Bagpipes and Crested Geckos

There is a specific protocol when meeting someone for the first time. Last week at my Rotary meeting, I introduced myself to a visiting Rotarian from a club in Olympia WA. We looked at each other, and in unison both extended our right hand, made eye contact and shook the extended hand. We then in turn stated our names.

The next item on the protocol, prior to getting down to the business at hand is the small talk; how long we have been working at our respective companies, where we went to school, when we graduated, past employers, spouses name, kids name and where they go to school. 

During the small talk session, I like to mix thing up a bit by asking what they enjoy the most about their job. That question stops some people dead in their tracks; it seems many people look at their job as a way to make a living and don’t think it is especially enjoyable. 

If you really want to find out about a person, ask them what they like doing in their off time. That’s when the pictures come out on the smart phones, and they share with you what really gets them excited. You already know that I enjoy flying in my off time, but I thought you might be interested in some of the things the people of ESI do for fun. Let me introduce you to a handful of the people that work at Engineered Software.
 
Aldo in the development group plays the Scottish bagpipes in a pipe band "Olympia Pipers & Drummers."  He has a set of bagpipes and uniform complete with a kilt, high socks and a sporran (that’s the pouch that is worn in front of a kilt to hold stuff. It seems kilts don’t have pockets). This past summer his pipe band needed a place to practice for an upcoming highland competition, so for six weeks every Thursday evening they played and marched in our parking lot.



Chris in our sales group likes creepy crawly things. He has a variety of tarantulas (Chaco Golden Kneed, Mexican Fire Legged, and a Power Blue Pink Toe) along with a giant desert hairy scorpion. But his pride and joy is a crested gecko from New Caledonia, and does he have the pictures to prove it. You may ask what these critters eat; it seems they enjoy his homegrown Madagascar hissing cockroaches. And yes Halloween is his favorite holiday.

Paul’s passion is hot rods. Also a member of our sales group, he builds his cars and shows them around the northwest, attends parts swap meets, and helps his hot rod buddies with their challenging projects. His last project was a 1956 Ford pickup truck, that took almost two years to complete and it has a list of custom features that are too long to list, but were featured recently in a four page spread in Classic Truck magazine.  

His current project is a 1974 VW Bus Vanagon, with a Porsche 914 engine. The van was under a tree, covered in moss and the engine didn’t start when he bought it from the previous owner. The next Monday morning the moss was gone and the engine was purring like a kitten.  His original plan was to remove the existing engine and replace it with a V-8.  It seems that his wife had other ideas so he is going to be tricking it out with the existing engine, getting a slick two-tone paint job to match his 55 Ford station wagon and go camping with his wife.

Dennis our sales manager enjoys acting for Theater Artist Olympia (TAO) community theater group.  He has starred in The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet, and Othello. He prefers Shakespeare, but TAO likes to mix things up, for example, The Tempest was staged in the future with a Star Trek theme. He has also appeared in two productions of Cannibal the Musical (www.cannibalthemusical.net) based on the true story of the Alfred Packer the only person convicted of cannibalism in America. Asked why the production company did Cannibal the Musical twice, he said it’s the only play that makes money.

Finally there is Jesse, in our engineering department, his passion is snowboarding. You can find him in the Cascades just about any weekend in the winter having a good time putting first tracks in the snow.  When he’s not out on the mountain he is volunteering with SOS Outreach (www.sosoutreach.org) at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington and C.O.R.E. at White Pass, WA, teaching under-served kids how to snowboard, hike and climb, while stressing the core values of the program designed to promote positive self-esteem. Both programs emphasize making positive choices and practicing self-responsibility, while educating the youth about their environment, and helping build connectedness with their peers, adult mentors, and their community.

This is but a small cross section of the Engineered Software team and I have run out of space before I have run out of stories. One thing I always find amazing about our team is that they have as much passion with their full time jobs as they do in their extracurriculars.

Now it’s your turn. I would like your comments on this blog or even better, I would really enjoy finding out about what your interests are after work.