Always Waiting for the Next Big Thing

Life at the Simpson household has been interesting of late. We try and keep things exciting.

To begin with, Fall semester has started at Clayton State University and I am finishing up the few classes that I have left. I am taking Economics 101 (supply and demand), Operations Management (what a bore!), and my “capstone” course to complete my degree. I imagine it will be a pretty easy semester. If I can CLEP my way out of taking some of these waste of time classes, such as French 101, Biology, and Sociology, then I should be able to finish this thing up next semester. I guess I can go ahead and update my graduation schedule.

Kristin has finally thrown in the towel with her employer. There were fundamental differences in beliefs of the management and the employees, and enough was enough. Kristin feels that she should be doing things as a Zoo Keeper like working with the animals, and doing training, enrichment, and public education. Go figure! I can’t blame here for walking away from this place, as it is in serious need of a management style overhaul. You can’t work in a hostile work environment and be happy in life. I wish the best for the employees that are still there. It brings an interesting quote to mind about not judging someone by how they treat their equals, but judging them by how they treat those under them. I think that someone’s management style speaks a lot about who they are as a person, and these are some hurting people.

In an ironic twist, as Kristin left her employer, we decided to purchase a new vehicle. We have been planning this for a while, and the Ford Ranger (our only vehicle) is on its last legs. After looking around at the (cheap feeling) Toyota RAV4, the (unmemorable) Honda CR-V, and the (arrogant) Mazda CX-9, we decided on a 2011 Hyundai Tucson GLS! We were amazed by how nice the ride was, and the accessories that come standard. My wife fell in love with it, and as of Tuesday, we will be picking up our new joy. We have been looking at a newer vehicle since I am mechanically incompetent (and with little time or ambition to learn), and leasing just felt like it wasn’t right for us. Since this is the only vehicle we own, we have to synchronize the selling of the Ford Ranger, with the purchase of a new car, and work out the auto loan, etc. In the end, this particular transaction was much easier going through a dealership. Sometimes the extra price is worth saved hassle.

I will be attending my latest bar crawl, which includes an epic 27 bars on the Red Line of the MBTA. We all have t-shirts (designed by our resident graphic designer at Beacon), and my wife has decided to join. We will be peeling away from the crawl early though to attend a Flyleaf concert at the House of Blues near Fenway Park.

Lisa Bower will be coming up to spend a few days with us in the next few weeks too. (I am convinced we moved up the car time table so Kristin can show off her new ride.) It should be fun, as Boston has quite a bit of things to do. We are definitely going down to the Cape, and Martha’a Vineyard, and I am pushing them to doing some walking around the Charles Esplanade, and maybe go to the aquarium in the North End. We will miss you John, but maybe we can all get together again sometime.

To everyone holding it down at Clayton State, keep up the good work! I miss everyone, and we hope we will get a chance to come down for Thanksgiving, or the Christmas break!