I had yesterday off, so with everyone else working, it was a boring day. At least I had enough to do that I didn't get too depressed. I washed the truck, cleaned the windows and vacuumed out the inside of the truck; cleaned the bathroom; washed dishes; put a picture that I had in a frame; and went to Wal-Mart. Really exciting stuff!

It's back to work today. More really exciting stuff!

Here's a recent picture of Peppy.

Sunday, Sept. 16

Went back to Church of the Cross today; this was the first church we attended after we moved to Florida. Music was OK. It seemed like most of the songs were Christian songs that you hear on the radio and were not really designed as choruses or songs to be sung along with by the congregation. But that's OK, no church is going to have everything they way we want it. The sermon was on God's viewpoint on dating, and even though the dating thing really doesn't apply to us, it was still a dynamite sermon. The pastor simply told it like it is and pulled no punches in talking about how God views dating. Even though a topic like that may not apply directly to me, you can listen to the sermon and know that this church and this pastor is very bibically-based and bibically sound, which is the most important thing for any church.

We didn't stay for the Bible study that follows church, but plan to next week. They have a series now on a biblical world view, which sounds really interesting.

Sunday, Sept. 16

Went back to Church of the Cross today; this was the first church we attended after we moved to Florida. Music was OK. It seemed like most of the songs were Christian songs that you hear on the radio and were not really designed as choruses or songs to be sung along with by the congregation. But that's OK, no church is going to have everything they way we want it. The sermon was on God's viewpoint on dating, and even though the dating thing really doesn't apply to us, it was still a dynamite sermon. The pastor simply told it like it is and pulled no punches in talking about how God views dating. Even though a topic like that may not apply directly to me, you can listen to the sermon and know that this church and this pastor is very bibically-based and bibically sound, which is the most important thing for any church.

We didn't stay for the Bible study that follows church, but plan to next week. They have a series now on a biblical world view, which sounds really interesting.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post, but there’s been nothing really going on. Job wise, nothing new at all regarding the closing sometime next year. I feel like my life is on hold—knowing that my job will end, but not for a year, so I don’t want to make any major changes, purchases, etc., knowing that change is coming. A year seems like a long time and I don’t want to look for work until right near the end of my employment so I can collect my severance, bonus, etc. It’s really a weird position to be in, with that long to wait until the office closes. In some ways, it would be better if the closing was in 2-6 months—at least I would have a better time frame to work with. But with 12-14 months—and the way the company moves, maybe longer—there’s really nothing I can do right now except just continue to go in to work. I’m sure that as time goes on it will be harder and harder to remain conscientious, but for now, I’m fine. I really should be thankful for the long notice so that I can get some bills paid down and prepare myself as much as possible for the future.

Manatee County is having a Job Fair in October, and I initially thought about going to it, but then I thought what’s the purpose—I don’t even want to get a job now because I would lose out on my severance and bonus. And I may still be employed at this time next year when the next job fair comes around.

Tracy lost another 4 pounds last week, up to 57 in all, and counting. I lost another pound, down to 159, with just 11 more to go to reach my 148 goal weight.

Sunday, Sept. 2

Yesterday was a typical relax and take it easy Sunday for the Hartley household. We went to church in the morning, came home, ate lunch, ran to the store to pick up a couple of things, took a quick nap, went out for our evening walk, and that was pretty much the day.

Here's a quick recap of the pastor's sermon yesterday--Receiving God's Blessings:

God WANTS to bless us; when He created us, he wanted to bless us--Genesis 5:1-2. He wants to give us his:

• Approval
• Protection
• Provision
• Purpose
• Plan

However, to receive God's blessings, we must be obedient and trust in God. GOD CANNOT BLESS WHAT HE DOES NOT POSSESS. We need to decide who we belong to, and make a decision to get in or get out. We must ask ourselves if we are positioned to be blessed by God.

God's blessings have nothing to do with things like material wealth, health, etc. It has to do with the peace and comfort we get from God from being in his will and in his plan and purpose for our lives and also being assured that we have God's approval, protection and that God will provide for us no matter what.

This is just a quick recap....I hope these notes did the sermon justice.

Randy

Monthly Update

Well, it's certainly been an eventful month of August in the Hartley household!

The biggest news is that Allstate will be shutting down its St. Petersburg call center in about a year, which means that I'll be out of a job. The shut down is scheduled for sometime in 3rd-quarter of 2008, so it gives me plenty of time to go out and look for work. Have no idea what I want to do. Right now, the thought, at my age, of having to go out and look for work, especially in an office environment again, is just too daunting. My plan right now is to stay at Allstate until the very end, collect my severance and bonus, then look for work. If I stay to the bitter end, I will wind up with about 6 months of severance, which sounds like a lot, but when you have to pay your own medical insurance, it goes fast! The reason they gave us such a long notice is that the company is opening several other express centers to take claims and we've known all along that once those centers open, the claim service centers are history. The company figured that since they had all the plans in place, it was only a matter of time until rumors started about when we would close, so they decided to let us know right up front so we would have some time to plan our future. Some of the call center managers in our center and others had apparently already seen the writing on the wall, because there have been a number of managers who left recently, and when I saw that they were leaving and where they were going, it seemed like some of their moves were lateral instead of a step up. Now we know why! So, right now my plan is just to check out the type of jobs that are out there and what they pay, and file that info away for when I am ready to actually look for work.

The other big news is that the apartment complex we are living in is going condo. Not a big surprise since the company that bought the complex several months ago is mainly a condo complex management company. Our lease is not up for almost a year and the complex is sending out letters and having meetings begging people to stay. We certainly want to stay since we like the complex and love the apartment. The timing on our lease actually turns out to be pretty convenient since that's about the time I should know more about the actual CSC shutdown date. Another positive thing is that the complex should be making some major improvements if they expect to sell condos at the price they are asking. We have first rights on our condo, a 3/2--asking price $595,000. When I saw that price I could hardly stop laughing! Someone said "you must really live in a nice apartment and complex." I said if they came in and saw the apartment, they would be dead before they could leave because they couldn't catch their breath from laughing so hard. Not that there's anything wrong with the apartment--we actually love it--but I know about what condos in this area run and there is no way they can make enough improvements to the complex and the condo to make it worth that kind of money. No wonder they are begging people to stay! Anyway, no sweat on this one--we have a lease, we want to stay, they want us to stay, so we'll just reevaluate the situation in a year, along with everything else.

Tracy is such a loser!!!!!! She's now lost 50 pounds!!!!! I'm so proud of her and her dedication. It has made such a difference as to how she feels. Still a ways to go but she'll make it.

Even I've lost 19 pounds.....about 10 more to go.

More later, time to go to church.