck my car away and do some paperwork. As I was driving back to the 200SQFT units I notice My 20 year olds car and decide to find a space to tuck it in for the night. So I called him at work and asked where the key was and took care of it. 5 minutes later he calls me and ask if we have room for three more cars, that would be for his girlfriend, her mom, and her sisters boy friend. Now this got me to think soI started calling some of the businesses in the neighborhood.

Me - “So are you guys closing up or ridding out the storm?”

Them - “We will stick it out, the storms will be hit and miss.”

Me - “I have some empty space you can park your car in for the afternoon.”

Them - “No I don’t think it will be that bad.”

Me - “Gary England said it could be up to softball size hail.”

Them - “We'll be right over with three cars.”

Me - “See you in a few.”

When Gary England speaks people listen!

I ended up with 9 weather guest for the afternoon. I also ended up with several new friends from the surrounding businesses.

Taking a day off

I am trying something new so forgive me if it comes out jumbled. My wife and youngest son and I are on the way to Love Field in Dallas to pick up my Daughter in Law and Grandson who are coming out fo a visit. What I see now is nothing but I 35. Soon it will be family time.

I left Guardian in the hands of John, he has access to my computer and my cash so he can take payments and even rent a space for me. I hope he does not have to. John will have his hand full with the car wash today.

The Game of Life

Here is a lesson for all who may read this.  In the “Game of Life” that is the Parker Brothers game, the idea of the game is to make more money than anyone else and beat your opponents to the finish.  That is a board game people.   Get the clue that life is not a game.   The one with the most toys does not win.

Pardon for the rant but I seem to be in a power struggle at work and I did not start it.   I have a fellow employee in the company that feels like he is not needed in his current position and is trying to gain some form of control in the storage branch of the corporation.   Now the old me wants to say “I didn’t start this fight but I will sure end it”.  Now here is where my internal struggle hits.  My gut still wants to fight fire with a small thermal nuclear device, but I spent last fall at an adult leadership course put on by the Boy Scouts of America.  This course is called Wood Badge and is one of the most compelling classes I have ever taken.  I will not go into great detail on the overall course, but I want to tell you about one lesson. 

“The Game of Life”

Here are the rules of a simple game.  You have two paddles on red and one green. On the count of three each team lifts a paddle in the air.  That is all the rules you are given and the game starts.   After the first round the scoring board is brought out and the scores are counted.  For example the scoring board for a game with two teams would look like this.   Two red paddles are raised both teams lose 100 points.  If a red paddle and a green paddle are raised then the red paddle wins 500 points and the green paddle loses 500 points. If the two green paddles are raised then each team gets 50 points.   Now the motto of this game is “Win All You Can”.  How do you see this game going?  When I played it we had eight teams with a very complicated scoring board, but the concept stayed the same.  At first we were just throwing up paddles at a whim and going into the negatives fast.  Then a group of instructors ran across the room holding up one word signs which read Win All You Can. As soon as they passed they ran backwards so the message read Can You All Win.  Slowly two tactics emerged one group started only holding up the red paddle while the other seven groups were holding up green.  The seven groups started trying to get the eight group to join in but they were winning and they kept holding up red by the end of the game seven teams where dip in the negative and one team had thousands of points. Who won?  …. No one won.  In life there is no score board and no playing pieces and if you can’t figure out that there is always a win-win scenario, then you will be the one to bring down everyone.  I don’t want to be the one to destroy everything just to prove I am right. 

When I started this blog tonight I had all intentions of explaining my strategies of how I was going to win this battle.  Then I would probably spend some time justifying my decision.  Now here I am at the end of this post and I realize it’s time to lift the paddle.  Well Bob what’s it going to be red or green.   This will be a long weekend figuring out my next move.   I hope you will think before your next move and try to find the win-win scenario.

P.S. If I blow this game for any soon to be Wood Badgers, please forgive me.   Not only did this game hit me hard then, but again tonight.  It is a lesson we all need.

 Make good choices.  in the end it is just between you and God.