15 more facts about me, on a very rainy Wednesday morning:
- I have never used a coffee machine.
- I am farsighted – not to the point that I can’t see without glasses, but I could probably see this computer screen clearer 40 feet away, compared to 15 feet away.
- In 2009, I thought about enlisting in the Coast Guard. I wasn’t thrilled with how my Target career was going, was less thrilled with the money situation, and thought that the Coast Guard would jump-start things. In hindsight, I’m glad I changed my mind.
Personal Big Honor I: “MusicFest Orlando 1996”. My high school band program competed in the MusicFest series of competitions. We competed with our Wind Ensemble (our top band), the Symphonic Band, our Marching Band, and a Jazz Band. We took 1st place in everything but Wind Ensemble (I think). When they announced us as the Grand Champions, our Band Director asked me to go accept the trophy. An awesome moment!- I have never been camping or hiking.
- My first time out of the Louisville Area, on my own, was for a tryout with the Phantom Regiment in Rockford, IL, in 2000. It was a cool experience, even though I didn’t make Regiment. In hindsight, I should have tried out in 1999, seen what the process entailed, and worked towards a 2000 repeat tryout.
- I have been stopped twice by Louisville Police, simply for walking:
Once, 5:10 AM, 4 or 5 blocks from my old apartment. An officer thought that I “was casing a pickup truck”; somehow, Eagle Eyes saw me looking at a clock above a furniture store (the truck was parked nearby), went the wrong way on 3rd Street from over a block away, and stopped me.
The 2nd time, I had gotten off the local bus after work. An officer stopped me in between 3rd and 4th streets, 1/2 block from my apartment, and “wondered why I was walking around this time of day”. It was 2:55 PM. “There had been break-ins in the area” and “I fit the profile of a subject”.
- I played Quick Recall in middle and high schools, plus was on a few Governor’s Cup teams. If you are a reader from Louisville and at least 30 years old, you might remember the local academic show, “Hi-Q”; I was an Alternate for Ballard’s team for the 1995-96 team. These were some of my fondest high school memories.
- I love the smell of gasoline, the smell of rain, freshly cut grass, and charcoal/bonfires.
- I have never seen the Pacific Ocean in person. I’ve also never seen the Gulf of Mexico, although I’ve been close (Mobile, Alabama).
Personal Big Honor II: when I was the Entertainment Specialist (Movie/Music/Books & Software departments; basically, the Specialist focused on one area – I was the bridge between the Electronics Team Lead (my boss) and the rest of the Electronics Team), we would conduct “return scans” about every 2-3 months: out of date items would get counted and sent back to Distribution Centers, overstock that another store might need would also get counted and shipped away, and any defective (cracked, broken, torn, etc.) items would go to DCs as Chargebacks. Well, our Group Field Merchant (think of her as the leader of multiple Entertainment Districts, in direct communication with District and Group Team Leads), District Team Leader, and Group Team Leader used our Scan as a test for a new process with Returns. Myself, the Entertainment co-leader at the time (the late Puckett), and one of our best team members (Mark, now the Electronics Team Lead at that store) did our scan, taking extensive notes on what overstock went back (especially with Music), how much went back, any unusual out-of-date items were flagged, and other general procedures. The scan usually would take 2 or 3 of us about 6-7 hours to complete; this one took 3 of us nearly 12 hours, all overnight. Our Field Merchant took our notes, presented them to someone(s) in the Regional Office, and they decided to use a lot of our notes and suggestions in the next scans. She (Field Merchant), our District Manager, and another person from the Group Office came down to our store to personally thank all 3 of us for our work and our suggestions for Return Scans. I thought that whole process was perhaps the highlight of my 16-year career at Target!- I helped “storm” the Belle of Cincinnati once. Short explanation: for the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby, Louisville has other events for the people. One of them is the Great Steamboat Race, between the Belle of Louisville and The Delta Queen (until it was retired) or the Belle of Cincinnati. Well, the University of Louisville Pep Band, we were playing some festive tunes for boat riders and fans of the wharf; we thought that playing on the Belle would get people excited for the Race.
We might have “accidentally” boarded the wrong Belle, causing a delay. 😉 - If I hadn’t majored in Engineering at UofL, I would have majored in History. I love History, especially Ancient History and wars.
- I have really enjoyed blog writing for the last 3 years. I didn’t think that would be possible a few years ago.
- My first kiss: a few months before my 29th birthday.
The Nexus 