Status of Brad in November

I decided to use my old subject line to give an update.

Beth is 6 weeks old and doing well.  She eats a lot and is beginning to fill out more.  We have been on several social engagements like a baby shower and a father daughter date to the The Daily Grill in Austin.  Our life is beginning to get to a new stage of normal.  We have been keeping the Baby Blog going, but it is hard to update all the time as Beth takes a lot of time to manage.

The job is doing great.  Dell has put me in a position that allows me to build a business, the manage print organization.  The team that I am working with is great and I am getting to stretch my skill to the max, which is a great way to learn on the job.

I begin my next MBA class this week.  Strategic Implimentation.  Basically, Project Management.  I think that I will do well in this class.  I can’t wait to get through this class.  I have gotten financial aid to finish out the MBA program.  Then I might continue the Doctorate program where I actually create knowledge.  It should be interesting.  I certainly will Blog about the decision in later posts.

I have been traveling a lot as well.  Go to The Crooked Toe Traveler for more stories.

Where are jobs found? In your network.

Most jobs are unpublished, that means they are not found in places like Career Connections, Monster.com, or otehr online or paper database listing jobs.  Most jobs are found thrrough your network. 

Find a Networking Mentor, someone that seems like he or she knows everyone.  Treat that mentor as your boss in your job quest. 

You must decide and dedicate time each week to building you network and keeping it gooing.  Each person that you meet at work or out side of work can be part our your network. 

The easiest way to use your network is to offer your strengths to others. Help people out so when you need help, you can ask for it if you know the right people.  This action helps keep your network alive even after you find a job. 

Keep Networking and Learning. 

Sunday Morning

Well things are getting back to normal around here.  The baby Girl is sleeping half way through the night now.   I decided to get up early to watch the sun rise on a cool October morning.  It has been a while since I have done this, so I decided that today was the day.  I grabbed my computer and a pudding and headed to the back porch.  Here is what happened:

I was a clear night last night so I was expecting a clear morning, but low hanging clouds muted the morning sounds.  We can hear trains passing about two miles away, which reminds me of my childhood as we heard the same trains in my old neighborhood.  The birds have started to chirp as the sun begins it daily journey across the sky.  The clouds are turning their burnt orange glow that they get during sunrise.

I got the dogs up to come out with me, but ever since the doggy door was installed, black and red come out, do their thing and hop back in doors where it is warm and cozy.  Traitors.

I sit and blog and think of all the things I need to do today.  vaccuum the house, take out the garbage, cook breakfast, entertain the baby girl, get packed for my trip, clean the kitchen,  it never ends.  That is why I enjoy these quite moments in the morning where I can sit, think, and write.

Two passions in my work life came to light this past week.  Helping others succeed and Virtual Team Efficiencies.  Dell now has a way to start blogs and team sites.  I am going to start a Networking Blog to help others at Dell learn the importance of networking and hopefully be able to achieve their goals while at Dell.

It is going to be a long week this week, but I know that Carrie, Beth and I will get through it.

Now where is that cup of coffee.

To catch up.

Well the baby is not here yet.  We are thinking that it will be another week,  Dr. said that by September 29th for sure so I am happy about that.

I learned some new things this past week.  1.  Learned about NEural networks and how they are used, I am thinking that they can be applied to making some decisions about bestcost structure on some deals we are working on at work.  Do not have much to go on yet, but soon I think we will have a small network that we can feed data into and get some results.

The new job is doing great.  I have not been this challenged for a long time.  There is a lot of thinking involved and a lot of project management involved as welll.

New Job is Two weeks old

I just finished my second full week of my new job.  I fell that I am fitting in pretty good.  I am fitting in pretty well, my knowledge of ITIL and Project Management is paying off.  I am in a position and I am aligned with the new services offerings from Dell.

We are watching College football today.  UT vs. TCU.  A&M vs. Fresno State.  I hope the right thing happens.

New Resturant Found . . . The Daily Grill

Carrie and I visited The Daily Grill on Friday. The general manager Steve is a good friend of mine and he treated us to one of the best dining experiences I have had. I had the seared tuna and Carrie had the crab cake, both were cooked just right and were very tasty. Carrie ordered the Prime Rib and I had a top sirloin that was to die for. Both cooked to perfection. Then we ordered dessert as well. Wonderful Key lime pie, homemade with real key limes. Carrie had the Strawberry tarts which was perfect to share after dinner. I enjoyed a glass of Tawney Port as well.

This new place near the Domain is going to become a favorite of mine I can see.

New Position at Dell

Last Friday I received an offer from a group at Dell that is building the Managed Print Silo at Dell.  I have accepted that position and begin work with them on Aug. 24th, 2007.  I am excited to begin work, but I will miss the friendships that I have cultivated over the past year.   I have accomplished a lot in the last year learning about managed deployments and on teams that have deployed over sixty thousand systems all over the nation.  I helped to automate many tasks during my stay in the DMS Support Center.  I look to use my skills at automating processes in my new role as well.

MBA Week 5

Well my class at the University of Phoenix is almost over.  One more week.  6 more classes left.  Enterprise Risk for the last week we discussed the risk of dismissing people that work at companies.  This has given me insight to what HR people must discuss before deciding who gets laid off.

This was the last team assignment that we worked on.  It is always fun to work with teams that are distributed and vitrually work for a common goal in a fast paced speed.

My Goals

It has been a long time since I decided to write life goals, but I have.  With the baby coming in September, I think I need to start off on the right foot.  My work at Dell has improved over the last 3 months and I feel like I have reached a new level. 

So my problem is what are my goals.  Are they financial, are they personal, are they family, are they a combination.  I think over the next few weeks I will be looking at all aspects of my life to figure out what my goals are.  So that I can stay on track, they will be posted here and I will share my experiences in how I achieve them.  So stay tuned, the goals page will be updated soon. 

Week 2 MBA 560

Well the second week of a six week course is almost over.  Contracts and project management were the topics.  Since I have been a project manager at Dell for 7 years, this week went by rather smooth.  My goal for this class is to get at least a B plus.  This time around for this class I have been very diligent with the assignments and learn as much as I can. 

A life long learner, I read every day.  For these last few weeks, I have been reading the Enterprise Risk text book and reading simulations on-line.  I am definitely in the school mode and when I get in this mode, I know exactly what is expected with me through out the class. 

Week three begins Tuesday and I am ready.