Though I have plenty of experiences to share in great detail, I think that it is time to post on what we as interns are actually doing at The Vision Forum, and what I have learned so far.
To start with, the arrival of this past Monday initiated a new rotation of job assignments. Christopher left the quiet department of accounting to the fast paced atmosphere in the warehouse. Tait then filled Christopher’s void as I took over Tait’s chair in customer service. Jason, well, Jason remains in his little unchanging “IT world”, as he calls it.
Jason has done well in his department. Monday brought about some changes for him as well as the IT chief left for three weeks of vacation. The real test, however, came a few days ago when three of Mr. Phillips hard drives crashed in the same day. As Jason calmly tried test after test, made several phone calls to different manufacturers, and gulped down a Venti black which I delivered earlier that evening, he was finally able to give Mr. Phillips a promising report at around 8:30 PM. Failure in this department is not acceptable and can be very damaging. Thankfully, Jason has responded very well and is very much appreciated by the VF staff and Mr. Phillips.
Christopher thoroughly enjoyed assisting Mr. Short in the accounting department for the past few weeks. As his father is a CPA, some of those number crunching genes must have given him a great aptitude for this particular atmosphere. He made deposits, recorded payments, reconciled statements, and suggested Excel ideas whenever he saw a way to improve productivity.
Tait had to be practically shoved out of the customer service department. The interaction with the department head, Mr. Gobart, combined with the many different opportunities offered in the department, proved to offer an experience which he enjoyed and did not want to depart from.
I must say that the warehouse probably has the widest array of physical jobs to perform. An extensive account of a day in the warehouse would be as follows. The morning starts off with Mr. Coughlin giving me a multi page list of items to “pick” for the day. Isle numbers, shelve category, and the precise spot of every item ordered that day guide me to the right spot as I push a large shopping cart up and down each section. Once the items from one isle are placed in the cart, I then place them on a table which lies at the end of the row. Isle A has a table, isle B has a table, and so forth.
The next stage is to grab one of the hundreds of freshly printed packing invoices for the day, walk to the appropriate table (A,B,C…) grab the item(s), put them in a box or trey, and place them on the inspection table.
After inspection takes place, the items are then placed on a moving packing line. These items are then place in boxes deems appropriate size by the packer. After countless air packets are strategically secured around the purchase, the sealed box is then placed on the shipping line. The boxes are then scanned, a UPS label applied, stacked on a pallet, and then shipped out at the end of each day.
This is only the most basic daily activity of the day but I’ll leave the aspects of the warehouse for either Tait or Christopher to explain.
Things learned while working in the warehouse would include the importance of paying attention to detail (saves a lot of time and effort, just like anything else), and being diligent in what I may consider menial tasks (packing right saves lots of VF resources). Also, I have learned that everything I do in the warehouse becomes much more significant when I take the time to think about how many different family’s lives will be touched, maybe even turned around, by the materials they would soon receive…if I do my job right.
Now I have a new learning curve to develop in the Customer Service Department. New insights from this new perspective of business will soon be shared. Stay tuned.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
The Vision Forum Photoshoot
We got the call around 3 PM. The message was that we were to arrive at the planned location within the hour. With three cases of water in tow, we made our way towards an estate located on the outskirts of downtown San Antonio. The goal for the day was to assist those responsible for capturing photos pertaining to items which will soon be featured in Vision Forum’s 2007 catalog in whichever way necessary.
After admiring the upscale ranches we passed along the way, we finally drove up to a gate which guarded the entrance of a exquisite looking mansion, preceded by a winding loop through the front of the property. After entering the gate code we then drove up to and parked near a house/garage situated 200 yards away from the main residence.
Upon our arrival we gazed in wonder at the beautiful property and the enormous house. As we walked along we met the photographer and his daughter, who served as his assistant. After introductions were made we all split up, starting out on various tasks. Jason helped by getting the bottled water out of my trunk and putting them in an ice filled chest. Tait started offloading the photographer’s equipment from a truck, and Chris and I started pulling potted flowers out of Mrs. Phillips’s vehicle, who had arrived shortly after us.
By this time, Mr. Turley had arrived with props, ranging from books, trebuchets, armor, several different sword styles and a few helmets. After these were unloaded we interns all made our way in through large solid oak doors which lead into the foyer of the house. Marble tile covered the floor while two white carpeted staircases, each on either sides of the entrance hall, led to the upper level of the house. We walked through the doors, passed under stair cases and then found our way to a richly decorated office. If you have seen last years “Henty shot” with Joshua Phillips and Samuel Turley posing atop a bear rug then you have seen part of the office I am talking about. Tait and I started setting up light stands while Jason was looking for a place to plug in the power box, a mechanism which makes all of the lighting flash at once. Meanwhile, Chris started putting up the overhead lighting and I was re-assigned to go back to the office to pick up some more supplies.
By the time I arrived back at the country estate the new Henty shot was complete and the crew was moving props outside under Mr. Phillips direction. Josh and Sam changed out of their period costumes as Justice was fitted with an authentic Jamestown breastplate by two professional costume assistants, Tait and I. Mr. Phillips then proceeded to photograph Justice in various poses while the main photographer (I forgot his name, sorry) instructed Sam and Joshua on how to interact with a trebuchet (very nice piece of work, everybody needs a few).
Next on the schedule were some new Beautiful Girlhood shots. While setting up for this scene one of the first tasks was to refill a snack tray that was partly a prop and partly, well, a snack. Time and sunlight were going faster than desired so Jason and I sprinted a hasty return to the shooting location after refilling a tray with some fresh cheese and crackers. Soon thereafter the cameras started clicking. I must say that those girls really had a strenuous job, particularly the two who were sitting on a tree limb while holding a doll and book. But everyone around offered words of encouragement, advice, and/or cracked jokes, thus making the girls perform their best.
About a hundred shots later we then moved to a different location, all the while Jason and Tait were employed by either holding flashes in various places or helping the camera man test the camera for the best lighting settings. Chris helped move different items around while I stood by Mr. Phillips, holding the different cameras was not using at the moment. During the second shoot, two of the models, miss Mary Ellen Turley and miss Faith Phillips, were excused from a particular photo arrangement and thus sat together reading a book. Overhearing that a couple of words were proving difficult I offered to read the book to them. They excitedly complied and I sat down. This lasted until the entire photo shoot was pronounced complete and so I started to get to work on wrapping things up. However, Faith begged me to at least finish the chapter I was on, and so it was I who then complied.
With the sun starting to dip behind the horizon and the shadows of the many trees stretching far across the yard, we quickly started winding up cords, putting away props, taking down lighting structures, storing the wardrobe, and making sure we left everything just as we found it. At the end of the day it was nice to see that both the photographer and Mr. Phillips were pleased with the result of the entire event and that all the day’s goals were reached.
During the entire event I was impressed to see how well everyone worked together in such a high stress environment. This is not that anybody was stressed out, but with uncooperative sunlight and cloud cover, the heat, and the needed urgency to take all of the necessary shots before the sunlight was insufficient, certainly presented plenty of opportunities for anybody on the set to get a little short. Another thing I observed first hand, and was impressed by, was Mr. Phillips interaction with his children, particularly his sons. He treated them like men and they responded to him with the deepest respect. When he spoke they listened and when they spoke they chose their words carefully. What a great opportunity to witness the good fruit Godly child training.
Going behind the scenes of the catalog shoot was both interesting and exciting. I learned few things and felt honored to participate in the event. Now it’s up to our Creative Media department to go through the hundreds of pictures taken and find the ones that will best suit the catalog. It’s only one more week till we are scheduled to send the completed project off to the printers and eventually to your home. I’m sure your family will enjoy the new products as much as we have by building, testing, or by otherwise indirectly helping to produce them. Enjoy!
After admiring the upscale ranches we passed along the way, we finally drove up to a gate which guarded the entrance of a exquisite looking mansion, preceded by a winding loop through the front of the property. After entering the gate code we then drove up to and parked near a house/garage situated 200 yards away from the main residence.
Upon our arrival we gazed in wonder at the beautiful property and the enormous house. As we walked along we met the photographer and his daughter, who served as his assistant. After introductions were made we all split up, starting out on various tasks. Jason helped by getting the bottled water out of my trunk and putting them in an ice filled chest. Tait started offloading the photographer’s equipment from a truck, and Chris and I started pulling potted flowers out of Mrs. Phillips’s vehicle, who had arrived shortly after us.
By this time, Mr. Turley had arrived with props, ranging from books, trebuchets, armor, several different sword styles and a few helmets. After these were unloaded we interns all made our way in through large solid oak doors which lead into the foyer of the house. Marble tile covered the floor while two white carpeted staircases, each on either sides of the entrance hall, led to the upper level of the house. We walked through the doors, passed under stair cases and then found our way to a richly decorated office. If you have seen last years “Henty shot” with Joshua Phillips and Samuel Turley posing atop a bear rug then you have seen part of the office I am talking about. Tait and I started setting up light stands while Jason was looking for a place to plug in the power box, a mechanism which makes all of the lighting flash at once. Meanwhile, Chris started putting up the overhead lighting and I was re-assigned to go back to the office to pick up some more supplies.
By the time I arrived back at the country estate the new Henty shot was complete and the crew was moving props outside under Mr. Phillips direction. Josh and Sam changed out of their period costumes as Justice was fitted with an authentic Jamestown breastplate by two professional costume assistants, Tait and I. Mr. Phillips then proceeded to photograph Justice in various poses while the main photographer (I forgot his name, sorry) instructed Sam and Joshua on how to interact with a trebuchet (very nice piece of work, everybody needs a few).
Next on the schedule were some new Beautiful Girlhood shots. While setting up for this scene one of the first tasks was to refill a snack tray that was partly a prop and partly, well, a snack. Time and sunlight were going faster than desired so Jason and I sprinted a hasty return to the shooting location after refilling a tray with some fresh cheese and crackers. Soon thereafter the cameras started clicking. I must say that those girls really had a strenuous job, particularly the two who were sitting on a tree limb while holding a doll and book. But everyone around offered words of encouragement, advice, and/or cracked jokes, thus making the girls perform their best.
About a hundred shots later we then moved to a different location, all the while Jason and Tait were employed by either holding flashes in various places or helping the camera man test the camera for the best lighting settings. Chris helped move different items around while I stood by Mr. Phillips, holding the different cameras was not using at the moment. During the second shoot, two of the models, miss Mary Ellen Turley and miss Faith Phillips, were excused from a particular photo arrangement and thus sat together reading a book. Overhearing that a couple of words were proving difficult I offered to read the book to them. They excitedly complied and I sat down. This lasted until the entire photo shoot was pronounced complete and so I started to get to work on wrapping things up. However, Faith begged me to at least finish the chapter I was on, and so it was I who then complied.
With the sun starting to dip behind the horizon and the shadows of the many trees stretching far across the yard, we quickly started winding up cords, putting away props, taking down lighting structures, storing the wardrobe, and making sure we left everything just as we found it. At the end of the day it was nice to see that both the photographer and Mr. Phillips were pleased with the result of the entire event and that all the day’s goals were reached.
During the entire event I was impressed to see how well everyone worked together in such a high stress environment. This is not that anybody was stressed out, but with uncooperative sunlight and cloud cover, the heat, and the needed urgency to take all of the necessary shots before the sunlight was insufficient, certainly presented plenty of opportunities for anybody on the set to get a little short. Another thing I observed first hand, and was impressed by, was Mr. Phillips interaction with his children, particularly his sons. He treated them like men and they responded to him with the deepest respect. When he spoke they listened and when they spoke they chose their words carefully. What a great opportunity to witness the good fruit Godly child training.
Going behind the scenes of the catalog shoot was both interesting and exciting. I learned few things and felt honored to participate in the event. Now it’s up to our Creative Media department to go through the hundreds of pictures taken and find the ones that will best suit the catalog. It’s only one more week till we are scheduled to send the completed project off to the printers and eventually to your home. I’m sure your family will enjoy the new products as much as we have by building, testing, or by otherwise indirectly helping to produce them. Enjoy!
Saturday, September 02, 2006
What makes your neighborhood unique?
As I sit here in a different house, in a different neighborhood, I look back and remember the things which have made the place where I lived very unique. Here is a look into what happens with semi-average consistency around my home in Washington State. I am still observing the oddities around my place here in San Antonio.
______________________________________________________________
Home has always meant a great many things to a great deal of different people. Some say itÂ’s where the heart is; others insist itÂ’s where you hang your hat. But, whether you think about it or not, home may also be the place where many strange and perplexing activities might be observed.
I live in a suburb of Olympia in a housing community known as Marvin Gardens. Now this unassuming name, combined with my complacent initial overview of the area, left me with a content overall sense of complete security, peace, and privacy as my family and I moved in. The only qualities of my surroundings which I failed to investigate were the neighbors. Now for an uppity name like Marvin Garden, which after all is a valued property in the game of Monopoly, one might expect to have completely unobtrusive, sane, and apathetic neighbors. And that assumption was right, at least for the most part.
To give a few examples of were I was wrong in my assessment of the neighborhood I will relate a few of my experiences. To start with, there is the unknown citizen who drives at about 50 MPH up the road behind our house with a dog hanging out the passenger side window, barking continuously. This is done about twice a week and the dog can be heard for miles. Nobody knows were he goes or what he does, and I never hear them return. Many questions have since raced through my brain in response: What happens to the dog? Is this man part of an underworld animal ring? Or does the canine simply lose its voice on the return trip?
Another example can be taken from an immediate neighbor to the right of our house who lives a mostly quiet and peaceable life. But you know that the stillness of the air will soon become modified when the elderly house dweller starts dragging junk out of his backyard garage. Now to the average person this may seem like a good sign; an indication of attempted progress in purification. But I have come to know better. The stacks of lawn chairs and unidentifiable trash bag covered items strewn across my neighbors yard only indicates that he is yet going to grace the community with his synthesized rock organ. Presently I am then confronted with a very loud, prerecorded background track accompanied by my neighbor playing two or three different chords repeatedly. I then ask myself: Is the man deaf? Did he used to play in a band somewhere? Or is he simply making use of a piece of equipment which he previously thought was a necessity but has since been sitting in the garage for over twenty years?
Now the barking dog and this hypnotizing organ music may seem pretty abnormal, but they pale in comparison to the all out weirdness of some other folks I live by. There is a family of three that live in a huge house across from ours, but there are a few things that set them apart from “resident normalcy” as I call it. The first thing is that the homeowners never come out during the day, unless it is on the business of driving 100ft. to mailbox and back. The second thing of note is that the coupleÂ’s only son still lives at home, is in his mid-forties, and has never been married. This sonÂ’s daily activities consist of opening the garage door at around 10:15 each morning, backing the old truck out and parking it on the side of the house, opening the hood and tinkering inside for about 3 hours, returning the vehicle to the garage, and finally closing the garage door behind him. The third weird part about this family is that during the Christmas season we felt that it was our duty, as neighborhood newcomers, to distribute home baked goods throughout the community. Our last stop on our mission of good will was the home across the street. My sister and I slowly walked up the long, dark driveway and rang the door bell. Finally the porch light turned on, the homeowner opened the door, grunted something, and returned inside. His wife then came out, politely refused any and all of the treats we made, and retuned inside. From the moment the door was shut in our face, the questions again started. What exactly do they do indoors all day? Why is it necessary to drive to the mail box 365 days a year? What does their son find so interesting in the hood of that old truck? And did they think we were trying to poison them with our Christmas cheer?
The month of June marks the one year anniversary of our arrival to our beautiful house, and one year of contact with the residents of Marvin Gardens. The overall experience has been one of normalcy and enjoyment. But the events that happen in between the points of what is normal and what is not, are the things that truly make life amusing and colorful. And though I have not yet answered all of my questions in regard to motives of my neighbor’s actions, I am content to know that I reside in a diverse and truly authentic American community. This is my neighborhood. A place where the oddities never end, and were each day is quite unpredictable.
______________________________________________________________
Home has always meant a great many things to a great deal of different people. Some say itÂ’s where the heart is; others insist itÂ’s where you hang your hat. But, whether you think about it or not, home may also be the place where many strange and perplexing activities might be observed.
I live in a suburb of Olympia in a housing community known as Marvin Gardens. Now this unassuming name, combined with my complacent initial overview of the area, left me with a content overall sense of complete security, peace, and privacy as my family and I moved in. The only qualities of my surroundings which I failed to investigate were the neighbors. Now for an uppity name like Marvin Garden, which after all is a valued property in the game of Monopoly, one might expect to have completely unobtrusive, sane, and apathetic neighbors. And that assumption was right, at least for the most part.
To give a few examples of were I was wrong in my assessment of the neighborhood I will relate a few of my experiences. To start with, there is the unknown citizen who drives at about 50 MPH up the road behind our house with a dog hanging out the passenger side window, barking continuously. This is done about twice a week and the dog can be heard for miles. Nobody knows were he goes or what he does, and I never hear them return. Many questions have since raced through my brain in response: What happens to the dog? Is this man part of an underworld animal ring? Or does the canine simply lose its voice on the return trip?
Another example can be taken from an immediate neighbor to the right of our house who lives a mostly quiet and peaceable life. But you know that the stillness of the air will soon become modified when the elderly house dweller starts dragging junk out of his backyard garage. Now to the average person this may seem like a good sign; an indication of attempted progress in purification. But I have come to know better. The stacks of lawn chairs and unidentifiable trash bag covered items strewn across my neighbors yard only indicates that he is yet going to grace the community with his synthesized rock organ. Presently I am then confronted with a very loud, prerecorded background track accompanied by my neighbor playing two or three different chords repeatedly. I then ask myself: Is the man deaf? Did he used to play in a band somewhere? Or is he simply making use of a piece of equipment which he previously thought was a necessity but has since been sitting in the garage for over twenty years?
Now the barking dog and this hypnotizing organ music may seem pretty abnormal, but they pale in comparison to the all out weirdness of some other folks I live by. There is a family of three that live in a huge house across from ours, but there are a few things that set them apart from “resident normalcy” as I call it. The first thing is that the homeowners never come out during the day, unless it is on the business of driving 100ft. to mailbox and back. The second thing of note is that the coupleÂ’s only son still lives at home, is in his mid-forties, and has never been married. This sonÂ’s daily activities consist of opening the garage door at around 10:15 each morning, backing the old truck out and parking it on the side of the house, opening the hood and tinkering inside for about 3 hours, returning the vehicle to the garage, and finally closing the garage door behind him. The third weird part about this family is that during the Christmas season we felt that it was our duty, as neighborhood newcomers, to distribute home baked goods throughout the community. Our last stop on our mission of good will was the home across the street. My sister and I slowly walked up the long, dark driveway and rang the door bell. Finally the porch light turned on, the homeowner opened the door, grunted something, and returned inside. His wife then came out, politely refused any and all of the treats we made, and retuned inside. From the moment the door was shut in our face, the questions again started. What exactly do they do indoors all day? Why is it necessary to drive to the mail box 365 days a year? What does their son find so interesting in the hood of that old truck? And did they think we were trying to poison them with our Christmas cheer?
The month of June marks the one year anniversary of our arrival to our beautiful house, and one year of contact with the residents of Marvin Gardens. The overall experience has been one of normalcy and enjoyment. But the events that happen in between the points of what is normal and what is not, are the things that truly make life amusing and colorful. And though I have not yet answered all of my questions in regard to motives of my neighbor’s actions, I am content to know that I reside in a diverse and truly authentic American community. This is my neighborhood. A place where the oddities never end, and were each day is quite unpredictable.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Coming Soon...
...A behind the scenes look at the 2007 catalog VF photoshoot. With preparations well under way, and with our graphics department working 14 hour days, we are getting closer to the publication of next years catalog. I have already seen, and tested, numerous new products which are under consideration and I can assure you that there is some good stuff on the way. The photoshoot is scheduled for tomorrow at a mansion in San Antonio. We interns will be present to help with lighting, props, entertainment of restless children, and whatever else in the world needs to be done. Pictures will be on the way soon!
Friday, August 25, 2006
An Intern Weekend
Last Saturday the intern group drove to the outskirts of San Antonio, destined to help a new Christian family related to a VF staff member move in. As will hopefully be our custom, we were the first to arrive and got right to work as soon as introductions were made. With our help, the initial crew amounted to about six and work seemed to be going at a good pace. Then a few minutes later, two and then a third vehicle drove up and more smiling VF staff members pilled out and helped make short work of the oversized U-haul. With guys constantly going in and out of the truck and house we finished unloading the entire task in about an hour. Then after setting up some beds and rearranging some furniture we all left a very kind and grateful family behind with big start to life in the new community.
After leaving, we interns decided to make the most of our few minutes of free time and stopped along the sides of the old, winding, and decrepit Texas highway to snap a few pictures. First we pulled over at the top of a hill that descended , slightly rolling up and then down, finally ascending to the other side of embankment. This spot looked great for a snapshot so Chris and I jumped out. Unfortunately, Chris’s picture turned out much better than mine so you’ll have to go to his site for the great view. We then continued retracing our route home and stopped on the far side of a bridge which spanned a beautiful, yet foul smelling, river. The dark, rough, mature, and steadfast trees which grew along the bank stood in contrast to the cool, blue and flowing river which winded lazily through the landscape. After a few shots here, and a slight fright by a dead snake “lurking” on the water bank, we moved on. Our next stop brief photo shoot at an old church which blended well with the Texas colors of the land and just looked kind of neat.
We then journeyed on to another sort of destination which we knew would comfort us with somewhat of an at home-type atmosphere. That place was Costco. Now if you’re not part a big family then you really wouldn’t understand just why Costco plays such an integral part in life. In light of a kids perspective, there’s tons of books to sit and read, plenty of free food at every corner, and the often times happy ending of a Costco pizza or at least a pretzel. Any, so we were heading to Costco and started writing down the list of items we needed to buy. Apparently, our kind driver (note: Mr. Kent will not be specifically be named here as the driver) seemed to come to the conclusion that we needed more time to compile our list, so he missed the correct street and wound up driving over 4 miles in a circular attempt to reach our destination. “Isn’t this a nice drive?” he asked us all while smiling ear to ear. Three blank stares returned his carefree question. Then we all started laughing.
The last adventure of the day for me was to get my hair cut. Now this was no small chore because frankly I’ve never gone to a public barber in all my life. That may seem odd to you but averaging about 1 cut a month to the price of about $8 a cut for a period of about 19 years, there’s a savings of about $1,824. Good thinking mom. But as I was saying, I needed to get a cut so I stopped by the PX (Post Exchange) after a brief trip to the commissary. After viewing the average hair cut, a close shave around the head with a hair cutter followed by a electric shaver which left only a tuft of hair on top, I asked that my hair was not cut too short. The barber nodded in agreement and went to work. 10 minutes later she handed me a mirror. I was shocked. Now mom may nick me on the ear if I I’m being mouthy, but she would never butcher my head in this fashion. Oh well. Welcome the uncaring world I guess.
I have much more to share but this post is getting long so I’ll add more in a few days. I hope all those reading my blog, from my dear friends in Washington State to the friends and family of Chris, Jason, and Tait, will continue praying for us as we endeavor to serve with all our strength and energy in our work here at Vision Forum. Thanks for all of your support , from keeping up and commenting on our blogs to sending us “Care Packages” (want our address?).
I will work on keeping this site updated a little more consistently, so stay tuned.
After leaving, we interns decided to make the most of our few minutes of free time and stopped along the sides of the old, winding, and decrepit Texas highway to snap a few pictures. First we pulled over at the top of a hill that descended , slightly rolling up and then down, finally ascending to the other side of embankment. This spot looked great for a snapshot so Chris and I jumped out. Unfortunately, Chris’s picture turned out much better than mine so you’ll have to go to his site for the great view. We then continued retracing our route home and stopped on the far side of a bridge which spanned a beautiful, yet foul smelling, river. The dark, rough, mature, and steadfast trees which grew along the bank stood in contrast to the cool, blue and flowing river which winded lazily through the landscape. After a few shots here, and a slight fright by a dead snake “lurking” on the water bank, we moved on. Our next stop brief photo shoot at an old church which blended well with the Texas colors of the land and just looked kind of neat.
We then journeyed on to another sort of destination which we knew would comfort us with somewhat of an at home-type atmosphere. That place was Costco. Now if you’re not part a big family then you really wouldn’t understand just why Costco plays such an integral part in life. In light of a kids perspective, there’s tons of books to sit and read, plenty of free food at every corner, and the often times happy ending of a Costco pizza or at least a pretzel. Any, so we were heading to Costco and started writing down the list of items we needed to buy. Apparently, our kind driver (note: Mr. Kent will not be specifically be named here as the driver) seemed to come to the conclusion that we needed more time to compile our list, so he missed the correct street and wound up driving over 4 miles in a circular attempt to reach our destination. “Isn’t this a nice drive?” he asked us all while smiling ear to ear. Three blank stares returned his carefree question. Then we all started laughing.
The last adventure of the day for me was to get my hair cut. Now this was no small chore because frankly I’ve never gone to a public barber in all my life. That may seem odd to you but averaging about 1 cut a month to the price of about $8 a cut for a period of about 19 years, there’s a savings of about $1,824. Good thinking mom. But as I was saying, I needed to get a cut so I stopped by the PX (Post Exchange) after a brief trip to the commissary. After viewing the average hair cut, a close shave around the head with a hair cutter followed by a electric shaver which left only a tuft of hair on top, I asked that my hair was not cut too short. The barber nodded in agreement and went to work. 10 minutes later she handed me a mirror. I was shocked. Now mom may nick me on the ear if I I’m being mouthy, but she would never butcher my head in this fashion. Oh well. Welcome the uncaring world I guess.
I have much more to share but this post is getting long so I’ll add more in a few days. I hope all those reading my blog, from my dear friends in Washington State to the friends and family of Chris, Jason, and Tait, will continue praying for us as we endeavor to serve with all our strength and energy in our work here at Vision Forum. Thanks for all of your support , from keeping up and commenting on our blogs to sending us “Care Packages” (want our address?).
I will work on keeping this site updated a little more consistently, so stay tuned.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Another Perspective
For some great photos of this conference please visit Nathaniel Darnel's blog at http://persevero.blogspot.com/
Nathaniel is part of a two man team that is responsible for VF videography and the enjoyable Everyday News Network. The actual pictures were taken by VF Event Photographer Michael Fowl whose main job is that of leading the IT (Information Technology) department at Vision Forum.
Nathaniel is part of a two man team that is responsible for VF videography and the enjoyable Everyday News Network. The actual pictures were taken by VF Event Photographer Michael Fowl whose main job is that of leading the IT (Information Technology) department at Vision Forum.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
The Entrepreneuriel Bootcamp
A photo of yours truly during one of my first big assignments as a Vision Forum intern.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Pictured here (from left to right) are Jonathan Berkompas, Tait Zimmerman, and Christopher Berkompas. We as interns had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Tom Berkompas and Jonathan the in the days preceding the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp. Mr. Berkompas, who is a great photographer, took a few pictures and wrote a post about staying with us. The site can be found at berkompasclan.blogspot.com
By the way, the meal above was largely prepared by Mr. Berkompas. His great meals ultimately lead to his eviction but you'll have to read his blog for the details.
This photo was snapped during our take-down mission at the completion of the conference. There was a joke by some of the staff who said that they really couldn't gauge how long it would take to pack up since the interns had not been tested yet. Well, we all finished a whole hour ahead of schedule, if that means anything.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Lawton
Well friends, I thought that I would have time to go every detail of my trip from Oklahoma City, thru Lawton and on to San Antonio but I believe the conveyance of the fact that I met many old mentors, some who did not recognize me since I was at church 10 years ago, should suffice for now. Following are some pictures from my visits.
The Cara Family have been a source of great encouragement all through the years we have known them. I stayed with their family two nights and enjoyed the company of their children. The unique thing about this family is that the father is part German and thus mostly communicates with all of his children in German. The language is also engaged when the kids want to say something to a sibling without company knowing what is being said.
I will post some more picture later of the the Allison family who are family friends and fellow home educators. Blogger is not working right now so I'll have to post later.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
My stay in Moore, which is right outside of Oklahoma City, was quite pleasant, though very hot. We arrived last Friday at around midnight and I felt the urge to jump in Grandma’s pool. Unfortunately her dog also felt an urge to escape from the yard so I was looking all over the 1 acre yard with a flashlight until I located the mischievous best wandering in a neighbor’s yard.
After multiple events the following day including a steak dinner and a play we returned home and dad prepared for his morning flight to Virginia. Then when Sunday came around I didn’t feel moved by the Spirit to get out of bed and take dad to the airport so Grandma filled the void and I woke up to an empty house. When she returned I was dressed and ready to attend church and play a few piano pieces which she had requested me to prepare for her Sunday school class. After Church my grandmother and I, along with a few of her church friends, went out to eat at a place called Pickles. After a brief rest at the house, we both ventured out again, though in modified warm weather friendly clothes, to participate in a Church wide outreach to the community. The plan was to give out bags of school supplies to the first 2000 kids that showed up, and it worked. There was free hot dogs, soda, outdoor games, face painting, crazy clowns etc. Grandma was supposed to run a booth but she asked me if I could work it. I did indeed take the position and had quite a bit a fun at it too even though I was in the 108 degree sunlight for two straight hours.
After the church event my Grandmother and I joined another group to a pizza parlor. However to my horror, the event clown showed up and waltzed right over to the rest of us. She was a really nice person but have you ever tried eating pizza at the same table as a clown?
I stayed a few more days with Grandma so that I could help her learn a few computer concepts including adding background texture and music to emails and basic graphic design. After that I then prepared for my solo drive to Lawton, my hometown. My next post will detail who I stayed with, who I met, and what I did all in two days.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Can Life Exists Without Internet Access?
As I write, I am sitting with the three other Berkompas guys in an air conditioned vehicle which is parked in front of a Best Western hotel. We are not stealing wireless bandwidth but are merely verifying the hotels claims of free Wi-Fi. As we all type away here in the parking lot, one of the guys looks over to the inviting hotel pool a few feet away and wonders out loud if we could verify the aspects of that hotel commodity as well.
I arrived yester day afternoon around 5 PM and was the first intern of ’06 to enter the door. But my arrival as the first intern put me in the position to accept my first assignment, make copies of the house keys. Christopher (19), Jonathan (17), and Mr. Berkompas all arrived about three hours after I started setting up. We first met and then started planning for what needed to be done in the next 24 hours.
This afternoon found Jonathan and I searching for Fort Sam Houston and the post Commissary for groceries while Christopher and his father shopped for house essentials at Wal-mart. After sorting through the new items once we returned, we then met the landlords who stopped by to bring a temporary refrigerator in light of the fact that the main system was malfunctioning. Shortly thereafter, Tate Zimmerman was dropped off by an airport taxi upon his arrival from Alaska. We are still waiting for Jason to arrive from Virginia.
Please note thata the intern household will not be connected to cable internet until about next Monday, so all of my updates will have to made through these types of, err, creative methods.
I arrived yester day afternoon around 5 PM and was the first intern of ’06 to enter the door. But my arrival as the first intern put me in the position to accept my first assignment, make copies of the house keys. Christopher (19), Jonathan (17), and Mr. Berkompas all arrived about three hours after I started setting up. We first met and then started planning for what needed to be done in the next 24 hours.
This afternoon found Jonathan and I searching for Fort Sam Houston and the post Commissary for groceries while Christopher and his father shopped for house essentials at Wal-mart. After sorting through the new items once we returned, we then met the landlords who stopped by to bring a temporary refrigerator in light of the fact that the main system was malfunctioning. Shortly thereafter, Tate Zimmerman was dropped off by an airport taxi upon his arrival from Alaska. We are still waiting for Jason to arrive from Virginia.
Please note thata the intern household will not be connected to cable internet until about next Monday, so all of my updates will have to made through these types of, err, creative methods.
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