The Journeyman

Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions for September

2010-09-01T13:59:00Z

For the month of September, the Holy Father asks our prayers for the following intentions:

The Word of God as Sign of Social Development
General: That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people's hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.

The End of War
Missionary: That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.

Moving A'Coming

2010-08-31T15:14:30Z

Editor's Note: This is intentionally scheduled to publish a time after it was written due to possible security concerns of announcing to the Internet that either our current/past or future/present residence is unoccupied.

Today is July 7, 2010 and we're days away from the move from our condo in South Austin to a house in East Austin. In a few minutes, we're heading over to enter the house as the owners for the first time.

We've been waiting for this for awhile. Olivia's crib is in our bedroom. She doesn't sleep well and we don't sleep well with all three of us in there. She wakes up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. every morning and, since she sees us in the room, she yells at us until we wake up. Before we go to sleep, if she awakes, she goes back to sleep. I really think she is thinking along the lines of something like this:

It is boring to be awake if Mom and Dad aren't around. But, if Mom and Dad are sleeping, then what the hell! Wake up and play with me! Why are you just lying there! Get your lazy bums out of bed and get me out of here! It's 4:30 a.m. for crying out loud! Why are you still asleep!

We're looking forward to having a separate bedroom for Olivia.

Moreover, we've been cramped. We've been storing boxes in front of the fireplace. Anytime someone spends the night, I have to put my work on-hold to re-arrange the office to convert it back into a guest room. It has been difficult to live in a small two-bedroom condo with three people and an office (not to mention any future growth in the family).

Wish us luck.

That's one way to do it...

2010-08-10T22:43:43Z

File this in the "Things Everyone Has Wanted To Do At Some Point In Their Lives" folder.

In a story from The Chive, "possibly the best site in the world", according to them, a young lady named Jenny has just won the envy of anyone who ever worked for someone they couldn't stand.

She quit.

Via e-mail.

Sent to the entire office, boss included.

Using photographs of dry-erase boards.

That detail exactly why she can't work for her boss any longer.

Classic.

The story, complete with all of the pictures which simply must be seen, can be found on The Chive's site.

Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions for August

2010-08-01T13:59:00Z

For the month of August, the Holy Father asks our prayers for the following intentions:

The Unemployed and the Homeless
General: That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.

Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration
Missionary: That the Church may be a "home" for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.

The Old Days

2010-07-12T22:42:27Z

For the second time today, I find myself at the closest coffee shop to La Casa de Kraft, which happens to be Starbucks. It isn't for the coffee, the atmosphere that makes me forget that I'm anywhere other than Anyplace, USA or wanting to be the butt of any Starbucks jokes. I need Internet.

Our Internet connection is not functional today and tomorrow morning, forcing us to life as it was in 1993. No Internet. No e-mail. This is even more difficult as the primary way I'm notified of work voicemail messages is via e-mail. It has been quiet in the house with no streaming Internet music. I'm antsy to check messages. The USPS only delivers once a day.

Taking a day to unplug every so often may not be a bad idea. I should be able to go 24 hours without Internet.

Coffee Bar

2010-07-08T22:31:17Z

Image by Shannon Clark via Flickr

Last night, I was sitting in bed thinking and the idea of having a coffee bar came to me. This would be a coffee shop that would serve coffee, breakfast snacks, etc like every other coffee shop we've ever seen. All of the usual perks would be there--tables to work at, free WiFi, funky lighting.

But, what would make this place different is alcohol. It would serve beer, wine, and cocktails. Going out with friends and some can get a good coffee drink and others a beer.

I think there are a couple of places downtown that do this, but they're too trendy. Hard to find a table, loud--looking more to be the hot spot than a good spot.

Of course, I'm thinking I am on to something when I drive by Cherrywood Coffeehouse on 38 1/2 St. in Austin. I was on my way to an appointment, so I took note of it (as a coffeeshop I haven't visited that is somewhat near my home) and moved on.

As I type, I found myself with a few extra moments and decided to stop by. I walk in and it's exactly what I thought up last night. A coffee shop with the usual perks of a good coffee shop with a bar. Looks like they have maybe 8-10 beers on tap and a selection of wine. It doesn't appear they serve cocktails, but two out of three ain't bad.

I haven't tried the food, but the house coffee is good. Looks like it could use a couple of more seats near outlets, but I haven't explored the entire place yet.

I'll be visiting this place more in the future I do believe.

Of course, as I type this, I have a blogging assistant that pulls up recent stories/article from around the web that may be on the same topic. Apparently, Starbucks is doing this same thing...

FIC Ethics

2010-07-04T19:15:46Z

As a field agent with the Knights of Columbus, I work with members access their fraternal benefits with us. The most valuable of these benefits is our insurance portfolio--various forms of life insurance, retirement annuities and long-term care insurance. Advising members on these issues require a great deal of training--both initially and continuing--and it requires members put a great deal of trust in that knowledge.

In the insurance industry, one way that agents try to quickly show the depth of their knowledge is through advanced designations. Basically, a set of coursework designed to help an agent advance in his knowledge of the field. I'm currently enrolled in a program that, when finished, would result in a "Fraternal Insurance Counselor" designation.

This initial program has an ethics requirement, which exams separately.

Overall, ethics is common sense when looking at work through Christian lens. Don't lie. Don't say a product is something it really isn't designed to be. Make sure members know what they're looking at, with all of the pros and cons outlined. Don't try to replace someone's insurance to help your numbers. (There are a few times where replacing life insurance makes sense, but it isn't the norm). Don't trash-talk your competition. It's fair game to discuss the difference in ratings between companies, to explain what it means that the Knights of Columbus are certified by IMSA, but be clean in your discussion.

Sadly, there is a reason this course must be taken and why it is tested separately from the rest of the material.

Insurance agents, generally speaking, have sometimes not played fairly. The general public knows little about how life insurance works, what different types of policies do what exactly, what policies have what guarantees, and so forth. Some folks have purchased a variable universal life policy without realizing their death benefits are not guaranteed.* When they get a letter in the mail saying their $100,000 policy for $30 a month that they purchased 20 years ago either needs to be funded at $150 a month for the same benefit or for $30 a month, their benefit would be greatly reduced, without ever realizing that could happen, it's a bad day for the insurance industry.

That's why I like working with the Knights of Columbus. First of all, we don't sell VUL policies. There are people and situations where those policies make sense, but, in my opinion, life insurance is to provide death benefits to families. It's there to take worry away. VUL/UL policies can't take all of the worry away because of the nature of the policy. The real reason I like working for the Knights is that, even if we did offer policies like that, we would be crystal clear on how they work.

Ethic courses shouldn't be needed. No one should think it is right to do anything that would violate the simplest ethical standard -- the Golden Rule.

* One disclaimer: Each company and each type of policy have different times of riders (subcontracts that "ride" on with the primary insurance contract). There are riders that can guarantee VUL benefits for certain time periods if certain conditions are met, almost always for an additional fee. Generally speaking, a vanilla VUL policy would not guarantee death benefits since the policy is tied to the market.

Family Website Back Up

2010-07-04T15:28:33Z

Our family website (http://family.kraft.im) was experiencing a little problem where it wouldn't update if we posted something to it and you accessed it via casadekraft.com. The glitch has been resolved and everyone can now see the same content.

Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions for July

2010-07-01T13:59:00Z

The Holy Father asks our prayers for the following intentions for the month of July:

Justice in Electing those who Govern
General: That in every nation of the world the election of officials may be carried out with justice, transparency and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.

An Urban Culture of Justice, Solidarity and Peace
Missionary:That Christians may strive to offer everywhere, but especially in great urban centers, an effective contribution to the promotion of education, justice, solidarity and peace.

10 Months? Seriously?

2010-06-30T20:26:51Z

Image via Wikipedia

Today, my little girl, O, is 10 months old. These past months have flown by. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was like Einstein, Doc Brown's dog who was the first time traveler into the future in Back To The Future who went a minute into the future without any idea time had passed for everyone else.

We sat for family pictures as part of our parish's photo directory and today, our copies arrived in the mail. Looking at her in the picture, it seems impossible to remember a time before she was born while it seems impossible to believe that she's graced us (outside the womb) for 10 months now.

You should see these pictures though. She's a child who laughs and smiles all of time. All of the time, except if there is a camera nearby. The little one is slack-jawed in any picture with all of three of together. I love her, but man, she doesn't understand she should smile when sitting for a picture.

She is finally sleeping through the night. She can't stay awake past 6 p.m., sometimes earlier. However, she's been slowly waking up earlier and earlier, now creeping closer to 4 a.m. ::sigh::

Even with that, her separation anxiety anytime V is in the room and not holding her, and all of her other quarks, I wouldn't change a thing.

Why Do I Blog?

2010-06-30T19:13:05Z

Image by rita banerji via Flickr

Over on Michael Hyatt's blog, he discusses the reason he blogs, the mental games he plays about the practice, what it means when readership fails to grow.

Why do I blog?

I like to tell stories. I like to share information. I like to be connected and I like people to want to be connected to me. I believe I have an insight (on at least some issues) that could be useful or beneficial to someone else out there in the world.

Why don't I blog?

If you've been a reader for a long time [read: since the beginning of the blog via CMS in 2002 or when I was still hand-writing all of my HTML back in 1997], you'll know that I had a great period of writing a great amount of content. I would write short posts, long posts, rants and reflections. I would write about the Church, school, politics, TV, news, anything and everything. I didn't really worry about what people would think when they read the post; although, by nature, I'm not a person whose unfiltered thoughts would offend a great deal of people.

I stopped blogging, I believe, because I became afraid to say the wrong thing. I did not want to give anyone the wrong idea about anything. I did not want my position as a campus minister negatively influence someone if I wrote something challenging, something showing weakness, something "pissy". Now that I'm in sales, same thing again. I don't want to offend a client, or potential client, by being myself.

That's no way to govern a blog. Yes, a blog should appeal to the reader but the writer cannot appease anyone and everyone.

I am currently in a leadership showcase program presented by SOS Leadership looking specifically at goal-setting. As part of this week's exercise, I decided that I truly enjoyed blogging (when I actually did it well) and that I was a happier person when I was able to crystallize my thought via this process. Therefore, I shall blog once again.

MT vs WP?

2010-06-25T20:06:01Z

Image by whiteafrican via Flickr

Movable Type or Wordpress?

I've been using MT forever, it seems. Since v. 2.5 (now on MT5.02). Overall, I've loved it. I like that I can manage all of our blogs (mine, V's, the family site, Catholic Thinker) plus a non-blog site (kraft.im, that, ideally, will expand in time).

Lately, I've been less than impressed with plugins. Seems like after MT 3, people have been jumping off the bandwagon. Many plugins in the directory are for MT 3. Some have been made in the MT 4 era. Few seem to have been updated for MT 5.

Themes/styles are another. I'm not very graphically talented, so I want a basic template that looks good and I'm comfortable tweaking it from there. It has been increasingly more difficult to find good themes for MT.

I've started playing on Wordpress,com with a blog. I've jumped over to adding WP to my site and running a beta blog on it. I'm impressed with the ease of adding templates (enter your FTP password and it's done). Same for plugins.

I won't drop MT old-turkey. I think my wife is happy with it for her and the family's blog. The kraft.im site makes me sense to me (at the moment) to run via MT, although I'd want to figure out a way to have my blog entries filter to the home page (done automatically now via MT's website-over-blog structure).

The commenting system differences seem not to matter. If someone is going to comment on my work, Facebook seem to be the way to go.

Any thoughts out there?

Seeking Prayer

2010-06-04T03:32:09Z

Image via Wikipedia

O God,

You are beyond my understanding. Your ways are known to you alone. Your ways are good and amazing. The gifts and blessings you have bestowed upon me are more than I could ask for, more than I deserve. Thank you.

Fr. Louis once prayed hoping that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. I pray that his words were inspired. I beg of your forgiveness and mercy. I am weak, incompetent, incapable without you. When my spirit is willing, my strength is your strength. My abilities are from you.

Prayer isn't easy. Prayer is hard. I know that there's no right or wrong way to pray if prayer comes from a sincere heart, but nevertheless, I struggle to find the right words, the right way to convey what I wish to share in our relationship; although, you already know and understand it better than I do.

I pray through Jesus Christ who is one God together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Experiments in the Urban Life

2010-06-02T04:00:00Z

Image via Wikipedia

V and I have been looking for homes. We consider ourselves urbanites; we are not interested in the suburbs. Moving out to Round Rock or Cedar Park or even a far-off area of Austin (like Circle C) just does not appeal to us. We like being able to walk to everything. We like being able to only be a car for a few minutes, avoid the highway and be almost anywhere we want to be.

In looking for places, we have stayed close to where we are now. Not only have we basically stuck to 78704, we stuck to the general area of South Congress/Oltorf to South Congress/South 1st. Being able to walk to all of the shops on either street is really appealing. Homes further south in 78704 we're appealing because we had to walk more than a half-mile to get to anything, much less a variety of places. We put an offer in for a house a mere block away from St. Ignatius. We lost it.

The problem is home prices. It's expensive to get anything in 78704 and for the prices we're looking at, the house won't be fancy. (Of course, we don't need fancy, but whatever we could get would be pretty bare-bones). We saw a couple of fine houses. We would have been happy there. They completely lacked any character, but the location makes up for it, right?

We weren't too sure either.

With some sadness, we broaden the search. For the first time, we didn't limit our search to 78704. There are some amazing homes within central Austin. There are homes in East Austin that are simply great. Near Lamar and 2222 are some great finds too. V and I had use my favorite Zip Code Map a few times. We knew the 7870x and the 7874x zip codes. I knew the 7871x codes were PO Boxes (mostly). 7872x? 7875x? No idea.

We finally found a home in 78723 that we liked, made an offer and it was accepted. We'll close at the end of the month. This house is in an area that is supposed to be very walkable. Parks are close. Running trails are close. Retail is close. Over the next few months, we'll begin experimenting in this new urban reality (for us). Finding new hole-in-the-wall dining experiences, learning new shortcuts. We'll miss 78704 quite a bit, but times (and needs) change.

78723: More than a Zip Code, It's ?

Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions for June

2010-06-01T13:59:00Z

For the month of June, the Holy Father asks our prayers for the following intentions:

Respect for Human Life
General: That every national and transnational institution may strive to guarantee respect for human life from conception to natural death.

The Churches in Asia
Missionary: That the Churches in Asia, which constitute a "little flock" among non-Christian populations, may know how to communicate the Gospel and give joyful witness to their adherence to Christ.