Picking Back Up

July 1, 2007

Well I am doing ok at writing journal entries. Since it has been a year I should update on what I've been up to. For the past year I have been working at a place called New Horizons. They are a corporate training facility. I have been working as an instructor there teaching classes of primarily adult students all manner of software applications, which I will list below just so that I have a record of it in the journal. So far it has been a wonderful job. I have had experience working with a wide variety of programs, learning programming languages and then teaching them to others. Here are the classes I teach:

In other elements of life, I am still playing drums at Freedom Worship Center. Currently I am also getting ready to teach a class there called The Truth Project which I think will be a lot of fun. Freedom Worship Center still needs a new building but I still feel plugged in there so I like it. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.

The other big thing in life is that Beckah and I will be moving soon. We purchased not one, but two houses. One we will move into and we will sell the other as an investment. Both are brand new and will be done in about 2 months. I am currently researching how to sell by owner. As long as both sell, and I think they will, this should go pretty smooth. The one we will move into is in Herriman, Utah, just a bit south of where we are now. The other is a house in West Jordan. I am actually doing some work myself, like painting, in order to save money. There has been so much activity in life surrounding that but I will get more detailed with that later.

In other news, Eddie is getting married. He met a girl named Brittany Kerr and as of Thursday they will be married. I will be the best man and the whole family is geared towards the event. In fact Ashli just flew into town today so I am sure many pictures will follow.

Until next time...

New Job and a Song

May 13, 2007

As promised I am creating an entry. I think the hardest thing is getting started. I never know what to say. The technical side of the journal is crawling along. The more I learn the more I realize that I don't know! Below this entry I currently have an attempt at adding comments but my comments are not working yet, so don't add them to this entry. The email link is updated as is the join link. Once I get the journal page working ( accepting and displaying comments) then I can move on to updating the resume, picture and links pages.

Until then I do have something new. Another class I teach at New Horizons is Flash. I used it to make media a little easier to display media. And lucky you, I have some media to share. Today is Mother's Day (Hi, Mom). There is a song by Bebo Norman called "Where You Are". I have had the CD that it is on for a long time and everytime I hear it I have thought of my mom. I have wanted to learn it and play it but it's been hard. Finally I started practicing with it and got it to where I could do it good enough. So I got with Eddie and we recorded it to give it to her for Mother's Day. I figured it would also be a good chance to practice working with my webpage.

Now, before I give you the link I should explain that it is a Flash file, which means in order to play it you will need a Flash Player installed on your computer. You probably have one and don't realize it, and you can click the link and won't know the difference because it will just work. However if you get a message saying you need to download the Flash Player that means you don't have one installed. Go ahead and download it, its free and safe and will allow you to play the song. Another thing you should know is that when you click the link you will see a play button appear on the right side of the page. Click that button and you will hear my rendition of Bebo Norman's "Where You Are".

I will cut the entry short here. Hopefully we will get the comments working and display some images next time!

The End of eBay

March 31, 2006

This journal entry will not be posted online, but you are welcome to email me if you want to read the full entry. This journal entry is a big one and discusses why I am no longer working at eBay. I do encourage anyone to email me if they want to see this entry. It also discusses reasons why this journal as it exists will no longer be posted online.

The eBay Promotion

February 15, 2006

Time for an update. Picking up from the last entry the aquarium is now full of fish, 14 to be exact. We got two clown loaches, four black mollies, two kissing fish, fiv goldfish and one algae eater. So far one clown loach and one black molly have died but the rest are going strong. I cleaned up the tank and sheared the plants back and took a few images. But these little fish move too fast for my camera.

In other news something rather big has happened. It took 5 years but finally, Craig Greenwood has been promoted at eBay (please hold applause until the end of the journal entry, but feel free to gasp now). I applied for it some time ago, they finally interviewed me and gave me the job a few Fridays ago. I went through one week of training and now we are waiting for accounts to be assigned, which is taking too long. The position is called a "Top Selling Account Manager", or TSAM. Among other things we provide a single point of contact for all problems, questions, etc. We focus not only on eBay business, but on each accounts global business which is good because I can really use my MBA in analyzing an accounts information to help them make the best business decisions. The philosophy there is that if eBay's top sellers are running healthy businesses in all aspects including those outside of eBay, then eBay will benefit as well. I like it because its realistic (not every seller in the world is going to sell 100% of their inventory on eBay) and its very friendly (ie, I am here to help you make money). So I am confident about my ability to do this job and do it well. Oh yeah plus they gave me a raise (cheering).

In training for this job I have been given a plethora of information at my disposal. I have a lot of information on how to create a successful business on eBay, from tools that should be used, policies sellers should use and ones to avoid and more. So I have decided to sell something on eBay. I might make some money but mostly I want to learn how to use all these tools so that when I talk to sellers on the phone the words I say will be much more meaningful. So I considered inventory, talked to a few people, and...get this...I am selling canes on eBay. Walking sticks. But not just any walking sticks. Walking sticks made from the sex organ of a male bull. You can see my store here. I am selling canes and other items like jogging buddies, putters, and bull skulls, lamps made from bull horns and more. I will start listing them later this week. If nothing else it will be a very fun experience. I have a supplier who is local who ships these for me. So I will list them and put on my marketing hat and see what happens. Hopefully in a few journal entries I will have a story of success.

The Passing of the Piranha

January 25, 2006

I come bearing bad news. Hannibal the Piranha has left this world. He has died and passed into that great river in the sky. Let me tell you the story.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the temperature in his tank was quite low. 67 degrees or so. I was concerned but not enough to take action yet. He was fine, healthy, swimming. He was one happy piranha. Over the next few days I noticed he was not eating. This worried me enough to where I thought the water temperature might be the cultprit. I bought a new water heater for him and while I installed it I found that the old heater was working just fine, it had just been unplugged. Happily I plugged it in and thought to myself, There that should correct that.

That evening I noticed Hannibal was alive but resting with his butt in the air. I marked it as odd, but he does do that sometimes, so I didn't elevate it to "too odd". The next morning I found he was dead, but the water temperature had increased to 80 degrees on account of the now-working water heater.

I havn't done an autopsy but I can deduce a number of things. One possibility is that he was sick/ill/old, stopped eating due to this and eventually died and it just happened to coincide with my timing in installing the water heater. It's also possible it was a total fluke and he just died. It's possible I increased the water temperature to 80 degrees which was too hot. I don't think that's the reason because he swam comfortably in 80 degree water before. The last explanation I can come up with is the one I think is most likely. Heating an aquarium from 67 degree water to 80 degree water in a matter of a few hours (which is how long it took to warm the 54 gallon tank) most likely was too much of an environmental shock which killed Hannibal. Regardless of what steps actually killed him, he is currently dead and I am almost surely the reason.

I am not exactly saddened by his death, but I feel like I failed, like I let him down. I am disappointed I warmed the water that fast. I know better than that. I just forgot. If I could rewind time I would have slowly increased the water temperature over the course of a few days so he would remain healthy.

I removed the fish from the tank that evening and took some pictures so I would have a record of his life and his size. When I bought him he was the size of a nickel. He was 10 inches when he died.

To wherever Hannibal is now, this is for him: I am deeply sorry that I failed you. I was your caretaker and I let you down.

Currently I am thinking if replacing him with another piranha is a good idea, or if I should stick to other types of fish, or maybe go with a saltwater tank, or I could even sell the tank and move away from aquariums, which honestly I'm not as opposed to that as you would think.

I will keep the journal updated for sure. In the meantime, if you have aquariums, remember that temperature is important. I failed to remember that basic and now I have to account for Hannibal's life.

His final resting place was a dumpster. I investigated taxidermy but at $13-$15 per inch, that was too expensive. That means when I die it would be appropriate to chuck my body in a dumpster. Afterall, you get what you give and that's what I gave. A funeral which consisted of chucking a plastic bag in a dumpster. This is not a highlight of my life, but its not sad either. Just disappointing. I'm sorry Hanni.

Christmas in Tennessee

January 12, 2006

A new year has arrived. I thought I would update. My goal is to have at least one entry per month this year. It's a wonderful goal. We'll see what happens. Let's talk about Christmas first though. This year Beckah and I went to Tennessee to see her family. This means that it was the first time I ever spent Christmas away from my side of the family. We are going to try to switch every Christmas. In any case the Greenwood Christmas was not cancelled. We had a celebration before we went to TN and then once in TN there were at least 4 other Christmas events that took place. Beckah's family is bigger than mine. In any case let's get to the pictures! First, star of the website, Craig Greenwood himself, with his wife Beckah, eagerly awaiting the unwrappage. Joining us was Eddie, as well as mom, dad and Tara. Gifts were exchanged, the most signifigant being Beckah's new video camera, which some guy bought for her (it was me). We hope to use it to film events in the future such as trips, and other events. I'd like to try editing the videos a little and using them on www.CraigGreenwood.com.

Shortly after that we flew to TN with little to no problems. Beckah was VERY happy to see her family. If I try to remember all the events that took place I will mess them up. There was a lot of people. I met a man named Wayne who I am told is my first cousin-in-law by marriage. He owns his own business and was very interesting to talk to. I'm sure I will meet him again. Now, to quote the song, on the first day of Christmas my true wife gave to me...A LAPTOP computer! She got herself a second job at JC Penney where she has been working since the end of September just to save up and buy it for me. As I write this journal entry I am using it in fact. But Beckah didn't stop there. She got me DVDs and software, CDs, books and more. I am lucky to have a wife that would shower me with such things. I am enjoying the laptop a lot though. Eddie has helped me set up a wireless network at home so I can surf and watch TV and make journal entries and manage my music. Call me a nerd but I love it.

But back to TN...We also met Beckah's friends and had a wonderful time playing games and eating food. We also spent time with Aunt Judy and Uncle Jerry, The Cantrell girls and Cindy and many more whom I failed to take pictures of, like momma and daddy, and various kids and other people who I hope will not get mad at me for forgetting!

After returning home I got back into the swing of things. On the eBay front my job has been (drum roll)...disolved!! So I have been reassigned to a new department. I will be working Powersellers Stores Support, which I am training for currently. I also have yet another resume turned in for a position called a TSAM, top selling account manager. I have been turned down before for that one, but I am hopeful this time, but then I am every time. You know me, the constant optimist (rolling eyes).

One last thing before I go. Kai has received his first ever hair cut. His hair was LONG. I didn't realize how bad he needed it until it was done.

With that I am done for this entry. I hope you are enjoying the journal! I think it's shaped up nicley since it started in 2000.

First Snow Storm For Kai

November 30, 2005

We had a snow storm the other night. As the first official snow storm I felt obligated to go play in the snow and as a husband I was obliged to drag my wife along with me and as a dog owner I was obliged to drag the dog along too. I regret nothing because they both enjoyed it thoroughly as you will see in this journal entry. I do love a good snow storm from time to time. I think they are growing on Beckah. It was Kai's first snow storm ever and he ate it up! I was leary at first that he wouldn't. Beckah was not worried at all. We took one more picture with the dog and then let him down to play.

Kai LOVED it. He played this game where he would dig his head in the snow and pop it out and then chase all the snow he moved, which resulted in him burying his head again. We eventually let him off the leash because it was night, it was quite, no one was driving or moving around. So we just let him tear loose in the snow. Meanwhile Beckah and I swung and swung until we were dizzy.

Now when you get Beckah dizzy she gets this mean streak in her. Beckah decided it would be a wonderful idea to play with the dog. But where? What more joy could one offer a dog? She's a smart one that Beckah. I won't say much other than the ingredients she used: dog, snow, playground equipment and gravity. Never mind the man at the top of the slide...it was Beckah's idea. I swear. After that episode we decided to go in for the night. Kai was worn out.

The next morning we awoke to another blank palette of snow and decided to play more. This time Kai was a pro. He had done this before. He proceeded to bury his head and pop it out as if he were searching for an abominable snow hamster hiding at the bottom. He also discovered that jumping in the snow to bury his head was great fun. Those of you with dogs know that the snow gather in balls around the fur of the dog. This was the best part. Kai was in the snow so much and had so many balls of snow stuck to him he couldn't bend his little knees. Plus he had buried his head so much the snow stuck to his face was blocking his ability to see. He didn't care though. He would have played for hours more if we had let him. The dog did eventually thaw out.

In other news Christmas is upon us, or fast approaching anyway. We have erected the Christmas tree with a few new ornaments that were absent last year. One new ornament is a manger scene. It lacks love in the picture, but in real life, it exudes love from each little figurine. You know what they say. You can't have Christmas without Christ. It's true, you can't. I tried once. It went awful.

I'm sure you have noticed the changes in the design to the page. I've changed color schemes, and made it possible to read journal entries while you view images. Feel free to surf around and fine some new things I have built into the page. And once again, if you not on the mailing list, now's a fine time to join!

Halloween and Birthdays

November 16, 2005

It's time for another entry. Yesterday was Beckah's Birthday. She is now 23...so old! But I will get to that in a moment. I must rewind. A few weeks ago we took Kai to liberty park to see the leaves. Beckah had the camera and was enjoying the colors. We had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day. It made me smile. I finally wrestled the camera away from Beckah and took a picture of her with her puppy. From the whole day though my favorite picture was one of Kai, majestically guarding the park from any ne'er-do-wells.

Next on the agenda was Halloween. A time when the world comes together to nonchalantly celebrate death and Satan and hell. Well, perhaps that is a bit simplified, but speaking as a Christian American I find a few things interesting. On the surface its just a fun day for the kids, get some candy, dress up. Mothers enjoy dressing their babies up and taking them out. It's almost a family day. I like that aspect of Halloween. One day a year kids should go out, knock on doors, meet their neighbors face to face, get some candy and that should be the end of it. That's a moderate view. But, like life, there is a spectrum. On one end are people who FOR REAL practice witchcraft and Wicca. It turns it into an evil day. And the historical information on Halloween is fascinating but far from my moderate family fun holiday I described above. Then on the other end of the spectrum we have churches that go so far as to ignore Halloween and pretend it does not exist. They have parties called "Harvest Festivals" on the day of, so that kids get candy and they can come dressed as Bible characters. I think this is over compensating. Another approach is this: if the world gets to commercialize Christmas and have Santa instead of Manger scenes, then I say Christians should get to commercialize Halloween and make fun of Satan. Let's all dress like dead people with blood and gore and have some fun. But on that point, isn't that what Satan wants? He wants us to make light of him and pretend that there is no substance to him so that our guard is down against him. So what's a sane, balanced Christian American to do given all these points? I have settled into an official stance of, "....meh...(?)". I take it at its surface and just have fun with it. I give candy and I don't really participate in "Harvest festivals". I call a spade a spade. It's Halloween, I'm not afraid of it, and I'm not going to ignore it. I'll give out candy and I will be impressed with bloody costumes. I have spoken.

All that being said, Beckah and I carved pumpkins this year. This was Beckah's first ever pumpkin carving experience. Isn't she cute? Eddie and I were also there. Eddie brought over this kit so we could carve fancy designs. Eddie carved a wolf, Beckah carved a haunted house and I tried to carve a spider. I got excited and accidentally cut off most of the spiders legs. Beckah's looked the best. I haven't figured out how to photograph pumpkins so these pictures is all you get of the three!

The next week Kai had a rough time though. He is no longer all man, or all dog I guess you would say. In the park he was all dog, but from now on, all images of Kai will be...a little less than they could have been. We knew the time was coming when it would have to be done. I made a phone call to start my research and the next thing I knew Kai had an appointment the next day. They do it all with lasers now days. Couple of hours later the dog was released into my care. When I got him he was still under the influence of the anesthesia. That was sad and funny. He was so tired he could barely lift his legs. He wanted to stay awake but he just sat there and whimpered, I don't think from pain. Just from this utter sadness. He looked the way you would think it would feel if someone did that to you. He was sad and confused but accepted that it was done and "the boys" weren't coming back. He walked slowly with a very slight limp. I feel bad but I'm glad it's done. I wish it didn't have to be done. He hasn't calmed down at all, but the vet assures us that he is still a puppy and will still have lots of energy. I'm looking forward to him calming down a little bit. But I am enjoying him I have to admit.

Lastly Beckah's birthday celebration was yesterday. I spoiled her beyond recognition but I don't care. I'll probably do it again. I made her an ice cream roll cake that looked like a porcupine from scratch, and I gave her too many gifts. She went to work that day and I took the day off so I could prepare the cake and put it all together. She came home to see all the presents and the dinner I had prepared (deli sandwiches). I'm not one to brag but I did make her cry. Oh, wait. It turns out I AM one to brag. Finally mom and Eddie and Tara came over and the presents were opened. She got a bracelet with interchangeable stones, jewelry, perfume, a CD, a DVD, a University of Utah sweatshirt, cards, gift certificates and more. And why wouldn't she? She is everyone's favorite.

Kai was involved in the birthday celebration too. We tied a balloon to his hind leg and watched the fun ensue. There is nothing that says frustration to a puppy more than a balloon that can never be caught. He had us in stitches. The poor puppy, bless his thumpin' little gizzard. But the celebration does not end there. On Friday we are going to a play and on Saturday we are going to a Jazz game at the Delta Center.

Next week is Thanksgiving, then we are off to Tennessee for Christmas. I'm sure there will be many stories in the coming month and I look forward to telling them. I encourage people who are a fan of my little journal who are not receiving emails to join my mailing list. You just have to enter your email address at the bottom of the page and you will be included! It would make me feel good, which makes for more entertaining journal entries.

Best Dog Ever

October 10, 2005

Let's get started with an update of Kai, the happiest dog on the planet. He no longer lives in the garage. Winter coming would be a bit cold for a puppy we decided. So he now lives in the house and stays in a crate while we are at work, which also helped house train him. Although after the events of this weekend he's not at 100% house trained just yet. That's another story though. Overall the dog is happy, and he's growing. He's about 11 pounds now, maybe more. He rarely barks, even when he sees other dogs. When we watch TV sometimes he will hear a dog bark on the program and that will get his defenses riled up and he'll growl and bark and parade around the house looking for whatever caused the noise he heard. Then he will crawl up on my lap or Beckah's lap and go back to relax mode. He has not got into chew mode too bad. We caught him with a shoe once but he had done no damage. He does love chasing a good tennis ball from time to time...preferably all the time. By the next journal entry or two he will be a eunuch though.

Beckah and I went for a drive/hike the other day in the mountains and Beckah started taking pictures of some guy. I didn't like him at all. He kept harassing my wife, talking to her, and laughing at her. Even that wouldn't have bothered me so bad if she didn't return the flirting, but she kept batting her eyes at him. He was a real jerk.

In other news I have designed my first webpage for someone other than myself. Mail Plus, a company formerly owned by my uncle Royal, that I used to work for in High School, that I still ship items through today, is owned by a gentleman named Jeff. I asked about his web advertising and we decided to build a page. As of this moment the page is still in progress but you can see the results of the work at www.WeeBay4U.com. It's been fun doing the project and I'd like to find someone else to build pages for.

Updating this journal is getting tougher and tougher which might explain for the lack of entries this year! You may notice the Javascript menus at the top of the journal page. I have been working on that project as I learned Javascript from a book purchased by my lovely wife. I know they are not ideal due to their size. I have a few ways to fix them I just haven?t done it yet. But in addition to that I have the standard excuses of not THAT much going on to report, and it takes time and effort, what with writing and taking pictures. And uploading them to the page is just one thing. I have to update the search, the menus now, and the drop down menu. So it's become a beastly project and a number of subconscious decisions to put off updating the journal. I think what I need is ASP or PHP, which is database management. Theoretically I would be able to write a text file, upload it once and everything would automatically update. I still need to figure out how to do that though! Until then this is all you get from me this entry!

Birthday and Other Updates

August 30, 2005

Just a few pictures this time around. It was my birthday a few weeks ago. I turned 29! Whoa, that's old! I got a few presents too, which really surprised me. It's a birthday though so I guess I wasn't THAT shocked. In fact I was disappointed when I found there was an end to the presents.

I wanted to give a few updates, vent a little and let life continue. Yesterday was my/our 1st year anniversary. I'm not sure what most people say the first year is supposed to be like. Frankly I don't really listen to most people. I can speak from my own experience though. It was remarkably easy and fun to be married. I enjoyed zipping our lives together and discovering where we meshed and where we did not. I loved solving problems together as a couple. I loved showing Beckah a whole new state that she has never seen before, and there is so much more to see. I loved seeing how basic things like chores were decided and sharing the workload. I loved having someone to talk to when I came home. I love the history I have with my wife. In my marriage is one of the few places I feel strong and fully able to deal with anything.

I'm not saying that everything has just been easy with 0 problems. That would be naive. There were accidents and problems and struggles and challenges. However they were so miniscule and totally resolved within a matter of hours at most. We solved every problem together and grew as a couple because of each one. Marriage is easy, I can do it, and I can do it well. I am ready for anything that life throws at us. Again, not saying it will be simple. All I'm saying is that we will solve it. The strength of our marriage exists because of so much preparation and listening and patience on my part and on Beckah's part.

With all that said let's update all the rest of life's topics. Hannibal, who has been shockingly absent from the journal lately, had a brush with death. He was essentially rotting away on me and not eating. I changed his water and he sprung back to life and he's fine now. He seems to be eating less which is odd, since he should be hungry. But as for now he continues to kick...er...swim, as the case may be.

Kai has been troubling but its hard to be mad at him. He has chewed the welcome mats up on the porch, then he chewed some of the sheetrock off the walls of the garage, where he was staying during the day while we were at work. We recently bought him a crate/kennel so during the day he stays there. The idea is that dogs won't mess in their living area because they are supposedly clean animals (I think that is relative for the record). The first day he was in the crate he started barking at the door when he had to go out. So he's a champion. He has learned sit and stay and he sure knows when dad is mad at him. We are still working on "don't bite" and "dispense $10 bills".

My wife bought me a javascript book so I can learn some new tricks for my wepage. I have been pouring over it at work. I should learn some nice things I can work into this page but I am hoping to design some webpages for other companies for profit. I figure its a good way to use my education and it should be fun and I will learn a lot and a great way to spend free time.

I applied for several promotions at eBay. In fact I had delayed the journal entry this month waiting to hear back. Well, I have heard. I did not receive any of them. Two were lead jobs, one was a training job. Despite having been here for 4 years and going through excellent interviews from the feedback I received, I lack enough experience and leadership under my belt. It genuinely angers me but I'm numb to it. I'm not social at work. In order to move ahead you have to be social so people know who you are. I lack the competitive edge and as much as I'd like to move ahead apparantly other things are more important. If they havn't promoted me at this point, they are not going to. Their loss. Its the same approach I had when I was single. If girls aren't going to pay attention to me, their loss. The one girl that did pay attention to me now receives 1000% of me. I would behave the same way to a company that recognized me. But if eBay isn't going to do it, their loss.