Jakestapleton.com

This week in Tweets for 2010-03-07

Jake — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Long day today but had a good time at grow group. Good Night All! #
I have #5 it was a gift. RT @mashable: Top 10 Geekiest Decorations for Your Home or Office [PICS] – http://bit.ly/d3d8w5 #
Errands, cleaning, grocery store, and sunshine oh my. #
Worry is a lack of Faith – Ed Dobson #
Off down the Turnpike to call on customers today everyone have a nice sunny day! #
Was it just me or did 5:00 come earlier this morning? #
Do I look freaking happy? http://twitpic.com/16kqdj #
Home Office today working to determine the exact molecular weight of synergy. #
Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. Psalm 90:2 #
Ever wondered how vast the Internet is? http://bit.ly/ayk30d #
In the immortal words of Llyod Bridges “I picked the wrong week to give up sniffing paint”. Going cross eyed again working on contracts. #
This is pretty impressive can not imagine how long it took to setup and test. http://bit.ly/d6mo8H #
Look at the wonder that God has created for you. http://bit.ly/9nIFXW #
Sometimes you are the only gospel a person sees. – Don Davis #
Off to rural Ohio today to work with a customer. Everyone have a great day! #
This weeks service is up! May you all have a blessed week showered by God’s grace and peace. http://bit.ly/bQT2pW #
I am not sure why but I am sure I need one of these. http://bit.ly/9JpX8o #
Robin Williams As The American Flag http://bit.ly/dlqL26 #

This week in Tweets for 2010-02-28

Jake — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

What I have been saying all along. "Strong and Secure: W.Va. Banks Defy National Trends During Uncertain Times" http://bit.ly/dyvMaE #
RT @RickWarren: The primary purpose of marriage is to make you holy, not merely happy. Nothing challenges our self-centeredness more. #
Home Office today pondering world domination, the ill of man, and why they even bother to make an OREO that is not double stuffed. #
Customer cross-pollination visit was canceled. At least I didn't get too far up the road, now back in the Home Office with plenty to do. #
Heading up 79 today to take a customer to visit another customer for a demo, with any luck I will have customer cross-pollination! #
When you lock yourself out of the system at 23:55 its time to go to bed. Good Night All! #
On my way to visit my middle of no where customer. #
Enough fooling around I have to get some work done and finish my prep for tomorrows customer visits. #
The second Doctor Who trailer for the new series is not as good but I am not ready to give up hope. http://bit.ly/9Urlx9 #
RT @Staten7: Where in the world is cloud privacy a problem? View Forrester's interactive map: http://www.forrester.com/cloudprivacyheatmap #
RT @MaxLucado Jesus planted the very tree from which his cross would be carved. Because he would rather die for you than live without you. #
Home Office today working on solutions for world peace, energy independence, and how without an accent I can be the next James Bond. #
Very tired for some reason off to bed good night all! #
AIS on my way down the WV Turnpike to visit a customer. #
This weeks service is up! May all of you have a week of grace and peace. http://bit.ly/cHlefl #
Off to church to work the soundboard then on to other activities that may or may not be as important, Type A, or allow me to push many knobs #

This week in Tweets for 2010-02-21

Jake — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

This is just wrong but so very true. http://bit.ly/99hJX6 #
Home Office today fighting the forces of evil. #
Drobo hungry had to feed Drobo http://twitpic.com/141i2e #
(Interesting fact) 95% of all satellite traffic in the United States comes into through these dishes in WV. http://bit.ly/b4F8lJ #
RT @mashable: Calculate the Cost of Wasteful Meetings With MEETorDIE – http://bit.ly/co4cEM #
I have been doing this since Christmas and it rocks! http://bit.ly/aWuy2m #
Drove Jess to school this morning her head is somewhat better but she is not 100%. Proud of her for trying as hard as she does to get by. #
I made every attempt to give up email for lent but my employer had several issues with the idea. #
I withdrawal my shoveling complaints. RT @HoppyKercheval: Great pix of the snow in Terra Alta, Preston County. http://is.gd/8E9NA #
HDR: Crowds gathering at Robson Square for 2010 Olympics light show http://bit.ly/bEGkCL #
Home Office today and nursing Jess's head she got a 1 day reprieve from her migraine then woke up this morning with another one. #
RT @ronaldreagan40: "Our goal isn't welfare or handouts, it's jobs and opportunity." – President Reagan . Aug 12 , 1983 #
Home safe and sound from Ohio catching up on emails then settling in for the night. #
RT @mollywood: Very late to discover the best commercial in the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE #
On my way to the Columbus, Ohio area to visit a customer #
El Nino can El Stick It I am off to do more shoveling. #
Off to go pick up Jess form the doctor I did not want her to drive herself she started day 3 of a Migraine this morning. #
If I have to go out on my lunch hour to shovel snow it could at least be snow blower snow. I'm just sayin #
Well at least I got to see some grass in my yard for about 24 hours. It was all gone in the first 20 minutes. #
Home Office today hoping to get a lot done since all my customers are closed. #
This weeks service is up and I am off to bed. Good Night everyone! http://bit.ly/aZy1rX #
Running to some editing problems for today's service it's driving me nuts. #
Don't be afraid to invest in yourself. http://bit.ly/9akl3j #

It was 5 years ago today

Jake — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:12:34 +0000

It was 5 years ago today that I started my new job at CSI as an account manager. I know that several of you do not understand what it is that I do but I think this paragraph sums it up best.

I am a banks outsourced technology partner, free project manager, ad hoc consultant, training and implementation, consultative salesperson, and account representative. I am the one ultimately responsible for the banks relationship with my employer CSI.

I feel truly blessed to have this job. It does demand a lot of out me, but I feel that my company appreciates in every way the outstanding work that I do for them. But this is not what I want you to take from this post. What I want you to do is believe in investing in yourself. Many of you may not know the road that I took to get here so let me fill you in.

In 1997 I began working at City Mortgage Services a division of City National Bank basically as a file warehousing clerk. After less than a year I was promoted to the position of Portfolio Analyst. My largest achievement during that job was the coordination and securitization of a $275 million dollar loan portfolio. This was a relatively new division of the bank that did not last very long after the bank started having financial troubles. I could write many many paragraphs on that topic but that will be left for another day. Lets just say that I was at the bank when the stock was $52, $4, and $30+ so in a very short period of time I got to see it all. The banks troubles actually paid off for me. If I may borrower a Tony Curtis line “Where there is chaos there is opportunity”.

When the bank decided to close down my division of the company my old boss asked me to come work for her in the newly created Commercial Loan Documentation Department. We were tasked with going through the bank to assure that the documentation on every commercial loan was correct and also that all new documentation going forward was prepared properly. She told me that if you can learn to understand Commercial Lending then you can do anything in the bank. You know what she was right. In my tenure in the CLDD department I learned a lot about banking that I was never exposed to in the other division of the company.

As time progressed and more items were cleared up the CLDD department became less busy. By that time my boss had moved on to become the head of Loan Operations for the bank. After she had been in that position for a while she interviewed me for the spot of Loan Operations Supervisor. I accepted the position and went to Loan Operations to work for about 2 years. During my time there I directed the clean up of the areas under my direct control and put procedures and policies in place that would assure it would stay that way.

So by that time it was the end of 2003 and I was really bored in my job. A new management team had come into the bank and most everything was cleaned up and it became like working in a “normal bank”. After 6 years of nonstop chaos I became bored and under challenged. I was 29 years old with a great looking resume but no one would talk to me because I did not have a college degree. I had quit college in 1997 to take this job. After 5 years in college working 2 jobs most of the time I was fried and spinning my wheels not getting anywhere.

Never ask your spouse what they are thinking about

This takes us to New Years Eve 2003. Jess and I were on our way to Lexington to pick up her mom and step dad who were returning from Oregon after visiting the grandchildren for Christmas. We were traveling down I-64 and I hadn’t said anything in quite a while Jess asked me if there was anything wrong?

To which I replied

I am going to quit my job, cash out my 401K, and take 35 hours of college in 7 months to finish my degree.

Once she began breathing again we talked through it and she was on board. Jess knew that I would never have brought this up to her unless I had done my homework first.

This brings us up to April 15th, 2004 my last day at City National Bank. I was happy to leave not because of mis-treatment or animosity of any sort I was just ready to start a new chapter in my life. In May of that year I started summer school at Marshall. Due to multiple major changes my best bet was to obtain a Regents BA degree. Since I had almost all the standard requirements I got to pick just about any class I wanted to take to make up the credits needed to graduate. During the summer of 2004 I took 24 hours in summer school. (If you have not done this let me be the first to tell you now that it sucks.) During the summer I started going to church which would eventually lead to me being saved. In the fall I took another 12 hours to finish my degree. (Interesting Jake fact of the day: I am just 12 hours of a foreign language away from another complete 4 year degree in History)

By the end of the fall semester I had completed my 4 year degree in just 12 years! During my time back at Marshall I was on the Deans List every semester (that I can tell you for sure never happened the first time around). So its December 2004 and I am out of school with a nice looking resume and no one knocking down my door. (What the #%$#$@#%) The only company that I really had any contact with that looked promising was CSI and that was only because I was stalking their recruiter. During my time in school I took a part-time job at Sherwin William Paints to help make ends meet. The ends were not meeting well at all I needed to get back to work. After a 10 week hiring and interview process I was hired by CSI on Valentines day 2005 as an Account Manager. This job could not have been any more perfect for me. If I could have written a job description for what I wanted to do after my degree it would be my job now.

So if you have read to this point and are thinking I just can change anything now, don’t talk yourself out of it you can! I have no doubt in my mind that I could have stayed at City National Bank and still be there today. If I just wanted to settle for a paycheck and not be challenged or motivated to do more. But I wanted more and I was not going to wait for anyone else to make it happen.

The moral of the story I am trying to get across, is do not under any circumstances be afraid to take a huge leap of faith. Invest in yourself! You live in the most prosperous country that God has ever-blessed this Earth with. You live in America the land of the Free. You live in a country that provides you opportunities that citizens of other countries could only dream about.

Are you the only one holding yourself back? Step out, take a leap, you may just find yourself in the best place that you could ever want to be.

This week in Tweets for 2010-02-14

Jake — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Back from a good evening at Grow Group nursing Jess and her Migraine then heading to bed. #
Hanging around the house piddling today until Grow Group later tonight. There are things to be done do nothing feels wrong and yet so right. #
We shot a missile out of the air with "Frickin Laser Beams"! http://bit.ly/bo3vvB #
RT @MaxLucado: Love doesn't accept just a few things. Love is willing to accept all things. #
Wishing my big brother a Very Happy 50th Birthday today. 50 is the new 40 says a 60 year old. #
Going cross eyed making contract proposals tonight. Can't I just say to the customer "shut your cake hole and sign here"? #
Nice little software update for the Apple TV this morning. Little bit of UI changes and I swear it handles enormous library better. #
RT @mollywood: You knew it was coming. From Molly Rants, Google Buzz: Privacy nightmare. http://bit.ly/9J1dqv #
After a 20 minute break to repair the furnace now back to my regularly scheduled work day. #
Taking a break from work and testing Google Buzz #
RT @howtogeek: I have totally done this before. http://yfrog.com/35oilnj Ditto #
Ever wondered how much time most people are spending on facebook? Infographic from @mashable http://bit.ly/bIjZQX #
Well Duh! RT @WSJ: 67% of employees say they don't see a need to hide office romances, up from 54% in 2005 http://on.wsj.com/ds7YRo #
Kicking it in the Home Office this morning with my job kicking me today. #
Got up this morning and phase 2 of the online backup is complete. I now have 396.5 gigs backup up at @mozy they rock! #
RT @michellemalkin: Pretty! RT @delrayser: Ridiculously cool timelapse video of the Snowmageddon: http://j.mp/daxNeN (via @MelissaTweets) #
As a result of my early morning wiring at the church the building now has no internet. But I did figure out what that wire was for . . #
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm19:14 #
How awful. "Twins Discover Teenage Brother’s Death on Facebook" http://bit.ly/aL6pWa #
Ok people this is a fresh new week with new chances, oppurtunites, and possibilites. Go and make the best of it no matter your situation. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/dtQOhR #
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Technology blows! Not talking about mine all my stuff works. #

This week in Tweets for 2010-02-07

Jake — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

RT @WSJ: RT @kabster728: White House gates at midnight last night http://tweetphoto.com/10584355 Pretty no matter who lives there. #
Wet snow: good for snowballs and snowmen but sucks to shovel. I'm just sayin. #
Worked until 2:30 last night so at least today I know what I have not done. Everyone be safe and have a blessed day. #
Ok this is pretty neat if you are looking for new artists or music. Not as good as Pandora but a pretty decent. http://www.youtube.com/disco #
A space shuttle launch is an awe-inspiring sight to behold. But there's just 5 chances left to see one in person. http://tinyurl.com/ykaffsg #
All my tiredness today is outweighed by all the blessings I have recieved. Thank you God for everything you are have a great day everyone. #
Made it home safely think I will slug a little while and go to bed tomorrow is a new day. #
Continuing my trip home after picking up 2 pair of 36×30 jeans! Yep that's down from 40×30. We'll see of if I can make down to 34×40. #
AIS on my way to Elkins for the day everyone have a good one. #
I have had a bear on my back all day and now it has a refrigerator and friends. #
Change of plans for today in the home office for software testing. #
I just got an on line ad in my Gmail for Violin Rental. Really? That's a targeted ad? #
Unpleasant self realization of the day: When I go bold the crown on my head is so high I will look like an adolescent conehead. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/9U3zkr #
Back from Church prepping the video for the website and podcast then chillin the rest of the day with any luck. #

This week in Tweets for 2010-01-31

Jake — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I don't think she is enjoying Top Gear as much as Jess & I http://twitpic.com/10m7pf #
Ok now that's just damn clever. http://bit.ly/cSkk6l #
Need to say thanks to the nice state road truck that just came and plowed my hill. We are not a major road so it is always appreciated. #
May I just ask who ordered the freaking snow? #
This must be the secret news outlet training video. Thanks @natalidelconte http://bit.ly/9TNuDr #
RT @MaxLucado: Write today’s worries in sand. Chisel yesterday’s victories in stone. #
Yes I would like to have a lair like this one day. RT @CaliLewis: A look at Hans Zimmer's studio – http://bit.ly/94xr5A #
Home office today listening to Petey snore as I work. #
Just witnessed the weather channel playing the theme to Shaft over the weather maps. Really? #
Today I am blessed but just wiped out (even after the treadmill). Digging in at the Home Office today to plow through a pile of work. #
Off to visit a customer today with my boss I am guessing this is going to be 5 hours of driving for a 20 minute meeting. #
Home Office today yep that's it nothing more exciting than that. Have a great and blessed day everyone! #
RT @MaxLucado: I was bemoaning, groaning about this busy Monday. Then I remembered Haiti-the rubbles and struggles and I shut my mouth. #
Off to get the company car serviced then in the Home Office the rest of the day. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/7SkWUh #
Church to make sure multimedia things go right then home to take care of Jess and the super crud she is sick with. #

Quotes

Jake — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:53:22 +0000

Just some random dogs quotes that I have saved to post.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

-Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.

-Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.

-M. Acklam

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.

-Sigmund Freud

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.

-Robert Benchley

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.

-James Thurber

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

-Mark Twain

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, ‘Wow, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!’

- Dave Barry

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

-Roger Caras

If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.

-Phil Pastoret

Quotes

Jake — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:54:22 +0000

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.

E.F. Schumacker

A short somewhat informational few paragraphs about what has been going on at the Stapleton Mansion or Just Catching Up whichever you prefer.

Jake — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:19:55 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

As usual I have let the blog do way to long without a lengthy entry. I hope you are finding my weekly twitter digests filling in the gaps and seeing what we have been up to. Since the last lengthy entry was on October 11th lets see what we have been into.

The rest of October, November, and the first half of December was filled with nothing but business travel. Jess continued to teach and learn the ropes at Huntington High School. She really loves her kids and her job; I am happy she gets to use her gifts everyday. At Christmas I took 13 days off and had a good time enjoying all the new AV gear that I got for Christmas. Jess and I bought a HDTV & Blu-Ray player for our Christmas present to each other. To which I spent my vacation time fully enjoying. (I never really get to just veg)

Also for Christmas I got my Direct TV HD-DVR and my long-awaited AppleTV which gives me access to the 2 terabytes worth of video I have in iTunes. You see I have been working for the last 2 years to get all my DVD’s into and electronic easy to move format. To that end every DVD and former VHS tape that I own is now in iTunes its like my own little Video on Demand system. This makes up my media utopia of having everything at my fingers tips wherever and whenever I want it. Good geek stuff!

Christmas 2009 Photos

That brings us to the end of my vacation and Jess’s Christmas break.

Jess did not work too much of her first week back to school due to the weather. So she was home when her Reduction in Force (RIF) letter came from the CCBOE . She was understandably upset but upon further investigation this is just one of those things that you go through in teaching. She will almost definitely have a job next year maybe even in the same room. Keeping the same room would really be great for her she loves her kids. Since they can stay with her for many years up until age 21 the relationship is quite a bit different the normal student teacher relationship. She can conceivably have the same kids all day everyday for up to 7 years.

That pretty much brings us up to the end of January. Sorry to be so boring but just telling you about working everyday would not be to thrilling. We hope that this posting finds you and yours doing well. Until the next update that’s the news and I am outta here.

This week in Tweets for 2010-01-24

Jake — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Off to the church to setup a server then doing our taxes. Then maybe an afternoon of random relaxing activities, we'll have to see. #
Exodus 3:14 . . . "I Am Who I Am" Isn't that all we really need to know. #
How do I get this kind of job? http://twitpic.com/z9f6v She stays with me most of the workday but I don't ever see her doing anything. #
Home Office today with a forecast of scattered productivity with periods of interruptions by customers. #
Heading up I-77 today to call on a customer. #
Great video explaing the China the recent hacking attacks. http://bit.ly/65zZbc #
Off to work at the Charleston Data Center today. #
Thank You Massachusetts for all you did for your country tonight. #
I don't think I have heard this many liberals say Damit at the same time since Rush got out of the hospital. #
I am so proud of my wife she just finished enjoying her first full episode of of Top Gear. She laughed until she cried. #
RT @PoliticalMath: Worked from home today & stock market rose 100! Must stay home tomorrow. For the good of the country. #
Helping out my customer call center today and I'll say it again. I have the upmost repsect & awe for the excellant work they do everyday. #
American PC makers gone in 20 years? http://bit.ly/51GhKs #
RT @MaxLucado: Christ lived the life we could not live and took the punishment we could not take to offer the hope we cannot resist. #
Nearly spit up my pop – - Dilbert Daily Strip: 2010-01-18: http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-01-18/ #
Sad . . . RT @HoppyKercheval: Today's commentary. West Virginia's alarming dropout rate. http://is.gd/6vxRC #
Ok time to start the work week people have a good one! #
Ok I have to admit I am getting a little excited. http://bit.ly/6fXY7s #
For all my AT&T peeps out there they just cut their unlimited plans by 30% enjoy! Go forth and talk, text, & data! http://bit.ly/6jIgRe #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/8rDrVB #
RT @MaxLucado: Forgiveness is choosing to see your offender with different eyes. #
Soundboard @ church today then a multitude of other crap things to get done. #

This week in Tweets for 2010-01-16

Jake — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:01:00 +0000

Speding a little time this AM to get some work stuff done been on the road more this week then I had expected. #
I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant . . . Genesis 32:10 NLT #
Prayers, prayers, and more prayers are needed right now. http://bit.ly/4LWmQq #
Prayers and support for all those in Haiti these pictures will leave you speechless please do what you can. http://bit.ly/4Ev1tA #
RT @PoliticalMath: More air security rules? At least with terrorists we're allowed to beat up the person responsible for our misery. #
Heading up 79 today to call on some customers. #
For some reason I feel the urge to purchase this. http://bit.ly/8Iz6tV #
Heading to bed after getting Jess settled in she is on day 4 of the seasonal crud. It's killing her missing most of finals week. 8( #
Just came home to my @mozy backup being complete. Thats my first 134 gigs, now to start moving the big stuff. #
RT @MaxLucado: God examines hearts. When he finds one set on him, he calls it and claims it. #
Well at least it was the kind of snow you clear with a leaf blower. #
RT @RickWarren: You can't hear God's voice if you're rushing.You must be resting.
"I wait quietly before God." Ps 62:5 (NLT) #
http://www.pearidgebaptist.com should be back in fighting trim along with all the podcast feeds working. Enjoy! #
Crap make that 167 entries to manually edit. I forgot about all the NTC podcast entries. #
Good news is that the migration of the church website to a new host is complete; the bad news is I have to edit 102 posts to fix the podcast #
Home Office today prepping for customer calls this week; dId not sleep for crap but feeling surprisingly good after 2 miles on the treadmill #
Great interview business, tech, & a little politics. Enjoy! RT @cnet A Conversation with Ford CEO Alan Mulally http://bit.ly/7SRaWw #
Interesting article on corporate culture something that many companies lack. http://bit.ly/6NhP71 #
In the event that I leave this Earth unexpectedly in the near future please be aware my wife has been watching "snapped" all evening. #

This week in Tweets for 2010-01-09

Jake — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:01:00 +0000

After assessing the plumbing issue and assessing my financial blessings I have made the executive decision to call a plumber. #
No really thats enough Winter thank you. #
Greetings and most happy salutations to you today. I am mainly this happy because I did not have to shovel snow this morning. #
May I just state for the record that clearing snow was much better on Monday when all I needed was my leaf blower. I'm just sayin. #
Made it through my first day back to work lucked out and only had 110 emails and 27 voice mails. However motivation was at a premium. #
Something just occurred to me it's 2010 where's my jetpack and flying car? #
Well I guess I have to abandon the fantasy that I am independently wealthy and return to work today. So here we go! #
RT @HoppyKercheval: Today's commentary. The good news. http://is.gd/5MKtJ #
Been up since 4:30 already got a bunch of stuff done now off to grocery shop then make the most of my last day of vacation. #
Now both Doctor Who episodes are up on iTunes in HD grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. #
Concluded my monumental watching of TV now back to real life moving the church's website still going to take 24 hrs even with 2 connections. #
If anyone needs me for the next 3 hours I will be watching the David Tennant Doctor Who Finale. Hence you will be ignored have a nice day. #

This week in Tweets for 2010-01-03

Jake — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:01:00 +0000

Its vacation time I supposed to be doing stuff I like! #
Finally caught up on all the David Tennant eps of Doctor Who looking forward to buying the End of Time in HD from iTunes on Sunday. #
It took 9+ hours to download all 26 gigs of the church’s website to move to another provider. (Means the re-upload will take be 36 hrs) #
Guess I pulled that cable a few weeks ago for nothing. #fail_by_jake #
I was annoyed because the wireless N is blowing away my gigabit ethernet connection on my Apple TV. Just figured it only has a 10/100 port #
Dreamhost is once again offering their 92% off web-hosting sale today! Been with them for a year now they rock. http://bit.ly/YAd2B #
Wishing everyone a safe, prosperous, happy, and blessed new year. May all your wishes come true and you realize all your dreams. #
I continue to be amazed at what the Cannon 5D MK2 can do may one day I will own one. http://bit.ly/6LDbeZ #
You can apply this to what every discipline you choose.; it shows no matter your gift hard work is still required. http://bit.ly/ld8hB #
Have I mentioned how much I am enjoying this vacation time? Thinking a month long sabbatical would be nice but then I had to wake up. #
The Manhattan Declaration http://bit.ly/7G9cxY / http://bit.ly/735Z8i #
This guy must have had the best time working on his PHD. http://bit.ly/6b6xjV #
Only 5 days to send up 83 gigs to @mozy. Really liking this new Internet speed I have. #
WooHoo! RT @SpaceflightNow: The newest DirecTV satellite has been successfully launched to bolster HDTV service. http://tinyurl.com/yc4mfwk #
I have done nothing today that could be deemed useful to society or anyone else. It was everything I thought it could be I love vacation! #
RT @MaxLucado: When Christ is great,our fears are not.As awe of Jesus expands,fears of life diminish.A big God translates into big courage. #
I told you theres no reason to buy AV software Microsoft Security Essentials Ranks as Best-Performing Free Antivirus http://bit.ly/7zxlCf #
All I can say is wow! RT @mostlylisa: http://j.mp/5ayiok beautiful collection of winter photography. *wishes for snow* #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/5ptBil #
Soundboard today at church, a Linner with my beautiful spousal unit, a little shopping, then back to vacation. #

This week in Tweets for 2009-12-27

Jake — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:01:00 +0000

RT @MaxLucado: Jesus has diagnosed the pain of the world and written the book on its treatment. We can trust him. #
The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! Luke 2:11 Merry Christmas to Each and Everyone. #
Office is packed up and I am on vacation! http://twitpic.com/uukqk #
A little trouble getting in the spirit http://bit.ly/8VfgJW #
Carzy busy trying to get things ironed out before taking off for the rest of the year. Man that has a nice ring to it. #
Home Office today finishing things up before vacation. Looking forward to acturally getting to attend the Christmas Eve Service this year. #
Merry Christmas from the Stapletons http://bit.ly/710xxw #
Tree and stockings are up. http://twitpic.com/uky2m http://twitpic.com/uky4q #
Home Office today getting things in order for my upcoming 13 days off; Christmas shopping is done but gotta put the tree up this evening. #
Home Office today getting things in order for my upcoming 12 days off; Christmas shopping is done but gotta put the tree up this evening. #
Interesting – World Map Of Social Networks Shows Rise Of Facebook http://bit.ly/8iNBkm #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/7tMFJ7 Good Night All! #
Home and settled after an afternoon with Jess then a trip to Charleston Data Center to re-work some items so as not to bother the banks. #
Off to church to work the soundboard then an afternoon of indeterminate activities which most likely will include some loafing. #
Made it home safe and off to shower then bed good night all! #

A little trouble getting in the Spirit

Jake — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:10 +0000

I have to admit that this year I have had trouble getting in the Christmas Spirit. Not with the true meaning and spirit of Christmas the birth of Christ but just with I guess the secular Christmas stuff you might say? I am having trouble expressing this thought so before I twist this around to where no one can understand it let me just say it this way

The birth of Christ our savior I am good with.
The spirit of giving this time of year I am good with.
Everything else large and small in between I am just kind of blahhhh.

I can’t really explain why I have been blah this Christmas. The blessings that my family and I have received this year are truly too numerous to count. Maybe I am just tired and really need the next 13 days that I have planned off we’ll see. (but back to the point of the post)

Then we get to today, when I received the video below in an email today from a friend. It just made me smile and just kicked me out of my Christmas Blah.

So if you are experiencing the Christmas Blah this year I hope it does the same for you.

Thanks Kathy Smith for yanking me out of the Christmas Blah.

Merry Christmas!

Jake — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:03:37 +0000

This week in Tweets for 2009-12-19

Jake — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Power is back on I am outta here! #
In these difficult economic time this is all you get. http://twitpic.com/u9h7l #
Sitting in the Charleston data center by the light of my laptop and a flashlight. Will be here all night manning the generator. This blows. #
Funny with a big vote on "health care" taking place today neither Rockefeller or Byrd's offices are answering the phones. Coincidence? Not! #
Much better http://bit.ly/7cUsDt #
To me HD quality photography like this just exposes the glory and wonder of the universe that God created. (In reference to prev. tweet) #
Visually stunning remember these are hand held DSLR cameras doing the work not motion picture cameras. http://bit.ly/5RJg1J #
Home Office today and that is just about it. #
A surprise in a Christmas Card http://bit.ly/7iz8wW #
Home Office today wondering if there is any way that I could play with legos all day and maintain my current income. #
Home Office wondering if there is any way that I could play with legos all day and maintain my current income. #
After careful consideration of all the outstanding factors & reasons I hereby declare that with all possible haste it's bedtime. Good Night #
Wow. Clifftop Communities from around the world http://bit.ly/8VvZ17 #
I have had Comcast back for a week as an ISP and I already had to switch over to my backup DSL line. #Fail #
RT @MaxLucado: False prophets always minimize the role of Christ & maximize the role of humanity. #
Home Office today looking forward to not having any over nights for the rest of the year. #
Going to go and enjoy our new HD TV & Satellite. Jess is especially happy since the larger dish makes us look like a sub-station of NORAD. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/50WfXD Have a blessed week. #

A surprise in a Christmas Card

Jake — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:22:14 +0000

While opening the mail today I received a little surprise. In the Christmas Card from my Uncle Phillip and Aunt Delores they stuck in this old picture.

From Drop Box

I can not tell you the last time that I thought about Trigger the horse in the picture. He was kept on my grandfather’s Farm in Jackson County.

Thanks for the old memories and bringing a random smile to my face today.

This week in Tweets for 2009-12-12

Jake — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:01:00 +0000

A day of indeterminate, possibly classified, maybe even massively mediocre activities planned. #
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! See I feel better now. #
AIS on my way to Elkins for an early customer meeting then back home for the rest of the day. #
Off to Charleston to work in the Data Center today, bunch of customers coming in for a class. #
Home after a 14 hour 415 mile day going to fix a few loose ends and head to bed good night all. #
Now off to Morgantown to work with a customers customer. #
AIS on my way to Fairmont for the day to work with a customer. #
Remembering the greatest generation on Pearl Harbor day. Thank you for your profound and selfless service. #
RT @HoppyKercheval: Today's commentary. The long history of the USS West Virginia. http://is.gd/5eOCM #
SoH Sov jIH laH ghobe' Qo' ta'lI' . #klingon (translate: http://bit.ly/5rikAN) #
Have you even heard about Climategate? http://bit.ly/8IKzC2 #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/7iPyLd #
Doing sound today at church then home to an afternoon of indeterminate actvities. Although I am so buried I should really be working. #

This week in Tweets for 2009-12-05

Jake — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:01:00 +0000

No HD for me today the roof was too slick to mount the new dish. 8( Oh well there is always next weekend. #
We have Petey and Phoebe at the shot clinic they are not happy. http://twitpic.com/s8zif #
Well almost got to sleep until 7 my little white furry alarm clock got me up. http://twitpic.com/pp9gv Hard to believe we have had him 6 yrs #
Ok I hate to say this after using OpenDNS for years but the Google's Free Public DNS is faster. http://bit.ly/4R3gg8 #
The view from the Top of Burj Dubai's Spire. Pretty stunning http://bit.ly/5VzpEE #
Heading out with the spousal unit, as always it's good to be home. #
On my way home! #
Back at the bank for a final day of training then heading home. Hope to be back by the close of business. #
RT @KatyinIndy: Last surviving World War I soldier, 108, storms US Congress http://tinyurl.com/yg2ygty #tcot #gop #ocra #sgp #
For some reason I am just whipped out going to bed good night all! #
What a place to wake up in. http://bit.ly/5gfXzs #
Back at the bank conducting more training today. #
Have you ever had a customer do something ill-advised and just knew it was going to come back and somehow be your problem? Yep? Me too!. #
Off to meet my ADD Banker for training at 7AM. Maybe that way she can actually sit still long enough to be trained. #
Just so you know, no matter how many times you blow up the Death Star it never gets old. http://bit.ly/4vyADb #
RT @ronaldreagan40: For more information on the NEW Official Ronald Reagan App for iPhone & iPod Touch, go to http://bit.ly/4Cado6 #
Don't know if I have the intestinal fortitude to watch the blowhard's speech tonight. Think I will just wait for the transcripts. #
Yep the cheese grater to the forehead is back in full swing. #
I have a 50/50 chance of tonights processing working correctly but then again there is only a 10% chance of that. #
AIS on my way to train and spend the week working with a customer. Will be staying In Princeton, WV most of the week lucky me! #
NCIS: Los Angeles = Epic Fail! It is awful! That is 90 minutes of my life I will never get back, oh well cleared off some DVR space. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/8sMPON #
Tired and heading to bed have to be at Church early tomorrow for sound. Good Night All! #

This week in Tweets for 2009-11-28

Jake — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

RT @RickWarren: People who want a theocracy tend to think they're Theo. If you find that God always agrees with you, something's wrong. #
Reminder! If you are shopping online today (like me) a portion of your purchases can go to your favorite charities! http://bit.ly/5yF6yX #
Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you and yours have a safe holiday as we reflect on the many blessing that God has graced us with. #
RT @om: Data Robotics has sold 85,000 Drobos http://bit.ly/5j3B6A from @gigaom – Couldn' t happen to a nicer company. I love my Drobo! #
Time to put the work laptop away. I think enough is done to where I won't have to look at it until Monday. (with any luck) #
RT @KatyinIndy: GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION http://tinyurl.com/yfygtyt #tcot #gop #hhrs #sgp #tlot #
RT @RickWarren: Its illogical to believe life could just happen accidentally while insisting a life resurrected from death is impossible. #
RT @RickWarren: It takes a greater leap of faith to believe nothing created everything. #
If you are going to shop online this season or anytime; put your shopping dollars to good use and help a charity! http://bit.ly/5yF6yX #
This is much better http://twitpic.com/qw40g #
"In God We Trust" Everyone else must bring data to prove their point. #
Home safe things are squared away and I am off to bed. Good Night All! #
%}#}}%}} just got out of one wreck and got caught in another. #
Stopped in traffic 25 miles from home 8( http://twitpic.com/qsvgh #
The immediate fires for the day are put out. Packing up and getting ready to start home should see you about 5 sweets. #
Done with my meetings for today, waiting to round everyone up to go out to dinner. We don't get together too often. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/54GugN and Good Night All! #
Made good time and have arrived in Valpo. #
http://bit.ly/8AoC1T making good time. #
Turkey is on board next stop Valparasio,IN in 487 miles. #
RT @MaxLucado: Jesus experienced a physical and factual resurrection. And because he did, we will, too! #
Off to church, then home, then convert the video for the church website, early Thanksgiving @ moms, then an 8 hour 500 drive for work. #

Quotes

Jake — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:07:56 +0000

“All man’s troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room” Blaise Pascal

“In God we Trust; all others must bring data” W. Edwards Deming

This week in Tweets for 2009-11-21

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

RT @Veronica: Internet vices! http://bit.ly/vices (via @buzzfeed) #
On my way to train a customer then home for a short weekend. (8 hours biz travel on Sunday) #
Shh don't tell anyone but my work email inbox is down to 4 items. Going to bed Good Night All! #
Really annoyed with people who use the ! important symbol for every email they send. Just for that you are going to the bottom of my pile. #
Home, tired, but still good lookin. Now to get some work squared away then bed. #
Prepped for tomorrow, tired, and heading to bed. But not before ending the day with a happy link http://bit.ly/2HNtBz Good Night All! #
Oh last.fm why have I been away from you so long. You make working so much better. #
Am I getting old or does "new music" just suck? I have an open mind it just all sounds like re-treads of something I have heard before. #
Busy day planned in the Home Office I need to get a lot of things in order. After today I don't have another office day until December 4th. #
Enjoying my new download while go ahead an roll your eyes but they are a great c-jazz group been with them since 1989. http://bit.ly/3RtcW #
Playing with the Tilt Shift Generator App for my iPhone. http://twitpic.com/pp9gv http://twitpic.com/pp9fu #
Settling into work the rest of the evening need to get some things caught up before the work week starts and customers bother oops need me. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/3izuWc #
RT @MaxLucado: "The neediest person is the Christian with no compassion." @susanligon #

This week in Tweets for 2009-11-14

Jake — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

House work done, yard done, now off to the daycare for network and PC issues. #
Off for my last lawn maintenance session of the year I try to hold back the tears. #
Russia Considering more restrictions on Christians; always need to keep them in our prayers. http://bit.ly/2vEbgA #
Well this made Petey's day his own little sissy prison. http://twitpic.com/phg8d #
#FF @Natlietweets @ ScottWGraves @politicalmath @heritage @ronaldreagan40 @shellyroche @libertymaven @hoppykercheval #
Off to work out of the Charleston Data Center today. Everyone have a great one. #
I have insight, foresight, but often suffer from hindsight. Good Night All! #
Back in from a long day of customer calls. #
Well that was fun. #
Great pictures of the massive Brazillian blackout. http://bit.ly/2GFaW7 #
Thank You Veterans. We owe you so much that we could never repay. http://bit.ly/4o3yOg #
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the 18th year of the 20th century, the guns of August fell silent. #
The company that makes farmville on facebook will have $250 million in revenues this year. This does not bode well for society. #
The office is whole again. http://twitpic.com/p0vct #
Fort Hood you are in our prayers. #
Putting on my customer service cape (unlike Superman my underwear will be on the inside of my pants) and I am off to train customers again. #
RT @RealChadVader: Luckily the phrase "The customer is always right" does not hold up in a court of law. #
Off to work with customers today in Whitesville, WV & Marietta, OH. Because they are right next door to each other right? Have a good one! #
This just makes me want to leave the lights on for no reason. We don't have the money for all these give away programs. http://bit.ly/4vTGEz #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/2ejU9J #
Today is the The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Last year 176,000 Christians were murdered for their faith. #

This week in Tweets for 2009-11-07

Jake — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Houston we have a crock pot malfunction and it has nothing to do with the operator. #
Petey and Phoebe just went on Red Alert I just loaded a roast in the crock pot. #
Data Mining you name or anything else online. Neat. http://twitpic.com/ommvp the site is here http://bit.ly/QRplW #
Losing brain cells watching the health care debate on C-SPAN the things I do to be an informed citizen. #
Really enjoying listening live to the Symposium at the Reagan Library on the fall of the Berlin wall today. The wonders of the Internet. #
Really enjoying listening live to the Symposium at the Regan Library on the fall of the Berlin wall today. The wonders of the Internet. #
The power is back on I have escaped the 19th century! #
Great no power with a full morning of stuff to get out electricity 1 fried rodent 0. #
RT @MaxLucado: As followers of God,you & I have a huge asset.We know everything is going to turn out alright. #
Unemployment just hit 10.3% for the first time in 26 years hows that Hope and Change working for ya? #
Today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. May America continue to be the shining beacon of Freedom for the world. #
Happy top of the morning the birds are singing in my ear Friday to you all! Scratch that one just pooped in my cereal. #
Just figured out if you put in Huey Lewis and the News on @pandora_radio you get the ultimate 80's station! Sweet! #
Ok people we have things to do today rise and shine, rock and roll, twist and shout, groove and move, but be safe and have a good one. #
Tried to watch GI Joe and the CG was so awful I just had to turn off the movie. A little part of my childhood died tonight. #
Home Office today which is good I really need the desk time. #
Good night all heading to bed planning to be productive, proactive, and proportional tomorrow. But never politically correct . . . . #
RT @PoliticalMath: CA zip code 95814 added 75,000 jobs. Population: 16,600. That's 5 jobs per person! http://bit.ly/14Uijc #
You may need a slightly high geek quotient to get this but it still made me spit up my pop. http://bit.ly/jvFli #
Off to visit a customer then back to the home office. #
I took in my Ronald Reagan pictures today to have them professionally framed. My office seems some how lonely and empty without them. #
RT @infidelsarecool: Navy Ship built from World Trade Center Steel Arrives in NY http://twurl.nl/cjj3uh #
I am stuck at Goodyear in a waiting room full of people watching Dr. Phil and no inside voices. Desperately looking for sharp objects. #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/oDAhh #
Due to processing issues this weeks service will not be up until tomorrow morning. Good Night All! #
In case you missed it you can now buy you own coffin at Wal-Mart But do they come with those smiley faces? http://bit.ly/1gf6qb #
Off to church for the soundboard this morning then hopefully another day off with indeterminate activities planned. I need the break. #

Quotes

Jake — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:01:48 +0000

This particular quote comes from me. After I said it last Sunday night Jess stopped, wrote it down, and told me I needed to add it to the website.

“Sometimes you just have to shut your cake hole and know your blessed”

Jake Stapleton November 11th, 2009

and no the context will not be shared

This week in Tweets for 2009-11-01

Jake — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Did not put on a watch until 1:30 today I felt dirty and yet so good at the same time. #
Ok you people can make fun of me if you like but I am going to bed. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow. #
Just got back from a nice dinner with the spousal unit. She has been back to work for 2 days now and is feeling quite a bit better. #
After a very long week I am heading home! #
Check please. I am heading to bed for a few hours sleep month end stuff is relatively in good shape. #
And just to make things better the "high speed" Internet at my hotel is a whopping 512k Down and 256k Up. Really? This is gonna be fun. #
Took way too long of a nap this evening now I will be up most of the night working to get month end stuff out. Sweet! Not! #
Definition of Government: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see the solutions. http://bit.ly/2yObdt #
Have you ever just had a week where its like your rice crispies said snap, crackle, screw him! Man this week is craptatsic I just got home. #
My new job title for this week is lighting rod for crap. #
Yep it's that kind of day. http://twitpic.com/n9ju3 #
Its Tuesday and I have already worked 30 hours this week and driven 638 miles a whipped puppy I am. My customers are not cooperating w/me #
Heading down the turnpike again hopefully for a shorter day. Jess is starting her 3rd round of antibiotics with a dash of migraines. 8( #
Today in really geeky news Internet speed costs from around the world http://bit.ly/2vxHJQ and RIP geocities. #
Why can't customers ever cooperate just so you know I felt everyone of those 14 1/2 hours today. #
AIS on my way down the turnpike to work with a customer today. I will have long days trips or over nights all this week. Have a good one! #

Today is 3 years

Jake — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:20:24 +0000

Yep its hard to believe that three years ago today we moved into what was then our “new house”. Since then we have remodeled the entire house finishing up the inside during my vacation in October of last year. Which was not all that bad when you think about all the days I have been on the road. Technically we have been in the house 1095 days and of those days I have spent about 225 nights on the road. So if you do the math I have been gone 20% of the time that we have owned the house (29% of the time if you just count business days).

Enough math now the important bit. Like any good homeowner I have before and after pictures showing all the work. Sure I could just post the pics but a movie is always better enjoy!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Changes to the Jake Stapleton Web Dynasty

Jake — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:14:37 +0000

I will no longer be posting to my FriendFeed account. The service rocks but with it recently being purchased by Facebook it just reminded me that I am relying on a service to archive my web content that I really have no control over. So I am going to begin using twitter and my own Wordpress implementations to archive and distribute content myself. (with a little help from twitter)

My personal web page can be found as always at www.jakestapleton.com with my personal twitter account being backed up there once a week in the form of a post.

My more opinionated content can be found at www.jakesopinion.com a more recently launched site so that JakeStapleton.com can remain for personal use and updates only. (There is also a link to the Jake’s opinion content in the sidebar of jakestapleton.com)

I also have a twitter account just for my more opinionated web content it can be found at http://twitter.com/jakesopinion this twitter account will be backed up daily in the form of a post at www.jakesopinion.com and will replace the recent “things you outta know” postings. (Really enjoyed doing them just too many time constraints) This should enable me to get more content out in a timely fashion with my busy schedule.

Many of you may think that this is just silly to do all this. However I also know that many of you read my links and articles and use them as a source of news and maybe on some rare occasions insights and I would like to keep that up. Plus with the things going on today the more informed you are the better off you will be.

I am still debating on continuing to use twitter to update my facebook status but time will tell on that one. Some much information to share and so little time to do it in.

Yes I know I really should be working on other things like stuff that actually earns me a living but I do find this relaxing. Everyone have a great week.

You can see everywhere I am on the web here.

This week in Tweets for 2009-10-26

Jake — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Good article on burnout. No mystery here this is why retreats work so well that is if you have time to retreat. http://bit.ly/33unn0 #
This weeks service is up! http://bit.ly/NCZi3 #
Off to church then probably working the rest of the day getting ready for another week on the road. #
RT @natalidelconte: This Craigslist ad is proof that you actually CAN take your love of Star Wars too far. http://twitpic.com/mqb56 #
Plenty of stuff to do today so I am off like a dirty shirt have a good one everybody. #
"Twitter Lists" just hit my account sweet! #
Going to hang out with my germ infested spousal unit and watch the DVR. If we didn't have it we would never get to watch anything together. #
if you stare at your work long enough will it complete itself? If not then why not! #
No wonder I am tired. Just did my mileage I have driven 1248 miles already this week and ended up no where with an ocean that's just wrong. #
Off to visit a customer then conference calls the rest of the day. Any more excitement and I could need medication. #
Over all not a bad day in the office. http://twitpic.com/mdmzv #
Off to this years customer appreciation event for my banks. Everyone have a good one! #
Too tired to get anything else done today heading to be will start again at 4:30 in the morning. Good Night All! #
RT @shellyroche: Updated Action Alert: FCC to Vote on Net Neutrality Thursday (1 min video) http://bit.ly/44i8H7 #tcot #tlot #tech Please RT #
Glad to be home after a 14 hour day. You know sometimes training a bank can be like running a cheese grater across your forehead. #
AIS on my way to the Elkins area again to train a customer. Everyone have a happy and safe day. #
Just rolled the company car over 50,000 in 17 months. A slower pace then last time will be time to pick a new one soon. #
AIS on my way to the Elkins area to train a customer. PS first frost of the year today, how come she always gets the garage? #

George Graham Vest – The Love of a Dog

Jake — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:26:02 +0000

I am quite sure that you all know the love that I have for Dogs and yes Cats too. (Although the relationship is completely different) I was cleaning out some old files on my PC today and found this and realized I have never posted the entire thing. So just for posterity’s sake here is the single best description of a dog that you will ever read.

George Graham Vest (1830-1904) served as U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1879 to 1903 and became one of the leading orators and debaters of his time. This delightful speech is from an earlier period in his life when he practiced law in a small Missouri town. It was given in court while representing a man who sued another for the killing of his dog. During the trial, Vest ignored the testimony, but when his turn came to present a summation to the jury, he made the following speech and won the case.

Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

George Graham Vest – c. 1855

Surgeries, Vacation, and Imaginary Banks

Jake — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:02:24 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Here we go with another marathon update . . . .(in chronological order of course)

The week after my last lengthy update on June 5th, Petey had surgery to have a tumor removed. He did pretty well with the surgery and the tumor was benign, so Jess & I were very thankful. We both felt like a couple of heels over the entire matter. The tumor was exterior and looked like a skin tag for lack of a better term. It did not look like a mole or anything dangerous so we let it go for a while until we noticed it growing and we took him in. Our outstanding vet Dr. Chevalier did the surgery and took care of our boy with her usual professional and personal skill. The rest of June went pretty much normally or at least what has qualified for normal lately. I continued traveling way more than I would have liked and Jess continued making progress on getting her teaching certificate and looking for a job.

In July my hectic travel schedule continued, Jess & I celebrated our 10th Anniversary, and Ricky & Megan got married. (So now my mother-in-law has another set of ovaries to concentrate on) The wedding was very nice and we all had a great time.

In August my travel continued most of the month, but Jess & I actually took a vacation. We slipped down to Myrtle Beach for a week and had a great time. (Plus the room at the new Hampton Inn in Myrtle Beach was free, courtesy of my hotel points. These things make my cheap heart pitter patter). While at the beach we did our usual things and I got to indulge myself a little. Jess had a few headaches while we were there so I took a boy day and went to Charleston, SC to see the USS Yorktown. It was a great day. I really enjoyed seeing the ship and going through the history that fills its hull. I did not take too many pictures while I was there. It was kind of odd but knowing the story of the ship (before I read all the signs on board), I felt a sense of reverence while walking through the ship for all those who has served and given their life on the ship. As a result, I felt more like taking it all in as opposed to snapping pictures.

USS Yorktown

The Yorktown is anchored in Charleston harbor, so I got to try something neat. I got to stitch together a panoramic shot of the Cooper River bridge you can see the shot here. While at the beach I also went para-sailing again and had my usual great time. (Even got some good storm shots from the boat.) Jess and I also had a great time at the House of Blues murder mystery night. I was one of the 4 people who figured out why and who committed the murder. Posted below are a few shots from the vacation. I just did not take too many pictures this time around.

Immediately after getting home from vacation I had to leave for Indianapolis to attend my company’s annual conference. During this time, Jess was getting her final notice on the jobs she bid for and she landed a full-time teaching position at Huntington High School. Like any good husband I took a picture of her first day of school, but she still refused to go to the bus stop for me.

That brings us to September. I, of course, traveled and Jess settled into her teaching job. She is doing really well and loves her kids, I am so happy that she found a job that uses her gift. She really was put on this earth to help those who cannot help themselves. The only thing out of the ordinary that I did in September was attend banking school in Columbus. This was a grueling (Not in a 6 o’clock news anchor kind of grueling I really mean it!) 6 day course from 8am to 8pm everyday with only breaks to eat and service nature. A large portion of the school was focused on a banking simulation. This is where you have an imaginary bank and market forces that you operate in a computer model for 6 consecutive quarters. The group elected me CEO of the bank and with their help, we grew the bank over 90 million in assets and never got in trouble with the regulators. It was really a great week and at the end I did receive a diploma and my very first press release.

OBL Banking School

The rest of September was spent working and getting the church website ready for the New Testament Challenge. During the course of getting the site ready, I decided to redesign it as well; I am really pleased with the results.

On the night of September 30th, I was staying Clarksburg and received a message from Laura about 5:30 that said Mom was being admitted to the hospital for an MRI. So I called back and Laura indicated that Mom had been in abdominal discomfort for a couple of days and she had finally decided to go to her family doctor. (See that stubborn gene I come by naturally) At about 9:30 that night I get a call that they are taking Mom into emergency surgery to do some repairs. (I guess when you get to 76 things start to wear out. Man nothing lasts any amount of time anymore.) So I packed up and headed back home to be with Laura & Mom. The surgery ended about 12:15 on October 1st (Happy Birthday Laura) Mom came through it with flying colors and was doing very well. Before Laura and I left to go home, we went back to see Mom in recovery and learned very quickly that you can indeed bark orders at your children with a tube down your throat on a ventilator.

Mom continued to remain in the hospital recovering until October 9th when she got to come home. She is doing pretty well and should be back in fighting trim at about the time she has to go back in to have all her innards put back together again around January. Overall we are really happy with her care and recovery. It has taken the wind out of her, but she is coming back strong. On most days, she could wear out a lot of people 15 to 20 years younger than herself. In fact when she was in the hospital they accused her of being 60! That, of course, made her day!

I will never forget what Mom told me one day about getting old “The day that I sit down and stop doing things (moving this, lifting that), I will just cease up and die”. Having always taken that statement to heart, I intend to remain active as long as my bones and muscles will move me.

I’m not talking about running 10 miles everyday. I’m talking about doing as much for yourself as you possibly can without asking for any help. How many people do you know that just retire, quit being active, and die within a couple of years of retirement? I have no intention of being that person.

So just to sum up: I travel way too much, Ricky & Megan got married, Jess & I took a vacation, Jess is now an official school teacher, I can indeed run an imaginary bank, Mom is alive, well, and recovering, and the Stapleton family is grateful for all the blessings we have received.

Do you feel cheated that you read everything above? I hope not. A blog post is about the journey not the destination.

Until next time, stay warm, stay safe, and stay cool (although that one can be subjective).

That’s the news and I am outta here!

This is just neat

Jake — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:54:47 +0000

My New Font

Jess’s First Day of School

Jake — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:46:02 +0000

For those of you who do not know Jess accepted a teaching job in Cabell County. She will be teaching an Autism/MI class at Huntington High School this year. So like any good husband I made her take a first day of school picture. Congratulations grumps I am very proud of you.

Jess's First Day of Teaching

Panoramic of the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC

Jake — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:09:29 +0000

This was taken from the flight deck of the USS Yorktown.

Below is a link to the photo saved off as a panoramic shot using Windows Live Photo Gallery. This is after all 6 pictures were stitched together. (Tip to anyone trying this again us a tripod to keep all your shots level)

Click on this link to see the full size picture be patient while it is loading its a large file.

Quotes

Jake — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:15:28 +0000

“It’s our earnest prayer to serve America in peace. It’s our solemn commitment to defend her in a time of war.”

Ronald Reagan 5/18/88

Just needed a little good Reagan today.

Our 10th Anniversary

Jake — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:18:27 +0000

July 24th is our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Yes it was just 10 short years ago that Jess and I were married on a dark and stormy afternoon in July. (See honey when the power went out during the wedding it wasn’t an omen) We have outlasted many TV shows, been through a couple of recessions, and survived many many things together. There have been several ups and downs, things we have not expected nor planned for but we have made it through it all.

To celebrate this momentous day (and the fact that I believe all betting pools on the length of our marriage have now expired) I will update the famous paragraph below as is tradition, post our yearly anniversary picture, and never take for granted the love that God has blessed us with.

Happy Anniversary Grumps I Love You.

So after 2 houses, 1 rental, the cars going to Graley’s Auto Body 13 times, 2 BA degrees, 1 MA degree, 6 computers, 2 beds, 3 TV’s, 9 DVD players, 11 jobs, 6 cars, 3 surgeries, 1 major wreck, taking in Petey & Phoebe, and finding a church home we’re still together so it must be love.

The first 10 years the movie . . .

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Music: Five for Fighting – 100 Years

Wooooooooooo Hooooooooooooo

Jake — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:23:07 +0000

A massively massive, hugely huge, enormously enormous congratulations to my lovely wife and walking brain box Mrs. Jessica Stapleton.

She found out early this morning that she passed the last part of her Praxis test and now can be officially certified to teach. So with a hire recommendation already in place she will begin teaching in the Cabell Country public school system this fall in her own room.

Congratulations sweets I am very proud and love you very much.

Quotes

Jake — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:49:28 +0000

Don’t take life too seriously – no one gets out alive anyway

Ms. Emily Mink, Facebook May 12th, 2009

Made this draft sometime ago and forgot to post it.

Spring, Conundrums, and the Summer to come

Jake — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:53:57 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

This is a “crap I have let the blog go stale again entry”. I must admit since I am online everyday and I communicate with most of you using Facebook and Twitter that updating the blog has become a back burner issue for me. But none the less I still have some troglodyte relatives and friends who need to be updated via the blog. So let’s see what has been going on since the last meaty entry.

I have been working and on the road quite a bit as usual. This is shaping up to be a busy travel year again so far this year; I have had 24 overnights. This pace should put me well below the 77 nights that I had last year (with any luck). Work continues to go well and I am blessed to have a job that I enjoy and a company that appreciates my work. (I am not going to say that every day is filled with roses but overall CSI is a great place to work, and my customers do seem to appreciate me) Most of March and April were very quiet more or less.

In April we had a birthday party for mom she was 206. (Ok 76)

But that was about it.

As the weather started getting nicer I started work on the outside of the house. (It’s the only thing we have left from the remodel to complete) I am already deep into my first round of freaking poison ivy for the year. That would not bother me so much if I could figure out where I was getting it in the back yard. I thought last year I had eradicated it all.

The house has been pressure washed, vents have been painted, and the brick wall has been repaired.

I took about an hour last Sunday afternoon and painted both ends of the house only to determine that the color Jess and I picked out does not work. Her mission this week is to pick out a new color and have a new gallon of paint ready for me when I get home. Besides my outdoor projects and helping out mom and Sandy on their houses it has been pretty much work and sleep for me. Jess and I are still planning a vacation/10th anniversary trip of some sort this year in August. Probably the week of my birthday.

I will have to say that 35 snuck up on me a little (According to some life expectancy charts I am getting ready to finish the first half of my life). I can say that I really do not feel old; tired sometimes but never old.

However there are some conundrums that I have observed:

I still ride the grocery cart across the lot at the grocery store. The older I get the more strange looks I receive.

I find myself going to the grocery store with a geographically organized spreadsheet grocery list and yet I am listening to P!nks new album while driving there.

I find myself telling the neighborhood kids to get out of my tree and to be quiet but I have no trouble blasting the stereo as I drive down the street.

But enough about me I could talk about myself all night and I sure you could too. How about an update on Jess?

As some of you may have heard Jess graduated in May with a perfect 4.0 in her Master’s program. (Can’t remember if I have told everyone how proud I am of her!) She continues to do well after the wreck although she is still experiencing intense sets of migraines that we are trying to get addressed. Jess continues to look for work now that she is out of school (she only has 1 more Praxis test to take). In fact she has already had an interview for a teaching position in Cabell County. But with the school system it may be August before we know if she has a position. So she continues to explore all of her options. It is my only wish that she finds a job that will use the gifts that she has been given to work with the special needs population. She can do things that I never will be able to do and she does it while helping others that cannot help themselves. To say I am proud would be an understatement.

That brings up to here (No really right here. Both in a typographical and metaphorical way.) we are at the beginning of June 2009 with a busy summer ahead of work projects, exterior house projects, a wedding, a milestone anniversary, and whatever else life throws at us. I hope this entry finds everyone doing well.

Take Care.

That’s the news and I am outta here!

My walking brain box gets her Master’s

Jake — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:00:55 +0000

As some of you may have heard Jess Graduated on Saturday with her Masters of Arts in Special Education with an Autism emphasis. She graduated Summa Cum Laude which is a fancy way of saying 4.0 GPA.

To say that I am proud of her would be an understatement. She completed the bulk of this degree while working full time and in the last few semesters recovering from the wreck and an unplanned surgery. At no point during this degree did she even get a B!

I am very proud of you sweets and love you even more.

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In an effort to offset some of the student loan expense DVD’s and Prints will be available in the gift shop for the rock bottom price of $199.95.

Autographed copies are just $299.95.

Thank You Bob

Jake — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:51:59 +0000

I suddenly find myself setting in my Ohio hotel room having just got in from working and unable to attend Mr. Tweel’s visitation struck with a loss for words. So many moving messages have been written about him in the past few weeks that I think "what possibly could I have to add?" Then I find myself thinking only two words over and over.

"Thank You"

Thank You Mr. Tweel for being a mentor to me and so many hundreds of students over your teaching career.

Thank You for being the "fun" teacher but also for jerking a knot in my tail when needed.

Thank You for providing an atmosphere of comradery and trust that fostered so many friendships that still exist today.

Thank You for your patriotism and love of this country that poured out of you and rubbed off on your students.

Thank You for being refreshingly honest no matter who was around to hear it.

Thank You for taking us on bands trips during your "week off" every spring.

Thank You for the support and kindness you showed my family when we lost my father.

Thank You for not pressing charges or otherwise harming me & an unnamed accomplice when you found out about that whole joy riding in your Blazer thing. (Although you were more than slightly irritated I would have to say.)

Thank You for pushing me to do better no matter what I was attempting.

Thank You for being there all those years ago.

Even though it has been 17 years since I left your Band Room and many days I feel like I have lived another life since then. Those years will hold some of the fondest, warmest, and meaningful memories that I will always cherish

Bob when I think of you I cannot picture you any other way than with that mischievous smile that often graced your face and I am sure that’s the way you will look when I see you again someday.

Very Proud Of My 4.0 Wife

Jake — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:21:16 +0000

It is my pleasure to present to you my summa cum laude wife Mrs. Jessica R. Stapleton.

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Team Hoyt

Jake — Sun, 03 May 2009 13:18:41 +0000

I have seen their story before but this video is just moving. Some days I feel drained like I can not do anything else; but this is only because I am trying to rely on myself and those around me. Once again “I suck at giving things to the lord”. However this father gives all that he has to his son, image what we could do if we gave this much effort in everything we do for each other and for the Lord.

http://www.teamhoyt.com/

If you ever wondered . . .

Jake — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:14:59 +0000

If you ever wondered what it would look like if some moron gave me a recording contract; you can check out the video below.

A little Martha Stewart “Nerd Style”

Jake — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:34:58 +0000

As some of you may know I have a affection for footlockers. They are good not only for storage but they also make great coffee tables in non-formal areas. When I rearranged the office with the purchase of my new desk I repurposed my current family room coffee table (I mean foot locker).

What started out as a simple idea became a great way to hide wires and other devices.

(I do miss seeing my blinking lights however)

As you can see the foot locker easily holds a router, DSL modem, VOIP adapter, external hard drive, and USB hub.

Then when you close it all up it becomes a handy printer stand for your home office.

This is all made possible by the fact that before carpet was laid I drilled 3 very large holes in the floor for routing wires. All I have to do is pop up the drop ceiling downstairs and I have a fairly free reign to run wiring where I would like. I will not go completely wireless until the “N” products come down in price a little. Plus there are several things that will always have to be wired because of work laptop and VPN.

This concludes my handy somewhat feminine tip for the day now off to the appletini’s. (I mean beer yeah that’s right beer, oh and watch a sports something too.)

Nana moves, my brain box, and Jake’s nerd relaxing

Jake — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:21:17 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

It has been a slow winter and spring for blogable happenings so this will be another short entry just to catch everyone up. (I could spend a bunch of time blogging about work but that would bore everyone and get me fired.)

Since my last entry we moved Nana up to Sandy’s house. Ricky, Jess, Sandy & I moved Nana on the February 21st into her newly completed Dungeon.

The only thing we need to get done in her room is install the closet door. Just have not had the time to get over there to do it. Besides that the dungeon is nicely fished out including two of Sandy’s flying monkeys standing guard on the other side of that door.

Jess has continued to do well since her surgery. She completed all her incomplete work from her Gall Bladder adventure and earned another A. If she pulls off another 4.0 semester this time she will have a perfect 4.0 average for her entire Masters program. (No pressure sweetheart) My walking brain box also aced the first part of her Praxis exam with minimal effort, she will take the second section later this month. Jess has also applied and been approved for graduation in the May. (Please no gifts unless they are $1000 or over) She will graduate with a MA in Special Education with an Autism emphasis, and also be considered “highly qualified” per no child left behind. We are currently exploring several avenues of employment for her including full time teaching.

In other Jessica news she has been released from her therapy and pain management regimen from the wreck. She is getting along very well and is managing on Advil only as needed. Her “pin-prick” migraine headaches from the wreck are still with us (they seem to come and go in sets) but not at the frequency that she has been dealing with for the past year.

In Jake news not much has been going on besides working a whole lot. The disaster put me behind on several things. That in addition to working very intensely with one of my customers (in the middle of no where) lately has left me pretty pooped out. My only major home project lately has been to send Comcast packing again. I signed up for their Cable internet service (we are a Direct TV family) because I needed the extra speed for work. The service then proceeded to go down 7 times in 60 days one time for 30 hours!

This is not just and ISP service this is my livelihood. I work out of a home office and my phone is VOIP so when I loose my internet I loose everything. I had Verizon DSL for 19 months and they never went down; it was slow but never went down. This is addition to at night when my cable node was full of users it actually got slower than my DSL. So I called Verizon and got my service back for $15 less a month then I was paying before I left so it did work out. I heard from an undisclosed secure source that FIOS may be coming to Huntington this year. Believe me if it would help I would string the Fiber to the house myself to get this service. We will just have to see what happens.

To relax in my free time I have been making frequent updates to Opinions by Jake (it really is cheaper than therapy) and I also have been making my own Video on Demand system. I have been taking all my DVD’s and converting them to an MP4 format and cataloging them in iTunes. That way when Jess buys me my Apple TV (hint number #573 honey) it will just all flow to what ever TV I wish in the house. This also has the added benefit of me being able to take several seasons of television and many many movies with me on the road on my work laptop with nothing else to carry. I know this is geeky but it really is relaxing to me.

That wraps up this short update from the Stapleton Mansion. Good Night and God Bless.

PS: Forgot to mention Jess killed her 8th DVD player in March. Believe me finding a 9th victim for the serial killer was no easy task.

Quotes

Jake — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:26:51 +0000

“Never Give In”

“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Sir Winston Churchill – Harrow School, 29 October 1941.

Why? Just because I needed some good Churchill today . . .

Dungeons, Disasters, & Valentines Day

Jake — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:48:40 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Just a quick catch up entry. Not too many things have been going on at the Stapleton HQ. On January 15th Jess’s Dad & I began construction on the Nana Dungeon. Jess’s grandmother Nana had decided to move in with Jess’s mom several months ago, but it was only now we could start construction on her room. We took a part of Sandy’s unfinished basement and converted it into a bedroom/dungeon for the Nana. Moving takes place next weekend.

On January 27th my company located in Paducah, KY was involved in an Ice Storm Disaster. This required us to implement our complete disaster recovery plan and move to our alternate processing site. For those of you familiar with banking, you know that this is big crap. From 01-27 to 02-10 I worked somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 hours. Needless to say, I was exhausted both mentally and physically. Jess can now attest that she heard my cell phone ring so much that she now hears it in her sleep. I used 2544 minutes of cell time during the disaster and for some reason the side of my head glows in the dark.

This is a picture just outside of our corporate HQ.

Look at that ice. Now imagine what it did to all the data and electric lines in the states that it went through. This storm went from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania but Paducah was considered the “epicenter”. It cut power to over 1.3 million. Some of the people I work with went up to 2 1/2 weeks without power. I may have had it bad but at least I had a warm home to be in and my after work life was fairly normal. The damage from this storm will take months to repair.

My work life began to return to normal somewhere around February 11th. I am now setting ready to embark of about 6 weeks of constant travel. Some long day trips and a lot of overnights. No rest for the weary.

On Saturday the 14th Jess & I spent our 12th Valentines Day together. Just to prove we still have that old spark we went to Wal-Mart to grocery shop then came home and watched some DVR & DVD. (see honey those young couples have nothing over on us) I will have to say that in addition to her flowers.

I did pick up the best Valentines Day card every for her.

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Announcing Opinions by Jake

Jake — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:05:42 +0000

Picture it Huntington, WV April 30th, 2006 I revive jakestapleton.com as a web page. The purpose was to keep family up to date on all that is going on at the Stapleton Mansion. This was a little bit after I took my job at CSI and became busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest. Jakestapleton.com was always meant to be the mass communication portal of the Stapleton family. However as time passed by and the webpage evolved it become a platform for me to express my opinions while still being the family website. After a certain period of time and a few complaints I decided that the family website was not the proper venue for my political rants and thoughts, my views on current world events, or the proper place to blow off steam. That brings us up to today January 18th, 2009 and the launch of my second blog "Opinions by Jake". (My other name choice was "frick on a stick" but Opinions by Jake won out in the final vote tally. You see unlike a democrat I do not keep on counting ballots until I win.) You see I have expressed an opinion already.

Opinions by Jake will consist of two major components.

Blogs posts on certain topics that I would like to discuss in depth from time to time.
Commentary by Jake located on the right hand side of the blog. (This area contains both a link and content snippets.) This content will be updated the most frequently. I generate this content using a bookmarklet and publish it via friendfeed as I review articles from various sources throughout the day as I browse the web.

I hope you all will enjoy Opinions by Jake and that you find it educational and informative. Now that jakestapleton.com is being returned to a fully fledged family website and Opinions by Jake has been launched you can now choose your content from me "The Jake Stapleton".

Good Night and God Bless

Missing an Organ, Christmas, and another 4.0

Jake — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:04:47 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

It time for another update from the Stapleton Mansion. (While proofreading this paragraph Jess just read the prior sentence in a very ethnic fashion. She has been assigned sensitivity training to be completed before the weeks end.)

Since my last update Jess had her surgery on December 15th and overall it went very well. Her Gall Bladder is out and she has healed up nicely. The only problem is it appears that the Gall Bladder removal has flared up symptoms from another problem that she has so her relief has been very little. We are going to a specialist tomorrow to see what we can do for her. (However I did finally get my cheese fries though so things are looking up!)

Jess continued to recover as I worked the next week and a half preparing for vacation. Christmas went pretty well this year but by the time I got to it I was exhausted.

Christmas 2008 Pictures

Then came new years Jess & I have never been so happy to see a year leave in our lives. 2008 has been a hell of a year to say the least between the wreck, Jess’s recovery, the loss of income, and my 77 nights on the road. We received a beat down in 2008.

Good bye 2008, we are still standing and you are leaving who got the beat down now? But I digress and I apparently need to work on my trash talk as well. That sounded like I should be drinking an appletini.

On January 5th I returned to work slightly rested but that did not last too long. This is the year we are going to Hawaii for our 10th Anniversary and we could really use and are looking forward to the break. I have so many airline miles and hotel points the trip should be free more or less.

Marshall started back on the 12th since then Jess has completed all her observations for her incomplete and just has to prepare the write ups. She also has begun her last 2 classes for her Masters. So come May of this year she will have her Masters in Special Education and another diploma for the wall. So far my walking brain box has maintained a perfect 4.0 (including last semester) during her entire Masters program that is very impressive and further proves that I am rubbing off on her.

That is pretty much all that has been going on with the exception of the construction of the Nana Dungeon; that will be documented in my next entry.

So until next time boys and girls don’t talk to strangers, don’t believe that more government is the answer to any problem, and always remember that tomorrow is what you make out of it.

How many times do we miss the Hand of God?

Jake — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:15:55 +0000

I wrote this the day of Jess’s surgery and saved it as a draft when she started having problems that night. While working on the website today I found it. Some of the information is old and now inaccurate but the meaning and context is clear. Enjoy

Jess’s surgery today went pretty well. Her only complication was that some of the Gallstones escaped into the Bile Duct to elude capture. We believe that they will pass without incident but I will be keeping a close eye out for problems. Overall she is doing very well, but the soreness has just begun to set in. Most importantly she is now resting comfortably for the night.

I would like to take this time to thank you all for your Prayers and thoughts during this time and throughout this year. My girl has had a rough 11 months, but every time she keeps getting knocked over she gets back up again. I won’t lie and say that this year has been a cake walk. To be honest it has probably been our roughest since we have been married. Jess’s injuries, my heavy travel year, loss of a second income with no prior planning, etc etc have made this year challenging at best. We feel like we have been piled on all year then came the Gall Bladder. Yet when we take stock we see that we are so very blessed.

Do you what the best parts of the last year were? It was when we got to our whit’s end and laid things in the Hand of God. Jess and I are about as OCD as you can be without a diagnosis. We want to do things our way because we know they are always right. It is very difficult for a couple like us individually or together to give things up to the Lord; it is a constant struggle.

However something struck me today about her surgery. It was a far different from our experience 5 1/2 years ago. Jess described herself as eerily calm and not worried and she wasn’t, I was equally calm as well. (Sure a Cholecystectomy is a pretty common surgery but you are still coming back with less parts then you went in the room with.) Was it because she was in so much pain she was ready for it to be over, was it because we are both a little older? I would have to say that it was neither.

It was the fact that we placed her in the Hand of God without really knowing it. Sure we prayed together this morning. Pastor Greg even came down and visited with us early this morning and said a prayer for us. But to be honest do you know when we both realized why we were at peace? If was when one of the Nurses came into the room to check on Jess. The nurse just happened to be one of our choir directors at church and when we were telling how Jess felt and how the surgery went she just simply replied

“That is the Hand of God over you”.

The Hand of God is always over you, you just have to surrender so that you can recognize it.

Let’s Be Worthy of Their Sacrifice (Repost from WSJ)

Jake — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:11:15 +0000

If you follow my friendfeed you can tell I spent a lot of this morning catching up on about 200 Wall Street Journal op-ed pieces and entering my own comments and commentary. Towards the end of my stack I came across an op-ed piece by Carl Rove. Now before you take a look at the name and refuse to read it I ask you to please take a look at this non-partisan piece. It is all about giving thanks and be thankful for our troops, something that I hope we can all do regardless of our political views. The quote below from Rove says it all

When I did, I felt awe that such men and women exist, and gratitude that they put themselves in harm’s way for our nation. I hope America continues to be worthy of such staggering service and sacrifice.

May the New Year bring safety to all who wear our country’s uniform, success in the missions they so passionately believe in, peace and comfort to their families, and reunion with all whom they love.

Please take time to read the full piece the courage and self sacrifice of the men and women of the armed forces should be on our minds everyday as we exercise the freedom that they guarantee.

Link to the full article.

Merry Christmas From the Stapletons

Jake — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:14:29 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

With everything going on this month it appears that my domestic engineer failed to send out any Christmas Cards. (She had some surgery excuse or something like that.)

That being said we would like to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and thank you for the prayers and support that you have sent our way. Although this has been a turbulent year we never fail to ultimately appreciate the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us. As you go forth to celebrate Christmas today and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ may safety, love, and peace be your company.

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Elections, Medical Incidents, & Blessings

Jake — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:27:23 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well I guess you could say that I have let the blog go stale a little bit but I don’t see it that way. It may be stale if you do not keep up with my on Twitter, Facebook, or Friendfeed but I do post everyday. In fact the people that follow me online probably know what is going on with me more than anyone else. So I come back here to occasionally update everyone in long form. That way all my Troglodyte acquaintances can still keep up.

Since my last post these United States went through a general election. I have to congratulate President Elect Barrack Obama on his historic election even though his policies will lead this country into the fiery pit of hell. But seriously how cool is it that just 40 years after black people were being hosed in the streets and not allowed to vote that a black man is now President of the United States and the most powerful man in the world. (Please notice that I used black not African American. I do not care where you are from. You are either an American or you are not no descriptive adjectives please. I can find nothing in the dictionary that indicates that black is a negative term so I use it. ) It either shows that there is a ton of white guilt around or we have come a long way as a country. I just hope John McCain realizes that out of his 54 million votes that 53.5 Million of those votes were for Sarah Palin or against Obama and not for him. That’s it no more politics in this post I am working on a another channel to deliver my rants I will update you all later on what that will be.

After stopping my preparations for HaraKiri I carried on with the rest of my election week. The second week of November I was mostly tied up with staff meetings in Indianapolis. I really like Indianapolis the downtown reminds me of clean and smaller scale New York. If you ever get to stay in downtown Indianapolis and you have the means may I recommend staying the the Crowne Plaza. It is a really neat hotel and convention center built into the old Union Station. The third week of November I stayed in Marietta, OH all week to work with a local customer. It was a 3 person conversion job that I did by myself, these are beginning to take it out of me. I came home that Friday evening 21st to Jess not feeling well and in a lot pain.

After a protracted battle she finally agreed to go down to HIMG Now Care to be examined. She had been sick we just thought she had the nasty stomach bug going around. She was dehydrated so they had a time with needle sticks for blood work. Now Care took some blood and X-Rays they determined that her Liver Enzymes were 3 times normal levels and did not like the X-Ray. So they sent us to the ER for a CT Scan and further evaluation. After about 7 hours in the St. Mary’s ER they did a CT scan and determined that there was nothing wrong and sent us home. We returned home about 2 AM on the 22nd and went to bed. About 9 AM when the pain and nausea meds wore off Jess began violently throwing up bile. She was a trooper and a model of stubbornness and held out until about 4 PM then we went back to the ER. It is amazing how fast you get moved through the line when you were just there 14 hours ago and are throwing up on the reception people.

This time at the ER we got some action and they did an ultrasound and Jess and I found out we were the proud parents of Gallstones. So after discovering what was wrong the ER sent us home with pain and nausea meds to follow up with our family doctor then a surgeon. Well this takes us into Thanksgiving week. I had to go to a bank Monday the 24th there was no choice in the matter. The bank could not do business without me there due to new products I was implementing. So I reluctantly left Jess and Sandy was nice enough to come over and take her to the Family Doc. We got a referral to a surgeon the quickest we could get into see him was on December 2nd. This was another week of waiting and Jess’s symptoms were not subsiding at all.

This takes us to December 2nd we got into see Dr. Robarts and the quickest he can do the surgery is December 15th. Since Jess ’s blood work continues to come back ok and her pain can be controlled she is not considered and emergency case. Unfortunately controlling her symptoms means that we are giving her enough medication to knock her out. This has several effects, she had to take an incomplete in her student teaching class and I had 2 weeks of 300+ mile daily commutes so that I could be with her in the evening. I had originally planned to stay out of town during this time. This of course made my butt drag even closer to the ground then it already was.

This brings us to December the 4th (Ricky’s Birthday). I left that afternoon with Mom to travel to the Cleveland Clinic to be with Willie and Sharon for Willie’s surgery. Through a series of unrelated tests Willie discovered that he had a small tumor on his Kidney. He evaluated his options and decided to have the tumor removed at the Cleveland Clinic because it could be done laparoscopically. On the way to Cleveland I received the sad news that Jess’s Grandfather had passed away at 8:05 PM. I kept in touch with home while Mom & I completed the trip. Once in Cleveland we met up with Willie and Sharon and we learned that we had to be at the hospital at 6 AM for the surgery, so I got to bed about 12:30 on the 5th.

Mom & I got up and went over to the hospital with Willie and Sharon at 6 AM, Nancy made it up about noon on Friday. About 2:30 we received word that Willie is out of surgery and that it went very well. After getting to see Willie in recovery I left everyone so that I could travel bank to Huntington. So about 18 hours after arriving I headed back down I-77 towards home to be Jess and her family on Saturday for the Funeral.

Saturday morning came way too early but there were things to do. So I got up and took Phoebe and Petey to the shot clinic at 10 AM that saved us $100 on their annual shots. I came back to the house and picked up Jess and we proceeded to the funeral home. During this time an ice and snow storm began in Huntington and everything became white and covered with ice. Jess was very upset about her Grandfather so I was glad I could be there for her. I was also very honored when asked to be a pall bearer. At the conclusion of the funeral services and interment we spent the rest of the evening with Family.

About 11 PM Jess began to have a substantial amount of paid in her back from the gallstones. Finally about 1 AM I convinced her to go back to the ER. After being there 2 of the last 3 weekends and not mention we came out in the middle of an ice storm we had no trouble going up to the window and just telling the people we were drug seeking. So they did another round of blood work it still looked good no emergency surgery we still have to wait another week. So basically I get Jess all drugged up and we get home about 4 AM.

So at the end of this 4 paragraph 60 hour time frame I had driven 700 miles to Cleveland and back. Spent 12 hours in the Cleveland Clinic, 3 hours in the St. Mary’s ER, attended a funeral, comforted family, took 2 unhappy pets to the vet by myself, and solved this whole dependency on foreign oil thing. My butt was dragging I forwarded every phone we have to voice mail and went to bed. (See if you followed my twitter feed you would know all this already.)

This brings us to this last week. Things went pretty normally for around here I had a couple of day trips, Jess was drugged but comfortable, & I am up to my ears in work. (Poor Jess since her Gallstones were discovered she has only really had 2 good days.) Jess is looking forward to her surgery on Monday and this Gallstone adventure being over. Then all we have left to deal with are the holidays, which will be an adjustment for the family with the loss of Jess’s grandfather. If anyone has any doubt about the love I have for my wife know this: The last time I had cheese fries was on November 15th. This is love baby!

Depending on how well you know me this entry may come off like complaining or you may know me so well that this entry is just as anal as I am. However I am thankful for all the offers of support and comfort during this time, to Sandy for helping out with Jess when I had to leave to work, and to God for watching over my family and covering us with his never ending love and grace.

However we have been truly blessed during this time. Paw Paw got to come home for Thanksgiving and everyone got to see him. Willie’s post op came back with a clean bill of health he lost only a small portion of one kidney. After he recovers he should be good as new for a soon to be 49 year old. However he is starting to look like an aging Wookie with his shirt off (something else for me to look forward to). Jess although she has been in a lot of pain should be on the mend in the next week. We have to be at the hospital at 6AM on Monday with a surgery time of at or about 8 AM.

Well that’s about it from the Stapleton Mansion. That’s the news and I am outta here!

Come On Really?

Jake — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:11:28 +0000

This was just too good not to post. On the way to the funeral yesterday the somber mood in the car was broken by me starting to chuckle about the car in front of us.

I completely understand why you may want to purchase an electric hybrid Toyota Prius to prove your tree hugger street cred. But isn’t taking a tree for a ride a bit much?

My Favorite Thanksgiving Story

Jake — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:24:50 +0000

It has it all drama, capitalism, but most of all a Thank You to GOD.

Jake’s Favorite Thanksgiving Story

Quotes

Jake — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:12:44 +0000

Father, I ask that You will help me understand that Jesus is in the hurts, in the disappointments, in the disasters, that He is leading me on. Setting me free from that which is shackling me; all my “self-sufficiency” and “self-reliance,” all my desire to be exalted, to be made much of.

Ray Stedman

The post about nothing (worked for a TV show)

Jake — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:13:25 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

I hope this post finds you and yours doing well. I have not done a proper update in a while so here’s a little something to get everyone up to date.

As some of you may know this Bail Out and government intervention in our Banking systems has honked me off quite a bit. I am not over it but this is all you will hear about it in this post. There really has not been too much going on lately besides work.

Jess is continuing her student teaching at Cabell Midland in the Autism room to rave reviews. Not only does she have a heart for this but she is outstanding at it! I am really proud of her for this, she does something daily that I don’t think that I could. Or as I like to say it she spends her days helping those who can not help themselves. Her thesis process continues to move along. This is a two semester process and has been stressing her out; she has never done this type of research. The girl just needs to realize that she is a walking brain box and she will do well at whatever she puts her mind towards.

That being said; at this point after 9 years of marriage I have just decided she does not want to learn how to cook. She can do most everything else, but I digress. We are continuing to see her pain management doctor and she is still receiving therapy twice a week. Overall she is doing pretty well considering. It is just hard because at this point her recovery is no longer advancing by feet we are down to very slow moving inches. It may be two years before we figure out what normal will be for her. Her daily activities are not being affected to badly but I think most of that is because she has learned to adjust for things.

She has been off of work since January 14th so needless to say things are tight but we are managing. We have been blessed and the Lord has provided for us during this time, there is just no other way to put it. On the legal front I am sure it will be forever before any kind of claim is finalized. AVIS is self insured so they are not in a hurry to do anything. It’s nice to know that you can be at no fault in an accident, have you life stopped, your life savings drained, and left to hang out in the wind for 9 months with little or no advancement towards a resolution.

One the Jake front things have just been busy but what else is new. My marathon travel days seem to be over for the next little bit. I think I still might have 4 more weeks on the road left for the year but that is dependent on some projects. Since the last post I spent a week on day trips and a week in Beckley. I also took a weeks vacation and finished the house. I thought that since we will be here for 2 years on October 30th I was running out of excuses for primer colored doors.

Like all projects it took quite a bit longer than anticipated to finish. The 10 doors alone took 60 coats of paint. I patched my first hole in drywall that took a 10 inch knife to float. (For those of you that understand that you know it was cool.) My 45 item punch list on the house that I made about 18 months ago was completed as well. I have since found a couple of touch up spots I need to handle this weekend and I need to finish a few amenities in the bathroom downstairs. But it is my plan to use the shower downstairs for the first time today. (Someone has to see if it is going to leak.) There will be a movie released at sometime in the future on the website for your consumption. I have a lot of ideas to make the movie fun so it may take a little bit of time.

We are also working on reconfiguring the house a little. I am a little cramped at home for a home office so Jess was kind enough to move her desk out to a corner in the living room. I am still going back and forth on either a 2 desk system for the office one for work and one for personal use. Or some kind of monster L shaped desk that will meet both needs. Either way Jess had to move out of the office to make it happen. Overall she was pretty accommodating of this. My dream would be to have a home office one day that could be it’s own room but the house is not big enough to do this in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Well I think that is about it for now. There may be some election rants coming on the blog in the coming weeks but you can ignore them if you would like. I would just like to ask that not matter who you vote for that you exercise you civic duty to vote this year.

That’s the news and I am outta here!

Look a politician that can take a joke and poke fun at themselves.

Jake — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:37:54 +0000

I think this shows pretty conclusively that Sarah Palin can take a joke.Â The only thing I can say is "Man I hope she has the opportunity to run for President herself someday".

Important housing announcement!

Jake — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:06:39 +0000

It is my pleasure to announce that as of 03:00 hours EST (07:00 Zulu) on 19th October 2008 that the Stapleton Mansion Remodel Phase 1 is complete! After a mere 26 months of work, planning, and putting things off phase one is done. Phase 1 is defined as the original vision that we had for the house when it was purchased it in August of 2006.

I would liked to take this time to thank the cast of thousands that assisted on the project.

All in all I could have found a better way to spend my vacation but I do have some joy in that nothing in the house is the color of primer anymore. I am currently working on a movie about the remodel and will post it later.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless.

Another great reason to love John Wayne.

Jake — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:53:27 +0000

Where are the people today that feel this way? Where are the people that should be thanking God everyday that they were born into this the greatest nation on Earth! Where are the people who are not only thinking of themselves?

I am sure there are still plenty of people out there who feel the way I do about this great nation. It is time for us to step up, be more vocal, and to take back our country! You can do this by exercising your right to vote this November. We need to get back to the 3 C’s in this country.

Capitalism, Conservatism, and the Christian Principles this nation was founded upon.

Quotes

Jake — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:52:59 +0000

There is no security on this earth, only opportunity.

General Douglas MacArthur

What a great quote!

This applies to so many things my love of capitalism, my belief in American Exceptionalism, but most importantly my belief in God and the fact that he is the only security that anyone can ever have.

Science will fail you, people will fail you, but God is without fail.

Long week on the road

Jake — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:33:08 +0000

Well tonight I ate at a fine establishment in Wooster, OH.

I am considering filing suit for copyright infringement.

This weeks project started out with me driving up on Sunday night to do 6 days worth of work in 4. However we encountered a few issues so it is taking a little bit longer than planned. So I am going back to the bank for about a 1/2 day on Friday then heading home.

I looking forward to seeing Jess, Petey, & Phoebe. Tonight marks my 63rd night in a hotel this year and needless to say I am ready to go home. When you divide that out by working days I have been gone for 13 weeks this year. Along with Jess being in the wreck and everything else going on it has been a strain on all levels.

Due to banking regulations I have to take off 5 consecutive days at least once a year and I am running out of time. I was going to try to save some vacation when I could actually go on a trip and have some fun but it does not appear that will happen this year. So I will probably just end up taking off a week to work on the house; there is still plenty to do there.

That’s about it for me, I am off to bed good night all.

An engagement, new family, and no Dr. Evil Chair

Jake — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:36:58 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well a lot has happened since my last lengthy update

An engagement
1st day of school
A new little 2nd cousin
Coat Ceremony
Our financial system went to hell and our elected leaders try socialism.

Here we go with another excursion into blog excellence (copyright Rush Limbaugh)

On August 23rd my brother from another mother Ricky became engaged to his girlfriend Megan Kitts. We are very happy for them and Jess & I are honored to have been asked to participate in the wedding. They are currently planning a July 2009 wedding at an undisclosed secure location.

It is not too often that I feel old when talking about technology, but in the same sentence Megan said “we’re engaged” and “can we change out status on Facebook now?” I have of course heard of Facebook but was not a member so I thought I would check it out. Jess and I signed up for Facebook accounts and found out we had to get remarried online. A little strange to say the least. Currently she has more friends than me but that could just be because people bug me anymore. Facebook has been pretty fun and I have reconnected with a few people. The really neat thing is everything from my blog and friendfeed automatically update on Facebook so I still only have to do updates in one place. In a further attempt to prove that she is the more popular spouse Jess joined MySpace as well.

On September 3rd Jess had her first day of school. She began her practicum in the Autism room at Cabell Midland High School. Jess is really enjoying working with the students and learning this facet the Autism field. Up to this time she has been working on the administrative end of things so the daily interaction is new for her. She is doing great and enjoying her time in the classroom. All in all she is managing pretty well with all the new activity and mobility. She is still under treatment for the wreck but she is doing very well. I am very proud of her, for all the pain she has been in for the last 41 weeks she is still a trooper. Trying hard everyday to get back to doing what she wants to do.

On September 9th we had a new second cousin appear in the world. My cousin Carrie and her husband Jeremy welcomed their son Jayse Casto into the world. He weighed 7 lbs and 5 ozs and was 21.5 inches long. Although I have to assume he has grown a little bit since then. Mom & Baby did well, just a little infection and blood pressure things to deal with. I will post some high res pictures when we get some, but for now you can just follow the link to my blog post. This whole thing of people having babies that were not alive when I was born is still new to me; I guess I’ll get used to it.

On September 13th Jess & I went to Morgantown to attend Ricky’s White Coat Ceremony. Which marks the begging of his full time clinical experience. This means that we are ever closer to free dental care. Oh, and we are proud of him too!

Since Jess and I have not been out of town since last August, we decided to make a short weekend trip out of the event. So when we were finished in Morgantown, I burned some hotel points and we went to Pittsburgh for the night; Laura was nice enough to stay with Petey and Phoebe. While in Pittsburgh, Jess and I did one of our favorite things and went to IKEA. We picked up some odds and ends and tried to buy me a new desk, but I would need a van to get it home. So the great desk search continues.

While we were there I fell in love with a Dr. Evil chair and under no circumstances could I talk my wife into buying it. No matter how many times I said “image how cool Phoebe and I will look in the chair” it was to no avail. Alas all I have is a picture.

That picture was taken with my new Cannon Power Shot A590IS camera. I did some side work and decided to use some of the proceeds to buy a new digital camera. Ours was very much in need of replacement. Just take a look at some of the shots.

Look at the detail on Petey

The video mode on it is great too.

As for me, I have been driving and working night and day. I am buried by projects right now. Hopefully I will get a reprieve soon, but I am not going to hold my breath. You see my summer was already “fully booked”, then I had 7 additional weeks of travel thrown on me. To be able to accommodate all this I have just been basically able to “maintain” my own customer base. I have not been able to work in my normal proactive style for several weeks now and I feel like I have been thrown under a bus.

You see, if I had my Dr. Evil chair I would be giving the orders.

Well that’s about all the news from the Stapleton Lair. This (in addition to my interim posts) should bring everyone up to date.

That’s the news and I am outta here!

Final Full Length Bond Trailer is Up!

Jake — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:29:42 +0000

Link Is Here

Ok now I am really excited. This is not a bad way to end a day.

Welcoming a New Little One to the World

Jake — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:28:51 +0000

Jayse Casto was born this evening at 6:45 PM mother and son are doing fine no word on the dad yet. (Little Humor)

Congratulations Jeremy & Carrie!

You have indeed been blessed this day.

UPDATED 09-15-08: Here’s the little guy. He is out of the hospital now and Carrie is currently being treated to regulate her blood pressure. But all in all Mom, Dad, & Little Jayse are doing pretty well.

Quotes

Jake — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:02:52 +0000

This is the “Sailors Prayer” I had never heard it before this morning. I discovered it while I was on the treadmill this morning watching an episode of Hero Ships I recorded from the History International channel.

Lord thy ocean is so large and thy boat is so small. Lord please have mercy on my soul.

Apologies

Jake — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:13:50 +0000

Sorry to everyone on the email notice list. I neglected to turn the email notice feature off while I was troubleshooting the blog. It appears that my shameless self promotion posting on 09-01 made the site not work with Internet Explorer and since 42% of my users use IE that was a problem. (Yes I really have that statistic, I can also tell you that 33% of you access the site using a cable modem, that I have 77 unique visitors, and that currently people in 5 countries read my blog and that is just some of the information but I digress )

So sorry for all the email tonight but the video does now work with all the major browsers at this time.

Enjoy

Re-posted Shameless Self Promotion Entry

Shameless Self Promotion

Well that’s all this is but I am just proud & excited about the intro that I
built for the church’s website videos. It’s the first time that I have
tried something like this, sure I edit video to chop it up for time but this is
my first time blending several elements into one. I am thinking about starting a new ministry “Nerds for the Lord”. I think its catchy.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Jess’s First Day of School

Jake — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:48:49 +0000

Today was the first day of Jess’s Autism practicum at Cabell Midland High School. In Celebration of Jess’s return to daily activity (or you might as well call it work for all she will be doing this semester) and it being her first day of school I wanted to document the event. After lengthy negotiations and determining that she was unwilling to let me take the picture at the bus stop I settled for the downstairs foyer.

Pain wise Jess did very well today better than I ever could have hoped. She will be at Midland 3 days a week this semester. She also scheduled a second interview for her dream job that will take place on the 11th. (Please direct all prayer traffic accordingly)

Good Luck Grumps on all you are setting out to do over the next 8 months. Compared to what you have endured over the past 8 months this should be a piece of cake I am very very proud of you!

Irrefutable Logic

Jake — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:15:15 +0000

I felt there was no choice but to share this entry from my "2008 Bad Drivers Daily Calendar".

I find the logic and reasoning to be absolutely sound and without fault.

Quotes

Jake — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:10:08 +0000

Hope is all you have when you have no faith.

Hope is what you have when you deliberately turn away from your faith and try to do things on your own.

Hope is what you have when you have not given enough over to the Lord.

Jake Stapleton

Bible School This Morning

Context: We were having a conversation about the difference between Hope and Faith. This came to mind and I shared with the group.

Congratulations to Ricky & Megan!

Jake — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:13:10 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

Jess & I had the proud pleasure of being informed at lunch today that Ricky & his Girlfriend Megan are engaged!

We wish them the best and could not be any happier! The date has been set for July 25, 2009.

I apologize for the quality of the photos they are from my Blackberry.

Work, Birthdays, and a PC upgrade for the Lord

Jake — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:29:55 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I hope that this entry finds everyone doing very well. July and the first part of August have been very busy here at Stapleton HQ. The first part of July I took one of my banks through a major conversion. All in all it went pretty well but took about 2 weeks out of the month. The third week of July I was working with a customer in the Cleveland area. The fourth week of the month I was home but had to make day trips all week to catch up on my customer call’s. Then for the fifth week of July I was back in the Cleveland area and logged my 53rd night in a hotel room this year.

August started out with a bang because I did another major conversion for one of my banks. This conversion had its fair share of challenges, I am still trying to get things working to my liking. The hardest part about the conversion was the 13 hours days, it was about a 4+ hour a day commute to the bank then a full workday. Then you add the work that needed to be done when I got home and not much sleep has been had lately. I even worked about 8 hours on my birthday Sunday there just really was no choice. During the conversion there was no place to stay in a hotel that was not 40 minutes from the house so I just came home.

Also during this time frame Jess and I had our 9th wedding anniversary, Jess’s surprise birthday party, and both of our birthdays. No wonder I am tired. I have been working a lot lately and I am getting run down, but at least for one special project there is either an end in sight or a herd of elephants coming to run me down. So if you think all that Jake has been doing this summer is working and keeping up with things at home you would be right. I am ripe for a vacation that is nowhere in sight. Jess still can’t do much more than a few hours in a car and money is tight so there are no vacation plans in the works right now. We may try to get away for a long weekend soon but I don’t know when.

Jess has had a busy month finishing up Summer School. She had another 4.0 semester to add to her collection, so I could not be more pleased! Her dream job still has not been filled and they are going to call people back in for a second set of interviews. We made the decision in July that since nothing concrete has come through on the job front that she will just student teach this fall. That way maybe she can look for work starting in January, there is no point to start a job just to quit in January to student teach. We have come this far towards her MA we are not going to stop 12 hours short.

Jess continues to receive therapy twice a week but is still pretty fragile. Her headaches continue to be more intense than they were before the wreck and her back is still very much in control of her life. AVIS is not being too accommodating about the wreck and neither is the negligent driver that hit her. So we have basically depleted our life savings and my wife is unable to lead a normal life do to her injuries. That is just the practical side of the matter.

Jess fights her pain everyday to get better and it is taking a toll on her. We are at the limit of non-narcotic pain medicine and that is where we have decided to stay. Monday the 18th will be 31 weeks since the wreck and we are working hard not to accept this injury as her new “normal”. We have by no means given up hope on a full recovery but are nowhere near where this journey will take us. As for the financial side of the wreck I will let you know what happens when the litigation is completed in a couple of years. So I would ask two thing of you. One do not EVER rent an AVIS rental vehicle. Two and most important please continue to keep Jess in your prayers and she continues to fight everyday to recover fully from the wreck. She has been marvelous through this but it only takes 21 days to make a habit. When you have been in constant pain for 31 weeks it is all you can do to keep moving forward with your chin up.

In other news

What do you do when you wife is off work and money is tight? You buy two new computers of course! I know you probably think that I am crazy but it really needed to be done and Best Buy had 2 years same as cash. Jess got her first laptop and is really enjoying it, plus I got her to move to Gmail, Windows Vista, and she picked up a blackberry. Her old PC was 5 years old and it was to the point that she could not even do her web classes on it. She has done really well and only cried 3 times over all the new technology and is beginning to embrace everything. With her blackberry we can now share our calendars very easily and it is not costing us anymore on the month for service because I dropped her minute plan way back.

Jess’s laptop was not enough to reach the interest free financing limit so I picked up a new desktop for myself. It was well past time for me to cycle out my old desktop it was 4 years old this July. So I have reconfigured it to be the new server in the garage. (Doesn’t everyone have one?) Anyway Best Buy had an incredible deal! For myself I picked up a quad core Gateway tower with no monitors (I have two 19″ monitors at home), so I was able to put all the money towards raw unbridled speed. This thing literally has flames shooting out of it. For example there was one part of the process to that I did to convert the churches sermon video to the web; it used to take 2 hours and 45 minutes on my old PC. Now the same process now takes 21 minutes! (Still trying to claim this one as a PC upgrade for the Lord)

I am also pleased to announce that as of August 8th the entire family (Eagan’s, Stapleton’s, Cremeans, and Ferguson) are now all on AT&T wireless. Free minutes to talk to everyone, this is a martial first! As a result a special committee has been formed. Any said family member wanting to leave AT&T must receive permission from the Family Telecommunication Committee. (Insert the Godfather theme here.)

Well that along with my other interim posts should bring everyone up to date.

Take care that’s the news and I am outta here!

Reflections on 34

Jake — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:38:52 +0000

I meant to post this on my Birthday yesterday but Yahoo was having so many problems it had to be delayed.

As I enter the 34th year of my earthly existence I find myself very tired. This is the most overworked, burned out, and over burdened I have been at any given point in my life (thus far). This is due to multiple factors at work, Jess’s Wreck, financial situations, no real vacation for 2 going on 3 years, and the list could go on and on. If I was doing one or even two things wrong I could correct it but when all the factors start out as a little tiny snow ball at the top of Mount Everest no matter who you are when the snow ball gets to the bottom you are going to get smashed.

Don’t take me wrong I still love my job it has just been a very demanding year. You combine that with doing everything possible to assist Jess with her recovery and all the issues resulting from her wreck; it has made for a very long 2008 to this point. As Jess alluded to in her recent witness on the church website it has been very rough for us this year. I am not depressed, I am not ungrateful for all the Lord has blessed me with, I am just drained. The reason was put very plainly to me in the sermon this week at church when I put this passage up on the screen.

Matthew 11:28-29 (Mes)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on
religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me
and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you
how to take a real rest… Learn the
unforced rhythms of grace."

This awesome passage can not only be used for religion but also for all areas of your life.

So as I set back once a year to reflect and take an inventory as I often do for personal goal planning (just never published it), I have decided one very important thing.

I suck at giving my burdens to the Lord.

(Don’t really know if you can use those two words in the same sentence, but it gets my point across) Sure we all surrender some things to the Lord and some of us surrender nothing but the ones of us who are weighed down with matters of this world are not surrendering enough. As a very type A+++++ personality with a dash of OCD this is very difficult for me to do. I generally end up being harder on myself then other people, I always expect more from myself then I do anyone else.

So what is the answer?

A 12 step recovery plan?
A self help book?
Run away from all my troubles?
Quit my job and begin following my favorite 80’s band’s around to all the state fairs?

I say none of the above.

How about spending more time in God’s inerrant word The Holy Bible.
How about deepening my faith beyond my daily routine.
How about stepping outside of my Christian "Comfort Zone"
How about surrendering more to the Lord
How about working on my Prayer Life (Needs a lot of work)
How about taking time in my life to allow God’s never ending Grace to wash over me enough to slow me down a little.

Once you get this eternity thing worked everything else has got to be gravy.

To some this may seem a little too personal to be posted on the Internet, but hey I don’t care. I cannot be the only one in this world who has let everyday life that has nothing to do with eternity wear them down to a pulp. This life is not all that there is so why live everyday like it is?

I am still young, and there are still many more years ahead then there are behind. (The prior statement is both to the best of my knowledge and statistically speaking) These are things that I need to change now so that I can really live my life. So as I tried to develop a personal mission statement for this year, this one immediately came to mind and says it all to me.

Refocus, Re-Prioritize, and Balance.

You are only as old as you feel and right now for me that is not 34. It’s time to take care of this issue before it takes care of me.

Cracks me up

Jake — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:10:16 +0000

Ok maybe this is just funny to me because I work in the Financial Technology sector. But this really just cracked me up.

Jess’s Surprise 30th Birthday Party

Jake — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:05:24 +0000

Well today was the big day for Jess’s surprise 30th birthday party. I am thrilled to say that it came off without a hitch and she did not figure anything out until the last second. (I just can’t seem to hide 15 cars)

A fun time was had by all and it was good to see Jess out and about having a good time.

Happy Birthday a couple of weeks early grumps.

Covert Operational Document Archive

Thanks to all of you who lied this week to make this possible.

Anniversary Number 9

Jake — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:43:08 +0000

Well today is our 9th Wedding Anniversary, so I had an idea for a new tradition. In addition to updating the famed paragraph below from last year we are going to take a picture. I think it will be really neat to take a picture on the same day every year. Sometimes life goes by so fast you forget where you came from, this will make us stop at least once a year.

So after 2 houses, 1 rental, the cars going to Graley’s Auto Body 13 times, 2 BA degrees, 4 computers, 2 beds, 3 TV’s, 8 DVD players, 11 jobs, 6 cars, 2 surgeries, 1 major wreck, taking in Petey & Phoebe, and finding a church home were still together so it must be love.

Happy 9th Anniversary grumps, I love you.

Quotes

Jake — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:17:05 +0000

“When you get tired you are setting yourself up for temptation.”

Pastor Greg Creasy Pea Ridge Baptist Church

For the context you can follow this link to the archive of this weeks service.

Minor editorial correction

Jake — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:14:07 +0000

Jess’s dream job interview is on Tuesday not Wednesday as mentioned in the previous post. The post has been corrected at this time.

Please route any prayer traffic you were planning to send on Wednesday to Tuesday instead. I know the big guy upstairs has his own plans since the day we were born, but it does not hurt to ask for something now and again.

Family Reunion, painful software testing, and a newspaper ad that nearly cost me my life.

Jake — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:20:43 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

It appears that I have let the blog go slightly stale again but not too much. Kind of like eating bread that is just 2 days out of date but still looks good. As opposed to eating bread a week out of date with mold on it.

Let’s see what has been going on since the last update. On June 8th we had the annual family reunion at Cedar Lakes. The attendance was pretty good it was a little hot however. Jess didn’t make it because of a migraine and that bummed her out she really wanted to go. But all in all a good time was had by all.

(See pictures of happy family below.)

My next week was spent on the road doing customer calls and conducting a user group meeting. The last 2 weeks of June were spent in the old home office doing software testing for a major release. If you have never performed software testing let me describe it to you this way. Imagine repeatingly poking your own eye out with a hot poker, realizing you have put on lawn aeration spike shoes in the wrong direction, while simultaneously receiving a prostate exam. Sure the job is needed and necessary but it is painful to endure.

There was a bright spot to my testing weeks. I helped Jess’s dad remodel a kitchen in one of his rental units. Just the kind of job I like. Lots of demolition, absolutely no straight walls, and we did not have to do the finish work. I ended up the month of June with starting a massive conversion at one of my banks on June 30th. The customer is happy but I am not satisfied at this point. I think that several more things need to fall consistently into place before I feel like I can walk away from this one. If you looked at my twitters at all this week you know what I talking about.

On the Mrs. Stapleton front we continue to progress with her recovery and the search for work. A lot of people ask me how she feels and all I can say is she has good days and bad days. Fortunately there are a lot more good days than bad days. So if I respond to you this way please do not think that I am blowing you off; there just is not a better way to describe it. She continues to be treated twice a week at Davis Chiropractic and sees her pain management doctor about every 4 weeks. The non-narcotic cocktail that he has her on is working pretty well so we are obviously very pleased.

(Psst let me tell you a little joke I made, I thought it was hilarious Jess found it not so much.)

We were coming home from the grocery store one night a couple of weeks ago in her car and I looked down at the odometer. She only has about 1300 miles on the car and that is for about 6 months. In contrast I have had my Camry about 45 days and have 3000. That immediately lead me to thinking about putting an ad in the paper.

For sale 2008 Toyota Camry great condition only 1500 miles. Garage kept only driven to the doctor, store, and church on Sunday.

I immediately started cracking up, again Jess not so much.

All joking aside she is doing better and is getting quite a few hits on her resumes. (Jess does not think so but she really is.) She is going to an interview on Tuesday for her dream job. So please keep her in your prayers she could use a good boost right now. All in all she is recovering nicely we knew with soft tissue damage it was going to be a long road to travel. However when you are the one who’s life has been put on hold time does not pass too quickly. Getting better day by day is only cool in the movies with a nice music montage behind it. (Preferably 80’s music of course) Or as I have told her on many occasions

“A Storm is only pretty from a distance when you are not the one in the middle of it.”

(I made that one full credit to me and copyright to JakeStapleton.com)

Well that’s about it from Stapleton HQ sorry for the short update but not really all that much going on right now that I did not mention in my intervening posts. Everyone take care, that’s the news and I am outta here.

New Bond Trailer is Out

Jake — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:24:54 +0000

and yes if you are wondering I absolutely can not freaking wait until November 7th

A beautiful witness by my wife

Jake — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:14:15 +0000

http://pearidgebaptist.com/wordpress/?p=141#comment-56

Happy Father’s Day Dad

Jake — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:32:07 +0000

Hard to believe that he’s been gone 19 years this November. Sad thing is I do not even remember the last Father’s Day that I had with him. I am sure that beyond a hastily chosen card I did nothing for him. But then I think remembering a passed father is not about every holiday that you spent with him. It is about all the times that you remember so vividly that you can describe in every detail.

For example I can remember riding home with him one night from a Boy Scout meeting. It was about 8:30 on a summer evening and Dad was listening to the 8-track player in his Black Chrysler New Yorker. “My Way” by Frank Sinatra was playing and we were passing the corner of 5th Ave & 11st St at what was then the “First National Bank of Huntington” building. We had the windows down and I was enjoying the cruise through town.

Why do I remember that so vividly? What was so special about that moment that it was seared in my memory? It was when Dad introduced me yet again to the music of Frank Sinatra but I actually paid attention that time. I remember thinking that this is not too bad, maybe all Dad’s music is not awful. Today when I listen to my Frank Sinatra music I think of Dad every time.

It is not always huge events, Holidays, or all the times that you think you should remember that end up being important to you when a parent passes. It is all the little times that you spent with them that mean nothing right then but yet live with you so vividly forever for one reason or another.

Happy Father’s Day Dad

Updates, a little time off, and Ugly Deck I have you now!

Jake — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:28:06 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well I have let the blog go a little stale again. I guess I don’t really feel like it since I twitter everyday. But I digress.

It has been a fairly uneventful couple of weeks here at Stapleton HQ. Petey is recovering well from his procedure; he is off all of his drugs and we believe his hearing is back to normal.

Jess continues to receive therapy and treatment from the wreck. June 2nd marks 20 weeks and her recovery is progressing. There are good days and bad days, that is just about the best way I can put it. She is making progress everyday. Her attitude remains good for the most part, but bringing your life to a screeching halt for 20 weeks is hard for anyone to take. She has been a trooper, but as you can expect there is frustration, irritation, & uncertainty that she deals with everyday. I think the next big step to her recovery is getting back into the job market. She sent out her first stack of resumes on Friday and she has already received several hits. Please continue to keep her in your prayers; we still have a long road to travel to get back to”normal”. (That’s a loaded term in this family)

I have spent the last couple of weeks catching up on customer visit’s and paperwork. I took a long Memorial Day weekend and did not touch a laptop, Blackberry, or a single piece of work. It fell good but I really could have used a longer break. (I am thinking sun, sand, waves, & my cell phone floating in the surf.) Jess and I went to go see the new Indiana Jones movie, which was the low point of my weekend; I was really disappointed with it. As a special treat for my long 4 day weekend I went out and got Poison Ivy. I am on the down hill slope but it was a bad case. Hopefully it will be cleared up by the end of the week.

After a lengthy search for the Poison Ivy that infected me; I located it under the ugly, rotten, red deck that I never have taken off the back of the house. It appears that I was infected while weed eating and I threw the Poison Ivy all over my shins at a high velocity for a really nice splatter effect. This was all the excuse I needed to exact my revenge on the Poison Ivy and the deck in one act of pure unmitigated vengeance. (That sounded particularly evil, go ahead and picture me stroking Phoebe with an evil laugh)

This culminated last Saturday with the use of multiple power tools, hand tools, trash trucks, and a trip to the dump! It does not get much better than that. My original plan was to take the deck off with a chain saw last Friday evening. So I borrowed one of my father in laws trucks (yes he has 3) and his chain saw. Resistance by the deck was intense. It appears that the wood was petrified. All the chain saw did was smoke when it hit the wood. So I called for backup and Rick came down and give me a hand. So we spent Saturday morning tearing the deck off the house and killing the Poison Ivy. It was a fun exercise; demolition is always better than construction.

The entire NuVentures fleet on maneuvers.

Ugly Deck I have you now!

Crap what do I do with the space now?

I am leaning towards a screened in patio with a concrete floor. If anyone has any better ideas for the space please feel free to submit them.

Just don’t dream too big we have to be careful how much money we spend on the house. Recently we had another appraisal on the house for the re-finance/completion of our home loan. (dropped the rate 120 basis points YES!) The house came in right where we wanted it that is both a good and bad thing. It’s good because when we re-finished the house before we moved in and completed the basement we got all that money back in the increased appraisal. The bad news it that the appraisal put us in the higher end for our block and comparables. So anything else we do big dollar to the house we most likely won’t recoup in resale. So as far as I am concerned the house is done for big dollar stuff. The house still has a lot of flexibility left in it so I am not too concerned.

Well that’s just about it from Stapleton HQ. I am looking forward to the family reunion this weekend. Hopefully Jess can handle the car ride to Ripley and we can enjoy sometime visiting with everyone.

Everyone take care that’s the news I am outta here!

For my more nerdly readers . . .

Jake — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:26:23 +0000

This really is a fascinating article when you think about the implications of literally everything moving to the net.

http://revision3.com/?p=153

Think about it. This could have been a hospital, air traffic control, or in the case of my business the Federal Reserve. All this company had was a server farm. No standing army, no diplomatic credentials, and no flag. Instead of a media company this could very easily have been a bank of critical servers of some organization.

The more computers liberate us the more control they have over every aspect of our lives. This is the future of terrorism, such as the cyber attack unleashed on Estonia; but you do not have to be a major power to do this. Legions of zombie computers are all that is needed. With the mass penetration of high speed internet worldwide and the general lack of understanding of basic computer security by the public; the means to do this are very easy to come by.

Remember keep your firewalls up, your antivirus and spyware updated, and trust no one!

A Memorial Day Thank You

Jake — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:26:25 +0000

Thank you American Solider that guarantees my freedom.

Thank you American Solider that has laid their life down to keep this great nation free.

Thank you American Solider that has been spat upon, wrongly accused, and disrespected by people that are free only because of your sacrifice.

Thank you American Solider for standing sentinel around this planet to ensure my freedom.

American Solider I owe you a debt that I can never repay. This memorial day I say thank you for all of your sacrifices on my behalf.

Petey’s Procedure

Jake — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:10:49 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on Petey’s procedure just in case you don’t follow my twitters. Petey is doing very well although he is still drugged out of his mind.

Petey has been having several ear infections of late and the vet thought it would be best to clean out out both his middle ear areas. So Jess took Petey in this morning for the procedure and a teeth cleaning (might as well make the most of him being put under). After the teeth cleaning the vet did an Endoscopic procedure on Petey’s ears.

It turns out that the infection inside the ear was so bad that both ear drums had to be ruptured for a complete cleaning. It will take about a week for Petey’s ears to heal and during that time he will only hear very muffled sounds. However on the bright side he did receive a clean bill health and is expected to make a full recovery.

Ruptured right ear after the cleaning

Ruptured left ear after the cleaning

There was so much pressure in his left ear that once the incision was made it basically “blew out”. The incision made by the vet was only about 1/4 the size of the hole you see in the picture.

Petey on drugs

I swear to you this is not a photo shop. We believe that so far he has chaired several meetings with the Care Bears and it looks like a busy night ahead.

Quotes

Jake — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:08:59 +0000

Some great Ronald Reagan Quotes I ran across recently.

“Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.”

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”

“Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.”

“I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

“The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.”

“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.

“No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.’

Pain Meds w/o the Care Bears, Another 4.0, and Where’s Jake

Jake — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:42:36 +0000

Greeting and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I know I know it has been a while since a good update but I plan to make amends today.

Let’s start with an update on Jess. Monday will be 18 weeks since the wreck, she continues to recover but is no where near 100% of her mobility before the wreck. Her therapy has been scaled back to 2 times a week and continues to help some. We have been seeing a pain management specialist for about 6 weeks now and he has been able to help as well. Jess is currently working with a non-narcotic med to control her pain and the results are pretty good. On a good day she can get back 70% to 80% of her pre-wreck mobility for a period of time, but we want her back to 100% of pre-wreck without any drugs. We still have a long way to go. At least I have some solace in the fact that the pain meds are helping somewhat and for now the migraines have backed off a little. But more importantly she is feeling somewhat human again.

Jess earned another 4.0 last semester despite the wreck. (the girl is a walking brain box). She had to take an incomplete in one class but she plans to have that work finished up and turned in by July. (this involves the testing of a unsuspecting minor) She is taking 2 classes this summer and if all goes well she should graduate with her MA in Special Education next spring. In the last couple of weeks she has begun to look for work, but with the WV job market & the fact she is going to need to student teach 3 days a week next spring it is a complicated process. She had made arrangements with her previous employer to accommodate this but trying to find a new comparable position that will do this would be a stretch at the very least (of course, after the way she was treated by her former employer, we now doubt they would have honored their commitment). We are currently investigating several avenues of employment for her right now, so if anyone has any leads please let us know.

Jess’s spirits remain fairly good, but needless to say this “putting her life on hold” thing is a little hard to swallow. Especially when she was working, going to school, or involved in something 16 hours a day and that was all put on hold because of an unplanned accident (this would of course be completely different is it was a planned accident). Please continue to keep her in your prayers as we still have a good way to travel along the recovery road we have been placed on.

Jake what have you been up to?

Well thank you for asking. Since my last good blog entry (those are defined as updates about the family & everything else, as opposed to stuff that just interests me) I have spent 3 weeks on the road 2 in Lincoln, NE and 1 week in the Elkins, WV area. Some circumstances have arisen in the last few weeks that are going to make this year my most traveled and project laden since I began with the company (let me put it this way by the end of the summer I will have enough Hilton Honors Points so that when we go to Hawaii next year for our 10th anniversary, I will not be paying a dime for lodging and possibly airfare as well). Needless to say, my work is enough to keep my worn down right now, and with everything else, I have been a whipped puppy lately. The forecast for the summer is not looking too good either.

Lincoln was nice, I really liked the city. It reminded me of Columbus, OH, only smaller and cleaner. The city did have one Achilles heel, no Outback for 50 miles! I was out there for 2 weeks of software testing and I stayed over the weekend, which is a little unusual for me. Some of you may not know this, but in Nebraska they take their football a little seriously. So much in fact that for their Red & White scrimmage game 82,000 people showed up (yes that is correct 82,000 people showed up to watch the team play themselves, I just don’t get it) and hence I headed out of town for the day. It was a pretty fun day I went to the Strategic Air & Space Museum and had a blast. Some of you may not know it but I have a huge love for aircraft and would like to learn to fly someday. But to spend 4 hours in a museum of legendary aircraft was incredible for me. (you can see more about the visit here)

After I was done at the museum I went over to Omaha, NE and drove into Iowa to take a look around. Iowa made state number 26 of my goal to see all 50 states before I kick the bucket. I also go the chance to visit or at least see Offut Air Force Base, the former home of the Strategic Air Command. Military History has always been fascinating to me, so it was a really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon it was my only day off while I was in Nebraska. Some of you may not know this, I am only 9 hours away from a full History degree at Marshall but I will probably never get the chance to complete it. Although I may need to start a poll: If I had 2 BA’s, would that trump Jess’s BA & future MA? But I digress.

During my second week in Lincoln I received a call that my cousin Steve Turman had been killed in an automobile accident. To be honest, Steve and I were never really close. We played together a lot when we were younger, but as the high school years came around we grew apart and didn’t really keep up with each other too much. Throughout his life Steve had his share of problems, he also touched too many lives to count. I can say this of him: to me, his lasting legacy to his boys and everyone will be that no matter your circumstance you can turn your life around, you can accept and put your trust in the Lord and all will be forgiven and He will be your Shepherd. For that I am extremely honored to say he was my cousin. Rest in peace Stevie, you will be missed and you are an example to us all.

Steve’s funeral took place on Saturday, April 26th. I was able to travel home to attend the service and was honored to be a pallbearer. Please continue to keep Steve’s family in your prayers, as they will need them everyday for many months yet to come. Through the first few weeks of May I was busy catching up on customer calls and work. Mom had a cataract surgery on her right eye and received a really cool eye patch. However she did not respond to any of my pirate jokes. Her eye is healing nicely and she will have her left eye done in August.

I also had another very exciting project that took a lot of my time. Our church recently installed a video system with one of our goals being to access the Sunday worship service online. So after a couple of weeks I came up with a way to make it happen. You can see an example of it here. This was my first experience at producing video content for the web and all the challenges that go with it. One of my major hurdles in doing this was my PC. It is a little long in the tooth and processing video is a young CPU’s game. Once things get back to normal around the house, I am trying to talk Jess into a PC upgrade for the Lord. (Do you think she’ll buy it?) All joking aside, we hope that this will be a great outreach tool. Some Churches have a wider outreach online than they do through their physical meetings.

The rest of May has been or will be traveling. However while I was in Elkins this week I took an evening an saw Iron Man, it was excellent. Next week I will be in the Cleveland area then home for a week. I hope this catches everyone up on what has been happening here at Stapleton Command. In the future I will try to update more regularly to avoid these War & Peace updates.

Everyone Have a good week and take care!

The Strategic Air & Space Museum Visit

Jake — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:41:17 +0000

This may bore many of you but I had the best time at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. I will walk through some of the pictures with you in the sideshow below. However after reviewing the pictures I realized I never got a picture of the fully functional flight simulator. This was so great I did it twice. I never really thought I would get to try all those great aerial maneuvers that I’ve studied.

While in the simulator I performed a Split S, Scissors, L4, and a few others. I must have had that simulator all over the place because there was a crowd looking at me when I exited the simulator. But hey I had a hell of a time!

Now onto the pictures!

Updates are coming this weekend . . .

Jake — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:34:01 +0000

I have been negligent in my blog duties of late. It is my goal this weekend to get everyone caught up on activities here at Stapleton Command.

Stay tuned more to come . . .

Quotes

Jake — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:32:24 +0000

While on the road this week I was able to catch up on a few of my Mars Hill Bible Church Sermons and got a couple of great quotes.

“To say you don’t believe in miracles is also a leap of faith”

Rob Bell

“Every denial is its own form of believe it is just trust in something else.”

Rob Bell

Context for the quote above: Rob is speaking of times when someone denies your faith and espouses their own. It could be another religion, atheism, science, etc.

Quotes

Jake — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:14:25 +0000

"It seems strange to me that people who are dependent every moment on God to give them life allow themselves so easily to forget that fact. God sustains us moment by moment. We ought to be grateful for that. Let us never forget that our very breath comes from Him."

Ray Stedman

My Daddy Sucks

Petey — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:00:18 +0000

Hello this is Petey. I am writing my first blog post. Typing is not easy without opposable thumbs so bear with me.

Please see Exhibit A below.

Do you notice the bandage on my left front paw? Do I look happy about it? Well that bandage was not there until mom & dad tried to clip my nails tonight. You see mom holds me while dad clips and I pretend like I am in mortal danger. Which tonight seemed to be true. While I was struggling I moved my paw and dad clipped a nail too close and I started to bleed. I don’t do blood, I just do eating, sleeping, & being cute in that order as stated in my contract. Dad stopped the bleeding and then I started my pitiful and abused act.

You see I am in too much pain and won’t even touch my bone. They must fetch me the soft chewy treats.

Then I couldn’t keep my act up too much longer when I discovered the self stick wrap made a great bone grip.

Then all was well.

The perfect Pledge of Allegiance

Jake — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:23:06 +0000

Maybe I am just old fashion, but this perfectly describes my feelings about the United States.

It is unbelievable to me that so many people today do not believe in American Exceptionalism. This is the greatest country on the face of the earth! Sure sometimes we can get a little too involved with ourselves but that’s just being human. However when are mobilized for greatness and with purpose there is no stopping the juggernaut that is the USA.

We owe so much to the American solider that stands sentinel around this planet. We owe so much to the factory worker that keeps the economy moving. We owe so much to the miner that helps to power our country. We owe so much to every American that has said “I will work and do my best everyday to carry out and live the American Dream”. Finally we owe so much to our Lord the one and only God who has bestowed so many blessing upon these United States of America.

(Hat tip to Nancy for sending me the link.)

Easter Sunday, Home Maker, & Pirate Sounds

Jake — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:53:12 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I hope this entry finds everyone doing well. It was an eventful week at the Stapleton household. On Easter Sunday, Jess went to church for the first time since the wreck. Even though we took ice packs, the angle of the pew really did a number on her back. But I was glad she got to go to worship especially on Easter. After I got Jess home from the early service, Mom called me to take Laura to the ER. She continued to feel worse all day last Saturday and still looked like death. Laura was seen by the urgent care part of the St. Mary’s ER and was given a course of antibiotics. I got her prescription filled and took her home to settle in. Later on Eater Sunday we went to Jess’s grandparents’ for Easter Dinner.

Jess continues to attend therapy several times a week and is improving gradually. Our appointment with the pain management specialist is on Thursday. We are really hoping he will be able to help. Monday will be 11 weeks since the wreck and Jess is still not back to work. She had been waiting for a return call from her office to discuss returning to work part time (no more than 4 hours per day – and that was pushing her doctor’s orders) for the foreseeable future and gradually return to full time as she continues to recover. Mainstream Services declined the offer for part time work and released Jess from her position. The reason given was that since Jess is unable to return to work full time by April 8^th, they could not hold a position for her. We completely understand that there is a business decision to be made here. However, it seems that for an agency whose only purpose is to accommodate and support people with disabilities, this seems particularly cold. Especially since Jess was trying to come back half time and the accident occurred while conducting work travel. There are a lot of bad things that I could say right now and I am certainly thinking them; but in the spirit of being good Christians, let’s just say we are disappointed.

There is also the possibility that Jess is going to have to take an incomplete for one of her classes this semester because she has to administer educational testing and has not been able to do so. It is an on-campus class that she has yet to make it to, but the professor has been very understanding.

So Jess now has the title of FTSSHPPM

Full Time Student Stay at Home Petey & Phoebe Mom

Wouldn’t you know my luck I finally get a full time housewife and she is too injured to wait on me hand and foot. I just can’t get a break!

As for me I had a good week. I made several customer calls this and signed a HUGE deal while at the same time kicking a competitor out of the bank!

Arrrrgggghhhhh!

(I have just been informed by my wife that many people may not get the reference above and think that I had a spasm of pain while typing. To properly understand the comment below you will have to picture me in a pirate hat. Thank you.)

I will be busy over the next 2 weeks trying to get a lot of things in motion and projects started before I head back out for more travel. Lawn maintenance has already started for the year. I actually had to mow the upper half of my backyard last week. This was a byproduct of Petey’s excellent winter fertilization techniques. That’s just about all – it was a slow news week.

That’s the news and I am outta here!

Jake’s Earth Hour Celebration

Jake — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:53:58 +0000

Please join me tonight between 8 and 9 PM.

It is my plan to turn on every light, appliance, & power tool in the house. With any luck I can increase my carbon foot print to that of an Al Gore type mansion.

Earth Hour

Happy Easter to All

Jake — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:02:40 +0000

You know there are allot of things I could put in this post. Insightful commentary, audio/video, or a bible passage. I will just say this.

Tomorrow we celebrate the raising of our savior Jesus Christ from the dead. This perfect man died a gruesome horrible death for the imperfect people that he loves. We are and were not worthy of this gift. Please do not waste it.

He is risen indeed!

Updates, Hopes, & a lot to do

Jake — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:56:57 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well it’s been a while since a good non-rant update so here we go.

Since the last update

I have returned to health after seeking drugs at HIMG the Sunday after my last post.
Spent 14 nights in various Hampton Inn’s
Jess continues to have therapy
Petey & Phoebe’s skin infection has cleared up
Jess’s mom’s stress test come back ok (probably because I was not in the room)
Jess’s Step Dad Rick returned to work this week
Mom’s has found 2 cataracts (that would be one per eye)
Laura has the flu and looks like death (in fact I think death would have came to get her but he is afraid to enter her room)

As you can tell things have been busy around here as normal.

Tuesday will begin Jess’s 10^th week off of work and stir craziness is abound. She continues to make slow steady progress. After not seeing her for 9 straight days I did notice a difference in her mobility when I came home. But the level of pain and frequency of migraines since the wreck is still present. We have been and continue to pray for her recovery; we also appreciate all the random acts of prayer that are coming our way. We have high hopes that the pain management specialist she is going to see will be able to help, her appointment in the first week of April. It is our hope that we can find some kind of pain relief that will allow her to function and return her life to some form of normalcy. Currently all the pain medications that we have found to work, also make her think that she is Chairing a Board Meeting with the Care Bears. She continues to do therapy several times a week but her improvement can only be measured with inches and she needs to travel about a mile. Jess continues to do everything as instructed by her doctors but this is just a slow recovery. Like I said before broken bones would have been healed by now soft tissue heals when it feels like it. Jess continues to keep up with her school work and her professors have been great in working with her.

I mean while have been crazy busy at work with travel. Several projects are coming together simultaneously and it has been a bear. Also this week I received word that another deal I was working on fell into place and will keep me VERY busy going into the Summer. You add that to the fact that I am just plain worn out and it makes for an interesting day every day. I am looking forward to staying in town for the next few weeks before I head out again. Hopefully by that time we should have a better idea of what the immediate future holds for Jess.

Thank you all for your prayers & cards Jess & I really appreciate them. Well that’s about it for today that’s the news and I am outta here!

Home Improvement Goals for Summer 2008

Jake — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:47:42 +0000

Paint 12 doors ( I knew I shouldn’t have hung them until I did)
Paint 2 door facings
Fill the nail holes and touch up the trim in the bathroom & entire downstairs
Paint the garage door (the previous owners left it primer gray)
Finish the shower in the second bath
Cut up and remove the semi-rotten wooden patio from the back of the house
Paint all the block on the outside of the house (it needs it but I also want to change the color from white to tan)

If I get all this done the Stapleton Mansion Phase 1 will be completed

You may ask why I am posting this on my blog? Well it may keep me honest and see that I actually get it all done!

It’s just my way of doing public accountability.

Also while I am feeling bad and ranting a little. . .

Jake — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:02:00 +0000

I am sick of all this GREEN stuff.

I couldn’t even enjoy a good Holmes on Homes (a truly manly man’s show where you can wear overalls with no shirt) without every other commercial on Discovery Home telling me to fight global warming (which I don’t believe in).

I now suddenly have the urge to trade in the new Camry for a Hummer, stock pile incandescent light bulbs, and run electric cars off of the road.

I think my work is done here, now to try this non-snot controlling medicine and go to bed.

The 2nd Biggest Ceiling Fan’s I Have Ever Seen

Jake — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:49:02 +0000

Picture it. Jake is driving up Rt. 219 just outside of Parsons on a dreary Tuesday afternoon heading up to get onto Rt. 50. Then I see the 2nd biggest ceiling fans ever!

Just thought they were kind of neat I had never seen a windmill farm before.

I’m Mad as Snot!

Jake — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:44:07 +0000

As some of you may remember a few posts back I lamented at how Zyrtec-D has gone OTC. Since it has pseudoephedrine in it I have to be treated like a criminal to buy it. Jess & I take 2 Zyrtec-D a day each and I have been purchasing a box about every week and a half for both of us to share. Jess has obviously not been up to walking in stores since Zyrtec-D went OTC.

Move forward to today, I am sick and almost out of Zyrtec-D which is the only thing that has been drying me up. So I get dressed, risk life and limb (up hill both directions; against the earth’s rotation), and head out this evening to get some along with other essentials at Wal-Mart. I go up to the pharmacy counter (license in hand because I now know the criminal routine) and try to make my purchase. At this point I am informed that I may not make another Zyrtec-D Purchase until March 11th. Apparently I have reached my quota! This really really made me mad! I was nice and did not take it out on the poor pharmacy tech, but I am still stewing!

So Monday I am going to call my family doc and see if I can start trying other allergy/sinus medication. Something that is not OTC! Sure I could run around to 15 different stores and try to beat the system but I just do not have time to do that. All I want is my snot to be controlled.

So to all those people out there who have found an illicit use for pseudoephedrine may I say congratulations. Your misuse of a legal medical compound has now inconvenienced yet another person who just really wanted to have their snot managed. May I suggest that you get a job and find other highs in life that may be just as rewarding as your illicit uses for pseudoephedrine.

You could seek the Lord, Church doors are always open. You could seek help from friends or family members who could help you beat your addiction. Or in some cases you could just get a job and stop stealing to support your habits. So before you continue down this path of death, destruction, and loose snot everywhere, I say change your ways.

You may say, "Jake that’s a little harsh", and I say my head is full of snot, I have a fever of 101, and one of those situations could be under control right now if some people could have found better things to do with their time!

Quotes

Jake — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:20:10 +0000

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much can be done if we are always doing.

Thomas Jefferson

Travel, Medical News, & Looking for a Pillow

Jake — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:05:53 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well its time for another action packed update form the Stapleton Mansion.

For most of last week I was in the DC area working with a customer. It was a new bank conversion and things went well. This is the start of spurt of traveling for me. For at least the next 4 months I have 10 day spurts being out of town every month. Between being very busy with work and taking care of Jess, I am very tired but managing.

Jess continues to get a little better everyday. Her attitude is good for the most part, but a little bad attitude, frustration, & aggravation is to be expected when you are in that much pain and only leave the house for a Doctor’s appointment or a scan. Because of this I make it a point to get her out for dinner at least once a week. Last night we met her dad for dinner and chatted for a little while (he just got an iphone and was enjoying my torment). We brought our own ice packs to the restaurant and they helped a little along with the drugs, but she is paying for it today. Tuesday begins her sixth week off from work so being "stir crazy" is something we must actively treat along with her injuries.

Jess went for an MRI this week. We are waiting for the radiology results but from the initial films it appears that there is some disc damage in her back. This explains some of her trouble at achieving any rapid improvement; despite the fact she is following all the doctors orders. Her injuries are all soft tissue and are very time intensive to heal. She would have been better off with broken bones because they would have at least been healed by now. We are waiting to get her into a pain management specialist to see what else we can do for her.

Also on the medical front Petey & Phoebe have a fungal infection on their skin, that manifests as a large sore. This is something that Petey picked up right after we moved into our house and spread to Phoebe. The vet says it is nearly impossible to get rid of so all we can do is treat it. So it’s a come and go type thing. Last Thursday night Jess found bloody spots on the cat and her head was covered and we had just missed it. Phoebe has to be treated 3 times a day and is on antibiotics. Once again you have not lived or looked death straight in the eye until you have to give a cat medicine. In fact the angel of death is even afraid to walk by the cat. Petey is well on his way to being on the mend but Phoebe is miserable with about 40% of her head covered and just starting to heal up.

In other medical news . . . .

Sharon Stapleton (Willie’s Wife) received a clean bill of health last week. Unfortunately she will never play the tuba again but as she could not do this before the surgery she is not heart broken.

Jess’s mom started a stress test on Friday and will do the physical portion on Monday. For some reason she did not want me around during the test. She feels it will only cause her to have false positives. The NERVE! I am sure her flying monkeys will get to attend. She will also have a CT scan of the abdomen and one of the brain on Tuesday.

Jess’s step dad Rick continues to heal from the broken ribs that he received by aggressively attacking the concrete in my drive way to create a snow angel. With any luck he will return to work later this week. Although he told Jess it will be June before he comes over again just to make sure he does not create anymore snow art.

Jess’s step dad Rick’s brother Brian (did you get all that family tree) underwent a triple bypass on Thursday and is doing very well. His wife Diane will also have a stress test this week. She was taken to the hospital last week with chest pains.

As you can see meeting your deductible in this family is not a problem.

Meanwhile I continue to be the picture of health for an overweight mouse jockey.

I think that will be just about it for today’s update, we appreciate the prayers and offers of help that continue to come our way.

That’s the news and I am outta here!

The memory is a funny thing . . .

Jake — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:32:23 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it was 19 years ago the last time an Indiana Jones movie came out. That was the summer of 1989 when Batman (with Michael Keaton), Lethal Weapon 2, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, & Star Trek 5 (ok 3 out of 4 were really good) all came out. Isn’t it odd how a movie or a song can bring back your memories so vividly of where you were and what you were doing? For instance I remember that The Last Crusade premiered on a Wednesday Night and mom let me go see it with Willie even though it was a school night. Willie was either working at Circuit City or was living in Wheeling (can’t quite remember that). We went to the 9:45 show and the Cinema Theatre downtown (before it was split up into 4 different theaters) I even remember that I bought the movie poster in the lobby. That was to be our last Summer with Dad and I was leaving Junior High and going to High School. Just take a moment and think about what was different back then. There was no World Wide Web, PC’s were definitely a luxury item, no DVD players, most phones in your home still had a cord, cellular phones cost a few thousand dollars, you got your news from a newspaper, and there was no Wal-Mart in town. Let’s also not forget the fact that I had more hair, was at least 60 pounds lighter, and my future wife was 11. Think about all the things that you use and have in life today that were not around then. Sometimes we may think that change is slow and time is creeping along but in reality it goes by far too quickly.You may ask Jake what brought all this up? Well I found a trailer for the new Indiana Jones film in my RSS feeds today and it made met think and reminisce a little. The trailer is below may it assist you in your walk down memory lane.Enjoy!

Ok this is has really been bugging me . . .

Jake — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:56:42 +0000

As some of you may know my allergy medicine Zytec-D went OTC. When I went to purchase it on Sunday I had to fork over my license and be logged into a database. My old prescription called for me to take 2 Zyrtec a day which most of the time I do. So I was informed by the nice lady at the pharmacy that I can by one box a week. The box contains 24 tablets that is a 12 day supply if I take 2 a day. So in theory I will need to by 3 boxes a month. Now according to the link below this can land me in Jail! I know that meth is really big problem but give me a break! There has got to be a better way to handle this instead of making law abiding allergy suffers be logged into a database like a criminal. So if I call you for bail money because of my allergy habit please oblige with a little green to get me out. Thanks

http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=34752

New Car, Lame Jokes, & Vacation Days!

Jake — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:05:45 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well its time for another weekly update so here I go. As you can tell from last few posts there has been movement on the claims front. I lit some fires last Monday and saw a whole bunch of action last week. They finally totaled Jess’s car which was a relief (they were up to about $11K in damages and still wanted to fix it). However in the end the insurance company and adjuster saw reason and totaled Jess’s 2004 Camry. (Or as I like to say it’s gave its life so that others could live, mainly my wife and all the other cars that will benefit from its newly attained organ donor status). So as you can see from the post immediately before this one; we bought another Camry. Jess picked out a 2008 LE with the optional Sun Roof, Spoiler, & Rims. The car is really sharp, we received another great deal from Fannin, and we are both happy with the choice.

As for Jess on the medical front; she continues to improve but this process is measured in inches not feet. Sometimes she is a little discouraged that she’s not jumping tall buildings at a single bound, but I remember a few weeks back when she couldn’t get dressed by herself. I continue to see improvement in her everyday; she continues to do therapy at least four times a week and is obeying all the doctors’ orders (funny I will have to see how he accomplishes this). This may cause you to ask “Jake how did she go car shopping if she is in so much pain?” In a word “drugs” lots and lots of them, unfortunately since it took so long to total the car we were left with a very short window to car shop. She did most of her research online and so we only had to drive 5 vehicles. We did this over the course of 2 days totaling about 8 hours. In return Jess was in unbearable pain on Saturday night (drugs no longer helped) and unable to function even in her limited capacity most of Sunday. This reaction further reinforced the fact that she is no way ready to return to work yet.

She could work from home a little but that’s about it, no way could she go out and do home visits. It was very painful for her to drive her new car home from Kentucky and that was all interstate. I know it may seem a little silly to put her through all this just to get a car but the fact is with my travel I can not always be around to provide her a vehicle to get to therapy and our rental coverage was about to expire. There is also the fact that I am trying to return her to some normalcy and having a car of her own is a step in the right direction. I am very proud of all the progress Jess has made and continues to make. It will just take time for her to get back to the place where I am afraid of her again.

Jake’s thoughts on the cars we drove

My personal observations on the vehicles we drove. My favorite was the Camry followed up very closely by the Accord and I did not care too much for the Altima. Although during this process, I did decide to order an Avalon as my next company car.

As for me I spent a splendid week in the home office doing system testing. This is not a fun aspect of my job but it is a necessary burden. I had two vacation days left so I took them for February 11^th & 12^th. This means I am writing this on my day off, so I am out of here to enjoy it.

Have a great week!

Jess’s New Car

Jake — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:52:56 +0000

If you were keeping up with my Twitters this week you would know that I won and the insurance company finally totaled Jess’s Camry. They were up to $11,000 in new damage and counting. We received a fair settlement on the car and with our rental coverage running out we had to move fast. So I loaded Jess up on enough pain medicine to get her through car shopping the last few days. (hey I didn’t own the cars yet) After driving 4 other vehicles she went back to the Camry the car that originally saved her life. As with our other two Toyota’s we went back to Fannin Motors in Russell, KY. Our treatment was first class as always and the price was fair I would shop nowhere else for a Toyota. If you see a little Red bullet with the sun roof open wave; it might just be my wife.

New Portraits

Jake — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:17:15 +0000

These were taken the Saturday before Jess’s wreck.

Therapy, Claims, and a Funky New Keyboard

Jake — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:00:09 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well it’s been another eventful week here at the Stapleton Mansion. There have been no further domestic injuries to report. Petey is healed up and Rick continues to be on the mend.

In other great news Jess’s CT scan came back negative; they did not find any hemorrhaging on her brain. However she is still experiencing increased headaches and occasional extremely sharp pains in her head, so I remain concerned. She is going to therapy everyday and is slowly beginning to have less and less pain; but the path she has to follow is still very long. She is also becoming a little stir crazy and increasingly stressed. Monday will begin her 4^th week off from work and she is concerned about her families. If you add that to the fact that she really has not been anywhere but doctors appointments over the past three weeks you can begin to imagine how she feels. Fortunately her professors at school are working with her so that this entire semester does not have to be scrapped. So far work has been understanding, and has just asked her for a written leave request and the doctor’s excuses for her personnel file. (Which having been a manager I can fully understand)

I may not be a doctor but I think it is going to be a good six weeks from the date of the wreck before she is ready to go anywhere and that will still be in a limited fashion. She just can not move, sit, or stand for any long periods of time. Some other great news that I got this week is that my Nebraska trip has been postponed! I was supposed to fly out today and not return until the 22^nd. Now I will just have to leave next week for a few days to do some work over in the DC area. So as you can imagine I am thrilled that I can be close to home to take care of Jess and handle things.

Monday, I am going to have to start seeing what can be done do to get this claim moving a little faster. I called the body shop last Tuesday to see when Jess’s car might be ready only to find out that additional damage was found and it still might have to be totaled. As of Thursday the adjuster still had not returned to check the car again. We are entering the fourth and last week of our rental coverage so something is going to have to be decided soon. Also the claims guy at my insurance company is indicating that AVIS has not been returning his calls. So I think that a little personal visit to the AVIS booth at Yeager airport might be in order to move this issue along. If you do not recall the Yeager Airport AVIS location is where the cruise missile was launched from that impacted my wife. If they total the car that’s fine we are in an excellent equity position. I just don’t think Jess is going to be in any shape to go car shopping any time soon. That could pose a problem since she would need to pick out a car fairly quickly because the rental will have to be returned. Even though she is going only about 2 miles round trip to therapy she still needs a vehicle to get there because I am out so much.

So enough about the wreck and Jess lets talk about me. This week I had a lot of day trips doing customer visits with my boss. Then I spent Thursday & Friday in Cleveland working with another customer. You know I never ever seem to get to go south for my business travel! Weather was not too big of an issue and I was able to get home about 10:00 on Friday night. I received a call from Willie last night to let us know that his wife Sharon is going in for some surgery at the end of the week. Not knowing how much they want to make public I will just ask that you keeps them in your prayers.

On a personal note I have to report the death of a very close and personal friend. On Sunday night shortly after my last blog post my Logitech wireless keyboard died. After several attempts to revive it there was nothing anyone could do. Just so you know having to shop for a new keyboard is about my least favorite thing to do. I work out of a home office using a KVM switch, so I use the same keyboard, mouse, and monitor for at least a good 12 hours a day. So getting a new keyboard is like having to pick a second skin and has to be done correctly. So I made all the rounds and looked at keyboards ranging from $10 to $200 and just could not find anything that I liked. The feel on some of these new keyboards is just horrible. As depression kicked in I swung by the new Mac shop in Best Buy. It was there that I found possibly the best keyboard ever designed to date. It was the Apple keyboard that they use for their iMac product line. It’s made of aluminum and is extremely sturdy and comfortable to type on. I had to go back to having a wired keyboard but for the feel and comfort I do not mind. I strongly recommend trying one out. It rocks!

That’s about all the interesting news from the Stapleton Mansion for this week Good night and God Bless.

Quotes

Jake — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:08:30 +0000

I have always enjoyed the definition of a Christian as one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble!

Ray Steadman

Whiplash, Snow Angels, and Mean O’l Mr. Gravity

Jake — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:49:38 +0000

Greeting and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let everyone know how Jess is doing. She continues to steadily improve but is still experiencing quite a bit of pain. Her official diagnosis is “whiplash with flexion and extension” or if you want to think of it another way she hyper extended around the seatbelt. In short she hurts a lot and is experiencing some pretty severe headaches. She suffered from migraines before the accident but not of this magnitude and regularity. So just to make sure that everything is really ok she is going for a CT scan tomorrow, just to make sure that nothing was missed with the two sets of x-rays she has already had. She continues to have daily therapy to ease the pain and regain some mobility.

Our current level of luck continued into last week, I had to go out of town a few days and Jess did pretty ok by herself. Her mom and step-father were nice enough to drop off some groceries and when they did there was a minor accident. Her step-father Rick slipped on the ice in our drive way; fell and broke 3 ribs in the process. Our drive way suffered no apparent or immediate injury. He was also nice enough to not charge us for the snow angel art he made in the driveway.

Rick had to be taken to the ER in an ambulance for assessment. That was about 6:00 on Thursday night when I was supposed to be coming home. However with the snowstorm in Elkins and my on site project not going too well I decided to stay in the area one more night. Later Thursday night I get a call that Petey fell on our steps going down to the basement and was now limping around the house. After this the cat (the only fully functional member of my household) was calling my cell phone requesting an emergency extraction.

That’s where we stand now, we hope to have Jess’s test results back on Wednesday so that we can evaluate where we need to go with her treatment.

Please keep her in you prayers and I will try to keep everyone alive.

Quotes

Jake — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:14:40 +0000

Work becomes disruptively more enjoyable if you can shed the clients who buy solely on price. Truth is, you can’t afford them.

Merlin Mann

Doctors, X-Rays, Travel and Flying Monkeys

Jake — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:10:42 +0000

Greeting and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well it’s a week after the wreck and Jess is moving better but is still no where near being well. (In fact she even gave her flying monkeys another week off) We went to another Doctor today and he took several more x-rays and started Jess on some therapy. He also took her off work for another week which just stresses her out, that in addition to the fact that she was supposed to start back to school last Tuesday. Tomorrow we should have some more findings to help develop a course of action to get Jess back into fighting trim.

She continues to be in a lot of pain and discomfort. A little prayer in our general direction would not be turned away. Starting tomorrow I am back on the road and have a lot of windshield time coming up. This will be a mixture of overnights and day trips. The next 60 days will be the busiest period of travel since I joined the company 3 years ago. Needless to say a lot is going on at the Stapleton Mansion.

For those of you who are asking Jake what happened to the car? Well my estimating abilities remain in good standing; I only missed the amount by about $150. The total damage is a little over $6800.00, hopefully the car was moved down to Graley’s this afternoon to undergo surgery.

That’s it for this update good night folks!

Blogs & Cars & Insurance Oh My!

Jake — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:44:26 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well I know I promised that I would keep the blog more updated since the redesign and I kinda have. I now Twitter everyday so at least you all know something that’s going on. Twitter is a micro-blogging service; entries are limited to 140 characters and you can update from a cell phone or the web. Most of you have probably just said a twit-what; he is a twit! I am probably one of the last geeks on the planet not to have an account so I finally drank the kool aid. You can see my twitter feed on the right hand side of my blog.

Now to the big breaking news for the week on Monday night Jess was involved in a motor vehicle accident. She is overall ok but very very sore and banged up. It would seem that a lady flew all the way to WV from GA just to rent a car at Yeager Airport so she could hit my wife, with the precision of a cruise missile. The accident was not Jess’s fault the lady literally made a left turn straight into the driver’s side quarter panel of Jess’s Camry. This had the unfortunate effect of causing Jess to decelerate in an abrupt and unplanned fashion.

All joking aside she was hit HARD! Her glasses and ear rings were knocked off of her head. I had Jess taken to the hospital to be checked out and after several x-rays they determined that there were no fractures. Since Monday night she has been at home resting and trying to work out the soreness. I cancelled all my appointments and travel this week to stay home with her. We have not heard back on the Camry yet but it is probably about $7000 in damage, it shouldn’t be totaled but close.

So we are doing all that insurance stuff that you do when you have a wreck. Even though the wreck was not our fault I called my insurance company on Tuesday and told them “I have been a customer for 11 years, the wreck was not our fault, I am slammed with work, travel, and projects, here’s our $500 deducible now Sick Em! And get it back” So that’s where we stand right now. I have really seen a big difference in Jess today. She is by no means back to normal mobility but she is getting around a lot better. That’s all the news from the Stapleton Mansion goodnight and God Bless.

Quotes

Jake — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:15:36 +0000

“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”
-William Arthur Ward

Opting Out

Jake — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:55:48 +0000

Hey did you all know that there is a website where you can opt out of all firm offers of credit for a period of 5 years or life? Well neither did I, but I found out about it last week; when I received an open credit card offer from my bank and called to complain. Now I can look forward to hopefully not having 10 trees of credit card offers every week in my mailbox (it’s really putting a strain on my over sized shredder). If you want to become cool like us the link is below.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com

Quotes

Jake — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:35:55 +0000

Hey you know what with the new website I can update my quotes this way now!

“A successful life does not result from chance, nor is it determined by fate or good fortune-but rather, through a succession of successful days.”
-Ari Kiev

Christmas 2007

Jake — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:27:25 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well, another Christmas has passed here in the Stapleton household and as usual I am late with my post. This year we changed our schedule quite a bit and for the first time ever in 8 years of marriage, Jess & I spent Christmas morning by ourselves at home.

All in all Christmas went pretty smoothly this year. No big surprises, fights, rogue nuclear weapons, just time with family.

You can see our Christmas Album slideshow in the post below.

Everyone have a safe, happy, & prosperous year.

Christmas 2007 Slideshow

Jake — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:24:31 +0000

A New Site Design But You Probably Can’t Tell

Jake — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:37:39 +0000

Greetings and Salutations faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

Well you may not be able to notice it but my webpage is now done completely in WordPress. This is the software that I use to run my blog and now it handles my entire website (my old website was a knock off of my WordPress theme created in MS publisher to match my blog). It really is a powerful piece of software as I have come to find out and it is a lot easier to maintain. Not to mention that now I have 10’s of thousands of themes to choose from (saves me a little R&D work). Sure I made a few very minor concessions to do this and I am still working on a few legacy content issues (should be solved by the weekend) but this is really the way to go. It is also my hope that by making the site easier to maintain and update that it will not be so static. Please feel free to leave your comments and thoughts about the site (that is all 6 of you that read it.)

If you are interested in starting your own WordPress blog/website the company will host you for free here.

Oh and by the way if you all are wondering how sick in the head I really am this little project was to relax me during some time off.

Have a good one!

Thank You

Jake — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:14:35 +0000

Today I had the privilege to spend Christmas day with my family. However this would not have been possible without the sacrifice of the tens of thousands of men and women who did not.

I would like to take this time on my little blog and just say thank you, to all the men and women that currently serve or who have served in the United States armed forces. Without your sacrifices the Christmas day that I enjoyed is this the most exceptional and free country on Earth would not have been possible.

Thank You and God Bless

Merry Christmas from the Stapletons

Jake — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:16:12 +0000

Jake, Jess, Petey, & Phoebe.

A little slide show to remind us all to put the season in perspective.

A little Christmas Political Humor

Jake — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:39:37 +0000

Hat tip to Nancy for the email.

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just catching up.

Jake — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 02:12:09 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I see my last entry was on July 23rd. Well that was almost 3 ½ freaking months ago what the crap have I been doing? Funny you should ask lets stroll down my recent memory lane so that I can fill everyone in.

Well just after the last Blog entry Jess & I celebrated our 8th anniversary. Then we had a very busy 3 weeks after that. The first week of August I was in Colorado working with a customer. Due to flight times and etc I ended up with a travel day while I was in Colorado. So I went over and visited Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs, then I traveled on to where I was staying in a little town called Limon, CO. There was 1 local restaurant in town the hotel recommended so I ate there and came back and asked the hotel why they would do that to their guests! I was working in the “eastern slope” area of Colorado basically the no man’s land between Colorado Springs and the Nebraska state line. This area of Colorado is about 4200 feet in elevation but is flat as a table! To put this in perspective to the highest point in WV Spruce Knob that is 4863 feet high and is anything but flat. There were more cows then people, so it was an interesting experience. Check out the pictures page for visual aids.

During the week that I was gone Jess’s mom went in for surgery and it became quite a bit more extensive then had been planed. She ended up spending about 3 weeks in the hospital recovering. Jess and I had planned to go on vacation the second full week of August and were going to cancel but Sandy insisted that we go so we did. We spent the week of the August 12th at the beach for a short vacation and came home on Friday. The next week I was in Indianapolis for my company’s Customer Conference, that is always a very tiring experience but the customers do support and enjoy the event. Now keep in mind during this time and travel I still have to keep up with my regular work and customer calls.

The week of my customer conference event Jess started back to school to continue working on her masters in Special Education. She obtained some disturbing news early in the new school year; it looks like we are looking at an extra semester or two so graduation should now be on or about spring 2009. She is working very hard this semester as she always does bringing home A’s left and right. Currently she is taking her first class room course this semester and it looks like she will be going to the Charleston Graduate campus for some courses in the near future. September was a catch up month for me at work and I spent a lot of time bringing some projects to fruition.

October ended up being a very busy month I drove 4300 miles, worked on 3 conversions, and held a customer appreciation event. Jess & I also took on some extra responsibilities at church. Starting on October 7th our church started having 2 services to help ease an overcrowding problem and to help facilitate the continued growth of the church. To help do our part Jess and I now have the pre-schoolers during the first service until February. We thought this would really help as people settle into a new routine at church and additional volunteers can be identified for the time slot.

During this time I have done very little work on the house. I am just tired and it’s mostly done anyway. I still have 13 doors to paint and an entire downstairs worth of trim to fill in the nail holes but everything works so to be honest I really don’t care right now. So that is the end of this report from the Stapleton front I have a lot of travel for the remainder of this quarter and into the next but I will try to do better on my updates.

Before I leave though I wanted to pass along a picture of Jess it appears that the “little voice in her head” manifested itself and she was caught holding it in a picture!

I bet you think our house is about 6000 square feet!

Jake — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:12:58 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well we are still in the home stretch on finishing the house. I took this Friday and Monday as a vacation day with the hopes of completing the project but it does not look like that is going to happen. For everyone out there who does not realize it new construction is much much easier than a remodel. I mean at certain points it can take you 2 hours to get a room trimmed out, especially if the room was built in 1962 and is about as square as an igloo. Speaking of 1962 the wood from back then sucks! It took me almost 4 hours on Friday to change out my front door and it was only the slab! Once I figured out that the door jam was a well aged, brittle, and somewhat rotten the process went a lot easier. I had to use 2 1/2 inch screws to go through the hinges far enough to find good wood! The door jams will have to be redone but that is a project for another year with the screen door it will do for now, we enter and exit the house via the garage anyway. However all that being said I still have a target date of the end of the month set for completion of the remodel. Hence the title as long as we have been working on the house I bet you think its ginourmous (look it up Webster made it a word this year).

Also this month Jess had some family in from Washington State so we visited with them a little, and unfortunately Jess’s step father’s mother passed away as well. So between the house, family, work, & church we have been swamped. August is looking to be pretty full as well I will be in Colorado, at the beach (beach still to be determined), and Indianapolis all for a week at a time. But hey that’s the fast pace life known as Stapleton.

On July 24th Jess and I will be celebrating our 8th Wedding Anniversary (10 years together), then our birthdays shortly there after. So after 2 houses, 1 rental, the cars going to Graley’s Auto Body 12 times, 2 BA degrees, 4 computers, 2 beds, 3 TV’s, 6 DVD players, 10 jobs, 5 cars, 2 surgery, taking in Petey & Phoebe, and finding a church home were still together so it must be love.

It’s getting late and I am planning a full day of trim tomorrow so I will just leave you with the immortal words of Socrates “I Drank What?”.

Have a good week!

What have I been doing?

Jake — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:09:15 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Sorry to let the blog go very stales but I really have been busy lets look at it by the numbers. Since the last blog entry

*Jess had another 4.0 last semester!

Then I have
*Driven 9844 Miles
*Spent 16 Nights in Hampton Inn’s
*Learned that Jess can work a paint sprayer far better than I can
*Nearly finished the 2nd bathroom
*Primed, painted, & hung over 200 feet of trim
*Have entered into the home stretch on finishing the house
*Purchased a new King size bed (that way Jess has to take a cab to bother me while I am sleeping)
*Launched jakestapleton.com version 3.0
*Switched from Movabletype to Wordpress for my blogging software
*Ordered, installed, or rebuilt 7 PC’s
*Developed a new form of road rage for people who drive 65 mph to save gas (that’s their choice and its cool just don’t do it in the left lane!)
*Ditched Comcast for cable and went to Direct TV
*Ditched Comcast for internet and went with Verizon DSL
*Ditched Lingo VOIP for Verizon VOIP
The last 3 above have taken place for the better and a decent cost savings!
*Rejoiced in no rain (no I don’t like a drought but I was tired of mowing twice a week)
*Written my Congressman and Senators over 20 times to complain about their votes (someone is going to regret that email me link one day)

So as you can see from above the Stapleton household has been a very busy place. I have really felt under the gun to get the house completed plus I am just sick of working on it. So the projects have not been very much fun. Working is keeping both myself and Jess very busy lately. So please take this brief update as a catch up and normal updates will resume shortly. Have a great weekend everyone!

Just your average entry.

Jake — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:32:12 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I hope this entry finds everyone well. Let see what’s been happening since the last entry. Jess had a lot of her hair cut off. She went from being a wookie to being an ewok with a little more color. This weekend I performed my first mowing of the year and cleared out the so called “landscaping” around the front of our house to make way for some new LOW maintenance stuff of our own. It only took 7/55 gallon garbage bags to get everything cleaned up. This will be a shocker for a lot of you but after working on it for a month I am now getting up at 5:15 every morning!

For those of you that know I am a night person you can appreciate this, it has obviously allowed a lot extra time in my day. I read a lot of productivity blogs and the current trend is getting up earlier and not working over at night to allow more family or leisure time in you day. My goal was to start getting up earlier to work out but I have been so busy lately it has been used to work I have also been working a lot of Saturday’s and evenings as well but that is starting to level off now. That’s a really good thing I have been busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest in need of a hip replacement. Speaking of hips some of you might remember from my last entry that the cat had a domestic accident well it appears that her left hip is really messed up. I believe that this just aggravated an injury that the cat already had when Jess picked Phoebe up out of the middle of road but getting stuck in the chair made it worse. So we are taking Phoebe to see an orthopedic specialist in Cross Lanes to see what we can do for her if anything. However she is moving very well and still causing trouble and anxiety on a daily basis her hip just pop’s out when she walks sometimes. Well that’s about all that has been going on but I will leave you guys a slide show of what the Petey & Phoebe look like now she has grown a lot.

Click here for the slide show.

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Miles and miles he goes where he stops?

Jake — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:31:44 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

Well since I see it has been a month since an entry lets get everyone up to speed. First of all last month was short and very busy. I drove 5,120 miles and converted and trained 4 bank branches all the while maintaining my normal work responsibilities. I commuted about 300 miles a day during the process. Yes I could have got a hotel room but I only needed to be in the bank from about 10 to 3, and you know when you travel a lot if you have the chance to sleep in your own bed you take it. However the conversion went extremely well and I ended up receiving several kudos both internal and external for pulling it off; putting another feather in your cap never hurts. Work has finally allowed me to get a Blackberry I have only had it a few days but its sweet! It is my hope that this will allow me just to keep up with my email while I am out of the office so I don’t have to come in every night and spend my first 30 minutes answering emails. Jess has been working like a dog as well plus continuing her full time graduate classes. I have finally talked her into taking half time next semester at this point she has accomplished so much it should only delay her graduation by a semester.

The house is coming along we have a lot of the ceiling up in the basement now. I took my last vacation day on February 26^th and that weekend I painted 220 feet of trim with 2 coats of paint. Then on that Monday I hung quite a bit of it for a vacation day it was pretty sweet. I played with my power tools and Patton was on AMC (there is of course cable in the man cave oops I mean “garage”) it does not get much better than that. I am making preparations to landscape around the front of the house something has to be done there are some really really unattractive plants out there. Several people have asked for pictures of the house but I am only going to publish them when the house is done so everyone can see the before and after. But I fully expect it will take me the rest of the year to finish out the house.

Last Friday Phoebe suffered a domestic accident she was trying to get through some railings on our kitchen chairs and was stuck. When I found her she was struggling hanging upside down by her hips. So after 2 sets of x-rays she has nothing broken but she is of course uncomfortable and her hip pops out when she walks. So the vet prescribed some pain pills to give her for 8 days. Now let me ask this question have you every tried to give a cat a pill? Let me describe it to you this way imagine wrestling with an ill tempered porcupine that is on fire, that holds a grudge and there you have it. So we have this long tube you stick down her throat to shoot the pill in her mouth, Jess is doing the shooting while I have the cat wrapped up in a towel trying to hold its mouth open. Gee you know we only have to do this 7 more times. At least we are getting some free entertainment I think that the cat believes that Care Bears are here and play with her! (Obscure 80’s movie reference)

Jess and I are looking forward to some much deserved time off this year please feel free to pass long any suggestions for vacation destinations. I tried to talk her into going to Jamaica to stay at Ian Fleming’s Goldeneye estate but for some reason she thinks $900 a night is a little steep the nerve!

Everyone take care talk to you soon.

Just getting along.

Jake — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 23:31:14 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well I know it has been a while since my last posting so here I go! We survived Christmas once again. It was out first year without a Christmas tree since the pre-lit tree we bought ( I say we but it was my butt that was out at 4:30 in the morning on Black Friday, but I’m not bitter!) did not exactly meet our needs so we took it back and used a ceramic Christmas tree in its place. You can see the Christmas picture slide show here. I took or tried to take a little bit of time of around the holidays but that did not work very well I had to end up canceling one of the days because of circumstances at work. Like I said I love my job but on occasion it takes a wallop out of me.

This month has not been too bad the first couple of weeks of the year are a good catch up time; most banks don’t won’t you to bother them during their end of year process. I have done a conversion this month and a couple of trips to Paducah for training but that’s about it. Jess’s new job is going great in fact she went to Columbus, OH this week for a train the trainer class on the restraint of special needs clients. So I got to stay home with the mopey animals for a change. Jess is taking full time classes this semester again and that is taking a great deal of her time. Basically if she is not at work or church she is doing something associated with school, but to keep all these 4.0’s she must be doing something right.

As for the house everything that is left to do is detailed work and to tell you the truth I am a little fried on remodeling right now. This in addition to the fact that everything I have left to do is detail work has really slowed things down a bit. You just have to be in the right mind set to do that kind of stuff you know? Last weekend Rick and I spent 10 hours hanging just the ceiling tiles in the family room drop ceiling. We left the old grid up in the room from before the remodel. Let’s just say that 221 cuts and tiles later we were done. It did not take us very long to determine that the grid was about as square as an igloo! We are going to work every third Saturday to keep things moving but I really hope to have this thing done by the end of summer.

Jess & I started a new Beth Moore Bible study at church last week this one is open to both men & women on the book of Daniel so we took it together. It’s been pretty good so far God has given Beth Moore such a gift for delivering his word.

Besides all things listed above that’s just about it nothing more exciting than just getting along.

Good Article For Anyone

Jake — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 23:30:49 +0000

As the terrorists change, so does technology. What worked for airport screening a year ago does not work today. So the terrorists and all the security agencies seem to be changing to protect innocent people. The question is—what are the innocent people doing to change? It seems that just when you get used to one type of screening or “requirement” another one comes along and there is nothing wrong with that as long as it keeps us safe. It seems that the frequent flyers are able to adjust to the changes relatively free of stress. However, what about Joe and Jane Q. Public who only use the airlines for vacations or very infrequent travel?

Change is just as necessary for them as anyone else. However, as an infrequent flyer, are you going to be a leader around change at the airports or a victim? The choice is yours.

Do you show up at the airport unprepared and with little information so you slow other travelers down and give them and yourself a headache or do you research ahead of time what is required of you and your personal belongings?

Do you gripe and complain at the lines to enter security or do you take a deep breath and thank God for your ability to fly safely?

Are you dealing with each security agent through the processing line with reaction or are you a model of leadership, self-control, compassion and understanding?

Are you stressing yourself out with thoughts/self-talk of fear, doom or uncertainty or are you breathing regularly and deeply to maintain your balance and calm?

Leadership in any situation is like your lover. You can either be a victim and say, “I can’t handle it” or “I give up” as she takes you on a wild goose chase or disappoints you on a special occasion or you can embrace him and say, “You’re worth it.”

How do you handle change at your business? With fear and stagnation, sabotage and passive aggressive behavior? Leadership is about seeing the good in everything and being the model for that experience not only at the airport but also at your work place. Life is about change whether at the airport or your place of business.

New Addition to the Web Site

Jake — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 23:29:17 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

I wanted to take a moment and do some shameless self promotion. If you get the chance check out my new news and articles page Things I Find Interesting. You can get to its permanent link from the navigation bar on the right hand side of every page on my website except for this blog page (sorry hosted by third party software). Drop me some comments and let me know what you think.

Jake

P.S. If you would like a invitation to try Google Reader or Gmail let me know I have plenty.

Christmas 2006

Jake — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:07:11 +0000

Link to the full slideshow
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Finally a new entry!

Jake — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 23:28:51 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

I know it has been a while since a good update entry so I thought that I would spend some time and bring everyone up to speed on the Stapleton household. First of all let me mention that the First Lady of the Stapleton Mansion got her grades last week and she earned another 4.0! This just goes to prove that her brain is as big as her 80’s hairdo. This puts Jess about 1/3 of the way done with her masters, so she is moving at a pretty brisk clip through graduate school. Jess is also doing well at her new job it’s a lot slower pace than her old job so she’s having to adjust. The good news is from the information that we continue to get from her old place of business this move was definitely the right thing to do.

I am also pleased to announce that last weekend we finally finished unpacking and organizing the house so that I can get back to the construction once Christmas is over. Due to some unforeseen circumstances at work it looks like I am going to have 8 very intense months ahead in 2007, but I am still hoping to make progress on the house at an acceptable pace. My plan is to have all the interior stuff completed in time to landscape in the spring. We really have some of the most unattractive plants surrounding our house at the present time. Right now we just about have all the doors hung but I will have to take them back down to paint and make the adjustments for them to close properly (but they are out of our way). There is still a lot of trim and crown molding to put up, along with the ceilings downstairs, and completing the new bathroom in the basement so things are not going to slow down too much around here in the near future.

All in all however things are going very on all front’s in the Stapleton household. Work is keeping me very busy. Last month I picked up my first company car (a long held dream come true since the beginning of my commuter days) nothing fancy I just got a 2007 Accord. I have almost put it through my first 5000 miles and I only have 2 complaints. First, there is no auxiliary input jack for my MP3 player or XM radio and second the seats are somewhat uncomfortable. I doubt I will get another Accord but for my first foray into the company car program it will work. Jess & I have been very busy at church as always. In fact we are both teaching Sunday school this month Jess has the preschoolers and I have the toddlers. Petey and Phoebe are getting along relatively ok but man she is a handful. There is not one of us in the house that is not bearing a scar emotional or physical from the kitten stalking us, that and we are having the worst time keeping her out of the shower whether if we are taking a shower at the time or not! On the geek front I have been beta testing the Google reader which is an RSS feed aggregator product. This thing is the bomb! If you read RSS feeds daily you should really check it out. As for the website I hope that everyone is enjoying it I have some ambitious plans for it if I can every get around to putting them into place so stay tuned.

Lastly, we would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. May you remember the true reason for the holiday to celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. As you succumb to the inevitable rate race of activities during this time may you be covered by the grace and love of God during your travels and time together with your family.

Take care, everyone talk to you soon.

Dogs & Cats & a Wife Oh My!

Jake — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:27:00 +0000

Greeting and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

A lot of people have been asking how are the dog and the cat getting along please let me provide you a graphic representation.

Mom & Dad I would like to have a pet.

Then mysteriously while Dad is working on the new house day and night Mom just so “happens” to find a tiny Kitten in the middle of 5th Street Road. Hmmmm

Hello my name is Phoebe I am the little kitten that Mom named within the first 12 hours of finding me that’s when dad knew he was screwed! I like to play with my big brother bubby but I tend to get on his nerves a little. Plus he hates to share his bed with me!

Dad, Dad, Dad my pet is unruly can I eat her now?

But all in all they are getting along pretty well the cat is not too bad she is just a fully functional kitten!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Everyone from the Stapletons!

Bond is Back!!!!!

Jake — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:26:32 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let everyone know that Jess & I went to go see Casino Royale when it opened on the 17th. Being the picky Bond fan that I am I thoroughly enjoyed it, Jess loved it too! Neither one of us were too thrilled with Daniel Craig as Bond but his performance won us over. The theatre at Pullman Square was packed by people of all ages and I think it would have been #1 at the weekend box office but due to a 144 minute run time the movie could not have been shown as many times as Happy Feet over the weekend. Casino Royale was only #2 by $700,000 but all in all plenty successful and enjoyable. I am not going to do a review there are plenty of those out there just know it was awesome!

We have moved!

Jake — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 23:26:01 +0000

Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog readers!

Well I know that it has been a while since an update so first of all let me say that I am sorry. But there have simply not been enough hours in the day of late to do anything but the necessities. So I am going to give a quick bullet point update today in hopes that I can get back to regular updates at a later time.

After 75 days of remodeling we moved into our new house on October 30^th. There are still some doors left to be hung and painted and the same goes for the downstairs trim, and we also need to hang the drop ceiling downstairs, but the house is very livable and we are all under one roof.

If it does not speak, bark, or meow I can’t find it. Putting the house together is taking way longer than I expected but then again Jess & I are just plain worn out.

Meow? Jake when do you get a cat? Well that’s an interesting story 5 days before we moved Jess found an 8 week old kitten in the middle of 5^th Street Road and saved it. Within 18 hours the cat had been named Phoebe and I knew I was screwed then and had to keep it. So now Petey has the pet that he has always wanted.

Jess gave her 2 week notice at work on Friday. She is going to work for another agency doing exactly what she did at her old job.

I have been working either at work or on the house and sleeping and that’s just about it for me.

Sorry the update was so plain but that’s about all I have in me right now. I am feeling very old and worn out but I am trying to correct that a little bit everyday. 3 months of averaging 5 hours sleep a night and 5000 miles a month have taken a pretty decent toll on me. But now we are all in the house under one roof I can try to get back to normal and get a little bit rest. I hope this update finds everyone well take care.

Traveling & Remodeling

Jake — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 23:25:10 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

As you can tell with the gaps in my posts the Stapleton Mansion remodel has been keeping me busy. I have also had a lot of out of town nights at work, and I found out on Friday I have to go to Texas for a week in October. Then when you throw in the fact that Jessica had bronchitis (Petey stayed in the bed with her for 1 ½ weeks straight, boy did she get the axe murder look when she went back to work), along with the remodel moving slower than my crack brain had planned we have had to put off moving. We are going to stay in the town house another month to allow the remodel to be completely finished before we move in. This would mean a move in date of late in October but I have set no dates yet. A lot has happened since my last entry all the walls are up and the drywall hung downstairs. The upstairs is trimmed out and almost fully painted, & we have ordered a Kitchen from Chandlers and that is just at the house.

At church we have begun our 40 Days of Community campaign for which I created a website. Speaking of websites I have been getting pretty good at building them lately I have recently begun an online sermon archive for the church called PRBC Media it’s linked to the church’s home page. This site is streaming baby! I have even figured out how to stream video but have not got the chance to use it yet. What was I talking about oh yeah the campaign Jess & I are leading a small group of middle school girls on Sunday nights for the duration of the campaign, we had our first meeting tonight. This weekend Jess & I went to see Beth Moore at the Charleston Civic Center. That was a great time, yes Beth Moore is a women’s bible study leader but I and some other men from church went to it with their wives I have labeled us “trophy husbands”. But her studies are really good and thought provoking; Jess & I have been working on one at home together. While we were at the conference Jess, myself, and 2 other couples were asked to go up on stages to speak about what we loved most about our wives. So in front of 11,000 people I got on the microphone declared my love for my wife. Needless to say got some brownie points from telling the truth for once!

Well wish I had some more to talk about but I can sum up the time since my last entry this way. I have been at church, remodeling, working, or sleeping. I hope this entry finds everyone well catch ya later.

No I am not dead!

Jake — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:24:33 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to sum up the remodeling efforts on the new Stapleton Mansion

Home Depot Sucks!
Boy that is a lot of paint.
No apparently my electrical tester does not work that would account for my new perm.
Yes honey the house is a little behind, but my garage does look fantastic doesn’t it.
60 sheets of drywall and 150 studs! My O My
Your time table gets put in perspective when you are delivered a pallet of drywall mud to finish the drywall that you intend to hang.

I have been working a lot on the house, between that and work I am about dead. So that would account for the staleness of the blog.

I have been getting a lot of help on the house from my painting crew (Jess’s mom & her step dad Rick) and also my technical consultant (Jess’s Dad). There is no way I could be as far along as I am without their help. Things are moving along at a good clip considering we are doing the work. I have accepted a fall back position from my original plans to accommodate our moving date. The basement will not be completed by our move in, but I hope to have everything accomplished by November 12th. As for the kitchen that is anyone’s guess we cancelled the order with Home Depot for our cabinets. I just finally had enough of them not giving us any service worth a crap and we are exploring other vendors at this time.

Well I am heading to bed everyone have a great week!

Stapleton Mansion Update #4

Jake — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 23:07:49 +0000

Our house in the middle of the street, our house in the middle of the street, our house in the middle of the street. Ok maybe you need to be an 80’s child to understand but I thought it was funny.

We closed & took possession yesterday!

Stapleton Mansion Update #3

Jake — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 23:07:05 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well that was interesting!

Jess & I did not close on the house Friday because the sellers came to the closing unprepared. Apparently the house that we are buying is included in a bridge loan with the seller’s new home. Not a problem in itself unless you are the sellers and come to closing without the proper release documentation so that you release the house from the bridge loan. We are a little aggravated but I feel confident will close on the house early next week. I really do not blame the sellers most people have no idea what is involved in securing and releasing property but their realtor should have!

Obviously I had a full weekend of work planned at the house and all the utilities are already in our name & I had to call my insurance agency to make sure they did not start my homeowners (BUT I’M NOT BITTER). Oh well if holding of the closing a few days is the worst thing that happens during this process then we are going to be alright. (Still a little bitter but alright)

So looks like I am going to take a day off on Sunday afternoon and take my starkly white mouse jockey body to the wave pool on Sunday. It will be the closest thing we get to the beach this year. Everyone take care I will post an entry and a picture of the house when we close have a good one. Jake

Just catching my breath

Jake — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 23:22:58 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Sorry for letting the blog go a little stale I have been busy working on the new Stapleton Mansion. If I have not been traveling, working, or at church I have been working at the house. It is coming along nicely although we are having a bit of an ordeal getting the kitchen ordered. But I am feeling much better now that I have resided myself to the fact that when we move in, our kitchen will be freshly painted with a new floor and all of our new appliances hooked up with no cabinets or sink. I seem to deal better this way. Home Depot has just really dropped the ball on this project. The basement room walls are up and studded I hope to hang some drywall next week once the plumbers get done (I don’t do plumbing) and we get the electric ran. We had a painting party last weekend and did not get as much done as I had hoped but my garage looks very very nice. You have to have your priorities you know! As far as work goes busy as usual I was in Indianapolis much of last week at our annual customer conference. Jess started back to school last week and already has papers do. Fun fun fun. Once this move is over I am looking forward to life getting back to just plain old “busy” instead of being “freakin busy” all the time .

Well just wanted to catch everyone up it’s 1:00 AM and I am going to bed have a great week everyone!

Stapleton Mansion Update #2 (Closing is imminent!)

Jake — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 23:06:15 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have a closing date on the house! We will be closing at 4:00 this Friday. That gives us 49 days to do the demolition, construction, re-model, & oh and I nearly forgot move! With my business travel it will be tight but I am confident that we will be able to make it. Lots of busy time ahead but also a lot of quality power tool time and you just can not beat that. I will post some pics later have a good one.

Petey Meets Bambi

Jake — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:05:55 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Well, I normally do not do little posts like this but I thought I would share my morning exercise with you. The morning started out like any other I took Petey out so he could go to the bathroom. Then I hear hooves and turn around. In the middle of my road about 3 feet from me a fawn skids to a stop. The fawn and I look at each other, both a little startled. Then Petey sees the fawn. There they stand face to face, about 6 feet apart (all of a sudden I started hearing The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Theme in my head). Petey and the fawn lock eyes (I would imagine that Petey is thinking “big brown dog”! The fawn is probably thinking “too small to be a hunter”!). Petey starts to run toward the fawn (Jack Russell’s are hunting dogs ya know.) as it loops around me and around Petey and starts running down the road toward the Jehovah’s Witness Temple at the end of our road.

Now this is the funny part if you were looking out the living room window of the town house 2 units down from us this is what you saw. Please keep in mind that the town house in question is recessed and has a very narrow field of view, like a set of horse blinders. So, if they were observing the morning sunrise, they saw a 4 foot tall fawn running down the middle of the road, running from a 18 inch high dog, both being chased by an overweight mouse jockey in Birkenstocks. I know I would have been laughing my head off. Have a good one Jake.

Stapleton Mansion Update #1

Jake — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:05:15 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that the home inspection went very well and unless the house does not appraise, its ours. To be honest, I see no way that the house will not appraise so the deal is done in my mind. So now I have to work up some pricing for improvements that I am going to add into the loan to finish out the house. I am also trying to move the closing date up. There is a lot of construction that will need to take place before we move in at the end of September. With the exception of the kitchen, I am going to be doing most the work myself and with the help of family. So looks like I have a rough 60 days ahead. But I feel that the Lord has taken great care of me and Jess and provided this home for us, so I know it (and I) will be taken care of during the process.

Our 7th Wedding Annivesary and a Busy Week

Jake — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:04:40 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

This week Jess & I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. That’s it 7 years I am out of the pool. I guess someone else will win the pot now! I worked from home on Monday to finalize the financing on the house and I took Jess out to dinner. I was on the road the rest of the week; I had 40 hours in by Wednesday. After that, the rest of the week just becomes a blur it’s a good thing the Buick knows the way home. On Saturday we helped move Ricky (Jess’s brother) to Morgantown, he begins Dental School this fall. (see the pics on the pictures page) I am getting closer and closer to free dental care! That made for a long Saturday. Then Sunday Jess & I went to church and then just crashed. Not a very exciting update but the truth. Have a great day everyone.

We have a new Stapleton Mansion Under Contract

Jake — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:04:07 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

Just thought I would drop a quick entry to let you know that we have completed negotiations on a new Stapleton Mansion. We have been offering and counter offering for the past couple of days and to be honest, Jess was the one that came up with the magic number. I just told her that I was getting way too Alpha-Male on this, just give me a number! This is the last offer we are going to make. The house is exactly what we wanted and exactly where we wanted it and the best part is the price was waaaaayyyyy below what we wanted to pay. It just makes my cheap little heart go pitter patter. (I sense a God thing going on here) So since we were already pre-approved we are at the home inspection phase that could still scuttle the deal. We really won’t know for sure about the house until the first week of August.

The house is located on Broadmoor Drive off of East Pea Ridge Road. The house has an attached garage and will be (before we move in) 3 beds 2 full baths and a big family room in the basement. The lot is rolling and with a flat piece at the top of the lot where the house is and a not so gentle slope down to the bottom part of the lot which is flat also. But compared to what Petey is used to, he will need a golf cart to do a complete patrol of the yard.

The house is about 3 minutes from the interstate I think it will cut about 10 minutes off of my commute. In addition to that, it is very close to Church and 3 roads and several hillsides away from my mother-in-law (yesssss)! Can’t get much better than that! Well we will keep you all informed. Have a good one.

Boy have I let the Blog go stale!

Jake — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:03:09 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

Sorry it has been a while since an update but Jess & I have been busier than a one legged person in a butt kicking contest in need of a hip replacement!

Since the last blog entry, I have been working on site with a lot of customers. In fact since my last entry I have driven 6386 miles and only left the state once! That is just wrong! Jess has been equally busy, most weeks having her 40 hours in by Thursday. To be honest, I have spent so much time in Elkins lately that I think I have a property tax bill here from Randolph county somewhere. Well at least all the hard work seems to be paying off. Since the last, entry Jess & I both received 2 very good reviews at work.

We have also begun house hunting. We have looked at 16 houses and drove by countless others and the only thing that I can say is that people are very proud of their property. We are looking at property that is 3 times the cost of our starter house and we have yet to find anything as nice. People are flipping nuts out there! No updates since the 60’s (one house even had a fuse box) and yet they want 130K to 150K for it! But we are still continuing to look. It takes a lot of time out of our week, but I would like to have something lined up to where I can have about 30 days to work on what ever we buy before we move in. Our lease is up at the end of September but it rolls to month to month after that so we are fortunate to have a lot of fleixibility in our purchasing decision.

Last weekend was Jess’s 10 year high school reunion. Overall, not a bad evening. There was only one rule that I was given and that was “I am not going to my 10 year high school reunion in a Buick!” Hence we had to drive the Camry. We tend to take the Buick everywhere to save Jess’s car since mine can not avoid the high mileage. The evening was pretty entertaining from my standpoint anyway.

Jess & I have also been working on our part for the 40 Days of CommUNITY campaign at church. The meetings and website work for the campaign havw been keeping us busy also. I wish I could say that we have been doing more but that is just about it. We have just been busy and if we find a house I do not see the rat race getting any easier until about Christmas and we all know how much fun that time of year is. I would like to plan a cruise during the winter to decompress from the last year but we will see. I hope this entry finds everyone well. We will catch up with you all later.

Uncle Sam has gone home to rest

Jake — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:00:47 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers

I am writing today to let you all know that Uncle Sam has passed away. He went home to be with Aunt Nancy on Fathers Day Morning about 7:00.

As I sit back and think about this I have some mixed emotions. I am of course sad that I won’t get to see or talk with him again in this life time, but I am more happy than anything. Uncle Sam always wanted to do for himself, he never wanted to be old and in need of help. As his breathing problems became worse he increasingly had to rely on his son Andy & his wife Laura who were always at his side ready to help. But I really think there has been such a weight on his heart since Aunt Nancy died that he really has just longed to be reunited with her again.

You see Uncle Sam & Aunt Nancy were more grandparents to me than anything else. Bobba (that’s what we called my dad’s mom) was 75 years older than me. Although we could talk and I visited with her regularly, I never spent a lot of time with her like my other siblings. I came along so late in life that my other siblings were there to babysit me. My Grandfather on dad’s side of the family died back in the 1940’s way before I came along. On my mom’s side I never knew my grandmother she died in the 60’s. Pawpaw (mom’s dad) lived about an 1 1/2 hours away and although we went to visit I never really spent a lot of time with him I was young and had cousins to play with. Since I had siblings to watch me I never went up and stayed with him like my brother and sisters. Pawpaw died when I was in the 8th grade.

So that brings us back to Uncle Sam & Aunt Nancy they were just right. Just old enough to be grandparents and up on current events enough to be fun! When I think about it that is what they really were to me. Going to their house was always free entertainment if you came out of the house not knowing where you stood with them or where they stood that was your own fault. If you did not know what they were thinking it was your own fault! If you ever left the house hungry that was most definitely your own fault! It was a house of hospitality that was always open, honest, & generally hysterical. Uncle Sam was always tinkering with something that was fun to help out with or just to watch. The man had more tools than most small governments.

I will always have fond memories of spending time up there. But I am happiest that Uncle Sam & Aunt Nancy are together again. I am glad they are both at rest and I am looking forward to seeing them again one day.

Can we start the week over?

Jake — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 22:59:54 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!

What a week! Jess, Petey, & I have all been put through the paces this week. If it doesn’ t kill you the Lord will only use it to make you stronger in your faith.

Lets start with Monday

Monday started out great, the morning was going well not running late Jess & I put Petey up for the day and started down the stairs and then I hear her scream. She has fallen down the steps in the townhouse again. Unfortunately this time she really hurt herself. She came down on her left elbow and then bounced down about 10 steps on her right hip, bumping off the side walls as she was going down the steps. While all the time leaving me a convenient trail of milk that allowed me to find her eventual resting place. That’s my Gracie! So I got her back up on her one good foot and took her to the ER. Now a little side note the last 2 times she has been to the Cabell Huntington Hospital ER it has been for fall injuries and this makes the third time in a row. So now we’re getting all the battered wife questions. (Is he always at home when you fall?), (So he was behind you on the steps?), (You had just bought an expensive purse & shoes?) After Jess had been examined and irradiated it was good news is no broken bones! She did however sustain a couple of sprains and was and still is very sore. All this is addition to the fact that she now has several areas of her body that are roughly the color of Barney the dinosaur. So I took her home to rest and heal for a few days.

Tuesday

I worked out of the house most of this week to help take care of Jess and we noticed that Petey was becoming lethargic, having labored breathing, and just plain was not acting right. So I took him to the Vet on Tuesday they pulled some blood work and he had almost no red blood
cells. I asked the doctor was wrong and she gives me 3 answers Bone Cancer, Autoimmune Disease, or a Tick Born Disease. The last one being the only one that is really treatable in dogs. Petey is only 4 and this news about killed us. If you have not figured it out yet it would be better for something to happen to one of us than to Petey. So the Vet wants to keeps him overnight in the Dog ICU unit (yes they have one) and if his numbers do not come back up he may need a blood transfusion. The Vet starts trying to give me estimates of what it is going to cost and I looked her straight in the eye and told her, I only ask for pricing on my wife’s medical bills the dog gets whatever he needs just do it! So we take Petey’s pillow and blanket over to leave with him at the vet and we return home. About 11:00 that night the Vet calls and says that Petey has responded very well to the IV fluids and medication they will call and let us know more tomorrow.

Wednesday

Jess is still laid up in bed, my dog is in ICU, & I am working out of the house. We call the vet and they want us to come to visit Petey in the afternoon. We get to the Vet and his red blood cell count has gone from 17 to 45! That is in the lower 1/3 of normal for a dog and they let us bring him home. The vet tells us that the way he responded she does not think that it is Bone Cancer. We looked at his blood under the microscope and there are dots in his red blood cells that are not suppose to be there. The vet tells use that they are going to send his blood off to an outside lab for a more detailed analysis. But the results won’t be back for a few days so we will have to wait. So all 3 of us go home very happy to be together again.

Thursday

Jess very painfully goes back to work, Petey is feeling a lot better, & I have to call on a customer today. Things were starting to look up at the Stapleton household although some clouds are still hanging over Petey’s health. Then I get a call that Uncle Sam is in ICU with pneumonia, he is on a respirator and unresponsive. For those of you who do not know my Uncle Sam has only 17% lung capacity left so this news carries more then it’s normal weight for us. Then Jess returns to work and finds out that a co-worker of hers has blood clots in his lungs and is going to have surgery on Friday. So with this news in tow I left about 11:00 to go on my call. I had a good meeting but I did not get home until about 9:00 that night. I come home and Petey is staring to breathe a little harder and there is no change in Uncle Sam. Now to be honest by now anytime Petey sniffles we are ready to call in every vet for 500 miles & just give them the AMEX card. So we decide to take Petey back to the Vet on Friday for another blood pull to check on his progress and continue to pray for Uncle Sam.

Friday

I go back into the office, Jess goes to work, Uncle Sam is in ICU, Jess’s friend is being operated on, & Petey is sleeping on his temperpedic bed. My bad day starts before I even get to the office with my cell phone ringing. I work in Banking Technology & Jess is in Human Services so we can not give too many details about our bad days (sorry). But today my bad day was mostly my fault I had made a error that took me all day to get corrected and worked out for the customer. The fact that the problem was my fault irritated me even more. However on the bright side Jess got some awesome news at work about a client so we leveled each other out. Then I get home that evening to take Petey & Jess to the Vet. While we are at the Vet we are told that all the blood work is not back yet but we have enough of the results to learn that Petey does NOT have an Autoimmune Disease and at this point anything that is going to come back in the blood work is treatable! We pulled some more blood and his stats are level at 45, we ask the doctor some more questions and with our worries satisfied and Petey doing great for as sick as he is we go home. So it’s Friday night Jess & Petey are both getting better! But then I called to check on Uncle Sam and there is no change.

It’s Saturday morning now and things are all looking up except for Uncle Sam. I feel very fortunate that Jess & I got to visit with him for about an 1 1/2 hours last Sunday. To be honest I do not get up there as much as I should but it was nice that we visited with Uncle Sam on a good day. He was feeling well, very conversational, and just plain awnry. We are all hoping for the best for Uncle Sam and keeping him in our prayers. Well that’s the week thus far in the Stapleton household. Can we take a do over?

Catching up the Blog

Jake — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:58:40 +0000

Greetings & Salutations faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

Let’s see it has been a while since a good update so here goes. Since my last update I have been to Gulfport, Mississippi for a Mission trip and been working like a dog! (Not a dog life like Petey lives, I am talking a work dog like a Sheppard Dog or something, maybe that’s why things have to be in order so much? But I digress.) I was buried before I left on vacation and came back to only 100 or so emails which wasn’t bad but it took my 3 days just to figure out what needed to be done. Like I have said before my job is great it just keeps me busy. I learned the other day that I will end up with 9 customers which range in geography from Marietta, OH to Elkins WV to Peterstown, WV. I know people look at the number 9 like it is small but I am basically a Customer Service & Project Manager to these Banks as well as a consultant of sorts. With 9 banks so far spread out and an average of a 20 day working month that means I spend almost half my month on the road behind a windshield and that number doesn’t included other special trips out to the banks besides my monthly calls, which can be frequent. So I am going to try to be as efficient as possible in order to keep up.

Jess has been pretty busy too she has been trying to fit in her business travel around mine and it has not been easy I have been out 3 ½ of the last 6 weeks. The other day she celebrated her third year at Autism Services Center. She is doing awesome in her job and she gets to help others everyday which she loves. Jess & I have some pretty exciting things on the horizon. Starting the week of July 10^th Jess & I are back house hunting I am hoping that we can find something that we like and that the real estate committee I mean Jessica will like. I really don’t want to move any further than Barboursville, my drive is subsidized and we would have to pay for Jess to drive into to work so something like a Teays Valley location is out as far as I am concerned. We are also going to our first Communication Team meeting tomorrow for our 40 Days of Community campaign that our church is going to have this fall. This is addition to what we normally do for Church and Work we are looking at being very busy way into the fall. Our lives are tiring but rewarding so I guess we shouldn’t complain, but man we are tired. Well everyone take care, that’s the news and I am outta here.

Gulfport Mississippi Mission Trip

Jake — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:58:04 +0000

Greetings & Salutations faithful Stapleton Blog Readers.

Well I have finally got around to posting a report on my mission trip to Gulfport Mississippi. First of all I feel the need to give some background information on how we found our way down to the Gulfport area. Last year about a week after Hurricane Katrina struck our Church which is packed with engineers and medical personnel (so if you need to build something we are there and if we get hurt doing it we have staff on hand) felt compelled to do something to help in the aftermath of Katrina. So our church got in contact with a medical group that was working in the Hurricane area just inside Mississippi. So the Church through generous donations and offerings were able to pack a few trucks and trailers with medical and other supplies. The first group left a little under 2 weeks after Katrina hit. Once our first group got to their destination they were told that no one knew they were coming and that their help was not needed but they knew where they were needed. So the group headed further south into Gulfport, Mississippi not knowing what to expect or what they would find. While the team was driving through Gulfport they came upon St. James Baptist church located just about 4 blocks from the gulf. This church is lead by Pastor Eddie Hartwell and had fashioned itself as a disaster recovery & supply distribution center. So our team stopped there they set up a clinic and those who were not medical personnel started taking care of other needs in the community. Our first team stayed about a week and the following week we sent in another team that did pretty much the same work. We have stayed in contact with Pastor Hartwell since then and learned he had setup a non-profit corporation and had started through donations to rebuild housing in the area. Our Pastor Greg Creasy wrote a grant to the National Baptist Convention to aid in the Disaster Recovery Ministry. So our church and several other churches in West Virginia are sending down several teams this year to aid in the reconstruction, that’s how I ended up in Gulfport Mississippi for a week in May.

So here’s my part of the story I cannot begin to tell you the destruction and devastation that still exists in the areas where Katrina struck. Things are just now getting to the point where people can begin to rebuild. Communities are still in recovery mode, there was a 38 foot storm surge in the Gulfport area. Houses were literally washed off of their foundation and moved inland. One person, one organization, or one government agency is not going to be enough to help this area recover we all must do our part to take help others make this area livable again. We are better together and can accomplish anything if we all just do a small part to help out. If you are a Christian I ask you to please help in Christian love if you are not a believer in Christ I would ask you to help out of shear human decency. There are still people hurting everyday where Katrina struck. In fact there is one facility called Katrina’s Kitchen that is still serving 1000’s of meal daily, just because this is no longer front page news does not mean the problem has passed. People are trying to help themselves but in many cases they are unable to. Most of the employment centers for the area were along the ocean front and were obliterated. Just a little bit further west of Gulfport there were 2 towns called Wayland & Past Christian. These towns were in the path of the eye wall of the Hurricane and were literally wiped of the face of the earth. They have merged in an attempt to draw people back in and generate enough of a tax base to start rebuilding.

With all this destruction what did I do to help? First all of I did not go alone I was joined by Pastor Greg Creasy & Lynn Hudson from my church, Ron Alyestock, Pastor Mark Jarrell, & Becky Vandergriff from Genesis Fellowship Church, & Daniel Beiling from Fist Baptist Church of Ravenswood. We went down for a week to work with the St. James Baptist Church Disaster Recovery Ministry. While we were there we helped in finishing out a house and did some other odd and ends. Like I said in an earlier post “Using power tools for the Lord it doesn’t get any better”! We had a good week of fellowship and very tiring work. When I set back and think about all that we did in the grand scheme of things it really did not amount to a hill of beans for what needs to be accomplished in the area. I believe that Mrs. Adkins will love her new home and she will likely not know that I had anything to do with it and that’s ok. This is all about living for the lord and helping his children, hopefully the work that we did that week brought the lord some small amount of glory. One of the hardest things that I had to get over when I became a Christian is that “it’s not about me”. That’s still a hard one that I must work at every day and frankly sometimes I fail miserably. But I get up the next day and try it again. There is one thing that I can be absolutely positive of however. A small group doing their part to aid in the recovery of Katrina made a small difference in a life and if we all try to do that just some of the time, the world could be a much better place.

Thanks for stopping by to read, that’s the news and I am outta here.

Link to a write up on the trip.

Link to the slideshow.

Blogging For Real

Jake — Sun, 28 May 2006 22:57:05 +0000

Greetings & Salutations Stapleton Blog readers! As you can tell I have a new look on the Blog page this is because I am using a 3rd party blogger.com to host the blog on my site. I quickly found out that keeping up my own blog without appropriate software would have been a tremendous pain. So even though I could not get the page to look exactly like my site I am going to use it anyway. Please note that the site navigation bar is still on the left hand side of the screen and that is consistent throughout my entire website. With the new Blogging Site you can make your own comments and other people can even reply to your comments on my post, making the blog interactive for all. So if you think about it my Blog is really a comment that you can comment on and then others can comment on your comment of my comment. Cool isn’t it any comments? I promised in a posting last week that I would post a full update soon from my Mississippi mission trip and happenings here in the Stapleton household, I will hopefully have this done be the end of the week so stay tuned. Take care and go in peace. ~Jake

May 23, 2006 By Jake Stapleton

Jake — Tue, 23 May 2006 22:56:18 +0000

Greetings all just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that I am back from my mission trip to Mississippi. The trip went very well and I will do a full posting later on this week. I have also done some changes to the layout of the web site please feel free to respond and let me know what you think. Take care I will talk to you all soon. - Jake

May 8th, 2006 By Jake Stapleton

Jake — Mon, 08 May 2006 22:52:38 +0000

Greetings & Salutations everyone just thought I would drop a quick note. Last week was a little rough 1300 miles and 4 nights on the road. May I just note if you have never driven from Paducah, KY to Cleveland, OH don’t just fly! Lots of exciting stuff this weekend Ricky (Jess’s brother) Graduated from Marshall with his second BA in biomedical science and will be off to Dental school at WVU in a couple of months. Which means I am ever closer to free dental care not at cost I am talking free baby! You can check out some of the pictures from the graduation on the newly formatted and redesigned outings and pictures page. In addition to that Jess & I had our first meeting as part of the church team that is heading up the 40 days of community program for our church. The program is a follow up to 40 days of purpose that our church did before we joined. Jess & I are on the communication team for the campaign (good thing all the pc’s have spell & grammar check ain’t it!). But most importantly I am pleased to announce that it was confirmed on Saturday at 13:00 EST that Mrs. Stapleton did indeed get a 4.0 last semester! If see keeps this up she could graduate “Kum Ba Yah” or whatever you call it. That’s it for this update and I am outta here! -Jake

April 30th, 2006 Entry 2 By Jake Stapleton

Jake — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 22:52:37 +0000

Well I guess since I am creating the site I should do the first entry. Things are going well in the Stapleton Household, but everyone is just worn out. I have driven 11,000 miles since March 1st for work and been averaging at least 60 hours weeks, but as of today I am 2/3 of the way through my 90 days of sheer terror at work. I love my job but I have had so many projects and conversions come due at the same time that it has been a stretch to get by. I am also preparing for a trip to Gulf Port Mississippi to help rebuild housing that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina (using power tools for the Lord it really does not get much better than that). When I get back I will be sure to post some pictures. So as you can image the last 60 days have been relegated to just surviving. Jess has been very busy also, she finished her last test this weekend so she has officially finished her 1st semester of masters work. (Word on the street is that she has a 4.0) Her job keeps her pretty busy also, its not unusual (sorry had to stop typing for a minute while I was singing like Tom Jones) for her to put in a 12 hour day herself. She has done all that while taking masters level classes to become a Special Education Teacher with an Autism Specialty (very proud here). Those are the recent highlights if you do not count doing laundry and dusting. Jess & I are looking forward to things slowing down in the next 30 days. We have the pre-school kids during church hour the entire month of May and right now that actually looks like a stress reliever (as long as they don’t play with the toys that I like). Well I am going to sign off now everyone take care I will talk to you later. -Jake

April 30th, 2006 Entry 1 By Jake Stapleton

Jake — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 01:06:08 +0000

Good Day All! I have decided to create a blog for the website to keep everyone up to date on what is going on at the Stapleton Central Command. I know that there are a lot of free blogging sites out there but I wanted to incorporate this into my own website. Please check back every so often to see what’s up at the Stapleton Household.

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