by christindall | Mar 12, 2006 | Uncategorized
Well, the rental officially fell through. Basically, there were two landlords involved who pretty much didn’t communicate at all. In order for us to rent this space, we needed both the main floor (living space) and the basement (currently unused, and a disaster area – very much needs to be cleaned up – we would have used it for storage as well as Janene’s art studio). One landlord said heck yeah, and the other came back with not a chance (she thinks they’re gonna clean it up and rent it out – for $700 / month….)
Anyway, they’ve both been so flakey that I’m not sad that we’re not there, at least from that standpoint. Everything was handled remarkably unprofessionally, and it was just a joke. I do feel bad for the gal whose lease we were supposed to take over, as now she’s stuck – and she’s moving to Arizona end of April.
On the other hand, the joke’s on the landlords (who wouldn’t give us the space because – and I quote from her email – “we really need the money right now”). What they haven’t figured out yet is that in order to get that place rentable, it’s gonna cost them (according to the contractor who looked at it for them, and the Energy People (who have to run all new gas lines)) upwards of $10k – $15k. Yeah. For someone who has a money problem, that’s gonna hurt. Plus, turns out the downstairs is more like 650 square feet (and not 800) – they’ll never rent it for what they think they will.
Oh well, they’ve screwed themselves over.
It did lead to a fun day today for Janene and I, though. We drove around and looked for (and at) possible rental houses, all the way out to
Snohomish. Ran into Rebecca (one of the administration at
Country Village) who turns out to be a landlord at a place we were looking at, so that was fun. Cool place, too – unfortunately after talking about it we decided it really wouldn’t work for what we need.
While out we ate lunch in Snohomish, and Janene got Caramel Corn (a favorite of hers). It was a fun day. But I’m just wasted – not enough sleep last night.
The Forgotten was AWESOME. Very enjoyable. Not gonna say anything else so I don’t spoil it. Although I will give the warning that if you’ve lost a child, DON’T watch this movie – it’d be way too hard. Otherwise, it was GREAT.
The Legend of Zorro was fun, but definitely had its cheesy parts. Overall it was worth the couple of bucks to rent it and the couple of hours to watch it, even if it did mean we didn’t go to bed until like 2 am.
Finally took out our Christmas tree today. It was “pretty dead” – as in, falling apart. Kinda funny that we hadn’t been home long enough to take the thing down and outside. Sure opens up the living room, though. And the fire hazard is now out in a dumptser. The tree actually was in much worse shape this year than the end of last year, but I think that’s because it didn’t get watered once early on, which really cut down on it’s ability to … live.
Man, I’ve really been enjoying
Simon & Garfunkel lately. I think I need to get a CD. Them and
Green Day – I’ve really liked a lot of their new stuff. What a combination.
Got my new copies of
After Effects Pro and
Premier Pro this last week – haven’t installed them yet, but am pretty excited. I do wish my laptop was a little beefier, but I’m not sure how that would be accomplished given how much is packed in here now (and how heavy the sucker is…). Oh, I also spent some time looking at Windows Vista on Microsoft’s site. Looks interesting, and will probably BE interesting to see how well they can deliver on their concepts. It’s funny to me (having used a Mac extensively) to watch the Windows environment continually headed the direction of more simplicity and integration. Speaking of, I WOULD love a Mac – just no cash for that right now.
Have you checked out
The Weed Patch’s website yet? It’s pretty basic at this point, but is coming along. I’ll have the ecommerce stuff release here very shortly, at least in a “temporary” format while I get the full ecom site released somewhere down the road. But getting it going now will help seed the search engines, and get people to realize they can shop online, which will hopefully boost our sales. I’m hoping to really ramp up the online sales here over the next several months.
In other projects (outside of the store) I’m working on the newest version of
NWChurches.com. I tried to see if any of the original team was interested, but haven’t heard back from any of them (which is really kinda strange – makes me wonder if they even got that email…) so I guess I’m on my own for now. Oh well. For those of you who don’t know,
NWChurches.com is an online, searchable database of all the Christian churches in the Northwest. I also own findachristianchurch.com, and am still holding on to the dream of getting that up for the entire USA. Guess we’ll see. There’s a few things I just don’t know how to do on the coding side, so when I reach that point I’ll be stuck for a while, I’m sure.
Not like I don’t have enough other things going on.
And with that, it’s time to move on with my evening. Which, I hope, means leftover
pizza and sleep – holy crap I’m tired.
by christindall | Mar 10, 2006 | Uncategorized
It’s a beautiful, sunny day out. It’s also freakin’ freezing. But that’s ok, as the customers don’t seem to mind.
It’s funny how life views change as life circumstances evolve. For example, it wasn’t that long ago that my love of the rain didn’t interfere with my income stream. Now that it does, I still love the rain, but it sucks when it DOES rain. Funny thing, that.
So we’re still waiting to hear back on our offer for the new home to rent. I’m hoping to hear today, as if it’s a go I will be meeting with one of the landlords tomorrow here at
the store. I suppose that would be a prayer request – that whatever is going to happen will happen, so that Janene and I can plan and be ready for it all.
So I’m thinking about going on this cleansing diet. It’s like a 2 week deal where you eat only specific things, and it’s supposed to clean your system of “free radicals” (
ode to Mr. Bond) and other harmful crap that gets built up by daily life, stress, and poor eating habits. All of which I have, in abundance. Especially the daily life.
Anyway, given how many problems my stomach has been giving me recently, I’m thinking this might be a good way to kick off Spring. The question I really must answer is whether or not I’m willing to change my eating habits on a more permanent basis – because if not, there’s no point in putting myself through that. I think this may need a little more thought.
Have you ever had
Amante’s Pizza? It’s good. REALLY good. We had it a few weeks ago for the first time, on a recommendation from Barb Kelly, our manager here at the store. We had it again with the Moe’s one evening – Super Bowl Sunday late at night, if I remember correctly. And then again last night we had some delivered for the staff meeting here at the store. MMMMMmmmmmmm….. yummy.
Don’t think it helped my stomach, though. huh.
I’m really looking forward to
the store expansion. It’ll be awesome to have a real live office, with an actual window, nice walls, etc. Not that my space here is bad, mind you – but it is a little…makeshift. Of course, it will also be wonderful to have the cathedral ceilings, the extra floorspace, the garden out back, all the windows … all in all, it’s gonna be a ton of work and cash, but a very cool thing.
Time to work. Work work, back to work. Everybody work. (
ode to KIXI).
by christindall | Mar 9, 2006 | Uncategorized
Well, that sucks.
So it looks like we may not end up with that house we were looking at renting, when all is said and done. Which is very sad, and VERY frustrating. It would fit so well for us, and we were (and still ARE) so excited about it. We have an offer on the table with the landlords, so we’re just waiting to hear back. I really do hope we get it.
Moving on and not dwelling on bummerness, it’s a wonderful day out! Rainy, windy, a little cold… I just wish that days like today didn’t affect our sales here at the store so much. It’s actually pretty amazing how the weather affects people. Somebody should do a study. Or something.
So I stumbled across a couple of fun links yesterday, and have to admit to spending probably 15 minutes playing with them. They’re movie trivia (identify the movie from the screenshot) quizzes, and are actually quite fun.
So I know that Holly Moe “regularly” checks to see if I’ve finally updated my site. I think Andy does, too. I’m not sure that anyone else pays attention at all. It’s been quite fun the last day or two to call Holly a slacker, since she hasn’t noticed that I updated the site finally. I just wonder how long it’ll take her to figure out what I mean.
On the radio (KIXI – AM 880) this morning they were talking about how the Bird Flu could make US shores within 6 months. Which is just peachy. We also got a letter from the Health Department telling us (at the store) that we should prepare for the inevitable upcoming pandemic and health crisis. So if they know this is coming, what are they doing to prepare for it? Why have I not heard on the news that all the major labs are cranking out appropriate drugs, at least for the Bird Flu? Why, if we KNOW there’s going to be a pandemic, are we not doing more than we are? Maybe this is the government’s way of controlling overpopulation. Probably not, but hey – who knows.
I’ve never been really good at leading an extremely organized life. For one, I have way to much crap sitting around. For two, I just never picked those habits up. But there’s certainly something to be said for it. We finished putting the shelves up above the stairs (we built a huge platform above the stairs at the store) to hold all the Seasonal Essentials stuff. It’s really nice. And I’ve finally got the filing mostly organized – I really need to finish that. The upstairs (which is all storage) is finally coming along, too. We need to finish organizing all the product up here, but even that’s coming along. It REALLY makes a difference. Duh, you say. Oh well. It also really makes me want to organize my home life more. I’d better sit down and rest, or I’m going to pass out from all the excitement.
Oh well. Back to work.
by christindall | Mar 9, 2006 | Uncategorized
Have you ever had so much to do that you couldn’t even figure out what you needed to do? I really hate that. Best thing, at that point, is to pick one thing you KNOW you have to do and do it – get it done. Then move on to the next, and so on and so forth. Problem is, that’s so much easier said than done….
It’s amazing how many things you juggle when you own a business. I think it’s something that nobody can understand, unless they too own a business. All the little things that fall through the cracks, or get ignored in favor of dealing with bigger “more important” things.
So what do you do when there’s 3.5 businesses you’re responsible for, plus a project or two? And ONE of those businesses is growing by leaps and bounds? You go stinkin’ crazy, that’s what. And then you make a list, and you work on that list for a while. And then you lose that list, and “remake” it – in reality the lists aren’t even remotely the same.
Insanity is a part of life.
On the plus side, I now have full copies (having moved on from the academic realm, it was high time to get full copies of my programs) of Photoshop CS, InDesign CS, Abrobat, After Effects Pro, Premier Pro 2.0, Audition, Dreamweaver, Flash 8, Freehand, Contribute . . . I can’t even remember them all. It’s been a busy (and expensive!) month. But it’s really quite exciting. I have all this motivation now to do layout and design work, web stuff, video stuff… how fun! Just what I need. Another diversion. 🙂
But, combined with my Rebel XT (and my “soon” to be purchased video camera) I should have plenty of fun.
As soon as I can get the rest of my life organized, that is. But that’s ok – organization is in process (and things are getting more manageable), and we’re on the right track.
Wow. Talk about a totally pointless rambling. I think I’m gonna go make Mac and Cheese.
by christindall | Mar 7, 2006 | Uncategorized
It’s amazing how fast time goes, isn’t it? I know this is a bit of a common theme in my blogs, but hey – it astounds me every time I look at it. I mean, we live – day in and day out – doing those routines we’ve established for ourselves, walking through our daily lives just trying to get done those things we must; trying to make ends meet, or to finish up that painting, or that website, or that advertising campaign, or that volunteer session, or dance lessons, or [fill in the blank]. And each and every day flies by faster than the previous day, doing the same things. Why is that? If we’re doing the same things, why does the day go by so much faster?
While I would be seriously bored enough to murder someone if I never had projects to work on or things to do, I DO think that there’s great value in slowing down. Certainly there will be times where life is insane, but I think the worthy goal is to organize life and slow down so that those times are the exception, and not the rule.
I want time to play around with woodworking, and photography. To sit and read a book without rushing through it or worrying that I’m not getting things done. And most importantly to spend quality time every day with my wife (and family, when the time comes…). The tyranny of the urgent; it’s a killer!
I’m so excited to be moving our residence closer to the store! We’ll be moving at the end of April or the 3rd week of May, depending on when the current tenant moves out (we’re assuming her lease). It’s a beautiful, relaxing home – very light and airy. One of the things I’m so excited about is to be going through all our things and getting rid of those items that aren’t necessary. We WILL be having a garage sale… 😉 As they say, one man’s junk… Anyway, we’ll have something like 1800 sq. feet in the new place. It should be absolutely wonderful. Janene will have her own art studio space and most of my work and office will be at the store, so once I come home (for the most part) I won’t be working anymore. We’ll have ample storage for those things that we ARE keeping, but this space is really going to force us to re-examine all the possessions that we have accumulated over time.
I know that the new location isn’t going to solve my problems, at least not in and of itself (other than being close to the store, anyway). However, it IS proving to be a catalyst for change – it’s forcing me to examine myself, and those things that I’ve held on to for so long that just make no sense. It will force a purge, of sorts, that I’ve begun to crave. So yeah, I’m excited.
Of course, our personal move may very well come at the same time that The Weed Patch is expanding….
by christindall | Mar 6, 2006 | Uncategorized
What a wonderful, beautiful day. It’s sunny and WINDY, and it looks like clouds are coming in. Weather says possible thunderstorms, which are always fun! The weather is such an interesting thing – it’s so wild and unpredictable for the most part, and yet we have just enough of a grasp on how it works to be dangerous. We sometimes plan entire days, or vacations, based on what the guy on TV or radio says. Sure, he’s got sophisticated equipment that helps him see patterns, and training and experience that helps him identify those patterns.
But really. They’re just guessing, based on past behaviours and things that look similar. It’s amazing to me that in this day and age, with computers having evolved and permeated our lives, that we still must guess at what nature intends. I’ll bet God gets a chuckle about that one!
Speaking of computers, here’s an interesting question given all the negative media coverage about computers (from virus scares to hackers to identity theft to stupidity…) – are computers on the rise or decline in useage? Are we better off with or without them? How often do you use a computer in your daily life? How about at work? How often do you have to do something other than basic email or Office tasks? What about computers in education? Many people I know went through either Computer Science (CSC) or Engineering – what’s your guy’s opinions about computers and CS? Is it worthwhile to have those formally taught, or is it more practical to learn on the job? How much more difficult would it make it if there WAS no formal training at the college level (with the exception of tech colleges…) to land and hold a position? What did you learn in college that made those classes and programs worth while? Do you think employers are more likely to respect either individuals or institutions that have or provide that training?
Seriously, leave some feedback on this, would you? I’m curious now.
Anyway, what a tangent!
by christindall | Mar 6, 2006 | Uncategorized
Well. What a record, huh? Here I was going to blog and update my site a bunch, and I haven’t hardly touched it – really at all – in what must be close to a year. And then today, while home with stomach gross-ness, I release an update. So I figure I should blog a new entry here too. Just to see how long it takes people to notice, I suppose.
So yeah, I’ve updated the site. Added some photos – there WILL be many, many more to come as I’m a “bit” of a shutterbug and have hundreds of photos. I’ve GOT to get something else productive done today, however (even though this DID flush out several useability bugs that I’ve needed to get to for quite some time….).
For those of you who haven’t been in on the latest news, here’s some of the last year in a nutshell (I’ll probably blog more on these here soon in the future…plus, you can always join the mailing list to receive “Tindall Updates” as they get sent out, which really isn’t all that often…).
To start with, the big news – Janene and I …. bought a store. Along with Janene’s parents, Don and Esther Cunningham. We purchased The Weed Patch in Country Village, which is located in Bothell, Washington. We closed the deal on September 9th, and were honored to have the Moe’s bring us dinner and be our first purchase. Actually, if memory serves, Andy bought us a congratulations card. 🙂
Secondly, Janene is starting to push herself more as an artist (check out her website!), and is also starting to sell art supplies online, along with her finished art. This is a very exciting thing for us both! At the end of March we’re attending a class and then an art conference called ArtFest. While Janene is in classes, I will be working on various projects, sleeping, and exploring with his new camera.
Oh yeah, I got a new camera. It’s a Canon Digital Rebel XT – it’s VERY cool, and I have lots and LOTS of new pictures… Keep an eye on the gallery for updates, whenever they happen.
Seasonal Essentials is kind of rolling into the store now, so if you’re looking for SE products come up to the shop. We’re still getting new labels done, and working on display and stuff for the SE products, so they’re not all out – if there’s something you REALLY want, call Chris to make sure it’s up at the store.
That’s it, for now. Well, there’s more, but I’ll save those for a later post.
