Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Actually I am taking both today and tomorrow off from working for RTI, this will be my second consecutive weekend off, as so I can attend my 35th High School Class Reunion this weekend. Festivities kickoff tonight at Whitetail Crossing with a mixer. Nothing officially planned this evening, but it will be nice to see everyone who is coming in for the reunion.

We did have a partially attended 31st year reunion or a small get together than was pretty nice, but this will be a much bigger one with a number of people coming into town to enjoy the festivities. I know of at least one friend who is will be attending his first reunion and was actually the guy who talked me into starting my wrestling career. He's now a retired police officer living in Texas. I have another one who I have not seen in a number of years who wanted to kidnap me about a year and a half ago for an evening when I was in Raleigh training for RTI, but I was a busy trying to take everything in and study and it never transpired.

Smitty has done a great job organizing this reunion and getting he picnic ready to go, and Ron and Sarabeth will be hosting tonight and tomorrow nights festivities for everyone to enjoy.

On a side note, with much sadness I found out last night that one of our cruising buddies, the one who made Michelle a Steelers purse, Cheryl McCann had passed away after a long battle with cancer. Mark was able to take her on one final cruise this Spring. RIP Cheryl. we'll be eating flat iron steaks, Caesar Salads and Shrimp Cocktail in your memory.

Have a great day, I plan to.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks picture once again goes back a number of years. It was taken last century and we have seen 5 or 6 different decades since this picture was taken.

This is a picture of my Dad and my youngest sister Pam. I can't really say much about the picture as to the exact date, but as young as she is my guess is it was taken when they lived on Listravia Avenue in Sabraton, before US 48 which later became I-68 came through and the property was seized so that that road could be built.

I'm not even sure if my Dad had even started working in the coal mines yet when this picture was taken.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

That is two days behind us (three for me) and a couple more ahead of us, now it's just a matter of getting up and over this noon time hump and it'll be all downhill as we are working towards another fun filled weekend.

Big Weekend coming up for me, my 35th year (wow am I getting old) High School Reunion is Friday and Saturday. Friday is just a simple mixer at Whitetail Crossing and Saturday is the full fledged reunion in two parts. The first is a picnic at Coopers Rock followed by an evening get together once again at Whitetail Crossing. On my Senior League Softball Team, I think there are six of us on our team and one or two others from our class spread out among a few other teams.

Not sure if I am going out to work for RTI today, I'm either going out today or tomorrow, one of the two and I'll be off the other day as well as the weekend as I'm waiting for students to return to Morgantown so I can actually knock on doors and have someone answer...lol

Have yourselves a great day today and make the very most of it.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday

No tidbits again, I know I'm getting really bad about this but I was a little bit busy yesterday. I "Officially" signed my offer letter and accepted the position with AECOM.

I also had to submit paperwork for the background check, I submitted and took the drug screen and a few other pre-employment things that one needs to do to work for a company like this on a project like this. There are quite a few hoops to jump through, but being that I have been there for 9 years, it's just re-confirming what they already know. I am who I say I am and yes I did work for company that coincidentally was a sub contractor to one of the smaller companies under them. AECOM is the big parent company and that is who I will be working for.

Other than that I attempted to do a little bit of field work yesterday, but with little success as most of my day was filled with dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

I think Michelle is quite happy that we are staying here, I really did want to stay here for her more than anything as her career is really starting to take off as well. I did not want to inhibit her ability to grow professionally by moving away to a location where she would leave her current position. I'm very proud of what she has accomplished, more than she will ever know.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end, and that includes those fun filled things that we call weekends. Now it's time to take our collective noses and stick them back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living.

I am going to have a busy week this week, going out and doing field work today then coming home this evening as we have our last scheduled double header for softball this evening. It's not the end of the season, but our last of the double headers that we have scheduled for this season, it'll be single games from here on out.

I've got a couple of weeks before I am back at NETL full time, so I guess I had better enjoy them and make the most of them. I will have some transitional things to do switching not only companies, but overall contracts. Different money streams and different objectives, so nothing should be the same. I'll probably have to switch offices (I love my office) and even equipment as all of the equipment that is in my name is from another contract. Confusing, I know....lol

Have yourselves a great day today, Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet household on an early Sunday Morning, I'm up watching South Park on Comedy Central and collecting my thoughts for the day.

We did not make it out to see George Thorogood last night, storms in the area and made it a little wet for our taste so we passed on attending MountainFest yesterday. Smitty said George went on around 9:00, or about an hour and a half after his scheduled time due to the rain.

Now it is back to normal, going out and doing grocery shopping this morning and then back out this afternoon to do some field work for RTI after having the last couple of days off. For people wondering with my new job offer, yes I will continue to work for RTI as well. It's a really good paying job and an easy way to sock extra money away and a few other reasons. It really does make a difference in our community, I get to work my own schedule and you get out of the office environment and enjoy yourself by meeting new people.

Have yourselves a great day today, make the most of it.

Hi ho hi ho

Changing Jobs

Well I have the pleasure of making a nice announcement today, but first let me discuss what has happened the past few months.

Since November of 2009 I have worked for a Company called Sextant Technical Services, Sextant for short. We are a small company that today has a total of 7 people working for it. It's owned by one of the best bosses that anyone could ever ask for, I can't emphasize how well Dale treated each and every one of his employees. He was not only our employer, he was our friend and it has been an absolute honor working for the man.

Earlier this year due to budget cuts,my employment and coverage was put in real jeopardy. I have worked on the Research Contract, which was the largest of the ten NETL contracts but it expired a couple of years and they have still not awarded the new solicitation as of yet. All of my work was specifically working specifically on the Carbon Storage Task which we have won a few major awards including a Blue Pencil award for the 2012 effort. However since March I have had a grand total of 16 billable hours a month or two days a month worth of work due to significant cuts in funding.

Since March I have been in the job market, I have been contacted about employment or have had interviews with Rice Energy, Crown Castle and NiSource for jobs in Pennsylvania. In West Virginia there was EQT and there were other jobs outside of the state with assorted companies. The big one was going to be in Atlanta where they were going to fly me down for the interview. Also in the mix were jobs in Virginia, North Carolina, Columbus Ohio, Kentucky and Washington DC and those are just the jobs that I was contacted about and took interest in. There were numerous others around the country that I just didn't feel were in my interest. About a Month ago I turned down an opportunity to work in Washington DC, but at a significant reduction in Salary. There have been days that I have gotten as many as 17 phone calls from head hunters about about jobs that they were interested in representing me in. It got to the point where I was just getting frustrated every time the phone rang as nothing turned into an offer.

At NETL I was actually preparing to open up my own small business to address another project that was not Research related and more our specific site related. I had the needed skillset and the work was coming, so it was a potential opportunity. I have tons of paperwork filled out and ready to submit and was actually contemplating becoming an LLC and even put the infancy stages of the website up as I had purchased the domain HallGeospatialServices.com.

To say that I was getting frustrated, especially in the past few weeks was an understatement.

Well that is the back story as to what has been happening since March. Now for the big Announcement.

After a few weeks of interviewing and applying, I was formally offered a position with the company that is three years running voted as Fortune Magazines most admired Company and I have informally accepted the offer of employment with AECOM. My official start date will be August 7th as it takes time for the hiring process. Background checks, HSPD-12 badge and the general drug screen and everything that goes with new employment as well as closing things out and transferring equipment with my current employer. Of all of the companies that I interviewed with, this was the most idea situation as far as location, and the oh so important issue of terms of financial compensation (Money and Benefits).

I'm excited about not only this offer, but the work I will be doing on the Site Operations Services Contract. My job title I think is going to be Engineer (I have not seen the official offer letter yet) as I will be brought in to do all the Geospatial Work (my background) for the site. 

This was the most ideal situation for me, I get to stay here, I'm making the same type of money and compensation that I previously made and I get to work with some people on the other side that have always had my back. I light even be working with a number of people from my old Sterling Faucet Days, but more of an administrative role.

I'm very grateful for all who have helped make this ideal situation happen and to my current employer for being the best boss anyone would ever want to have worked for.

I have not said much or anything about it in my blog, I'm sure if I would have given my daily thoughts that everyone would have thought I was crazy. There were a lot of highs, lows and frustration, but it's now over.

I'll start updating all my professional information including my resume in the next few weeks to reflect everything.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday Morning, Michelle is still sleeping and Josh is away working, so I am the only one up at this hour. I'm up collecting my thoughts for the day and watching South Park and collecting my thoughts for the day and contemplating writing multiple blogs today because this is a big weekend.

Michelle and I went to West Virginia Mountain Fest yesterday, this is my first time attending this Festival and it was a good time. I ran into Smitty and his daughter Emily as well as a few other friends at the event. Hank Williams Jr was the headline act last night and he did not disappoint. He was actually sober this time...lol

Tonight, George Thorogood takes the stage and this is the reason I wanted to go to Mountainfest. I saw him back in the mid 80's in Fairmont and to this day I will say that was the loudest concert I have ever been to. My ears were ringing all the way back to Morgantown. I've always been a big George Thorogood fan and I'm ready to party down tonight.

Have a great day today, we plan on it.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well I will once again be in my NETL office this morning for a meeting and to complete a task. I should be there about half a day and then I will be off for he rest of today and probably tomorrow. Not doing any RTI work today nor do I have plans on going out tomorrow as so Michelle and I can go and enjoy WV MountainFest this evening and tomorrow. We bought the full three day passes this past February when all the musical acts were announced.

On tonight's schedule, Hank Williams Jr will take center stage this evening and we plan on being there. I saw him years ago at the WVU Coliseum and this will be Michelle's first time seeing him.

They are anticipating large crowds this weekend, so if you are traveling around town, give yourselves a little bit of extra time to get to where you are going (more than usual) and please pay special attention to all the two wheeled vehicles that will be visiting us the next few days.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

Sometimes you have pets that affect you, you have a bond with them and it's just magical. When Michelle and I moved in together she had two cats, Sophie who is still with us and Chloe who I just had that emotional attachment to. She was my friend, and was always there immediately if I just tapped the back of the couch to get her attention.

This picture are from happier days, long before she started having health problems and we had to do the humane thing and put her down. I still visit her grave from time to time which is in the back yard to think about her. She will always be my favorite no matter what other pets I get attached to.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well I am back at it again today doing some field work for RTI as I did yesterday. I'll also be spending my morning at NETL to do a request that was submitted while I was out. So I will be working both places today and we'll see how that all turns out.

I'll be doing field work once again tomorrow as well and will be back in the NETL office on Friday for a meeting. You can't say that I have been bored the past week or so...lol

I did get home Monday night and our two house guests of the canine persuasion had went home from their visit. Hayley finally came and got May and Gracie, so we are back down to having a couple felines running around the house exclusively to terrorize everything. Well at least one of them, Peanut is full of spunk and Sophie is getting old.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday Kynlea Dalton

I would like to take this opportunity to with my great niece Kynlea Dalton a very Happy Birthday today.

Amy and Ralphie held a surprise birthday party this past weekend for Kynlea, looking at some of the pictures that were posted she seemed to get a pretty good turnout and all kinds of toys.

If you happen to see Kylea today, make sure that you take a little bit of time out to wish her a very Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Kynlea.

Still in Charleston

Here I am still in Charleston but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm down here working for my fourth and final day doing field work for RTI, I'm coming home this evening so I get to see my baby this evening.

It's been a nice trip, semi-productive but I would have liked to have seen better productivity. Most of the places I have visited have been back woods gravel roads type places and so far I have encountered some of the nicest people in the world.

Today there is a movie premiere that is of some interest to me. The movie Families Like Yours finally makes its Premiere after a little over a year of trying to get it financed and released. It's a movie about Gay Couples who have children and raise them. Am ex GF of mine and her wife are one of the featured couples and there is a segment on her, Chris and their triplets who are now entering their sophomore years at Cornell University. I'll update everyone when it's fully released and on the net.

Have yourselves a great day today, Michelle I'm coming home.

Hi ho hi ho

Still in Charleston

Here I sit last night pre-writing this blog so that I can sleep in a little bit this morning and not have to worry about writing anything.

I know that this picture does not reveal much, especially from this distance. However a year ago this entire shopping plaza (where everything is shit down) was under water due to all the drastic floods that they had in the area last year.

The hotel I'm staying at got lucky, they had water right up to the door but it never made it inside of the building.

My excitement however came last night when I went shopping at a Piggly Wiggly. I have known about them, heck I've seen Driving Miss Daisy a number of times, but this was my first time ever getting the chance to go into one. Now I can say been there and done that, nothing special.

Anyways I'll be in the area all day today and tonight, I'll head back to Morgantown tomorrow night.

Hi ho hi ho

Saturday In Charleston

Day two here, yesterday went pretty well but I am anticipating a bigger day today than I had yesterday. 

Most of my billable time was travel time, which doesn't bother me, but I'm here to accomplish a few things. I'm working north of Charleston and I have to say that everyone that I have met have been extremely nice. 

Depending on when I get done today, I'm going to try to find Michelle a wine that she really likes but is only sold in the Southern Part of the state. We have actually traveled here for pretty much the intent and purpose of purchasing it. 

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Big Ole Hairy Traveling Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well for me it is the start of a stretch of out of town working. I'll be heading out early this morning and traveling South to Charleston WV to work for a few days. By a few days I mean I am planning on being back on Monday evening so I will be there the entire weekend working.

There was a possibility that I was going to have to travel this week, well with so much student housing that occupy my sections here in Morgantown, I'm being sent to where I can be more effective while things pretty much sit idle here in Morgantown waiting for either students to return or people to return from vacations.

I can't really go into any details about where I will be working, but I will be staying in Charleston, don't know if I will venture downtown, but you never know I just may venture down to the Capital one early morning to possibly grab a few pictures.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I go through all of my pictures that I have and try to find a picture to tell a little story about, this week's has a double purpose.

This weeks first picture is to a man who had a very positive influence on my life. I was was coming back from working on Mom's computer Tuesday Night and I got a few text messages from my mentor in ArcGIS JB Churchill. He asked me if I had heard about Dr Fletcher, the founder and the director of the WV Natural Resources Analysis Center where my career in GIS started and I gained such an advantage over any other undergrads in GIS at WVU. Dr Jerry Fletcher was NRAC, but I just found out while driving home that he had recently lost a battle with Cancer. I'm shocked to say the very least, Jerry took me in under his wing my last 4 years of College and even offered me an Assistantship (meaning they would have paid for my Masters Degree and gave me a salary as I completed it) once I graduated. He offered to support me in any program I chose to follow, even if it were one not in Natural Resources. Looking back I chose to go back into the work force, but maybe it was an option I should have chosen. He was a great man, a great friend and a man who has had a bigger impact on the lives of many West Virginian's more than they will ever know. Jerry will be missed.

I also learned this week and what was originally intended to be my Photo Flashback for today that a former softball team mate and brother of a current softball team mate, Terry Bell also known as Professional Wrestler Ricky Villain had also passed away earlier this week. Terry is standing beside me in the green shirt  and his brother Paul is two down from him in this picture. 

Hump Day

Well that is two days under our belts, now if we just get up and over this noon time hump it'll be all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend.

The picture that you see is from Secretary of Energy Rick Perry's visit to Morgantown last Thursday. I'm the bald guy in the white shirt on the front right of the picture, so I was pretty close to all the VIP's so to speak. It had rained that day pretty consistently but the weather held off long enough for us to get the picture taken. The cameraman was on a crane next to my office and we were all in front of the Federal Building.

I'm off work today from RTI, unless someone calls me and wants me to conduct an interview with them. You never know though, I may go out and try to wrap up an unsuspecting interview or two though.

Have yourselves a great day today and make the very most of it.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again behind us and we are looking straight down the barrel of a Tuesday, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 19,580 days since I made my first appearance here on this earth, been going strong ever since.

* I graduated from WVU with a degree in Geography 4,814 days ago.

* Michelle and I went out on our first date 3,405 days ago, it was a horrible movie but my life was changed forever from that wonderful evening.

* 2,629 days ago I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to my wonderful wife Michelle, obviously she said yes. =)

* It was 2,166 days ago that we partied down in front of our closest family and friends as we exchanged our marital vows.

* I've still got around 5,256 days to go until I retire, it's still a long ways away, but that number keeps getting smaller and smaller.

* In 1,1894 days WVU and Pitt will once again do battle on the gridiron. We need to kick some Panther butt.

* There are 344 more days to go until Spring of 2018. Spring is by far my favorite season of the year.

* In a mere 206 more days, Phil will take center stage and pretend that his groundhogness will predict the next six weeks worth of weather.

* There are 173 days to go until my Goodbye 2017 Blog is written and published. It's going to be an interesting one this year.

* There are 167 days left to do your Christmas Shopping, Walmart can't be too far away from putting their Christmas stuff up.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will take place in 143 more days. I'll be turning 21 again this year.

* 87 days to go until Michelle and I make a trip to the Springs Festival.

* We are 26 days away from our sixth wedding anniversary.

* There are but 9 more days to go until Mountainfest, we've had our tickets for a while now. I'm wanting to see George Thorogood again, I think Michelle wants to see Hank Williams Jr

* This is blog number 4,916 for me. Coming on 13 years and I'm getting very close to the milestone of 5,000 blog posts.

* Nothing new on the brother search, but what else is new?

* There are 383 names in the Hall Family Tree and that number needs to go up, I didn't do too much work on it this last winter.

* Calvin and Jeannetta are are going to have their WV Bridal shower this weekend at the Wadesville FD. I actually got it right this week.

* There are three days during the year that there are no professional sports played in the USA No MLB Baseball, no NFL Football, No NHL Hockey and no NBA Basketball. Tonight is the MLB All-Star game, so those three days were yesterday, today and tomorrow.

* Paul Koon has talked to me about combining the Friends and Family Picnic and the Koon/Newbraugh Reunion. It's something to think about.

* Having a great quarter so far doing field work, heading back out again today.

* Go National League.

* Have yourselves a great day today

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

We have once again reached that time of the week when all the fun stops and we get back to doing what it is that we do for a living. It's time to top the relaxing and stick our collective noses back onto the grindstone for another fun filled week of working.

It was an uneventful Sunday, we got a few things done around the house and Michelle got a good afternoon nap in and we are both now ready to face the week again. I'll be heading out into the field once again and she'll be heading back to the office.

Nothing on this weeks agenda really, no Dr appointments or anything of that nature, just a typical work week. It's getting to the point where our lives are less and less eventful it seems like. We're starting to become boring...lol

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, I am surprisingly the first one to recover from that losing battle with the dreaded Sandman last night. I'm up early collecting my thoughts on the day and surfing around the net.

Michelle saw one of these bugs yesterday and being that it was all black is not a good sign. The superstition is the amount of black indicates what kind of a winter you are going to have. If it holds true we are in for a very bad winter, so my advice is smash this little buy and deny ever seeing it. I know we are in the middle of a hot streak with the weather, but I will still re-iterate that I Hate Snow and I hate it a lot.

Not planning on working today but am anticipating a big week coming up. I did manage to have a pretty good day yesterday, so I'll take today off and hit it hard tomorrow again.

Our Sunday is going to be back to normal, grocery shopping and laundry are on today's agenda. We're not planning on doing anything out of the ordinary today other than play with our k9 visitor house guests possibly.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday

Here I sit on an early Saturday Morning, May and Gracie are here visiting and Michelle is happy as all can be. I'm up early, as is everyone else collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing around the net.

I'll be heading out into the field later this morning doing some more field work for RTI. I'll be working so close that I can see my segment from the front porch and could literally walk there. I don't know how much luck I'm going to have because it is basically all student type housing.

I'm still waiting to see the group picture that we took at NETL when Secretary Perry visited. WE took a large group picture and somehow I am up front with everyone. Shelly Moore Capito did walk over and introduce herself to me, so I did get to meet her. Rick Perry was probably 5' away from me in the group picture, so I'm not going to be a hard guy to find when the picture is released..lol

No other plans this weekend for Michelle and I, no road trips planned or any events this weekend. However we will be busy the next three weekends with events planned. Mountainfest, which bought tickets for in January is in two weeks and my 35th High School Class Reunion follows the week after that and even the weekend after that we will be traveling for Jonny's 4th Birthday Party up in Ellwood City that we plan on attending.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Big Ole hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well yesterday went pretty well, Energy Secretary Rick Perry came to Morgantown and actually visited a couple of sites. First was the Longview Power Plant, where Michelle has access to and secondly to NETL where I work and was at work yesterday. This is my third US Secretary of Energy that I have had the pleasure of meeting, I've also met the equivalent of both Canada's and Mexico's for a project I did a few years ago between the three countries. Not bad for a guy who spent his first 17 years working in an industrial setting.

Well today it is back out in the field doing field work for myself. I'm going to start addressing the larger of my two sections and the one that is literally right across the street from where I live. I've been hitting the other section pretty hard so far, but not too much success as of yet.

No plans for us this weekend, I'll probably be out doing field work tomorrow and will most likely take Sunday off, but that is not a guarantee yet.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic was from earlier this year, I had to travel to St Louis for a re-certification for my job with RTI. It's a trip I will have to make every January and the site always tends to change. This past year we were in St Louis and I took my lovely wife Michelle along with me (it was her first plane ride). I was busy most of the time so I really didn't get much of a chance to see the sites, but Michelle and I went to the arch on the first day that we arrived. Michelle had never been west of the Mississippi and this was her first trip there.

All I remember about that day was that it was freaking cold as heck outside, and mind you the Mississippi River is right behind us. We did do a live stream to Facebook as we were at the arch.

Have a great day today, I get to meet Secretary of Energy Rick Perry today.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day yesterday or the extended holiday weekend that many in America had taken. Now it's time for those of us who are not on vacation to get back at it and do what it is we do for a living.

Michelle and I went out to the Coliseum on Monday evening after the WV Blackbears game to watch the fireworks that were being set off at Monongalia County Ballpark. You can really get a good view at the Coliseum if you are over where the band practices and towards the Boulevard furthest away. It was actually a pretty prime location to view fireworks without being right there.

Michelle and I enjoyed our day yesterday with a day of smoking pork ribs. I have to say that if I have a favorite way of cooking, smoking meats has to be it as it takes a cheap cut of meat and makes it very tender and just fills it with flavor. I still want to get some un-smoked sausage in their casings and try smoking them. I've stuffed my own sausage with the Kitchen Aid, but we had trouble getting the seasoning and consistency right. Of course we did it with Turkey so there is that.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again behind us and we are looking straight down the barrel of a Tuesday, it's been a while so I guess that I am long overdue for a tidbits.

* It has been 19,573 days since I made my first appearance here on this earth, been going strong ever since.

* I graduated from WVU 4,797 days ago.

* Michelle and I went out on our first date 3,398 days ago, it was a horrible movie but my life was changed forever from that wonderful evening.

* 2,622 days ago I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to my wonderful wife Michelle, obviously she said yes. =)

* It was 2,159 days ago that we partied down in front of our closest family and friends as we exchanged our marital vows.

* I've still got around 5,263 days to go until I retire, it's still a long ways away, but that number keeps getting smaller and smaller.

* In 1,901 days WVU and Pitt will once again do battle on the gridiron. There is a house that has the countdown on Willowdale road running on their front windows, they may need to update their sign.

* There are 351 more days to go until Spring of 2018. Spring is by far my favorite season of the year.

* In a mere 213 more days, Phil will take center stage and pretend that his groundhogness will predict the next six weeks worth of weather.

* There are 180 days to go until my Goodbye 2017 Blog is written and published. It's going to be an interesting one this year.

* There are 174 days left to do your Christmas Shopping, Walmart can't be too far away from putting their Christmas stuff up.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will take place in 150 more days. I'll be turning 21 again this year.

* 95 days to go until Michelle and I make a trip to the Springs Festival.

* We are 33 days away from our sixth wedding anniversary.

* There are but 16 more days to go until Mountainfest, we've had our tickets for a while now.

* This is blog number 4,909 for me. Coming on 13 years and I'm getting very close to the milestone of 5,000 blog posts.

* Nothing new on the brother search, but what else is new?

* There are 383 names in the Hall Family Tree and that number needs to go up, I didn't do too much work on it this last winter.

* Calvin and Jeannetta are are going to have their WV Bridal shower next weekend at the Wadesville FD.

* I think Michelle and I are going to be firing up the smoker this morning, ribs are on our menu for the evening.

* It's the 4th of July!!!! Year ago by my Grandfather's Sister Hazel, who did a lot of geneology work, she determined that Lyman Hall ins my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfathers Brother. Yes my family is partially responsible for today.

* Michelle and I are both off today.

* I get to meet my third Secretary of Energy on Thursday, I've met Steven Chu, Ernest Moniz and now Rick Perry is coming to Morgantown Thursday afternoon.

* I may be traveling next week for RTI, being that 90% of my respondents here in Morgantown are students, we may take advantage of them being gone and me traveling to the southern part of the state for a few days.

* Have yourselves a great day today, fire up the grills!!!!!

Monday

Well the fun filled weekend has come to an end, the 4th Annual Friends and Family Picnic went much better than I thought it was going to turn out, plenty of food and plenty of surprises for all that were there to witness it.

Thank you to everyone who helped us pull this off. Thank You to the GrillMaster George McClain, he was there bright and early and without his help it would have been a disaster. Thank You to Smitty and Steffy, please ekeep Steffy in your prayers as she found out at the picnic that she has lost a second close family member in the past few weeks. Steff you are in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you to Jim Paugh for delivering a wonderful blessing for the feast and thank you to all who made this a very special picnic.

Now it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of work. New Quarter started with RTI so I have a very busy case load the next few weeks. so I will be busy again finally.

Have a great day, Hi ho hi ho

It's Picnic

Well the all the preparation is over with and we have arrived at the day, today is the 4th Annual Friends and Family Picnic and I'm ready to have fun today. Michelle and I spent yesterday doing all of the running around, now it's time to put the plan into action.

We have a few friends stopping over early and helping us set up and there is going to be a good bit of that to say the least. I'm thankful to each and everyone who has volunteered to show up early and help us pull this off, for without you this would be much more of a task.

Todays weather looks to be sunny and in the mid 80's, we are right beside the pool in the covered pavilion so bring your swimsuits because it looks like we are going to have great weather today. Hopefully the temps go higher, the sun shines and the food is a plentiful.

My cameras will be with me, so I'll try to capture all of the days events for all in attendance to relive.

Have a great day, we intend to.

Saturday Prep

Well here I sit in the wee hours of the morning, waking up hours after my lovely wife who I am starting to wonder if she ever sleeps anymore, and trying to collect my thoughts for what is going to be a busy day for us today.

Since tomorrow is the 4th Annual Friends and Family Picnic, today is going to be the day that we run around, get our normal Sunday stuff done as well as do our shopping for tomorrow. So this is going to be nothing short of a running around and preparing for tomorrow kind of a day.

We'll be doing our normal shopping early this morning for the week and then when it's all done, the chaos begins as we start preparing and buying everything for tomorrow.

I hope to see everyone tomorrow, but like every other year you never seem to know who will or will not show up. We've always wondered if we did this right, did we get enough of that and a number of other things that goes along with trying to host this event. It's going to definitely be a busy one.

Enjoy the start of your 4th of July Weekend.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well Michelle had a follow up surgery yesterday from a few years ago. Believe it or not part of the discharge instructions were quite comical and we actually had to stay around a little longer to actually get some clarity from the surgeon who was in surgery when we were getting ready to leave. I swear that hospital is getting too big and has lost track of its very mission statement.

We stopped in yesterday afternoon at Earth Magic: Books, Stones, Crystals & Talisman to see Mo and check out her new shop. We had a very pleasant visit, Ed had asked me to stop by a few weeks ago and it was the first chance that I have actually had to stop by. It's a nice little shop, if you are ever in Star City at the bottom of the Hill on University Avenue, stop and and say hello to Mo. Michelle liked the Fairy Gardens that she had set up. She does have creativity, something I was never blessed with.

Have yourselves a great day.

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

I'm sure that this weeks pic has people scratching their heads and asking what the heck is that a picture of? It just looks like water running over a drop off. To some it may be, but to many others it's a completely different perspective of a very world known place.

This is a Picture that I took with Michelle when we were in Canada and were visiting Niagara Falls. We had stopped by the larger of the falls known as Horseshoe Falls and I went to the very edge of the falls right before the drop off and captured this image.

I will say that standing there among all that power gives you a different perspective on life, if only for the few short minutes that you are standing there.

Have a great day.

I'm slacking this week for sure.

Don't know whether I just have no inspiration or no desire to pump out the same regurgitated stuff day after day and week after week. I have forgotten to write this blog and just woke up in the middle of the night realizing the errors of my way on this day.

So no blog today.

Another Tidbitless Tuesday

I'm getting pretty consistent of missing my Tuesday's Tidbits. I've lost track of how many times in a row now that I did not post my regurgitated numbers out once again. I have an excuse however, I have been really sick since we got back from Virginia.

I don't know if I just caught a very serious bug or whether it was food poisoning, but it was not pretty and not the type of illness that I would wish upon anyone. I was just not myself and felt very much under the weather since we got back.

Well now with two weddings out of the way so far this summers, now it's time for us to turn our attention to the Friends and Family Picnic this weekend. This will be the fourth year in a row for this event, not sure if there will be a fifth one due to my situation, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I hope everyone has a great day today, I have a kickoff meeting this morning for the third quarter work for RTI so it should be a busy day for me.

Monday

Well we made it home safe and sound yesterday, we had a great and refreshing trip to an amazing area. Michelle and I both loved it down there and felt it was an honor being there to share this magical day with these two wonderful people.

I did manage to get all my pictures loaded to the Facebook Album as well as convert the video footage that we shot and put it up on YouTube (Share at the end of this blog post).

We took our time coming home yesterday, we went a completely different route home that we took getting there. Possibly because we stayed about 25 miles south of the Wedding Venue and we just headed up I-81.

We made a couple of stops on the way home, the first was called the Virginia Farm Market, if you are ever in the area take the time to stop on by, fresh baked goods with free try it before you buy it samples galore to go with a lot of very fresh produce. I think Michelle got some peach cider to bring home with us and some strawberries.

On the way home were were going through Berkeley Spring where I stayed a couple of nights while working in the area earlier this year for RTI. Michelle had never been there and I showed her the baths and the gift shop where she bought a few things. After that we went up to the scenic overlook before returning back home.

I've got a few chores to do today that we put off due to all the travel yesterday, like grocery shopping, but that's not a problem.

I hope everyone had as great of a weekend as we did, now it's time to stick those collective noses back on the grindstone. I know I just had to remind you...lol

Have a great day.

We're Coming Home

We had a great time yesterday at Mr and Mrs Calvin and Jeannetta McClain's wedding. I have an album started on Facebook, but have many more pictures that I will add to the album later today.

The wedding was simucast as well and we got pictures, video and 360° pictures of the wedding, and the reception. I think that this event has been pretty well documented and the entire wedding was very well planned and executed. It was mine and Michelle's honor to be there and witness my Nephew getting married to the love of his life.

Today we'll be loading up the suitcases and hitting the road to return home. It was a beautiful drive coming down here yesterday, the view was almost majestic the entire way here, this is some beautiful country if you have never been here. Well worth the trip if for nothing more than the view.

I hope everyone has a great day today and lives it to its fullest. I would say that this trip was a nice battery recharge to say the very least.

Travel and Wedding Day

For Calvin and Jeannetta the countdown stops, all the preparation and planning is has come to fruition and we have arrived at their special day. I am honored to be able to witness these two love birds tying the knot of Matrimony and welcoming Jeannetta into the family officially although she has actually been a part of it for a while, now she has the hardware and paper to prove it. 

Michelle and I will be heading out later this morning and heading to the venue later this morning, We're going to give ourselves plenty of time to get there and are planning on getting there a little early to see everyone and spend a little bit of time with them. I'm taking my regular camera, my video camera and my 360° camera down with me, so hopefully I can get some decent images to share. I've already created the Facebook Album to share the moments for those who were not able to make the trip and be there in person. 

Harrisonburg is about three hours away from Morgantown, so this is a trip that we will do over a couple of days and returning tomorrow morning. Michelle and I are actually staying in Staunton Virginia taking advantage of my annual free night for being a IHG Platinum Member. We were going to stay at one of the local hotels, but we missed the window to book any of the blocked off rooms and the special rate. 

Should be a great day, I've never ventured into this part of (East) Virginia so it will be an adventure. Michelle and I have been in the state of Virginia together, but that was only in Dulles Airport coming back from St. Louis earlier this year. We're planning on having a great day, I hope you do the same. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

I finally found out where I will be working at this quarter and let's just say that my lead letters that I have to send out will not have to travel that far, let's just say from my mailbox to where the majority of the other mailboxes are located is about 213' and yes that is feet. Less than the length of a Football field. Needless to say I won't have a whole lot of travel time or travel hours for the first part of this upcoming quarter...lol

Well I know Pam, George, Moke and Ang will be traveling to Virginia today. I'm not sure if Calvin is going down with them or if he is already down there, since it is his wedding that we will be traveling for this weekend. Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding is tomorrow. The countdown has went from days down to hours before these two tie the knot in Holy Matrimony. The Wedding is in Harrisonburg, but we will be staying in Staunton Virginia. We're not planning on heading out until tomorrow morning however and just staying one night. It's going to be a great weekend, I'll be sure to grab a few pictures and videos of the event.

Have yourselves a great day today and make the very most of it.

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back to my long lost friend Chloe. We had to put her down about two years ago and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Chloe was my friend and we bonded from the very beginning. I could hit the back of the couch and she was right there for me to pet.

We have replaced her with first Phin and then Peanut, but you can never replace a special pet and Chloe was just that.

Hump Day / Field Day

I'm back out in the field today, the middle of the work week for everyone else. I will once again be working in a neighboring county and doing some listing work. This will probably be the last bit of listing that I do until the start of a new quarter for my interview portion of the job.

I'll be getting my materials in the very near future (maybe today) to do the next quarters work, but I'll have a lot of prep work to do before then. It's getting close and out kickoff meeting is next Tuesday.

We have officially been dogless for a couple of days now, Hayley came and got Gracie and May a couple of days ago, I think Michelle is going through depression...lol She misses her puppies. We did try to give Hayley a guilt trip yesterday, but to no avail...lol

Oh well, I hope everyone has a great day, I'll be out trying to get the listing work done.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday Tidbitless

I have to admit, that Tuesday's tidbits is the most redundant and time consuming blog that I post during any week. It's almost like I am brainless and on auto-pilot. Yet here I am yet once again not writing one.

I have to be honest, my blog in general may have run it's course, everything has become redundant and I've lost any originality that I once used to have. It's almost as if I just repost canned bullshit week after week and never really express anything about myself. Maybe it;s writers block, maybe I've lost interest in doing something that I have done pretty much every day for about 13 years.

It is a great reference point for me when I am trying to pinpoint a specific event down, but then again some events I do not write about as I've learned a long time ago to not air dirty laundry on the internet.

Maybe it's that I have too much time on my hands and am not motivated to write, as I do best when I don't have time.

Will I keep writing my blog, I would say probably, but there are times when it does become burdensome like inopportune times when I have forgotten to write it. I used to enjoy writing it as it was a whole lot of fun, but anymore it's just more burdensome and a pain in the butt.

Anyways, have a great day.

Happy Birthday Erica Jean Nicholson

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my great niece Erica Jean Nicholson a very Happy Birthday today.

I'm not sure what Val has planned for Erica Jean today, she usually combines both Erica and Josh's Birthdays and has one big party, but I'm not sure what the plans are for this summer as a few things have changed.

Erica is turning into a beautiful and intelligent young woman and it is a pleasure to be around.

If you happen to see Erica Jean today, make sure that you take a little bit of time out and wish her a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Erica

It's a new week.

That dreaded day of Monday has arrived and it's time to start another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living for the next five days.

Josh has left once again after being out on the road for a few weeks, he and his cousin are probably pulling into Ocean City Maryland about close to the times this posts or he is almost there. He's never been there before so Michelle and I gave him some advice on some things to see and do, He should have a great time.

The clock is counting on Calvin and Jeanetta's wedding. We're heading down Saturday morning and I talked to Pam over the weekend and they are heading down on Friday for the weekends festivities. I'm looking forward to officially welcoming Jeanetta into the family.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Happy Fathers Day

I would like to wish all of the Fathers a very Happy Fathers Day today. It's a holiday that originated here in North Central West Virginia despite what historians may try to have you believe, but the first observance was actually in Fairmont WV just a few years after Mother's Day was established in neighboring Grafton.

There is my Father who gets this blog written every year, but then there is the man who actually took me in and raised me and is my inspiration to this day. That was my Grandpa Hall who you see pictured here.

He was my Father when my Father was absent from my life and trying to establish his. I lost him when I was just a mere 13 years old, but this is the man who I have always looked to for inspiration and try to live the life that he wanted for me.

Ironically it was 27 years after his passing, that I accomplished his dreams for me and that was to Graduate College. It was his dream and my duty to fulfill it.

Happy Fathers Day.

Saturday

Here I sit on a very early Saturday morning, believe it or not I am still up from last night and thought I would write my Saturday Blog then go to bed so that I could get some sleep.

Don't know what our plans are for this weekend yet, we do have a couple of tickets to go and watch the Pirates Play the Cubs this evening, but they have not been playing well and it is a late start for the game.

We sat out on the front porch for a few hours BSing with Ashley last night. Michelle and her were drinking wine and we were all reminiscing about Jean and Mick and telling stories. It was a great and memorable evening and one that I think I'll always remember.

I think it's time for me to actually lay down and get a little bit of sleep.

Good Night

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well that was a pretty uneventful day at NETL, I did have one meeting that turned into two with all of the miscommunication that was going on plus this portion of Morgantown was without power for a few hours yesterday due to a transformer catching on fire.

That was yesterday and this is today, I'm heading back out into the field for some more listing work with RTI today. I'll be working in Morgantown today (literally) so there will not be a whole lot of driving around for me. The interview portion of our work starts back up in about two more weeks when I will be getting back to that part of the job. The good news is I can wear shorts again today, woo hoo

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks photo serves as a dual purpose, one to show the woodpecker that Michelle found last week in the back yard. It was flopping around like it had a broken wing, so we captured it and took it to Cheat Lake Veterinary Hospital to see if they could identify the problem and possibly fix him up again.

Michelle called for an update earlier this week and they told her that he had a fractured wing and they have him resting with his wing immobilized so that he can heal. It's going to take a couple of weeks to heal him and then they are going to take him and let him loose once again in our area as this is his habitat to fly free again.

It's our good deed for the month.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well here we are once again in the middle of the work week, now all you 9-5ers just have to get up and over this noon time hump and it will be all down hill working towards another fun filled weekend.

I'll be out doing some listing field work today, I'll be traveling to a nearby county once again but a different one to do the listing work. I actually enjoy the field work, getting out and about and not really having to interact with anyone and working at your own pace. The last couple of times I listed I felt rushed as I had things going on that evening and time was of the essence, not going to be the case today.

Michelle is preparing to move her office upstairs this weekend, or at least getting everything ready for the movers to make the move. She's pretty excited about moving upstairs.

We did book our hotel for Calvin and Jeanettas wedding here in less than two weeks. We are not staying with the wedding parties and will instead be staying about a half an hour out using one of our rewards nights for one of my CC's.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Another Tidbitless Tuesday

Do you believe this, I'm making a bad habit of not writing a Tuesday Tidbits. This is like 2 weeks in a row and like 5 of the last 7 weeks where I have failed in providing everyone those tidbits that everyone is hanging on the edge of their seats for.

First of all Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins for winning their second straight Stanley Cup and fifth one in franchise history with a 2-0 win over Nashville in Nashville Sunday evening. The Penguins have yet to win the Cup at home, clinching it all five times in the opponents arena. That didn't stop fans from filling up the PPG Paints arena in Pittsburgh to watch the game on the big screen.

We played Softball last night, it was nice to see Mark Devault back out there after he intended on retiring this season. He as usual was a huge asset and helped us pull out a 14-12 victory over IDK in a pretty competitive game. They demolished us the first time we played them last year and have beaten them in every game since that initial meeting. We're off next Monday and return on the 26th with another Double Header.

Have a great day today and make the most of it.