Negotiation 101

Dwight the master of negotiation. This is how my Boss Matt would prefer that we engage in negotiation.


Negotiation 101 from Matt Asay on Vimeo.

New and inventive internet entertainment

So recently a friend of mine turned me on to Hulu.com. This site is great. Tons of TV shows available on demand and the best part... IT'S FREE!!!!! I have found some time to catch up on the Office thanks to Hulu. Now instead of buying DVD'd with entire seasons I can log on and watch my favorite shows at my leisure. For example here is this seasons Office premier.



Now you too can spend countless hours entertaining yourself.

Halloween

So Heather and I have Cute kids. As further proof of this we got pictures taken with them in their Halloween costumes. Lots of fun.


The 2 girls are both Tinkerbell and Parker is Prince Caspian. Credit to Grandma McKee for Making Makayla's Tinkerbell outfit, and Parker's Prince Caspian outfit. Grandma Karen (Heather's Mom) bought Shelbie her Tinkerbell outfit before she was born. Can't wait to meet such a special lady on the other side of the veil.

Live from New York

This picture was taken not 10 minutes ago on time square in New York. This new job definately has some travel benefits. Tomorrow I plan to close a $1M (yes million) with the NYPD. I planto have the boys in blue help pay off my student loans :)

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

24 is Back!!... Sort of

That's right. The long awaited return of Jack Bauer is nearly here. The catch? it's only for a 2 hour special that will tease us until the real season gets rolling in January. For everyone who has not seen every episode (Heather :) ) you now have time to catch up fully before Jack comes back to save the world and kill some terrorists. Monday evenings will finally be restored to their natural order.

Return to Blog-o-Sphere - A month in review

So since getting married I have been busy with more pressing matters, than could be blogged about. Things important to national security (I am at times a nation unto myself :)) and to the general well being of my life and Marriage. So on this Saturday I am taking time to blog a bit again. I do not know how often it will happen, but I do enjoy the outlet that writing can be for me. I always disliked English classes is in school, but I find that my creative juices flow a bit more freely as I blog. It helps me to clear my mind and come up with new and entertaining ways to make those around me smile. So here is a recap over the past month of Marital bliss:


Seattle:
Spent the day as tourists in Seattle. Went to pike place market. Saw wonderful things. Went up the Space Needle to get a great view of the City.


Mariners 4 Yankees 1. Glad I could see one of a few wins this season. Brandon Morrow is throwing a no hitter through 7 2/3 innings. great game to watch with great seats. First big league game that my sweatheart had ever been to.


BYU 28 UW 27. We win and yet lose 3 places in the polls. Voters never make much sense. It was a Good game but I much prefer a Blowout win.


Victoria BC:
We spent the day in BC seeing Buchart Gardens and the downtown Victoria area. It was realy wonderful and tiring. so Tiring that on the way home at about 10:30 pm that night I managed to total my Dad's MR2 (:( I loved that car) The lone good news I guess was that the insurance paid him only a few hundred dollars less than what he was trying to sell it for... See Dad I am willing to go to great lengths and risk life and limb to make a sale! :)



More BYU Football:
BYU is awesome this year. They have had both impressive and unimpressive wins. but they are undefeated and at the current time ranked as high as 7th in the coaches poll. With the right combination of events, it is not incnceivable for them to end up in the National Title game. Forget JUST the BCS. We want the TITLE!!!



Garage Sale:
Wow putting on a garage sale is tiring and hard work. but it netted us about $900 bucks! so I will complain strait to the bank. :)

I think that about catches us up on a Rainy Saturday afternoon. I will do my best to keep up. :)

McKee Family Blog

I have created the McKee Family Blog (jrandheathermckee.blogspot.com) so that we can share our life together with everyone. I have posted a couple pics of our family to get us started. Here is a sample. Head over there to see the rest.

What Happens in Vegas...

The Age old adage is "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". Well this is Not entirely true. On Sunday Heather and I decided to elope to Las Vegas. After being asked by multiple people why we were waiting until November to get married we took thier advice and got married at a wonderfully high class little chapel on the strip shown here(please note tongue firmly planted in cheek)


Drive through services are available however we decided to go with the classier chapel service. We tied the knot at 2 AM 0n Monday Morning and are now enjoying our happily ever after. The only thing that stayed in Vegas was our lives as single folk! :) And we couldn't be happier.

The Happy Couple

The view from our room at the Bellagio

In front of the Bellagio

First day of school

So its official I have a Kindergartner. When was it exactly that I became old enough to have a kindergartner? I was reminded via a conversation with my mother about my first day of school in 1984. Yes it was a momentous year. BYU won the national championship and I started Kindergarten. I raced out the door before my mother had an opportunity to give me the requisite kiss goodbye or even shed a tear. Apparently my daughter had similar designs as she was ready to go long before dad and mom were ready to let her go. I did manage to snap a couple of pictures with my school ready little girl.

Camping

This past weekend Heather and I took our kids camping to Moose Horn Lake in the Uinta mountains. We had lots of fun. I have a new found appreciation for how tough it is to camp with small kids. Very little sleep was the order for the weekdend. The first night was next to zero sleep courtesy of little Shelbie and Makayla. And while Makayla slept well the 2nd night Shelbie continued to give us fits. Ahh the joys of parenting. Here are some pics of the weekend. At her request Heather is not shown in the photos as, even though she is encredibly gorgeous at all hours of the day, she felt that the whole camping experience was a detriment to her photogeneity. I politely agreed to disagree with her :)

Daddy fishing "for" Makayla

Parker Fishing

Shelbie gettting close to nature (and dirty!)

Parker's catch

Makayla and Parker with the impressive morning backdrop.

Looking back...

I was reminded recently about a blog post that I had put up here. One of my first actually. I was lamenting my re-entrance into the dating pool. It is funny to look back and see that in March I was asking for Princess Charming to show up. It took her a while but Heather showed up just in time. :) I am so thankful for her and I cannot wait for our Cancun Wedding on Nov 10th. Finally I get to begin the rest of my "Happily Ever After".

He Went to Jared!

So as many of you may have read I have found my own Princess Charming. Her name is Heather and on Friday I asked her to marry me. The best part is SHE SAID YES!!! Here are a few pictures of her ring that I did indeed find at Jared The Galleria of Jewelry. Heather sends her condolences to any eligible bachelorette who missed out, but she is Happy to claim me as hers. :) And frankly I couldn't be happier. More pics to follow but this should do for the interim.

New Pics

There are new pictures on the Daddy and Kayla picture archive. here is an example.

My Princess Charming

Blog-o-sphere this is Heather. Heather the Blog-o-sphere. We are very happy together and find great delight in playing with our children (She has 2, me 1) Parker, Makayla, and Shelbie, as well as spending alone time together. So refreshing to be with someone who so accurately completes me. (Yes it was Cheesy but also true)

A Tale of Two Spaces

So a few days ago I set aside time to clean my apartment up a bit. I am living alone for the time being so I can't possibly blame the mess on anyone else, except perhaps my daughter, but it is my job as daddy to clean up after her at this age. So I set out to clean the front room. you can see the results here.


So as you can see to the general public my apartment is a pretty clean place. Granted as always the dishes need to be done (but that is an on going problem not likely to be solved during bachelorhood) So I realized recently as I was brushing my teeth that my bedroom could use a similar level of love.


So perhaps over the next day or two I can get the dishes done and my bedroom cleaned. Being that over the last couple days I have cut my commute down from mattress to Office chair to just rolling over to pull the laptop into bed with me, perhaps I should expend a bit of the time from my saved commute in cleaning the "Office". But, Please! One thing at a time!

iPhone blogging

So I am trying to blog from my iPhone. I will have to see how this is works. It would be really great to be able to update while on the go.

Allergies Stink

So I have never really had any allergies in my life. I have dealt occasionally with a rather runny nose when the pollen count was very high, but never have I had something that I would attribute to an allergy. That all changed here a couple weeks ago when I had to forgo what was to be an exceptional climbing outing because my face looked like this. Not at all what I would consider a cool experience and very low on my "Boy I wanna do that again" list. Yes I look like Hitch from the movie when he found he had a food allergy, but the benefit he had (Eva Mendez to look after him) was what some might consider a positive externality. I on the other hand got to take Benadryl and rest up, while making jokes about "you should see the other guy". In the end I still don't know what caused it but I can hope Eva Mendez shows up on my doorstep to care for me. :)

The bane of my existence revisited

So after leaving AT&T I have done something that some of you may find funny. I am now an iPhone user. Yes that is correct. The very bane of my existence is in fact helping me to carry on my existence now. There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost the phone is pretty freaking cool. Granted it does leave a bit to be desired with its functionality as compared with the Blackberry's, but all in all it may well stand up to the title of "My Favorite Consumer Device" that my buddy Wade Eyerly dubbed it with a few months back, as he chastised me for sticking with my berry. The second reason is flexibility. Because of the way that AT&T treats the original iPhone I can upgrade to a new phone anytime I like. So when the new Blackberry Bold or iPhone 3G launch later this Summer (next week for the iPhone 3G) I can move into one of those and still get the upgrade price. And of course the best part is that I can expense it to the company :) Wait did I tell you that I love my job??

I have the coolest job ever.

So after I got home (and frankly a bit during my trip) I realized that I have quite possibly the coolest job ever. I get to sell a great product where I actually get to have some input on how its developed to make it better, and I get paid handsomely to sell it from the comfort of my own home. That's right I get to work in my PJ's each and every day if I so desire. I am really excited to get going and beating up my quarterly quota. Nothing like a spiff of 3K to the store of my choosing for being top sales this quarter to get the blood flowing. :) oh and that part about not ever having to work a weekend or Holiday again sure is nice :)

I Hate Texas...

So for my new job I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Austin Texas. I had never been to Austin so i was excited for the opportunity to see a new place as I got my feet wet with my new job. The problem is as we were landing at the Austin Airport I looked out the window and remembered that I HATE Texas. I think this hate springs from those two fateful summers I spent in San Antonio with the Air Force. Looking out the window I could see... flat. lots and lots of flat. I missed the mountains, that add majestic beauty to where I now call home. Getting off the plain I felt heat and humidity. Heat really isn't that bad for example today in Utah it was in the mid 90's, but add to the mix a sticky variety of 90% humidity and you have a recipe for suffering.
You see I love to ski and I recall my dad saying something to the effect of "if God had wanted Texans to ski he would have made the Bull$h!t white." Not sure I can argue with this. Now that being sad my mother was born a Texan and still claims that heritage and I love her very much. Many Texans have this over inflated sense that their hometown is the only one on the planet that really has any significance in the world. This arrogance is similar to Californians who can't find anything good to say about any locale not located in the state that is do to break off and slide into the Pacific the next time a good quake rocks the San Andreas fault. I digress...
Home on the range sounds like a terrible bore. give me a home slope side with ski-in ski-out access and then we can talk about living the good life. One of the few things that Texans do up to the level of their ego is Texas BBQ. I cannot deny that this is really good stuff. For dinner we ate one night in a spot that the brisket melted in your mouth and the pork fell off the ribs in a mouthwatering symphony of really good eating. And in classic Texas style the place was called something like Bubba's. The food really was pretty good but after 3 days of Mexican and BBQ my gut was ready to digest something other than beef and guacamole.

The End of an Era

So today is my last day in the wireless industry. I have been doing this same sort of job now for nearly 5 years, but today I leave it all behind. It is a bit surreal to be honest. The industry has been good to me. I got the last year at BYU paid for courtesy of AT&T, I took a once in a lifetime trip to Cancun for 5 days on Sprint's dime. I have made great friends both with customers and coworkers, and I have met some people that I could probably do without ever meeting again. I have made good money and on the whole I have enjoyed what I have been doing. Life has been hard through the past 5 years. I changed majors in school and went through a divorce. Some of my life's hardest days corresponded with time periods during the past 5 years.
today things are looking up. I have graduated from BYU, I landed a great new job in a growing industry, and I am dating a wonderful woman who looks to make me happy. Simply put I am doing great and and happy where things are headed.
As with all new endeavors I am a bit anxious to get started and settled. The new job has great earning potential for me and I honestly think that I can excel and meet some financial goals ( Debt free by 32) which excites me.
Maybe it isn't so much the End as it is the opening of a new chapter of life. Whatever it is I am anxious to get moving with it.

T-3 Days... and other musings

So my last day is fast approaching here at AT&T. I am excited to get started on the new job. I have purchased my plane ticket to Austin, TX so that I can attend some meetings. I ordered a Vonage phone line so that I will have an office phone. It even has a cool phone number ending in 0999. Once I am up and running I will get an eFax line that will make my virtual office complete. Last night I even cleaned my office so that it is ready to begin work. I am told that a laptop is forthcoming with which to do my work, so with that and my desktop I will be set. I am interested to see what sort of laptop I am set up with. Alfresco is an open source software company so this screems "Anti-Windows" And my new boss's boss is a self proclaimed apple fan-boy so I might just be looking at a macbook, which I would be ok with cuz they are pretty cool machines. I have to choose what phone I would like. The company kicks in something like $200 towards its purchase. I think I will go with a Curve like I have now for the time being. However I am hopeful that the Blackberry Bold will come out soon so that I can move into that.
Last night I had dinner with a friend of mine. We went to Noodles and Co. and sat on the patio to enjoy the really great evening temperatures. We sat there for almost 3 hours shooting the breeze and talking about some of the finer points of life. I realized at one point that with my new employment I could make this sort of relaxing evening a ritual. No longer will I work until 9 pm. no longer will I work weekends or Holidays. everytime I think about this I get a grin spreading across my face. :) Time to enjoy life. When ski season rolls around I am not going to miss as many powder days. And the new job is going to allow me to pay off my debts at a rate that will let me reach my goal of being completely debt free by age 32. And I started dating a great girl. to put it simply... I am pleased with where life is headed.

Death Star Explodes

So today I accepted a job offer from a new company. No i am not going to sell drugs like I thought I might orignally. While that field still does enthrall me I have accepted a job with a firm called Alfresco Software. No longer will I be palgued with customers who can't understand how they could have possibly gotten thier phone wet, or how they could have gone 1000 minutes over on thier plan. Goodbye to retail. Goodbye to working Holidays, or Saturdays, or BYU football game days. No longer do I have to pretend that I didn't really wanna go home to Seattle to see my family for Christmas. I am now an Enterprise software sales professional. The best part? I work from home! Thats right I can work in my pajamas if I so desire. so these pics are for you AT&T. Ever noticed how the AT&T logo smacks of the intergalactic menace that Luke and the boys took care of for us a while back??

Stone Temple Pilots

Matt and I went and saw stone temple pilots last week. AWESOME SHOW!!! I highly recommend for any and all members of my fan-dom. I grew up with STP and remain a huge fan. here are a few pics from the show taken with my trusty Blackberry Curve.

The Bane of my Existence

So on Monday, Satan (aka Steve Jobs), announced plans for the 3G iPhone at the Apple world wide developers conference. This was not a wholly unexpected announcement. What was a bit unexpected was the release date, July 11th. Now for those of you thinking

"Hey that's only
a month off"

let me help you understand how that month is going to play out. For the next 4 weeks I will field at a minimum 25 phone calls a day asking

"hey when does the new iPhone come out"

or

"is there a waiting list that I can get on for the new iPhone?"

or my personal favorite,

"So, tell me about this new iPhone."

Needless to say I am already fed up and it will just get worse.

One side effect of this new phone will be a dragging month of June. Our Sales numbers will flounder. And then iPhone will come out and it will all be roses again. but until then I will have to endure a really rotten sales month. Thus adding fuel to the "get me the heck out of here" fire. I still have yet to hear from Johnson & Johnson but I am hoping that very soon this will change.

Spring Cleaning

So the other day I decided that it was bout d@mn time that I clean my room. After toiling away and getting a few loads of luandry out of the way. I managed to learn a few things in the process; that I do in fact have a floor under all that junk, that dust isn't actually a color for furniture, and that carpet feels better underfoot than an assorted mix of denim and synthetic fiber textiles. So after some dusting and a healthy dose of Pledge and Fabreeze my room is all nice and clean. A room that I am much more anxuious to show off than when it resembled a toxic waste dump mixed with a nuclear disaster site.
It is amazing how much better I feel with a clean room. Matt and I really do have a nice place. it was noted on my birthday how much better it all looks with the living room clean. I really enjoy entertaining when the house is clean. There are a few odds and ends that have never quite made it out the storage area... but on the whole its all very nice.

Tagged

My sister-in-law Katie tagged me... so here goes!

3 joys: My Daughter. she is daddy's girl. A good powder day. Waste deep and ultra light. Spending time with friends around.

3 fears: Being alone for the rest of my life. Not achieving my highest potential. And Missing a great powder day :)

3 goals: Out of debt entirely by 32. Find my best friend and put a ring on her finger. Get a job that lets me have my weekends again.

3 current obsession/projects: Getting back country ski gear, Pay off the car, My dating life is always a project currently the finding pool is depleted.

3 random facts: I can text with either hand, I am now the owner of 4 pairs of skis, I still have yet to see a national park in Utah. (sad I know)

Lets see I tag Kody, Kate and Matt

Another day another year

So yesterday was my birthday. I DID NOT in fact go skiing. I woke up in the morning and just was feeling particularly lazy so I slept a bit more and then went to church. For my birthday my parents announced that they are getting me the very skis that top my personal wish list (shown above). Dad ski races with a few guys who work for K2 so they're going to hook me up :) All in all it was a good birthday. We have more cake left over than I even wanna think about. All in all it was a sucessful birthday. I still can't believe I'm 29...