So it has been a while since I updated last, September actually, haha! So, a little update. The manager here at Marble Falls got transferred to the Cedar Park store and the district manager decided I was ready to steer the ship here in Marble Falls so currently I am what is called an "Acting Manager". Basically just means I am the manager until HR catches up on paperwork and they officially offer me the position. I have actually been in this role since December because they wanted to see how I would do before they handed over full control but a couple weeks ago the district manager came by and said that I had done a good job and they were going to offer me the position. So that's pretty exciting, finally managing my own store! I say "finally" but I actually became manager before I am technically supposed to be eligible because normally you have to be in your current role for a year minimum before being promoted and I was only Assistant Manager since mid-May of last year!

In other news, I have been working out regularly since early November and also eating better (usually) and have lost about 30 pounds since then! I've actually been thinking about using this as a type of workout blog to help me keep up with my workouts and share my progress so we'll see if I end up doing that :) Until yesterday I had just been running 4 or 5 times a week between 3 to 5 miles (sometimes more), but recently my weight loss began to plateau so I decided it was time to mix it up. Yesterday I decided to mix it up by trying P90X again. I had started the DVD workouts about 2 years ago but was so out of shape that I couldn't keep up and gave up. But so far in the couple days that i have done the workouts, I have not felt discouraged and have actually enjoyed the workouts. I am sore from head to toe, but it's the good sore that you get after a good workout.

Anyhow, hope everyone out there in Pleo-land is doing well!

Chris

Not much new, just trucking along out here in Marble Falls. Looking forward to Monday and Tuesday off because my brother-in-law Ryan also took off and we are going to take advantage of some time at the Hill Country resort out towards Canyon Lake. Should be a nice couple of relaxing days. Then, not too long after that, Katrina and I will be taking a road trip! We both arranged to have off for about a week in October and are planning on trying to go to Chatanooga TN to do some siteseeing.

In other news, I've started working for a company called Ambit Energy on the side. We sell energy in cities where energy has been deregulated. All the infrastucture stays the same for the customer, they just get billed by a different company (kind of like switching long distance carriers). In most cases people save money on the lower rates and continue to receive the same service as always. One of my recent customers will end up saving upwards of $600 a year by switching! Check out my website and see if we can save you money too!

www.chriswindham.joinambit.com


Thanks and I hope everyone has a great day/week/month! (depending on when I update again!)

Chris

Today was a good day. On Saturday evening when our family was eating dinner for Father's Day, I mentioned that I would have off this Wednesday and invited anyone in the family that could and wanted to come out was more than welcome. Tiffany and Jesse had not seen my new place yet, so it was good opportunity for them to come out and see it. Dianna was also available to come out. So today Tiffany, Jesse, Dianna, Ben and Carter all came out to spend some time at my place. We had sandwiches with all the fixins and Jesse even fired up the grill and cooked some hotdogs. After we let our food settle, we aired up some floatation devices and jumped in the lake. I found out that Ben and Jesse really like water! I bought an inflatable alligator and Ben pulled it around the whole time. He had some arm floaties and he just went all around the water with those things on! He wanted to do everything me and jesse did. We swam out to a little floating dock thing and there was Ben, tyring to follow us out there in that deep water, crazy kid! After an hour or so of swimming around we all loaded up and went to see Dad at the little post office he's working at now. Overall, it was a good day, although too short! We're hoping to get the whole family out here sometime to have a nice full day of fun! Hope everyone else is doing well!

So far I'm really enjoying my new "life" in Marble Falls! Being an Assistant Manager is a nice change and it has really reinforced why I thought I'd want to be a manager. There for a while when I was in customer service and sales, I began to wonder if I'd be able to perservere because it just wasn't quite what I had gone to college to do, but now I guess I am beginning to see a future in this industry and in management. Hopefully after a year or so of being an Assistant Manager I'll be applying to get my own store, and perhaps in the Austin area again. But I must admit, I kinda like it out here! :) The current manager in Marble Falls has commited to being here for atleast a year, maybe two before he tries to transfer to a store closer to home (he drives from Austin every day!) so I may be able to apply for his vacancy whenever that occurs. I got myself a nice one bedroom apartment in Granite Shoals that is right on the lake! It has been pretty cool being able to walk down to the dock and fish or go swimming. In fact, yesterday my cousin Mark and I borrowed my aunt and uncle's jet skis and spent about 7 hours on the lake! It was perfect because no one was out there because of the weather but it actually didn't rain at all here so we had the lake practically to ourselves! The only unfortunate thing is that I didn't think to put sunscreen on my hands or feet and they are super red!!! Anyhow, just wanted to update on how things are going. Hope everyone else is doing well!

Chris

Hey everyone! It appears I haven't updated on here in a while with any relevant information! We (Katrina, my cousin Mark, and I) got back from California about a week ago and we had a good time. We flew into San Jose, rented a car, and drove to San Francisco to visit with Mary Randers (or Tina as a lot of us know her). It was cool to get to hang out with her for a day and a half and she showed us around San Fran. We left there on Sunday night and headed to the Seqouia National Park. Monday we spent the day in the park and drove through Kings Canyon National Park as well. It's crazy how big those trees are! Tuesday we spent the day in Yosemite National Park and we were all in awe of the sights and all the waterfalls from the melting snow. We hiked up to the top of one of the waterfalls and got within 20 yards of wild bears! It was crazy. Tuesday evening we altered our plans and instead of going north to see the Redwoods, we decided to head south to see San Diego (where my dad was actually born, but only lived there for the first 6 months of his life or so). So wednesday we spent most of the day driving to San Diego then after arriving and looking around a bit we headed north on HWY 1 (the one that follows the coast) and stayed the night in Hermosa Beach (south L.A.) we spent Thursday and part of Friday looking around at Venice Beach, Santa Monica pier, and Hollywood, then Friday night we were back in San Jose, ready to fly back on Saturday. In all we drove almost 1900 miles just within California! If you want to see pics, Katrina took about a million and uploaded some of them to facebook :) I also took pictures along the way with my phone, which I was pretty happy with the quality. Here is a sampling:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058210&id=55503543&l=7c97e21b82

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065660&id=55503543&l=5c78d61eab

In other news, the Friday before we left for the trip I interviewed for an Assistant Manager position (within Verizon) in Marble Falls. While we were on vacation I found out that I got the job and I start tomorrow! Even though the drive is a little less than an hour, I've decided to move to Marble Falls for the job. Most likely I will begin attending church at the congregation in Burnet, but there are a couple of other congragations that I saw in Marble Falls and nearby. My last service at Cedar Park will probably be this upcoming Wednesday (I haven't gotten a place to stay yet in Marble Falls but will soon). But have no fear, my goal is to apply for a store manager position in a year or so and hopefully I'll be back in Austin! :) I hope everyone else is doing great,

Chris