Destination: Ocala

Last Friday Richard and I flew down to Ocala, Florida, to visit Aunt Ann and Uncle Walter at their home in the Oak Run community. There are so many amenities at Oak Run, its tough to name them all. Click HERE to visit the Oak Run website and read about the golf, restaurants and recreation facilities!

We enjoyed great weather and superb hospitality. We were basically spoiled rotten. Here's a few photos from the trip:

Here's Aunt Ann and I outside the Orchid Club. This recreation facility is close to their house. It has a ceramics studio where Aunt Ann does her projects, a multi-purpose function room for movies, banquets, and other events, and a full health club facility.

No. This isn't a "Whitey Bulger" sighting. Its Unc and I enjoying his daily ritual visit to the hot tub at the Orchid Club. Richard enjoyed some R&R poolside. Check out the tan! (not on us - check out Uncle Walter's tan) courtesy of good 'ole Florida sunshine.

We had a great lunch at one of the restaurants at Oak Run on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday evening we celebrated Aunt Ann's 84th birthday at Grille 754 in Ocala.

Sunday evening came around way too fast, and it was time for good-byes.

We had an awesome time and look forward to our next visit to the Sunshine State!

Career Path

So I will be finishing up with the Coast Guard on May 20th and since I was given a little time off, my last day will actually be April 18th. That being said, I am tentatively scheduled to start my new job on May 5th! I will be working as an electrical engineer for Innovative Refrigeration Systems (website will be my first task) based out of Lyndhurst, VA. They will expect me to work with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), ladder logic and a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea about. Don't worry though, they understand that I have no practical experience. "They like me for me." Honestly though, they are looking at the big picture and the potential for me to lead their company and help them to be successful. Yeah, I know, scary. The picture of Sherando Lake is just up the road from where the offices are.
The company's main focus is large scale refrigeration systems for warehouse size buildings such as meat packing plants and produce distribution centers. For the first year, I will be sent out to job sites where the installations are taking place and work from the bottom up until I have a full understanding of EVERYTHING. Then I will move to Lyndhurst in the summer of '09 and work in the office with the other (more experienced) engineers. After a year or two with them, I will be expected to take over a more senior managerial position. I'm really excited about the opportunity. Lyndhurst, VA is situated directly between University of Virginia (UVA) and James Madison University (JMU) (each about 30 minutes). Tiffany went to undergrad at UVA and both schools have audiology programs so the potential for her to find a teaching position is fantastic. Her professors are already contacting their friends at each school getting her name out there.
It seems like the past couple of years have just flown by and the next year will be sure to move just as quickly. However, this next year will be long 12 hour days, 10 days on 4 days off, with additional time at night learning on my own time. I don't expect things to be easy, but I do plan to surpass expectations and prove to this company that they have made a great investment. I really appreciate everyone's assistance in getting me here.

Ani's 5th birthday

We made a quick trip out to Whidbey Island for Ani's fifth birthday. Here's a couple of pix -all dressed up in her new birthday tutu, courtesy of Aunt Kate and opening up her new Dora Hideaway, a gift from the Livermore family.

Here's a link to the slide show of photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/closethedistance/AniS5thBirthday