The Red Brick Times

Hi all,
It has been quite sometime since I posted, but I read the posts pretty regularly.

It's Sunday and I am in my office upgrading software for our Intranet ... can only be done during non-business hours.

Robin, Nathan, Meredith and Kevin are all prospering. Robin is in the throes of Spring Theatre with the accompanying chaos of building costumes, staffing run crews, and tech rehearsals every 4 weeks of so. In April the KSU theatre is hosting a Ping Chong premiere, a large multimedia production that is sure to be a stretch for all.

Nathan ... Graduated with a degree in Pych last June and is working at Johnson State College as a recruiter and assistant coach of the varsity soccer team. Girlfriends? a few but so far no news of anything tooooo serious.

Meredith ... The baseball player, is in her second winter baseball camp. A new indoor facility opened in November and her coach knows the owner. I go with her every Saturday and from what I can see the coaching by the staff is very good ... strong emphasis on fundamental techniques in hitting and fielding. On her career day last fall she said she wanted to be a professional baseball player ... You go girl!

Kevin ... Just completed his first year of karate. He has been promoted from white to yellow to blue belt and is now studying once a week with the older intermediate kids. It has helped him a lot ... better concentration and a safe way to work off some of his boundless energy.

Me? I work too much but after nearly two years of negotiating and prodding I have convinced the powers-that-be to allow me to pull together a team devoted to web application development. Another developer and I have designed a template for web apps that allows us to go from idea to delivery in as a little as a few days and in cases of larger more complex jobs just a few weeks versus the months it used to take. The downside for me is that I am being pulled away from the code writing and having to focus on project management, staffing, customer relations, and all the incumbent political foo-fra. Nevertheless with the IT marketing beginning to rebound I am sniffing around. We'll see.

My mom is in Florida for the season and I will be flying down in April to drive her back. Hope to get in more than a little golf too.

Heard from Russ and Shan. Shan broke an ankle and is recovering. Good thing she works online from home.

Ah ... The files are done backing up. Back to work. I miss the carefree days of the Schoolhouse but don't miss being that broke.

jle
Posted 11:09 AM by John Eichenlaub 0 comments

Just wanted to let all of you know that Mary Anne's surgery this morning went quite well. The ligament is reattached in her ankle and the cyst has been evacuated. We have to wait for a few days for the biopsy results but 99.9% of the time these cysts are benign fatty growths.

Because the surgical center Mary Anne picked is one that mostly does plastic surgery, they cater to high end clientel. Part of their insurance approved package is they provide transportation, so at 5 AM this morning, we go out the front door and find a stretch limo waiting to take us to the center. Travelling in style.
Posted 1:08 PM by Michael Hagedorn 0 comments

Hooligans. They're everywhere.
Posted 4:18 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

Hey there from Chicago. Things are proceeding apace. Mary Anne and I have spent the last year working on our waistlines. We joined Weight Watchers last January and between the two of us have lost over 200 lbs. Once I hit my goal (another 60) I will probably go back to pounding on agents and producers doors :)

Next week tho MA will be having surgery to repair a detached ligament in her ankle and to remove a cyst from her heelbone. The bone part of it means a rather lengthy recovery, starting with about a month keeping the foot elevated.

So to keep her from going completely stir crazy, our friend Ange has come up with this idea. "I had a brainstorm today. I was thinking, wouldn't it be fun to put together a scrapbook/journal/activity book for MaryAnne whilst she's recovering from surgery? Ideas include: inspirational/funny quotes from famous women, cartoons, folded paper, pictures, activity and journalling space for a month of days, digital or hardcopy pictures of MaryAnne or of themselves, pockets for her favorite type of bandage and prescriptions, daytime t.v. rating entry cards ..."

So if any of you artists, poets, creative types want to send something for this project, ange's email is ange@ec-principals.com

We were in Cleveburg very briefly for Christmas but didn't see anyone but immediate family. Hopefully a longer visit will happen this year.

Posted 9:22 AM by Michael Hagedorn 0 comments

Tony! How good to see news from you. I was startin' to wonder if anyone besides Andy and I came here anymore. Me, I'm still unemployed but have been able to make the odd buck or two on the side. My only real enjoyment these days is checking for updates on the ol' RBT which, to be honest, have been a' lacking. Russ 'n Shan, are you still alive? Eichenloober er... Ichenwick (see, it's been so long I can't remember your name), still out there? Post you fools, post!

Posted 10:33 AM by whatley 0 comments

Happy SolstiChristmaChannaKwanzaYear! Just wanted to get a word in before Andy starts up again. All's well out here in the salt spray and marsh grass of lower Narrgansett Bay. We had good year, with the exception of Truman who departed for a place where he can always catch the squirrel and it always comes back to be caught again. Erin is working in Annapolis and pursuing an MS in Toxicology and Josh is Law school at Northeastern in Boston. Marsha continues the weekly commute to Block Island and I remain my usual self. Keep warm.

AOG
Posted 11:54 AM by A. O. Gutierrez 0 comments