Penchuk.com

Today there is some good news to relay from the world of work. I have been offered and accepted a promotion with RegEd. For the past two and a half years I have served as the director of product management. My new title is senior regional vice president. I will be responsible for a team of account managers. Together, we will manage an existing client base of over 30 customers worth approximately $3 million in annual revenue. My role will be to make sure they receive great service and remain RegEd clients. In addition, I will be responsible for locating organic growth opportunities. The position will come with full profit and loss responsibility.

It will be an interesting year as I am taking on a business challenge that is different from any other that I’ve had before. Even though I have always dealt with customers, this will be the first time that I’ve had a full-time client facing role. The experience will help me round out my client skills, which will be invaluable.

Talk to me in 3 months and see how I’m doing.

Last week we heard the bad news that Laura’s Uncle Mike passed away from lung and pancreatic cancer. He went peacefully in his sleep after poignant handling of what must have been constant and severe pain. He will be missed.

During the Thanksgiving weekend of 2004, Mike and Paul came to our home in Fuquay-Varina for a visit. Since we had a big yard with lots of trees, I used our riding mower to gather an enormous pile of leaves. Being out in the country, we were able to burn our leaves, which turned out to be quite a sight. As things slowed down, Mike tended to the fire for literally hours. Just when we thought it had burned itself out, Mike would rake a little here, turn over some ash there, and all of sudden, the flames were back. It was just a simple fire, but Mike got so much enjoyment out of it. He had a hard life. Much of it was his own doing, but I will always remember him with the smile as he kept the fire going. Rest in peace, Uncle Mike.

Those of you that know me are well aware that my mouth is often faster than my brain. I know it, and I’m working on it. At least my quick tongue isn’t completely moronic:

“The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, ‘divide my land.’ God considers this land to be his.

“You read the Bible, he says, ‘This is my land.’ And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he’s going carve it up and give it away, God says, ‘No. This is mine.’”

Pat Robertson should be ashamed of himself. Over the years he’s made so many ridiculous comments akin to the above that I view him as a complete and utter buffoon.

Happy New Year to all of my readers (I guess I could have just called you directly, Mom). Over the past few weeks, we’ve been busy so I figured it was time to do a quick update.

• Ben - He’s getting bigger and bigger. People told us that time flies, especially with kids and it is certainly true. Recently he has become much more independent. He doesn’t want our help and tries everything by himself. In the past two days, he’s figured out how to use a mouse. Sentences are getting longer (even if they are missing a few key words like “the” and “is”). He still makes us laugh, cry, and enjoy life. Potty training is still a challenge, but we definitely see some improvement and awareness.
• Christmas - We visited Dad and Karen in South Carolina. Joining us were Karen’s brother, Chuck, and family (Nancy, Cody and Alex). Lots of gifts were exchanged and Ben seemed to enjoy the first Christmas that he “got it”. That made the day much more enjoyable. Santa brought him the hockey skates he wanted. Laura got a GPS navigation system, I got an XM Radio and we received a shiny new digital camera. Laura and I also got to spend a “night off” in Savannah where we ate at The Lady and Sons. Yum. Overall, it was a good trip.
• Pregnancy - Laura is feeling much better. She started this this pregnancy feeling sick as could be. She’s doing better but she’s, um, er, expanded a little faster than might be expected. She hasn’t put on extra weight and she looks great, but she’ll readily tell you that her belly is larger than last time. Her back hurts and she’s dealing with the same stuffy nose as last time. The due date is April 21. We’ll keep you posted.
• Matt and Carrie – They’re still in Boston and doing well. Matt won an overseas cruise from his employer so they spent New Year’s on a ship in Finland or some other place like that. I don’t remember exactly where they went, I just know it’s far from the cold of Boston. By the way, check out Matt’s bio on their website.

If there’s more news, I’ll be sure to post. ‘Til then…