In this time of majorly weird Sheeit happening in the world, good things still happen too.
What triumphs have you achieved lately?
Me, I just submitted the final report on a two-year-long, very contentious project. Man it felt good to click on that send button!
So, I’m raising a glass of 2011 Expedition Bigfoot… Prost!
Well, in the spirit of shameless self-promotion that Drew exhibited earlier (;D), I got back my exam results from a tasting retake I took a few months back, and I got a Master level score. Now I just need to bring my written up.
And this past weekend I was awarded the 2010 Golden Mash Paddle by the Washington Homebrewers Association.
Well done Tom, on both accounts. Congratulations!
Golden Mash Paddle… hmmm…
“Thank you sir! May I have another?” 
Thanks. :) That wasn’t part of the award, but maybe it should be for next year ;D
My major accomplishment so far this year is that I haven’t dropped any of the balls I have in the air…I drink to that…daily!
I don’t want to disclose financials, but this year my company’s revenues are poised to double, and I’m signing the paperwork to take it multinational in April. Not trading on an exchange yet, but who knows I’ve had a LOT of work lately, both company-related and personally, but when I look back to where I was only five years ago:
and think about where I am now
certainly not broke
don’t give a f*ck about my college record (“We care for the human spirit MY @SS”)
debts almost entirely paid off
married to a wonderful woman
Have a baby who’s probably the smartest in the world:
he’s feeding himself with a spoon!
almost walking!
he can say mama and dada!
he’s only 8 1/2 months old!
etc…
Well, I think that calls for a beer. I don’t usually take time to think about how much better and different things are now, mainly because it’s so painful to think about how things used to be. But when I do think about it, I sure do thank God and count my blessings. And then I think maybe I should write a book
EDIT: Forgot to list in the positives, my hops are poking out of the ground! Operation Biergarten is a go!
I got a 3% raise out of the blue last week. And I’m poised to get 4% this summer. Regardless, still underpaid but grateful to have such a wonderful job. Remember much harder, leaner and desperate times. :-\
Phil that’s great! Here’s to you and family! /raise
I get nervous when pilots start talking about things dropping from the air ;D
I am coordinating the first ever AHA/BJCP sponsored homebrew competition in the first state of Delaware. I am the judging director of “The Battle of the Brews” at The Delaware State Fair. Come one …come all…registration begins on April 1st.
http://battleofthebrews.webs.com/
…and fingers crossed for the AHA GC election as I’m sure Tom’s are as well. 8)
Where is the second state of Delaware? Or is that Maryland?
My wife FINALLY ditched Navistar (after 15 years) and we’re moving south instead of to Illinois. She resigned on Monday and starts April 11 at her new job. So this down time before packing and unpacking might be the only chance to have a beer in the next couple months.
Got a LOT of praise yesterday after our new president’s inauguration for the work my team and I have accomplished in the last 15 months in our small university library–and a big shout-out during the president’s address where he committed $ to our humble abode. When I got there it was all kinds of fail… bad customer service, a facility that had been neglected for decades, etc. It wasn’t just the big $ stuff (like the 1950s-era tables and chairs throughout the place, or basic lack of power and networking where it’s needed, or a heating and cooling system that, well, isn’t); it was the small stuff that really stood out, like broken bathroom exhaust fans (pee-u), sticking doors, messy paper signs everywhere, students who sat there texting when people had questions, and walls that hadn’t been painted since 1956. Our website was a single embarrassing page, even though we have a really good selection of e-resources which of course no one knew about. 2/3 of our faculty (the adjuncts) were actively discouraged from using our library. 1/3 of the books were uncataloged. Our basic services (research help, instruction)… well, they were just plain bad. If you looked closely I swear the front door had a sign on it that said GO AWAY.
We’re still on the journey, but I have a wonderful team (couple of remove-and-replaces if you know what I mean), and with a lot of imagination, heart, and dedication, we’ve turned this place around and keep on turning. The furniture is still old (2 weeks ago a table collapsed and bruised the shin of a student on the cross-country team… and no I didn’t loosen the screws to make a point 
), the facility still inadequate, but we’re remaking ourselves into the living room of the university and an essential service to our students and faculty, plus a center for celebrating literature and art, with events several times a month. And the bathroom exhaust fans work.
You can do a lot with paint, carpet, and good people. Like homebrewing, it ain’t all about $. Though I will take the $!
I’ll take a Pliny, please. Prost!
Good question.
I don’t know the answer to that, but I can tell you that when you drive through Delaware on I-95, don’t blink because you’ll miss it. We are the second smallest state in the US next to Rhode Island.
“come one…come all” as long as you’re local, no shipping address :-\
Joe…We are in the process of updating the website. It’s open to everyone! You can ship to any of the dropoff locations listed.
Come one…come all! 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWmVTbWHgFc Rhode Island!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_1fGshM1o Delaware!!
Oh man, you can’t fool me. Everybody knows Delaware is just a rest area on I95 at the MD/NJ border. Just check the return address on your credit card statement; it’s the address for that rest area!
I finished grading some term papers, and submitted my manuscript to the publishers.
First of all I have not killed my wife of 30 years as she finally finishes her Masters in public health nursing.
Second since taking over pretty much complete control of the company I work for after the death of the owner we’re more profitable than ever. I actually have little to do with that since the price of oil means exploration in our area is booming. But we’re about to close a deal which will enable us to build and sell the electronic equipment needed to do our job. That’s something my old boss would have never allowed to happen, we’ve been working with 1970’s technology because in his words “it’s paid for and it still works”. As our competitors moved ahead we fell behind in the technology aspect. Now our competitors will have to buy equipment from us. So we’re branching out into the manufacturing world and I’m pretty excited about it.