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Steve's
Year-end Review, 1998 Edition
(Follow
the links at your own risk - please!)
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Welcome,
friends and family!
As the
photo suggests, the past year provided
moi
with juggling opportunities
galore:
(Juggling
photo out-takes) |
And,
of course, Stacy had her own priorities:
1)
Hanson,
2) everything
else
But I'll
let her tell you about it
in her own words. |
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The
House:
After
six years of apartment living, last February I finally decided to start
looking for a house. My realtor lined up several places to look at in two
primary areas: Irving/Las Colinas, and the Oak Lawn/Uptown area near downtown
Dallas. Near downtown offered enticements, but at a price, and with the
added drawback of further distancing myself from work and Stacy.
As it
turned out, the place I liked best I found myself - a duplex I noticed
on my way to the grocery store, only about a mile from my previous apartment.
I loved the location, the size (about 1800 square feet), the layout including
an enclosed, private courtyard entrance,
and the fact that it was old enough (17 years) that it needed updating,
so I could make of it what I wanted. Or, rather, what I could afford.
I made
an offer in mid-March, and after a round of counters, signed a purchase
contract a week later. Then the fun started. The inspection yielded a long
list of deficiencies, the most worrisome involving a drainage problem.
I was ready to walk away from it. But my realtor (thanks, Kathleen) calmed
me down and encouraged me to give the owner the opportunity to make good
on a lengthy list of repairs. Sure enough, over the next two months the
owner put in over $11,000 to make repairs, including a labyrinth
French drain system both outside and underneath powered by two sump
pumps. I closed on May 28th, and moved in (thanks to the strong-backed
help of local family - Daddy, Donna, Tom, Lizann, Jessica, Britni and Stacy
- as well as the augmented assistance provided by Uncle Perry and Aunt
Linda from Seattle) on June 6th.
I mentioned
this place needed updating.
I spent a good deal of April and May in email and telephone consultation
with my friend Joan in Philadelphia discussing remodeling/redecorating
considerations. She did a great job educating me about different "looks",
and offered very beneficial suggestions, cautions, and things to consider.
I share whatever compliments I receive with her - Joan rules! (And she
knows a heckuva lot more than "matching pillows to curtains".... - inside
joke.)
Coincidentally,
my sister Lizann and her family moved from Paradise to Bridgeport a month
before my move, and my brother Freddy (Michael, to Arizonans) and his wife
Kay bought a house in Gilbert, Arizona just last month. Must be some kind
of recessed light. Oops, I mean recessive gene. Or something.
The
Job Situation
To digress
15 seconds .....recall that in 1997, two significant work-related events
occurred: 1) Raytheon acquired the Texas Instruments Defense Group, for
whom I had worked since 1982, in July; and 2) I engaged in some serious
job discussions with GTE in August, but nothing came of it.
So I
began 1998 still working for Raytheon (formerly TI), on the Javelin anti-tank
missile program, on which Raytheon was teamed with Lockheed Martin . We
had submitted a competitive proposal to the Army in December 1997 for a
potentially huge program to adapt Javelin technology on a replacement for
the TOW anti-tank missile system. Our competition was Hughes Aircraft,
the TOW contractor - formerly owned by General Motors but also purchased
in 1997 by, uh, Raytheon. So in a real sense 'we' (Raytheon-TI/Lockheed
Martin Joint Venture) were competing with 'ourselves' (Raytheon/Hughes).
As the year started we were preparing to submit a Best And Final Offer
(BAFO) to the Army.
In mid-January
I received a call out of the blue from GTE, with whom I had last spoken
in September 1997. Surprise, surprise, they suddenly wanted me. But Raytheon
had extended a pretty sizeable carrot for me to stay in anticipation of
winning the new program, so I reluctantly, with much chagrin, declined
the GTE offer.
We submitted
our BAFO in March, and presuming we would win, began to make preparations
for receiving the development contract in June. Suddenly in May, we received
word that the Army had decided to cancel the whole program due to a budget
crunch out in the 2005 production time period.
So the
'carrot' which enticed me to remain at Raytheon, for which I declined the
GTE offer, turned out to be nothing but stick, and I found myself back
on the Javelin program with no promises, but at least with some measure
of security.
Until
October 7th. Raytheon announced that in an attempt to reap further consolidation
savings from the acquisition of Hughes and TI, they will close the Lewisville
plant and relocate the work to Tucson, Arizona. (This despite the comments
made a few months  earlier,
when the new CEO visited Lewisville and congratulated us on having one
of the most efficient facilities in the country. Example of gallows humor:
"RAYTHEON: Where the 'L' stands for Leadership.") I've received an offer
to move to Tucson, as did almost all of the exempt salaried personnel.
My program will move next May and June. I must decide to accept the move
or not by January 29th. If I decline to move, I'll continue with Raytheon
until my release date, August 17, 1999, at which time I'll be laid off
and receive six-month severance pay with benefits. (To help me make a decision
to move, Raytheon sent me out to Tucson two weeks ago for look-see 3-day
weekend, which I used to good advantage to visit Freddy and Kay in Gilbert,
near Phoenix.)
But once
again coming out of the blue, GTE called me last month. They have an immediate
need in program management, similar to that which they discussed with me
last January. However, the person I need to talk to has been out sick the
past two weeks so I won't talk with them again until after the 1st.
So I
have several decision paths.... stay with Raytheon and move to Tucson....
seek and accept another corporate position here such as the one at GTE,
as soon as it's offered..... stay with Raytheon in order to get the severance
package and try to arrange another corporate position after August.....
stay with Raytheon in order to get the severance package, then plan to
do my own thing..... or something else.
Everything
Else
-
Last February,
Stacy and I took our trip to Seattle to visit my Uncle Perry and Aunt Linda.
Read our trip report and see some photos.
-
In March,
my sister Lizann and I decided to move our grandmother, "Mom" Armstrong,
from the nursing home in Carlsbad, NM, to one here in Decatur. After my
aunt Billie died in August 1997, we kept Mom where she was as we tried
to decide the best course. Lizann researched and made arrangements with
Sunny Hills Nursing Center in Decatur, just 10 miles from her house in
Bridgeport. The staff in Carlsbad assured us that Mom, despite her paralysis
and neurological damage, could make the move and would probably be better
having family close by. Lizann and her family visit Mom regularly, and
Sunny Hills seems to take good care of her. We also benefited by moving
her because we were able to get her approved for Medicaid, for which she
was ineligible in New Mexico. In September, we celebrated Mom's
85th birthday at Lizann's house. Then in November, my Uncle
Jerry and his daughter Monique came to visit and Lizann again arranged
to have Mom brought to her house for dinner.
-
Lizann hosted
our attempt at an ad hoc family reunion
in June,
which included: Grandmother Stockdale, her sister Mary Helen and Harold,
Uncle Johnny and my cousins Whitney and Michael, Uncle Perry and Aunt Linda,
my dad and Donna, Lizann, Tom, Jessica and Britni, and Stacy and me.
-
We've missed
Mother
for
another year.
-
I continued
my work as a Trustee of the non-profit
Institute
of General Semantics (offsite). This gave me the excuse to make two
trips to the New York area in July and October. During the October trip
I again had the privilege of staying with Jim and Jim in Manhattan, and
visited the Guggenheim Museum for the first time. I enjoyed serving as
a general-semantics 'mentor-by-email' for several students of Andrea Johnson
at Alverno College, Wisconsin. (Interesting to watch a videotaped student
presentation in which someone you've never met talks about you, based solely
on email exchanges. Yikes!)
-
Speaking
of Jim, his niece's wedding in Olton last July gave me a reason to visit
my hometown for the first time in several years. I stayed with Kenny and
Betty in Lubbock and really appreciated the first reunion for Jim, Kenny
and me since 1992.
-
I had Dallas
Mavericks (basketball) season tickets, which enabled Stacy and me to see
Michael Jordan and the Bulls in March. We learned a tough lesson first
articulated by Prof. Yogi Berra: it ain't over till it's over.
We
left with Chicago leading by 15 points with three minutes left. The Mavs
came back to tie it, force overtime, and then won it while Stacy and I
drove home. Otherwise, there wasn't much worthwhile to say about the Mavericks,
other than the new arena deal which will give them a world-class arena
in 2000/2001. As for the NBA lock-out, I'd just as soon they cancel the
whole season so I'll get a full refund.
-
I
also renewed my Rangers (baseball) tickets for 1998 and experienced Opening
Day with Stacy, and my first real post-season
baseball game, despite the 3-hour rain delay and the loss to the Yankees.
But last month the Rangers announced they were raising prices again for
the third year in a row, and I've decided enough's
enough.
-
Other entertainment
highlights included touring productions of Rent, Chicago, Peter Pan
and Showboat. Thanks to Tom and Lizann, Stacy and I saw Red,
White and Tuna at the new Bass Hall in Fort Worth in July. Then Stacy
and I celebrated Christmas evening by going back to Bass Hall to see A
Tuna Christmas. I only attended three concerts this year, but they
were memorable - the Forever Fabulous Chickenhawks (thanks, Amy Claire!),
the Cherry Poppin' Daddies (thanks, Bill!) and Warren Hill (thanks, Lizann
and Tom!). I could add Backstreet Boys, to which I escorted Stacy and her
friends Rochelle and Candice, and then, of course, Hanson.
(I could, but I won't.)
-
A year ago,
I uploaded the first incarnation of my own personal
web site. Since then I've learned a lot. I predict with some confidence
that we cannot overstate the impact the Internet will have on most aspects
of our lives over the next five years. This ain't no hula hoop or CB radio
fad . . . if you're not on it, you're behind the power curve. Evidence?
In twelve months, my meager little web site welcomed almost 2,700 visitors
from over 50 countries, and over 150 universities.And
of the 90 or so of you who (I hope) read this, only six will receive it
via snail mail. Through email, I've re-established contact with several
old friends from Olton and the Academy, while continuing relationships
with others from (literally) around the world..
-
I've
actually made several cyber-friends this year from various Internet excursions.
And in the non-virtual 'real' world, I expanded my circle of acquaintances
to include a half-dozen or so who played significant roles in some of my
more, uh, interesting moments of the year. One
such encounter proved particularly memorable, if not exactly entertaining.
-
Just like
everybody else, I had my opinions on the Bill and Monica
goings-on.
Looking
Ahead . . .
I
know what some of the big pieces of my 1999 puzzle will be about.... I'll
probably change employers for the first time in 17 years .... I may try
my hand at self-employed consultancy, teaching and writing .... I'll keep
updating the house, concentrating on spring landscaping with a frugal budget
.... we plan to hold a first-ever weekend seminar in general-semantics
in Dallas .... Stacy's decided she loves travel and I'll get her up to
New York City sometime, and she and her cousins will probably make it out
this summer to Phoenix .... She's going skiing in Colorado with her church
group in February .... She'll finish her sophomore year and will probably
choose to not play varsity basketball next year .... she'll get her driver's
license in June and turn Sweet 16, not that 15 hasn't been .... I won't
make it to any Rangers game, but we'll see if the NBA comes back next fall.
Etc.
Even
though I 'know' what some of these 'pieces' will consist of, I haven't
a clue as to their size, shape, timing, or how they'll fit together. And
of course, I feel confident in predicting that I'll get handed many 'pieces'
which I won't ask for. But I'll try to integrate all these uncertainties
into some kind of a cohesive picture for 1999 - not so much solving
my 'puzzle', but rather developing it. I'll let you know
what results. And if you wish, vice-versa.
Over
and out, until next time...
Steve
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(Yep, that's Ringo Fred on drums) |
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