The hot Summer continues. Soon Logan will be back in school. And at the end of this month, Logan tries out for next year's Mavericks team. I've got him with a hitting and pitching coach and batting practice has already started for members of last year's team to try and keep them sharp for the upcoming tryouts.
Also, in a couple of weeks, I go to Jacksonville for a Navy conference. This will be the first weekend duty I've had since June. I really miss it. Feels odd not to have put on a uniform in so long.
Oddly, the weather hasn't been such that we'd usually see good business in Servpro, but we're busier than we've been in a long time.
That's good. Managing the business right now is like managing a ship in the midst of a storm. Once we collect all the A/R, we should be in solid shape for a while.
I will be going into another business venture sometime in the next 6 months or so. Will need capital from Servpro, and I honestly can't be 100% sure I'll be able to scrape it together. If necessary, I'll put together an ownership group.
Other than that, I'm not talking about this one very much until something solid happens. I still have a few more steps in the due diligence portion of this project. So far, this one is the best opportunity I've seen since finding Servpro in 2003. (I didn't pull the trigger until the end of 2004, after researching hundreds of other franchise offerrings.)
I still have some more research to do, but if things continue the way they appear to be shaking out, this could be a much, much bigger opportunity than Servpro was.
As for Servpro, I'm coming to the realization that it's a great, solid business, but that growth is pretty much impossible. I came in at the end of the cycle, when the business was already mature. The rules they've implemented, even since I joined the system, look like they're going to prevent anybody from ever being a big, multi-unit operator ever again.
I honestly can't complain. The last year has been hard, but overall, everything about my experience with Servpro exceeded my expectations. It's been more profitable and given me more freedom than I ever expected.
So, I'll probably hold on to it for as long as possible. When things are working correctly (and they're starting to work correctly again, thank goodness), it is a nice little cash cow. My involvement is limited. The only reason I could see selling is either that I need a big cash infusion if this new business requires it, or that Servpro has just become a nuisance that I want to be free from.
Arabic class starts soon. Hard to believe it's upon me. The Navy is making it easy, financially, because they implemented a bonus program for language and culture study. Taking a language class for a semester is a $2,000 bonus. So, that will more than pay for the cost of tuition at the local community college. I was going to do this, anyway.
Deployment? I'm still in a unit and career swimlane that has a high operational tempo. Meaning, we're going over a lot. Contracting is pretty high demand right now. I've completed all the requirements for my certification other than one two-week in-residence course. I drill with my unit in September, and will use that time to find out what I need to do to register for the class. Once I have my DAWIA Level I certification, I'll be pretty fair game for one of the many contracting slots that open up.
Sometime before I deploy I also want to study the Koran. I want to know the people I'm working with, for and against. I don't have any particular love or respect for Arabic culture. I feel relatively neutral about it. However, this is where the war of today, and probably the wars of tomorrow will be faught. If I am to be a warrior, I should know as much as I can about it.
The diet and workout routine are yielding big results in my appearance, but my weight has been steady for a while, now. Part of it is that I've cheated pretty extensively on the diet, lately. However, the other part is that I have probably been gaining a pound or two of lean muscle mass.
Eliminating bread, dairy and sugar has really improved things for me, though. I have fewer allergic-type symptoms. I'm nearly off my allergy meds, which I used to rely pretty heavily on. I have a doctor's appointment next week where I think they'll draw blood and check my cholesterol. I am curious whether this will impact my trigliceride levels. I eat very few fats, and the few I get are usually from things like almonds or peanuts.
The progress on my running has been embarassingly slow. However, I can detect progress. So far, my routine is this: 5 minute warm-up at 15 m/m. (Yes, I know, I know...) 10 minute main-set at 12 m/m. 2 minute walk break at 20 m/m. 10 minute main set at 12 m/m. Then, either a 2 minute walk break or direct to the 5 minute cool down at 15 m/m.
Right now, I am trying to build base. So, as embarassing as the running speeds are, my main goal is to bump it out to where I'm doing, say, 4 x 10 minute main sets, with 10 minutes of cool down work. With the walk breaks, that is almost an hour on my feet.
I honestly think the missing piece of all this is bicycling. I've always enjoyed it and it is an absolute fat-burner when you combine it with running. However, I'm paranoid about it, having been knocked down in various two wheel accidents in my life. There's a few bike trails around, but they're sort of boring. And stationary bikes are worse than dreadmills as far as providing a boring mind-numbing workout.
I'll figure it out. The weightlifting is new and I still haven't figured out what role it is going to play, long-term, in all of this. I do like the results so far. This is something I've never done for long enough to see what my potential might be. I really don't want to get big. Not only is that counter to my fitness goals in the Navy, but I just don't see the point or need to do so.
However, adding strength and doing some body-shaping is consistent with what I want. I bought 20 or 30 trainer sessions when I started and I'm using them twice a week. So, I've got a while to go before I'm out. At that point, I can either do self-guided workouts or get more sessions with a trainer. I guess it all depends.
I'm listening to the audiobook "The Pillars of the Earth" which is making my treadmill workouts a lot more bearable. A thought occurred to me the other day.
It was interesting to note that during the middle ages, those with a title would manage their affairs, but would occassionally be asked to go fight wars either for the king or for the church. Then, they'd come back after the wars, and sometimes their estates would have fallen into mismanagement. Sometimes, they'd prosper. The money from the estates is what made it possible for the various earls and barons to go off and wage war.
Now, there are some obvious problems with drawing a connection to my life. One is that I think anybody who was born to nobility is pretty much lower than the lowest scumbag on earth in my value system. I don't believe that anybody is better than anybody else. I also believe that anybody who thinks they're better than somebody else by virtue of their birth deserves a solid beating. Same goes for those who gain wealth through subjugation of the masses.
However, in many ways, if I am mobilized, I'll be sent off to war. An officer's pay is not inconsiderable, but I'd have difficulty meeting all my obligations on it. So, I need my stateside business endeavor(s) to continue to be profitable in order for me to do it.
Largely, I would have to leave and as an act of faith, hope that the managers of my business are being good stewards. I could come back to an estate in disrepair. Or, I could return more wealthy than ever.
There's just no way to know.
So much for my meandering thoughts. Life is good right now, despite the difficulties in the business. However, I'm thankful for each day and acutely aware that a lot of people are sufferring right now.
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