Month: May 2008

FamilyLeave a comment

A Memorial Trip

Tim May

Many times our hectic lives cause a failure to ask the questions of family that are important when painting the picture of who we are and how did we get here. For the most part (and most of us) we all know who we are – name, address, parents, siblings, etc. – and we snicker a little knowing how we literally got here.  One should however pry a bit deeper with someone that knows. Some will not volunteer family histories but when asked, a whole new family education and heritage emerges. Then we pause (or should) and reflect on the similarities of this life versus those that preceded us.

This weekend I had a special opportunity to share time with my Father…back home. It’s always a cherished time when I’m able to see him and have the one-on-one time. This trip, this time, was infused with serious weather (another blog forthcoming) but we managed our usual how-is-everybody conversations, television watching, golf talk, arguments over who is paying for lunch, and so on. The Memorial Day holiday posed a unique experience with Dad. Every year since I can remember my parents have tended the gravesites of relatives in various cemeteries on Memorial Day weekend. The last time I remember being a part of this tradition was when I thought girls were from another planet.  On this weekend, for the first time in oh-so-many years, Dad and I together made the “cemetery run”. And he shared with me a few things to make me pause and remember family. Continue reading “A Memorial Trip”

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What you need when stranded

Tim May

For the first time in many years, I had a professional job performance review with one of the company’s four owners today. It went very well. A 90-minute meeting turned out to take nearly twice that. Not because of my performance or that I’m a trouble-maker amongst the ranks, we actually had a productive, informative, frank, enjoyable conversation. For anyone that wonders (or cares), I was encouraged to continue the good work happening in the office and was given additional assignments and questions to ponder and for comment.

 

The point of this posting you might ask? The annual evaluation process with “The Company” involves employees filling out a self-evaluation. This evaluation has a rotating series of questions (the next guy will most likely not get the same set of questions) for response. Of the 15± questions, one answer in particular took a significant amount of my time. It was one that I’ve never really thought about and it caused several late nights of thinking, writing, and editing leading up to the appointment. (As far as I know, spelling and grammar did not count against me.)

 

How would you respond to this question?

 

If You Were Stranded on a Deserted Island But Could Have Any 3 Things…What 3 Things Would You Choose?

 

Give that a thunking would you. I tried to not state the obvious – cell phone, water, shelter, voluptuous scantily-clad beauty fanning me with a palm leaf, etc. – and think as an aspiring upper-management-with-this-company type of guy.

 

Here was my official personnel file response: Continue reading “What you need when stranded”

FamilyLeave a comment

Tyler’s doing and boomerang mail

Tim May

I use much of the available technology these days to stay in touch with family, friends, and for business. Then favorite son Tyler plants this bug in my ear to start a blog…suggesting I use WordPress (like his at tylerandtammy.wordpress.com). Perhaps “Beeba” thinks I can better communicate and express myself to my network audience via this media. Hmmmmm, I probably have several from that lot that may not want me to reach out and communicate any more than I already do. So anyone that happens to read this, please continue the personal and work email correspondence, text messaging, cell phone, home phone, U.S. Postal Service (who?), etc. We will see if this works out as an outlet of and/or for creative expression. In the mean time Tyler, you’re going to have to show me all the bells and whistles of the blog site cause I might just come up with something to say, sometime.

And speaking of the U.S. Postal Service, here’s a blog first story for y’all – it has played out over the past several days: Continue reading “Tyler’s doing and boomerang mail”