12/17/05
It's that time of year again! Yes, on Christmas day I will put out the TOP TEN of 2005! The top ten most influential people in my life during this past year.
Well, you'd think I would have time to update this site more often now, but business doesn't ever seem to let up and it has most of my life occupied these days. It is both good and bad. I don't have time like I use to, to do the things I want. On the other side of the token, my business is bigger and more profitable than ever. Should I complain? Probably not. Maybe I'll retire early... not likely!
Had a good time at Thanksgiving with my aunt Pat (my favorite aunt I might add). I know you are reading this, and don't think I'm just saying that. It's the truth. My cousin JP and his girlfriend were there, along with uncle Terry who was a "delight."
Returned from Salem this past week to do some Christmas shopping. Hit a deer and messed up the front end of my pickup. The roads were slick in Minam that night, and I just kept my course to avoid sliding off into the river. Thankful I'm alive, and the only thing that's hurt is my stupid pickup :)
11/23/05
Another long week finally over! This week was rough, but I can handled it just fine. Will be having a great Thanksgiving holiday this weekend.
Really excited about Joseph making it to the 1A finals in football. That game is Saturday and I will be filming it.
Business has slowed a little, but not much. The cold weather hasn't stopped most of my customers!
11/7/05
My first week back in Oregon proves to be an interesting one. First, I come home to lots of snow and cold weather *yuck.* Secondly, I learn the news that my previous landlords are trying to screw me over by taking my deposit -- I'm not going to let this stand. Third, on a more bright note - I got to meet some really cool people this past weekend. They are mutual friends of Chris and I had a good time getting to know Jason and Amy. Amy is a fellow cancer survivor, and I found it way cool being to relate to someone who has been in my shoes.
LB Productions is just slammed right now, but I have the most brilliant staff ever working for me -- which I wouldn't know what to do without!
11/3/05
Just got back from Florida, and had a blast! I went to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios (as you can see on the left). I went down to visit my friend Clay Hayward who is going to school in nearby Daytona Beach. This trip was many firsts for me. It is the first time I can remember flying, the first time I have been east of the Mississippi and the first time I have seen the Atlantic Ocean. This was truly a trip of a lifetime for me, and I have many photos which I will put online soon.
Came back to Joseph on November 2nd to cold and snow after being in 80 degree weather in Florida. Welcome home Levi!
10/16/05
One week and I'm going to Florida! I am so excited. This will be my first major trip in sometime.
One wedding down, one to go. I filmed a wedding this past weekend and next Saturday I am filming another before I leave on my trip.
10/1/05
All moved in, and loving it! I am finally in my new house and I look forward to being a home owner. What a refreshing change in my life, I'm so thankful for my friend Linda and everyone else who helped make this a reality for me.
Spent the past week at the Extension office, going back to regular schedule in my office this coming week.
9/15/05
As our lives return to normal - if that's even the right word... I am reminded of how just two weeks ago all was right. How lives in a community can change in moments is increadible. We all have been dealing with the tragic loss of our friend, brother, son, nephew, and grandson Lance Strickland. There are no answers to why he was taken from us, but all we can do is hope he's in a good place now. As his sister stated "Lance may have been an angel walking earth..." She couldn't have put it better. He's one of those people everyone got along with. Though the pain is beginning to heal, but we still have a hard time accepting his departure from this earth.
Last week I created what I call the "best-worst" video I have ever made. It turned out good, but it's so unfortunate for the reason it was made. I only hope it represented Lance well and that it will help people remember him.
For me, and I know a lot of people, this has been by far the worst thing we've ever had to deal with in our lifetimes. I think back to when I had cancer and it doesn't seem like anything to the pain I've experienced recently. At the same time it is hard for me to imagine if I was a family member, and so I focus as much as I can to helping them through it.
As I write this, it still doesn't quite seem real, I keep wishing it wasn't...
I have put together all the photos I have taken of Lance as well as other people's and his senior pictures, in the Lance Gallery.
R.I.P. LS
9/4/05
The countdown continues! Moving day to my newly owned home is just days away. I'm very, very excited!
Enjoyed some fun out on the boat this past weekend. The summer seems to be ending fast and the days are few to enjoy the warm weather.
September 2nd is my 25th birthday.
8/14/05
With a few weeks left, my business is about to see a major shift in staff. I will be looking for (one) replacement of my (two) full time employees. Business is not slow, not even close, but two people at once is just too much. My newest hire will stay on, and move up the ladder.
Three weeks until closing on my new house. I'm very excited and can hardly wait to make the transition.
A couple of my friends will be heading off to college this week. It's quite a change for their lives, but we won't miss the good times we had this summer.
8/2/05
I know it's been a while... but don't worry, I have not forgotten you. Some big things are happening in my life right now. Stress at an all-time high, but it is a lot of good stress.
My biggest news is my house-hunting finally turned up good for me last week. After offering and counter offering on a house in north Joseph, things just did not work out. Only a few days later on the south end of Joseph I found the place I wanted. After only a couple offers, I got the house and my dream of becoming a home owner became a reality. I'll keep you posted.
I've been spending a lot of time out on the lake lately with my friends, its been a great way to beat the heat.
7/16/05
Two weeks gone by, and maybe some relief in sight? My new employee is working out tremendously, and I am very thankful to have him on board. Friday I worked at the Extension Office. This past Saturday was my first in sometime without a wedding. Last week I got a severe sinus infection and had to miss a wedding. Thankfully a couple friends helped out and took care of it for me. It turned out great.
Working at the Extension office Monday, then return back to my office on Tuesday. This week should be interesting as I have been looking at houses lately and might be making an offer soon on something.
6/27/05
Another immensly busy week gone by in my business. Another one on the way. Last week finished off with the wedding of my friend Willie Baynes. It was a nice wedding just outside of Walla Walla. My congratulations to him and his bride!
Got out on the lake this past Sunday. Even though it looked like it was going to rain all day it never did. There were a whole bunch of people out there it was a lot of fun!
6/21/05
In Salem this week visiting a friend. Taking a few days off this week, after a pretty crummy week last week. I was left with no choice but to let one of my employees go, it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I now know it was a very wise decision, but I hope the best for this person in whatever they pursue in the future.
This week has been somewhat more relaxing and I am having some fun in the Willamette Valley.
6/5/05
My business, LB Productions is on the move! Not far though, we are only moving two units down from where we currently reside. The new suite will have much more space and will accomodate a growing business well.
Healing up fast! I will be going in for a checkup this week, and as far as I can tell my recovery has gone well. I feel good, a bit tired at times (not sure why that is), but I am no longer hurting. I am having a bit of an issue coming off the pain killers, I have had some rough days "detoxing" from them. It is easier everyday, I was on them for over a month.
5/30/05
Another year... the Joseph 2005 Senior Video was a big hit at this year's graduation. What a relief I felt once graduation was over. I also filmed this year's graduation after a 6-year hiatus. Because I knew this class so well, it enabled me to put together a very good video, and the longest ever.
I have had a great Memorial Day weekend as well. Went to Lewiston and took some friends wakeboarding on the Snake River. It was a lot of fun in the sun!
I feel better every day following my hernia repair surgery about three weeks ago.
5/25/05
What a relief! I just finished work on Joseph's 2005 Senior Video. With the exception of the senior trip going on the tail-end, I am finished with the video and feel great! This year's video is the longest in the history of making the videos since I graduated. In length it will be a total of 45 minutes, outlasting all other years which are about a half hour. This is my best work yet, I am convinced and it promises to be an entertaining one at graduation on Saturday, May 28th.
In other news (not that there has been anytime for anything else but the senior video), I am feeling better everyday. I am almost completely off the pain killers. Looking back, I am thankful for having this surgery as I feel much better.
On Saturday, the 21st, I filmed Rory & Brooke's wedding. Rory is the son of John and Amy Johnson. Despite a little pain afterwords, I felt it went very well.
5/16/05
THE LATEST: Went to see the doc today and he said I am doing exceptionally well. Exceptional for the fact that I can actually walk around after being cored out like an apple.
The operation was fairly impressive according to the docs, so I am thankful everything turned out well to what was supposed to be a "common procedure." Though it turned out to be much more than that, I am feeling better and starting to heal.
I hope to see you all soon. I can be seen hobbling around town, look for me! :)
THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT!
5/11/05
UPDATE: I am doing a lot better this Wednesday evening. I have a lot of swelling from my surgery and my days have been spent doing some light walking and reclining a whole bunch.
The surgery (for a hernia) turned out to be a lot more serious than first thought, in fact the doctors removed some fat tissues that were actually growing around the hernia. The hernia also turned out to be a lot larger than expected. In the end, however, the surgery was a success and I am spending my days at home recovering. I should return to my office next week.
THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT!
5/8/05
Monday is the day. By the time you read this I will probably already be out of surgery. Monday, May 9th, I had surgery to repair a hernia which has been bothering me for two years now. A rather simple surgery, but enough to keep me out of my office for this week anyway. It doesn't bother me too much as you can imagine, plus I have faith in my team to do a good job anyhow.
I will be returning to LB Productions next week though, and work on the 2005 Joseph Senior Video is well on it's way. The company's larges project of the year.
4/30/05
LB Productions keeps growing. We are about to hire a 5th person in the next month or so. This time it will be a somewhat experienced 'out of school' person. No final desicion has been made, but due to the overwhelming demand it is a much needed addition.
4/23/05
Last week was another interesting one. I had my first "disgruntled" customer. I quickly resolved the problem, though I was a bit surprised as my business thrives on customer satisfaction. It caught me off guard, but this sort of thing is bound to happen no matter what when you are in business.
Hoping for some nice weather so I can break out my boat and clean it up to get ready for this summer!
This week is likely to be interesting as some of my staff will be off for an Ag trip. There will just be a couple of us!
4/16/05
It has been one hell of a week. I found out Monday I have a broken tailbone. It hurts REALLY BAD! Monday and Tuesday started off with a bang. I was taken off a large web development project and had mixed feelings about it. Wednesday I had leadership class to facilitate. Though it was not a disaster, it did not go smoothly as most of the presenters did not show. Thursday and Friday were rather calm with working at the Extension Office. Saturday was topped off with setting up computers that wouldn't seem to network a program. It took most of the day! Hopefully next week will go a lot better!
4/10/05
I'm back! Healthy and ready to go, well mostly. My life has been filled with a lot of stress lately with a bunch of new projects lingering over my head. No sign of relief in sight at my business! Everyone tells me it's a good thing, but I'm beginning to wonder how it's taking it's toll on me.
4/3/05
After being healthy all winter, I come down with a pretty severe cold late last week. Sure enough, now that spring is here, I suffer from illness. Late last week and this past weekend were rather miserable for me. At times I felt like my head was going to explode, and I am very fatigue. Though I am recovering from a cold, I still can't complain too loudly as there are people out there going through much worse. My thoughts are with them.
3/26/05
I have just returned from a very nice vacation from over on the west side of the state. My friend Linda let me house sit, so I had an excuse to leave for a week! I also got to see my good friend Heather while I was down there. We went to the beach and Spirit Mountain Casino. It was a very good and relaxing trip!
I am reorganizing my office for re-opening on Monday, March 28th.
3/13/05
I have returned from Pullman, Washington where I filmed my friend Jason Jone's wedding. He married a beautiful young woman (Ashley). I wish him and her all the best.
Looking forward to Friday when I depart for the west side. I am closing my office for spring break. This is the first time I have closed my office for an extended period of time since I opened it last fall.
NOTICE: Live cam is down for a while, but will be back online soon.
3/6/05
The news is in! LB Productions (my business) has done far better than expected in the last fiscal quarter of 2004. At first I was a bit concerned about the overhead involved with the new main street location of my business, but it has only helped business nearly double! I am now keeping almost three employees busy during the week!
This weekend was a lot duller than the past few, but I will not complain. It was nice to relax after traveling to the west side of Oregon and going to Baker City for the basketball finals.
2/20/05
Just returned from Baker City where the Old Oregon League had it's 1A District Basketball Tournament. Joseph did well until the finals when they lost to Imbler. It's anyone's guess where they go from here. I am just relieved in not having to drive to Baker City anymore (at least for a while). I drove there three days in a row, and it's about 110 miles from Joseph.
As if my week wasn't exhausting enough, I helped facilitate leadership with Wallowa Lake State Park manager Chris Parkins who was in "Leadership Wallowa" last year with me. We had a pretty good day going around to various businesses and places touring what people do in Wallowa County. Chris and I pulled it off fairly well!
Going to the Salem area this coming week. I'll be 'trading houses' with a friend who has a place in Stayton (10 miles east of Salem).
2/13/05
Went to La Grande Saturday night (2/12) to see Hitch. It was a pretty good movie. I like Kevin James' comedy. It turned out to be more about Will Smith though. Business just doesn't seem to stop. I am looking at taking on yet another web client. Though I am trying to not take anyone new on, we will see how backed up I get.
1/30/05
Had a pretty good week down in Salem. Saw my friend Heather, and we went to the Oregon Coast as usual. It was nice to take a break, but my business was really busy while I was away. I was getting calls from my office almost hourly -- it was getting kind of annoying, but I knew they were doing the best they could with me away.
It is looking like I will be heading down to Salem to house-sit at my friend Linda's house in the Stayton area. I am excited about that. We are "trading houses" so she can spend some time in Joseph.
1/15/05
It just doesn't get any better than this -- I have sold several computers this week and my business is doing phenominal at it's new location. I am almost considering extending my stay, but we will see.
Going to Salem next week to do some work, I am excited about expanding my business and taking a break from it at the same time.
1/8/05
New Year, new site design. I was getting quickly tired of the greys, blues, and multi-colored table setup I had on the old design, so I decided to come into the new year with a fresh look. I'm not going to deny that my site is almost U of O looking, but it is not because I am a big fan. I like OSU much better, and U of O is a distant second. Perhaps I will go with orange and black next time?
The year of 2005 is here, and I cannot say much has changed. I am as busy as ever. I have some big changes in store however, and I will announce them sometime in the near future.
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