Felicitations

Good job baby! I'm so proud of you.

Dear readers, you've not seen anyone work so hard as my lovely wife has worked on getting through the Mercy College School of Nursing. Mercy College has a 97% pass rate of the national RN nurse test, the NCLEX, one of the best pass rates in the state. Can't get much better than that. It's definitely not an easy program. Tons of really hard work. She picked the right school. She got really good grades there too. Great job Angie! I'm proud of you baby!

Angie graduates from Mercy College tomorrow (Friday, 8/19). She'll take (and easily pass, because she knows her stuff) the NCLEX test in the next couple of weeks. We'll then have a well trained nurse on our hands, looking for a lucky employer.

Congratulations Angie! I love you!

Peace-
Matt

Toil

As everyone knows all too well, the economy is moving s-l-o-w. As an estimator, it's my job to bid work. Since we are low on work, we are bidding everything that we possibly can. This means that I am extremely busy. In the last four weeks or so, I have worked tons of extra hours. I am salaried, so I don't get paid for it. If I did, I'd have an extra 2 grand or so, which would be damn handy right about now. What I will get for it is some "comp" time. Fall is coming. I will be taking a few me days when the weather is perfect. I hope the bidding calendar is light by then.

School starts on Thursday. Angie graduates on Friday. Changes are a coming.

Peace-
Matt

Red Ribbon

It's been 5 years since I last entered photos in the Iowa State Fair photography contest. About two months ago I was in a photo shop and noticed the entry form for this year's contest. I thought "what the heck" and decided to enter.

Today was the photographer's reception and awards ceremony. I won a 2nd place ribbon for the top photo (the boat) and have the bottom photo on display. There were 4,052 photos entered this year. 911 are on exhibit. 222 won ribbons.

Look for them if you're out there this year. Just wanted to brag.

Peace-
Matt