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So I’ve been putting in a bit of energy into the quilt shop over the past few weeks working to get it on its feet. Though honestly my contributions pale in comparison to those of the two pros running the shop. Mom has really become a pro at running the gammill and Sarah has created a retail niche in a community where there wasn’t one before. It’s a lot of fun working a project like this with them. But as it sits, there has been a lot of progress, and Sarah has started blogging about it on Missouri Star Quilt Company . blogspot.com so you can keep tabs on it. Here’s a few pics of the shop though so you can get a good feel for what I be talking about, :)

….. so pretty sure this is amazing. A group called improv everywhere put 16 people undercover to do a spur of the moment musical in an LA mall food court. Wireless mic’s into the mall’s PA system and music over the mall PA system complete it. I about died.

so I’m in a hotel in new england this very moment. I’m here on business and to scout out a place to live. I think I found a place to live, with some pretty cool roomies that I spent a bit of time with over the weekend, so things are good there. It’s an interesting position to be in, moving to someplace where I know no one. I spent a lot of time sitting here in my hotel room due to the fact that I’m about 30 minutes outside of town … and I know no one here, which is odd for me. Normally I know someone everywhere I go, but it’s really made me appreciate how good I have it in life. I am truly rich due to the good friendships I am surrounded with. It was just kind of nice to be reminded of how blessed I really am.

other things I have going on are the quilt shop, which opens on Wednesday has been taking a lot of my time lately. I went home to Missouri for a few days last week and saw the shop and it looks fantastic. Mom and Sarah are at the quilt market this weekend as a matter of fact, and I really can’t say enough about the hard work and progress that has been made by those two women to get this shop going. My role has been minimalized which has been good, as my day job has kept me exceptionally busy as of late. It’s been interesting starting a business during this recession, but I really find it an advantage to our project. A lot of people invested in this ordeal (time and money) have been worried about the fact that we’re investing heavily into what’s supposed to be a terrible economy. Well, my rationale here is two fold, first, as a basic investment strategy goes, you buy low and sell hi right. Well when the economy is low, the saturation or entry barriers are low in a lot of respects, not completely mind you, but for anyone who can establish themselves on the low end, when the economy is on the upswing, it will carry you up with it. Secondly, you have to pick your business model with this strategy in mind, what will people still be interested in when you cut out the frills. A quilt shop, in my opinion is a fairly safe venture, as it fills a basic need people will be turning to that they may not think about in a more prosperous time. Other ideas would be anything from food storage, to hobby supply stuffs (you’re not going out as much for entertainment, it’s more likely I would spend more time mountain biking if I’m not in the car cruising each weekend) etc. I see this as a great opportunity to innovate and expirement in a relatively safe sandbox. Granted, it’s all gonna have to be bootstrapped cause you’d have to be crazy to invest in someone else in such terrible time…. :) … but do it yourself, see if you can make it go, it’s a good time to be an entrepreneur.

Lastly, people have been asking my thoughts on politics, and here’s my 2 cents. I love this race. I love how telling it is of people to hear their thoughts on candidates, I love knowing exactly where people stand, and in my opinion, hearing some of the rationale people use to justify political leanings is very telling. I would argue that we are pretty much shafted either way. McCain is a buffoon, I think having him be our president would be a disaster, I really do. Early on in the primaries, I did my research, and McCain would be a poor representation of the republican party. Obama is a small fish in a big pond who is hiding his political leanings beneath layers of rhetoric. The man will be a puppet in the oval office, he is forced to lean too heavily on others due to his inexperience. Either way, the people who support either candidate will be disappointed at what is actually delivered in the white house, I promise you. The only thing that is giving me hesitation about voting for whoever the independant is, is the supreme court justice appointment coming up, which has me worried. Anyway, in short, we’re hosed, but hot dang if this ain’t a fun race to watch unfold. I love America, I love the fact that we can rely on the process and cheer our man to the top, and be frustrated when he loses. I love that everyone thinks they are getting slighted by the main stream media, and we all hate every station we watch or listen to. It’s great to be informed, and people are waking up. I see a few elections still before American’s figure out how to educate themselves politically, but they are waking up, and that excites me.

Anyway, in summary, I’m moving to boston, I’d love a care package with well wishes, but will settle for a phone call at some point. :)

I got sick of the old feel of the blog. I’m going to one post per page, and I’m creating a new project for myself. I want to build a blog interface that will present one blog at a time but have them be movable, so you can sift through them quickly. This is a fairly basic programming project, but to make it all dynamic and consistent, that’s the key. So if you hate the bland nature of the blog, wait about a year, I’ll have something new for you. :)

Also, I’m going to put up a thumb version of the doangang.com photo, but running a PERL script from my hosting service is proving to be a skosh of a challenge.

Anyway, here’s me trying to spice up the life a bit. :)

So I have had a great adventure recently as my sister and I have started the Missouri Star Quilt Co, it’s been a surprisingly fun experience working with family and I would be remiss if I did not give a quick bit o’ love to one of my best friends who happens to be a business partner of mine.

You gotta love this girl and I am constantly amazed at what she is able to accomplish. Let me give you a brief run down of what it’s taken to get here, and keep in mind, this is all done with 5 crazy kids and a champion of a husband, who all have karate, some have soccer, football, music and other commitments. A house of their own that needs attention from time to time, church commitments, and various other time sapping factors in play. So with all that going on, she has managed to find and negotiate a price on a building, close on the building, handle taxes and lawyers, work out loan needs with the bank, incorporate her company, remodel almost entirely a good chunk of the purchased building, get the multiple insurances necessary, come up with alternative financing for the quilt machine, get all the permits and tax id’s necessary to run a business, and the list goes on.

We talk every morning before I start work and we reset what needs to be done that day, and almost without fail, we do a call at the end of the day where she confirms that everything is taken care of. An absolute joy to see everything come together, and I just love working with miss Sarah. My family spoils me, what can I say? :)