This past weekend Alexis and I braved the dust storm that was covering North Texas and took a day trip to Cleburne. I wanted to show her the bustling metropolis where I work now. It is a sharp contrast from the glass and steel towers of Dallas to the horse and buggy town of Cleburne. It takes about an hour from our loft in Downtown to get to Downtown Cleburne where I work. My office is nothing special as you can tell from the pictures. In some of the pictures you can see how brown the sky is from the dust storm that was taking place. There are some pictures of the office where I spend most of my day and also a couple of pictures of the Johnson County Courthouse where I spend the rest of my time.
And what trip to a small town in Texas would be complete without a stop at the local Dairy Queen? So after taking in the sights, which didn't take long, we stopped at DQ for a Blizzard. The place was pretty busy and we felt like we were really taking in the culture of the small town. Pretty exciting stuff in Cleburne. We hope you enjoy the pictures.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
A Day in the Life of...
...Alexis. Since graduating in December, I have been subbing for elementary schools around the Dallas/Richardson area. On Monday, I was subbing for a lovely 1st grade class at the school where I student taught, when the principal called me into her office. She asked if I would like to take over a long term sub job until the end of the year. I thought that it sounded like a great opportunity! She smiled and then said that it was for 6th grade math. I immediately said, "Sure." I like math, so that was not a problem, but 6th graders instead of 6 year olds? Oh geez. So on Wednesday morning I started teaching math that I have not reviewed since I was in 6th grade. I only have three classes (25/25/7) and 30 minute period where I have to do something (I have not figured it out yet) with 30 students. My teaching is going to be rough for a while since I am replacing another long term sub that did not make other people happy. The staff is very supportive though, so it will be a good experience. This job should lead to a permanent job opportunity at this school or another one in the district, but I still miss my sweet little kindergarteners!!!
A Day in the Life of...
...Brett. That's right, I started a new job this week. It was a big promotion for me. So let me take a moment to run through a typical day with you.
8:30 arrive at work. I wear jeans and tennis shoes, and on Fridays I wear my Tech hat. It is really laid back. Once I start my work for the day I am responsible for running title to a particular lease that Devon has. Right now I am running the title on a lot that is only 1.939 acres. It is the minerals underneath their home. Running title means going back and researching each owner of the minerals since Texas granted it to the first private owner or until about 1900. We do this to make sure that the person we are paying for the minerals is in fact the rightful owner. It seems really dull, but it is difficult to figure out all of the owners and all of the stipulations of the deal when they made it. I like it. Anyway. Some times I have to go to the county courthouse to check the public records. It is right down the street so I just walk. Its good to get out of the office and get some air. At EnCana I was chained to m desk. so when lunch rolls around I go out to eat with my co-workers and take about an hour. Then its back to work and I leave around 4:30. That's it. It is a great job, low stress, good pay, and a casual work environment.
8:30 arrive at work. I wear jeans and tennis shoes, and on Fridays I wear my Tech hat. It is really laid back. Once I start my work for the day I am responsible for running title to a particular lease that Devon has. Right now I am running the title on a lot that is only 1.939 acres. It is the minerals underneath their home. Running title means going back and researching each owner of the minerals since Texas granted it to the first private owner or until about 1900. We do this to make sure that the person we are paying for the minerals is in fact the rightful owner. It seems really dull, but it is difficult to figure out all of the owners and all of the stipulations of the deal when they made it. I like it. Anyway. Some times I have to go to the county courthouse to check the public records. It is right down the street so I just walk. Its good to get out of the office and get some air. At EnCana I was chained to m desk. so when lunch rolls around I go out to eat with my co-workers and take about an hour. Then its back to work and I leave around 4:30. That's it. It is a great job, low stress, good pay, and a casual work environment.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Done with EnCana
Friday marked my last day at EnCana. I'm done!! On to the next job. Friday was a pretty easy day for me at work, I didn't do a whole lot, but thats no different than what I usually do. After work my supervisor took some co-workers and me out for drinks. Good times. Alexis met up with us at the restaurant.
Also Alexis got paid for the first time since she started subbing. So congrats to her on her first pay check. She also looked into different school districts around Dallas where she might want to work. We aren't real sure where she will end up, but she is leaning toward Richardson ISD.
We finally took Diana and Daryl up on their wedding present. In march they are shipping us off for a newly wed weekend conference. It will be at the Gaylord Texan Hotel here in Grapevine. I will be referring to the hotel as the Great Texan Hotel. Gaylord sounds too gay for me. So if anyone wants to baby sit Ace for the weekend, he's yours.
That's pretty much it for now, next week should be interesting with the new job starting. Landman. Not Farmer.
Also Alexis got paid for the first time since she started subbing. So congrats to her on her first pay check. She also looked into different school districts around Dallas where she might want to work. We aren't real sure where she will end up, but she is leaning toward Richardson ISD.
We finally took Diana and Daryl up on their wedding present. In march they are shipping us off for a newly wed weekend conference. It will be at the Gaylord Texan Hotel here in Grapevine. I will be referring to the hotel as the Great Texan Hotel. Gaylord sounds too gay for me. So if anyone wants to baby sit Ace for the weekend, he's yours.
That's pretty much it for now, next week should be interesting with the new job starting. Landman. Not Farmer.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Ace
As promised in our annual news letter, Alexis and I have made an addition to our family. His name is Ace. He is a 77lb black lab that we addopted from DFW Lab Rescue. he is adjusting nicely to his new home. He knows sit, stay, shake, crate, and up. He is really nice and we rarely hear him bark. He likes to paw at you for your attention or he will just set his head on your lap. Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure. And as you would expect he doesn't like the Aggies, loves the Red Raiders, and his role model is Bobby Knight. Feel free to come an check him out anytime. We are not sure when we will be able to get him out of Dallas and take him on a Texas tour.
Brett's New Job
After months of anticipation, I finally have a new job. As of Monday February 12th I will be a Landman for Devon. Finally. I turned in the resignation with EnCana on Tuesday and everything went over smoothly. Things just weren't working out here and I wasn't going to try to build my career on 'Maybe,' or 'In the future,' or ' You need to pay some dues first.' Not all was bad at EnCana, I did get a lot of exposure to the industry, but now its out to the front lines for me.
At Devon I will be a contract Feild Landman. This includes mineral title searches and research, leasing, and being the public's contact with the industry. As a Feild Landman I will basically be self employed. I will be able to work when and where I want. I am excited about the flexibility, but nervous about the added responsibility. I have plans to work towards gaining the title of Certified Professional Landman (CPL) which is the industry standard for professionalism, education, and experience. That's down the road though. This move is a big promotion for me and I couldn't be more thrilled.
At Devon I will be a contract Feild Landman. This includes mineral title searches and research, leasing, and being the public's contact with the industry. As a Feild Landman I will basically be self employed. I will be able to work when and where I want. I am excited about the flexibility, but nervous about the added responsibility. I have plans to work towards gaining the title of Certified Professional Landman (CPL) which is the industry standard for professionalism, education, and experience. That's down the road though. This move is a big promotion for me and I couldn't be more thrilled.
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