Brazil

As some of you may know, I made my 3rd trip to Brazil over the past 2 weeks. My cousin and his family live there, and I went down to spend some time with him and many of the other people I have met there in the past. It was a great trip as always, here were my top 10 favorite things: (click the picture above to see some pictures)

1. Perfect weather – shorts during the day, jeans in the evening, no humidity!
2. Belo Horizonte – I love big cities, and BH is no exception. (6.5 million) So many people, so much energy and things going on.
3. Futsal – 5 man soccer on a hard court. Played some, (humbling) and watched some top-level intramurals (amazing)
4. Acai – Brazilian berries that are usually blended with ice into a smoothie consistency and served with granola, bananas, and/or strawberries. So good!
5. Food – I could go on and on here, but a typical Brazilian meal consists of lots of fresh fruit, rice & beans, and TONS of grilled steak, chicken, and pork!
6. Flying business class – I know it sounds crazy, but on the way back I got to fly business class for the first time ever. It is a whole different experience than flying coach; tons of room, good food, and an almost fully reclining seat. So great, especially for an overnight flight. I actually slept a little, which never happens for me on planes!
7. Brazilians – love to meet new people, and are very welcoming and friendly. Loved getting to see old friends and meeting lots of new ones!
8. Brazilian generosity – One new friend literally gave me the shirt off his back because I said I liked it, and another gave me some really rare blocks of wood when I told him my dad liked making things out of wood.
9. Time with my cousin – Demps is one of my favorite people. We are definitely kindred spirits and I enjoyed being able to spend 2 weeks just hanging out and talking with him.
10. Campus Outreach Brazil and Communidade Horizonte church – God is really doing some amazing things through this small group of people in BH. The love of Jesus is being spread and lives are being changed. I am thankful to be able to be connected to and witness it.

Don’t Try This at Home!

When the manual says, “heater core replacement not recommended for the home mechanic,” it means it! 9 hours in, and haven’t even started putting it back together.

Remodel, Phase 2

Phase 2 of remodeling my house has begun. My friend Blackwell was planning on moving in this past Sunday, so we was in need of that 3rd bedroom in a hurry! Dad came down Friday afternoon from Greenville and we worked on it Friday night and all day Saturday, and got most of the job done. Dad is a rockstar when it comes to all that… I just do what he tells me to. Everything is not finished out like it will be down the road but it is definitely functional and is one step closer to the final product! Click the picture to see the other pictures…

Crash #2

Some of you may remember this post from a year ago. Well, again tonight I heard a very loud crash and thud outside the house. But this time when I went to check it out instead of a tree on top of my neighbor’s car I saw a tree on top of my roommate Grant’s car! Apparently the trees on my street do not like cars very much. I wonder who’s car will be next….

Best Wedding Processional Ever

Many of you have probably already seen it, but a friend showed me this video today and I couldn’t stop smiling while watching it!

Jeep CJ7 For Sale

1982 Jeep CJ7

• 4.2 Liter, 6 cylinder engine – runs well, and strong
• 4 speed transmission – great on highway
• Power steering
• 3 inch lift
• 33″ tires
• bimini top, hard top, and hard doors (not pictured)
• very little rust
• drives great- much smoother than many older CJs
• $5400

** Click picture below for more photos

25 Random Things About Me

Several of you have tagged me with this list on Facebook recently and I have enjoyed reading yours, so I thought I would join in. However, I already had a similar (and much longer) list on my blog so I thought I would just post the link to that. Enjoy!

Way More Than 25 Random Things About Me

Need Your Help

Ok, it’s time to put all this interweb-social-networking stuff to some real use. My home inspection business is still going, but is not providing much income right now so I am looking for a job and need your help. But rather than just a general appeal for help, I wanted to ask a couple of specific favors of you.

1. Think of 1 -5 people that you know who are very successful or prominent in their fields. Doesn’t matter what field, really. They may be in the company you work for, friends, family, even friends of friends.
2. Call or email each one of them and tell them that you have a friend who is looking for a job who has very strong leadership, management, and project management skills. Ask them if I could contact them about any opportunities they may have or know of.

Although much of my experience is the construction/real estate development fields, I am not necessarily trying to stay in those fields. My management and project management skills are very transferrable to most any industry. Also – while I would love to stay in Columbia, I am genuinely open to pretty much any location. I have already been in contact with companies all over the US and other parts of the world. 

I know its a lot to ask, but thank you very much for your help. If you come up with any leads,  call, email, or facebook me.

What Should I Do With My Life?

I just finished reading a very cool book this week. I randomly picked it up off the sale rack in a bookstore in Victoria a few weeks ago for the 2 1/2 hour ferry ride back to Seattle, and loved it. The title makes it sound like a cheesy self-help book, but its not. The author was intrigued by the question of how people find and settle into their “callings” and began asking people about just that. After interviewing over 900 people, (crazy, huh?) he of course was able to notice some trends. This book is a collection of over 50 people’s stories, grouped into several categories. 

As a person who has struggled with this question seemingly more than most people do, the book really resonated with me. Not that it provided any earth-shattering insight or answers, but just seeing the wide variety of paths that people’s lives take and how long some of them take to develop was encouraging to me. There were people who fell into their callings almost accidentally, some who took huge leaps of faith (or risks) to get there, and others who bounced around for long periods of time before settling into a groove. 

Through it all, one thing is clear to me. Our career paths are as unique as we are. As much as we think we would like for them to fit into neat little checkboxes, categories, and timelines, they don’t. As cliche as it sounds, it really is much more about the journey than the destination. And for me, I think I would be much happier if I could learn to enjoy the scenery along the way instead of always being preoccupied by where the path is headed.

Back To School?

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am allergic to school. Don’t get me wrong… I love learning and I loved college. Just not “school” in the traditional sense of the word. Not enough practical knowledge or flexibility for me. Which is why this is right up my alley. 

Seth Godin, innovative thinker and author of several books, is opening his office up to a handful of people for a 6-month “real world” business education. Sort of an school-internship-mentoring-hybrid-sorta-thing. So I am applying. Anybody want to join me?