Monday, January 16, 2006
A New Year
Well, my first posting of 2006, and it's already the 16th.
I have been busy, as usual. There was a business trip to Las Vegas at the beginning of the month. We had 3 booths at 3 simulataneous conventions. That was interesting. Our main mission was to promote our new affiliate program, which we're actually still finalizing now. It is the primary strategic, tactical, and logistical focus of about 1/3 of the company at present, and the word has been handed down from the chief executive and all of the stockholders (i.e. me) that we are going to keep meeting and hammering on it every workday (and in some cases on the weekends too) until the affiliate system (which we have already sort of launched) is working as beautifully, seamlessly, and flawlessly as possible.
Supporting the new affiliate system is our new shopping cart system, another big project that is coming to fruition at the same time. If you like, you can be one of the first people outside the company to preview it here:
http://catalog.stockroom.com/
That project is coming along at a good pace at present, but please bear in mind that as of the publication date of this blog entry, things are still a little rough around the edges. If you see any bugs, feel free to write to me and report them!
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I also just got back from a weekend in Ohio, where a memorial service for my recently-departed cousin Frank and his wife Gretchen was held. There was a nice turnout at a local Unitarian meeting hall in Xenia, just a couple miles south of Frank's hometown, Yellow Springs. Some family, lots of local friends and acqaintances.
There were some Native American rituals observed, including building a small fire in the center of the room (which is more practical in wigwams that have a hole at the center of the roof) and some storytelling about Frank. I shared a few thoughts and recollections, and people seemed appreciative. I also learned a few things about Frank and Gretchen, some of which was pretty funny. It has been over a month since we all learned of their deaths, so there has been some time to grieve, and the memorial, although it had its share of sad moments and tears, the overall spirit was one of hope, seeing the positive side of things, and celebrating life and love. Almost everyone who spoke commented on how Frank and Gretchen were about the most in-love couple they had ever seen, and how they went out together, doing something adventurous that they both wanted to do. They really did live "happily ever after," as much as any of us can hope to do.
I spoke with Frank's mother, my aunt Lois, about her experience of coming to a place of spiritual certainty that Frank and Gretchen are in a good place, still together and sharing in joy. In my more adolescent years I wouldn't have put much stock in such ideas, but based on my own expanded perspective, and the spiritual perceptions that Lois reported, I am inclined to see her experiences as being as real as anything in this life. I was grateful to hear what she had to say, and to know that she has considerable peace with the state of affairs, despite it not being what any parent would wish for.
I have been busy, as usual. There was a business trip to Las Vegas at the beginning of the month. We had 3 booths at 3 simulataneous conventions. That was interesting. Our main mission was to promote our new affiliate program, which we're actually still finalizing now. It is the primary strategic, tactical, and logistical focus of about 1/3 of the company at present, and the word has been handed down from the chief executive and all of the stockholders (i.e. me) that we are going to keep meeting and hammering on it every workday (and in some cases on the weekends too) until the affiliate system (which we have already sort of launched) is working as beautifully, seamlessly, and flawlessly as possible.
Supporting the new affiliate system is our new shopping cart system, another big project that is coming to fruition at the same time. If you like, you can be one of the first people outside the company to preview it here:
http://catalog.stockroom.com/
That project is coming along at a good pace at present, but please bear in mind that as of the publication date of this blog entry, things are still a little rough around the edges. If you see any bugs, feel free to write to me and report them!
---
I also just got back from a weekend in Ohio, where a memorial service for my recently-departed cousin Frank and his wife Gretchen was held. There was a nice turnout at a local Unitarian meeting hall in Xenia, just a couple miles south of Frank's hometown, Yellow Springs. Some family, lots of local friends and acqaintances.
There were some Native American rituals observed, including building a small fire in the center of the room (which is more practical in wigwams that have a hole at the center of the roof) and some storytelling about Frank. I shared a few thoughts and recollections, and people seemed appreciative. I also learned a few things about Frank and Gretchen, some of which was pretty funny. It has been over a month since we all learned of their deaths, so there has been some time to grieve, and the memorial, although it had its share of sad moments and tears, the overall spirit was one of hope, seeing the positive side of things, and celebrating life and love. Almost everyone who spoke commented on how Frank and Gretchen were about the most in-love couple they had ever seen, and how they went out together, doing something adventurous that they both wanted to do. They really did live "happily ever after," as much as any of us can hope to do.
I spoke with Frank's mother, my aunt Lois, about her experience of coming to a place of spiritual certainty that Frank and Gretchen are in a good place, still together and sharing in joy. In my more adolescent years I wouldn't have put much stock in such ideas, but based on my own expanded perspective, and the spiritual perceptions that Lois reported, I am inclined to see her experiences as being as real as anything in this life. I was grateful to hear what she had to say, and to know that she has considerable peace with the state of affairs, despite it not being what any parent would wish for.
