Bohling Family Sites

If you read backwards through this online chronicling, you’ll see that I have spent a month working on mornings. Despite the great feeling of success, I seem to have made zero progress.

Last week my manager gave me two options: be in on time or leave. I am choosing to stay. This thing cannot beat me. After all, it is merely mornings. Just don’t tell me that at 7:15 or I will eat your face.

This brief encounter with potential unemployment has starting ponderings regarding other options for employment. For a brief moment I considered walking away from IBM and becoming the truly great [.?.] that I am destined to be. Then I decided that I have bills to pay and would hate to leave IBM on these terms. Call it responsibility, or call it fear of the unknown; it’s probably a little of both.

With this newfound thinking, I realized I do have an actual passion and it’s not in the realm of mainframes (although I do find these giant processing machine fantastic). I thoroughly enjoy web-related programming: apps, plugins, themes, pointless ditties. They are all amazing. I also realized a serious dream I have is to be part of a web designing firm. Especially at the top.

This, unfortunately, scares me for a couple reasons: a.) the web is ever changing and staying on top of the new technologies takes time and effort. b.) I have an artistic propensity, but my implementations are still rough and charging for them seems unfair. c.) not a lot of money in that business unless you really do well. d.) who knows how long web will stick around, and how long a given web skillset will be viable. With the skills I’m learning in IBM, I could do this job for the next 50 years. Web doesn’t last like that.

But it also appeals to me for several other reasons. 1.) Own your own business. 2.) Do the work you want to do. 3.) PHP, Javascript, Perl, ASP and .NET > PLX. 4.) Emerging technologies provide potential for early self-establishment in the industry.

So I’ve decided to at least throw some effort at that realm of my life again. I’m going to look into some design classes at the local community college, and start web programming whenever I get spare time. In that effort, I’ve started / restarted a couple websites:
 http://www.bohlingfamily.com

 http://www.kairosministry.org

Both are basic WordPress installations with no coding required. And I stole OSS templates for the themes. It’s a meager start, but a start. I’ll begin building my library of personal PHP libraries and plugins, and design a few templates myself here soon.

I’m also rejoining the effort behind a company a friend of mine started a couple years ago, Thought Design. Munsey has taken full ownership and has been driving it since, but it’s time to start working with him again more and more and see if we can make it a viable business.

While that grows, I’ve got a couple different projects in the fire. This template needs a redesign, I’m working with Elements at PCC to rework their site, and I want to put together two different code packages and fully explore AJAX. Plenty to do.

so let the internet sub-revolution sort of slowly think about beginning.

House #5, affectionately dubbed “The Yellow House”:

The bank countered our offer with a price that was a long shot away from our budget and we were downhearted.  The Seller’s agent explained that we could not go that high and the bank responded “this file is CLOSED!”  (Just like that I think, she said the lady was not very nice).

So just like always, we picked up and moved on…..  (side note – my gut kept telling me that we were not done with The Yellow House.  I had felt SO STRONGLY that it would be OUR house).

House #6:  A little smaller, GREAT price, updated throughout, SWEET kitchen….quaint.  I could imagine us living here!  No time to waste, we place our offer.  And then we wait…..

In the meantime…the bank asks regarding House #5, are we going to counter?  We tell them no, again (!), and it goes to a second review (!?).  There’s still a chance!!!!   Wahoo Wahoo Wahooo!  And…..

THEY ACCEPTED!!!  Party dance!

We close this coming Friday!  So now we are gathering up all our cleaning supplies and paint and elbow grease…ready to tackle.  God has truly blessed us – I hope we can consecrate this house to Him.

More pics to follow after we begin work…

Say "cheese", Leah.

After two performances (one more to go….without Leah) of VNL, we are spending Saturday afternoon learning how to “POST”.  Neal came to Friday evening performance and this morning tried to educate me in “posting” and “commenting”.  Now you may tire of my comments.  Oh, well.  

Neal, Daddy, and I took Leah to meet the Country Bible Church RV (& trailer) at Gas City in Benson at 5 a.m.  They arrived, got gas, loaded Leah, bought some refreshments and headed out to Mexicali.  Don’t forget to pray for Leah this week.  She’s working with the Coronitas VBS.  We came home and took a nap and then had lunch and Neal headed for home and a late afternoon wedding. 

The VNL performance included some nice band songs:  That’s Entertainment, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lexington March, Come on Feel the Noize and Puttin’ On the Ritz.  The choir sang Sh-Boom, Bookbag Boogie, Oh, Susanna, Wait for the Wagon, and That’s Entertainment.    They filled the program with the Cha Cha Slide and Numa Numa and had audience participants invited to dance on the stage.  Leah enjoyed dancing with several others to the Michael Jackson song “Thriller”.  She also enjoyed wearing a “poodle skirt” and doing choreography with Sh-Boom.  She had some SOLO  moments in some of the band piece.  There were also some skits between things (The Monty Python 3 headed giant) (The Reporter and the Politician) and Austin Dye and Ben Sanford actually sang the song about getting things on  ”E-Bay”.    There were some solo pieces also and a Kazoo Band.  The desserts were very fattening and the audience seemed appreciative.  Daddy got all his cues at the sound booth right!  Now we’ll do it one more time….without Leah.   We’ll have some video to show you at a later time. 

So…that’s VNL 2009….and now off for an “empty nest” week.  Do pray for us….who knows what trouble we’ll get into!