Archive for "Family"
Pictures from Dad’s Birthday
Posted on April 13, 2011 by Ching under Family.
He had no idea we were coming. 🙂
It was mom’s idea to surprise him. She figured since he wouldn’t go out, we’d just bring the party to him.
Brian and I got him a lizard wine bottle holder.
And some tiki torches.
We had food catered by Kwan Court and mom’s special sinigang. The only thing that disappointed me was that my fortune was in Spanish. Aren’t they supposed to be Chinese?
Okay, so it wasn’t really disappointing. It was just weird. LOL. =P
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Happy Birthday to the Best Father-in-Law Ever!
Posted on April 13, 2011 by Ching under Family.
I’m posting these photos from over a decade ago in honor of David Brubaker, the best father-in-law ever! He turned 57 today! Looking forward to celebrating with you guys at Tanganyika and PCP this weekend!
Brian and his mom Donna, goofing around…
Happy birthday, David!
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WTF!…I don’t remember growing up.
Posted on March 24, 2011 by Brian under Family, Leadership, Life, Memes, Moblog.
So I was sitting at work today listening to my Pandora Radio, busting out some reports for a few people when it occurred to me. “When the hell did I become so responsable”.
As the array of old school rap rolled through my headphones it sparked memories of where I was in my life when those songs were popular.
To give you a little insite, I was kind of a looser when I was younger. I hated school and only applied myself when it benifited me in some way. I always did just enough to get by, never seeking recognition for anything that I did, never wanting to get ahead.
I followed this path of existence for many years. Talking various jobs, doing just enough to get by. At one point in my life I was a pretty big stoner, this just made things worse. Now not only did I have no desire to get ahead in life but I had no desire to do much of anything in life. My purpose at that point was to make enough money to get by and get high. Needless to say even through all of this I felt like there was something missing.Â
It wasn’t until I met my wife that I really began to change. Even in the beginning I was just doing enough. I worked at a bank as an IT admin and helped people get started with online banking. It was nice because I really didn’t have to talk to a lot of people, again doing just enough to get by. Then things, as they always do in life, changed and I had to find a better job. Still, I felt like there was something missing.
So I began work for a prominent celluar company. I started out as a simple rep and picked up on things pretty quick. I learned that I had a knack for technology. Learning what I could I found myself wanting more. My wife encouraged me to try out for a lead position when it became available. She told me that in this position I could teach others what I have learned and in turn, learn what was needed to be a supervisor. Now, I had been in management once before. I ran a video store in town. It was fun but I was afraid of the responsability. The thought of being responssble again was a little frightening. Needless to say after some pushing from my wife I did apply and got a Supervisor position.
I was well on my way to being responsable at this point. I kept this job for some time. I think this is where I truly grew as an individual. I Learned to deal with situations, people and other things that life threw in front of me.
Using this knowledge I sought out a new position, one in cusromer service for a cable provider. It was great because we got free cable. But I also learned about how the sales world worked. Something that I had touched on but never really knew until I worked there.
I then heard of this position from a friend at a local technology company. They built servers for companies like IBM and Sun. I thought “this is my way back to technology”. Luckily I got into the position but soon realized that I was in way over my head. This technology was something I had never done or seen before. But I was determinded to make it work. There it is again, that dammed responsability sneaking into my life. Where did I get that from.
I worked for this company for several years. Unfortunately, it was a contract job and I had to find other work. Luckily for me I found myself working for a German plumbing compay. Here is where I really began to thrive. I started out as an assistant. 6 months into the position my boss quit. Being we were the only two people in the department I feared the worse. However, the VP told me that this just meant that I would be called on to do more now. Again I had that feeling that I was in over my head. I even called my wife crying once asking her “what have I gotten myself into”. My wife gently but firmly told me to suck it up and grow a pair. I did and have never looked back.
I truely believe that every position I held in the past has groomed me for this job. I touch on so much of my previous positions here. Without the bank I would not have the skills to do the reporting I do and understand the data that I provide to the field. Without my technical jobs, I would not have the knowledge to help the company expand its software that helps the sales force stay on top of their customers. Without my management background, I would not have the confidence or knowledge to teach the reps on how to use any of the new features that we provide or to handle situations that arise or to manage my time effectively. Without my sales background, I would not understand the needs of the sales force or the time constraints that they are under. And without my wife, I would not have learned everything that I needed to learn to be successful at this job. She is the one that truly helped me get to where I am today. She is the one that pushes me every day to be better and better. She is the one that I grew up for and became the responsable person that I am today.
Without her, I would still be that under achiever that did just enough to get by.
I love you baby, thank you for all of your support.
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Dinner at Il Vicino
Posted on March 20, 2011 by Ching under Family, Things to Do.
Brian took a picture of me while I was getting ready for dinner yesterday. There are several things wrong with this picture. For instance, my arm pits look extremely hairy. However, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been able to wear a cami so I’d say we’re making progress and just leave it at that.
Jen Tevs was a great sport. She decided to take one for the team and get there way early to make sure that we got a table. Brian and I didn’t want her to wait by herself so we decided to go early ourselves. Since we just live down the street from the restaurant, it wasn’t too much trouble.
We were just hanging out a home (Brian was playing a video game and I was drinking a Woodchuck), killing time. Brian was also starving so he wasn’t averse to the idea of getting there early.
I’m glad we got there early to secure a table because the Bradley Fair Il Vicino was busy that night. The line was out the door.
Jen and I took some photos while waiting for Jenni, Maryland and mom to show up.
I was amazed that everyone showed up on time!
The pumps I’d given to Jenni a long time looked great with her outfit. They were brand new when I gave them to her because I’d gotten them too small. I usually have to drop a half size when I wear heels that are 3 or more inches. I think these had 4″ heels, so I got them in 5.5 (instead of my usual size 6). Wore them around the house and decided they were too tight. I really didn’t want to part with them, but I don’t really like to hassle with returning stuff online. Besides, I knew they’d be perfect for Jenni. She says she still needs to break them in. She must not wear them that often. They looked fantastic on.
Incidentally, she was also wearing an old hounds tooth mini skirt that I’d given her. I can’t imagine that I was ever that tiny. Oh, how I long for those days to return.
When everyone got up to order food, I stayed behind to hold our table. Jen Tevs let me play with her color Nook. It’s really neat!
I love that you can browse the internet with it. I think it’s only a matter of time before these multifunction e-readers and tablets render netbooks completely obsolete.
Anyway, we had a good time at dinner. Thanks for the invite Jen Tevs! We’ll need to do this again soon. Or better yet, we could make it a regular monthly thing. Except, we’ll have to try a different place each time. What do you guys think?
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Ching is Nostalgic
Posted on March 19, 2011 by Ching under Family, Life.
Felt like reminiscing about the good, old days so I scanned and uploaded some of our old photos to Flickr. I found some more old Christmas photos. You can check them out here: Christmas 1999.
Of course, you can still check out the other Christmas photos:
That should catch you up. =)
Besides the old Christmas photos from over a decade ago, I also found a couple of old photos of Brian and me. This was back when he had long hair.
I have some more old photos to share from the past decade, so stay tuned!
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