stuart | | cowen

There’s gold on them that hills!!

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:17:45 -0500

There’s gold on them that hills!!

"Growth and Comfort do not co-exist"

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:56:48 -0500

“Growth and Comfort do not co-exist”

- Ginni Rometty, IBM’s new chief

Preparing

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:13:10 -0500

That’s the word of the week. Preparing to exit my current job, preparing to live/work in Seattle, preparing my family to live without me, and preparing me to live without my family. I keep reminding myself that it’s only for 12 months max., but I really have no idea of how long or how quickly the time will pass. For my part, prayers have been nearly “without ceasing” as I’ve never ever been away from home and family for any length of time. However, my purpose in Washington State is clear; this new career is a tremendous opportunity for the whole family. Anticipation and excitement is high. Uncertainty is certain. I trust the details with God Almighty - He has never let me down.

4 working days and 7 calendar days left until wheels up to SEA on 10/27.

Figuring out how to lifehack a FranklinCovey planner system with mobile apps and open source...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:02:56 -0500

Figuring out how to lifehack a FranklinCovey planner system with mobile apps and open source services. I think it can be easily done.

Very good weekend campin’, climbin’ and chillin’. Leaving Mineral Wells State ...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:43:21 -0500

Very good weekend campin’, climbin’ and chillin’. Leaving Mineral Wells State Park. #BSA

Celebrating an exhilirating week by going on a rock climbing campout with my eldest son Ian this...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:54:34 -0500

Celebrating an exhilirating week by going on a rock climbing campout with my eldest son Ian this weekend. #BSA

Dusting off frequent flyer card; making arrangements for a trip to the Pacific Northwest. #NewGig

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:10:58 -0500

Dusting off frequent flyer card; making arrangements for a trip to the Pacific Northwest. #NewGig

So long, #sqlpass; I hardly even knew you.

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:51:09 -0500

In 8 days I’ll be leaving the database world, but will still follow the PASS community through Twitter and RSS feeds. SQL PASS (Professional Association for SQL Server) is one of the most unique user group experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of participating in. Their focus is to connect Microsoft SQL Server professionals with each other locally, nationally and globally through Twitter, free monthly user group meetings, free all-day training events (SQL Saturdays) and annual summits.

As SQL Server has matured in the 2000’s to become a formidible contender in the database world, so this group of SQL Server nerds has become the #1 resource for anyone embarking on or already established in a database career. I met a ton of great people, like @jmarx, @mike_walsh, @SQLServerIO, @Tim_Mitchell (the list can go on) and I hope our paths will cross again someday. While my time with #sqlpass was brief, I wish all of you much success and continued community for the future.

The Big Announcement

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:17:19 -0500

Earlier this week, I was offered and have officially accepted employment with Parallels, Inc. as a Solutions Architect. My start date is October 28 and I will be in the Seattle area for training. My responsibility will be to help cloud and web companies design Software as a Service (SaaS) product offerings and implement Parallels’ virtualization/automation technology to provide services to their customers. This role keeps me in touch with the latest technology in the accelerating “Cloud” arena, but transitions my tech administration background into a true consultant role with a team of engineers behind me - a very welcome progression to my career.

In all of this excitement, I have to pause and give God all the credit for this and every job event of this year, because at the start of 2011 I was desperately unemployed. Step-by-step He made it possible for me gain employment at a re-entry level still in the technology sector and then at a higher level as Database Administrator for a healthcare organization 5 months later. Due to the prayers of our family and friends, God surprisingly revealed that He wasn’t finished yet and prompted Parallels to contact me. I had worked with Parallels’ technology in the past and they had my year-old resume in their system, but this contact can be easily be counted as unsolicited and “out of the blue”!

So I have created this new Tumblr blog (Tumblog?) to journal and share this new chapter in our lives with family, friends and anyone who happens to stop by. Lisa and I are completely excited for the journey ahead. I hope you stay tuned to this space for more updates in the coming weeks, months and years.

With much blessing and a grateful heart,

Stuart

"I’m walking on sunshine!"

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:12:23 -0500

“I’m walking on sunshine!”

- Katrina & The Waves

Notice has been served...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:29:53 -0500

… and graciously accepted. Full details are very close now.

The Next Adventure

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:04:14 -0500

Moments ago, I put my signature on the latest and greatest event of a wild 2011. Details are coming soon…

"99% of all employees want to do a good job. How they perform is simply a reflection of the one for..."

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:56:32 -0500

“99% of all employees want to do a good job. How they perform is simply a reflection of the one for whom they work.”

- John Maxwell

Tmbl test 2 (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 08:39:12 -0500

Tmbl test 2 (Taken with instagram)

This is our campfire #BurnBan

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:47:58 -0500

This is our campfire #BurnBan

Family Campout Time

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:20:28 -0500

The Fall Cub Scout Family Campout is here and we’re “All In”. Packing and heading up to Eisenhower State Park in Denison, TX.

"The next chapter of my life is always more interesting than the last one."

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:53:01 -0500

“The next chapter of my life is always more interesting than the last one.”

- Lipsey, Michael