These days it seems that I want to leave no page unturned. I have been aware of some changes that I wanted to make, but I didn’t anticipate everything. So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

After ten years of being a full-time employee at Company A, I’m moving to part-time hours to start a new full-time position at Company B. Company A will remain as close to full-time as I can stand between 9am and 3pm on most days, and Company B will be second shift. These hours are ambitious, but I hope to hold on tightly as long as I can. I’d like to see our bankroll build up a bit so we can relax when it is time to do so. Besides, I don’t have much more hair to lose.

After six years of being a student, father and spouse, I can knock something off my list! While being a father and a spouse won’t be changing, this week is the last week of being a student for a while. I’m considering going on to earn a Bachelors degree, but have made no formal plans. I am very burned out from school at the moment, so a break from it is needed. I am excited to finally get this done. This was not easy for me to do given my conditions and a tendency to procrastinate. More changes are coming in this area; stay tuned for details.

After eight years, this blog/journal has changed names from “The Bald Person’s Journal” to simply my name. Right now, I think this may change again, but I haven’t discovered what the name needs to be. I felt the time for previous name had long gone. However, I am still bald, I am a person and this is my journal. So, technically, the name still applies.

Lastly, after eight years of driving a VW New Beetle, and only three years in the latest one, it is time to move on to something different. I’m considering a Smart Fortwo. I really think the New Beetle is too big. ;)

Brainstorming is, usually, my favorite process of design. My second favorite would be finishing a project. So, that leaves many processes in between that are critical, but not ones that bring great pleasure for me. Question and research takes place before brainstorming. These steps are arguably more critical than the steps that follow as they steer design to a preferable solution if they are done correctly.

Up until this semester in school there has not been emphasis from instructors on the processes that take place before brainstorming. Having learned their importance so late has made me begin to wonder if my ignorance has been a fatal blow to all the work I have done until now. A big indicator of this is the amount of work that I’ve presented in my Portfolio Preparation class judged as not being portfolio ready. At this point, I will need to create at least three new pieces for my portfolio.

In the mean time, I’ll continue to fight the urge to think that I’m not cut out to do design.

Today was a long workday. Unfortunately, my school schedule causes me to miss hours at work that I have to make up during off hours. There is plenty to do, so it’s not a problem to fill in the time. I would like to be able to go home and crash. However, I still have projects to gather for a class presentation tomorrow afternoon. OK. 3—2—1…GO!

The weekend has passed. Marj worked all day yesterday while I did some miscellaneous work around the house. G-Pa drafted me to do some painting, but that didn’t happen. He had done all that he planned to do by the time I finished with my scheduled engagements.

Katie had a birthday party to attend, so she was gone for the better part of the afternoon. I was with Kelsie and her friend Teresa at a carnival. Walking around a packed school with two 5-year-olds was not too difficult. They had fun doing a ring toss, getting their hair colored orange and having their nails painted. By the end of the day, however, they were both bears. Why do they do this? They are so cute otherwise.

Today, our church voted Jon in as a Trustee! This is a wonderful testimony for his walk with our Lord! Jon has changed a lot from the long-haired rock and roller that he once was.

For the first time in what seems like forever, I’m going to bed early. There are projects that I could be working on, but they can wait until tomorrow.

School projects are up-to-date. Finally, work done this weekend will concentrate on current school work completely. Marj is working overtime all weekend, so I will be home with the girls. I may drag them to the library so I can do some research.

Marj decided that we will lower the price on our house to see if that will encourage prospective buyers. Both walk-throughs from last week were unsuccessful. Actually, neither one of them happened. One person scheduled to look changed her mind because she felt the house is too old. The other couple decided to make an offer on the house that they looked at before ours.