Well, a ton has transpired since my last post. I'll try to get everyone up to date.
Matt:
Out of the blue I got a call from New York Life Retirement Services two weeks ago about a job opportunity. I interviewed with them on Monday 6/22 and everything went fantastically well. They were looking for someone with my background and were faced with some challenges that I had already experienced. It was for a role that I was actually overqualified for. However, in this crazy marketplace, I got a call back on Friday 6/26 saying they were pursuing other candidates with more experience! All in all, it was not a lost exercise. Interviews are few and far between, so there is value in learning from the process. I was not terribly excited about the opportunity and it would have been about a 1 and 1/2 hour commute...one way. We'll just have to see what tomorrow brings.
Kelly:
Kelly's been working now for a few weeks. She's adjusting well and for the most part enjoys the job and the hospital environment. We are anxiously waiting to hear the prognosis of her oldest brother's malignant tumor. We are praying that it is a very treatable form of cancer and hope to have more information by Wednesday of this week.
Derek and Jacen:
Our regular season for baseball didn't end as we had hoped. We played our worst game of the season and lost in the semi-final game. The boys took it pretty hard, but had a fantastic season. Both are playing on the summer All-Star teams representing our town. I am coaching Derek's 12U team and Jacen is playing on the 10U team. Both teams started tournament play over the past two weeks....I'll try and post regular updates to keep everyone informed.
10U
Jacen's team played in an invitational tournament the weekend of 6/19. His team went 4-0 and won the championship in dramatic fashion. They faced Kearsarge Mountain South in the final whom they had previously beaten 13-6(? - can't remember the score, but it was quite handily). In the championship game, his team was down 4-2 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning (i.e. final inning). His team scrapped back into it and tied the game 4-4. Jacen came up with 2 outs and hit a hard line drive over the center fielder's head to win the game with a walk off hit. It was one of those proud moments as a Dad. (The ironic thing is Derek did the very same thing, in the very same tournament two years prior)
Jacen's team started there Cal Ripken District tournament today in Auburn, NH. They faced Exeter and after being down 3-0 for the first 3 innings the team broke through in the fourth scoring 7 and eventually winning the game 7-4. They play again on Tuesday night....stay tuned!
12U
Derek's team started playing this weekend in Jaffrey, NH. The bottomline story is that the team performed extremely well. Game 1 was against Swanzey, NH and the team was victorious 8-1. Derek had a solo home run and pitched 2 scoreless innings. Game 2 was against a scrappy, but young Con-Val (Connecticut Valley) The bats again exploded and the team was victorious 13-0. In the championship today, the team faced the same Con-Val team and once again walked away with a convincing win. The final was 11-0.
Derek starts his Cal Ripken District play on July 9 in Hudson, NH. With the great start, we hope to have the same success.
Oh...did I forget Grady? Of course not....Grady wrapped up T-Ball a week ago. Another rite of passage complete....on to Rookie ball! Grady is going to attend Vacation Bible School at our church this week and is very much looking forward to it. He's a trooper with all the travel sports. He's very social and really gets along well with the siblings of his brothers' teammates.
Signing off for now....hoping I will get in some kind of routine to keep everyone up to date!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Making Ends Meet
Well this has been a different week in the Hudson home. Here's the latest.....
Kelly: Started her PT job at the Elliot in Manchester. This week has been all orientation, so she has been gone everyday. She has been leaving at 7:15 and returning most days around 5:00. She seems to have enjoyed the first few days, but it is definitely and adjustment for us.
Matt: With Kelly at work, I've been doing the homeschooling. I can honestly say to all the homeschool dads out there.....during the next school year, you need to give Mom a week off and do the teaching yourselves. You will have a greater appreciation for the work that our wives do in raising and educating our children. It is HARD work!
Nothing new on the job front. I spoke with an old contact last week, hoping that news at my old company were better, but they are in the same boat as everyone else. It did nothing but depress me even more. Oh well. I'm still working on the teaching area. The Salem opportunity is still open. We're also looking at different alternatives to starting our own business and cobble some things together to bring in some kind of income or reduce our obligations.
The boys:
Derek was promoted to number 2 in the Middle School pitching rotation. I don't know if a 6th grader has ever been in a starting pitching role before, never mind #2. Unfortunately (or depending on your perspective...fortunately), his team lost on Monday 8-0 against Elm Street. Derek came in to pitch in the 4th inning, pitched 3 innings and gave up 4 runs. Not a great game by his standards (he admits this...), but we're all proud.
Jacen has decided not to play soccer this year. He would rather put some focus around basketball when the baseball season ends. He pitched 2 innings in our last game and struck out 4 batters, 1 hit, 0 walks, and 0 runs. Best pitching performance of the season for him.
Derek and Jacen have there last HYB regular season game tonight. With a win, the team finishes in first place heading into the playoff which start on Sunday.
Grady has 3 games left for t-ball and had a huge hit last week. Unfortunately, no one was there to see it. It was one of those weekends where we we had to be in 3 different places at the same time.
Kelly: Started her PT job at the Elliot in Manchester. This week has been all orientation, so she has been gone everyday. She has been leaving at 7:15 and returning most days around 5:00. She seems to have enjoyed the first few days, but it is definitely and adjustment for us.
Matt: With Kelly at work, I've been doing the homeschooling. I can honestly say to all the homeschool dads out there.....during the next school year, you need to give Mom a week off and do the teaching yourselves. You will have a greater appreciation for the work that our wives do in raising and educating our children. It is HARD work!
Nothing new on the job front. I spoke with an old contact last week, hoping that news at my old company were better, but they are in the same boat as everyone else. It did nothing but depress me even more. Oh well. I'm still working on the teaching area. The Salem opportunity is still open. We're also looking at different alternatives to starting our own business and cobble some things together to bring in some kind of income or reduce our obligations.
The boys:
Derek was promoted to number 2 in the Middle School pitching rotation. I don't know if a 6th grader has ever been in a starting pitching role before, never mind #2. Unfortunately (or depending on your perspective...fortunately), his team lost on Monday 8-0 against Elm Street. Derek came in to pitch in the 4th inning, pitched 3 innings and gave up 4 runs. Not a great game by his standards (he admits this...), but we're all proud.
Jacen has decided not to play soccer this year. He would rather put some focus around basketball when the baseball season ends. He pitched 2 innings in our last game and struck out 4 batters, 1 hit, 0 walks, and 0 runs. Best pitching performance of the season for him.
Derek and Jacen have there last HYB regular season game tonight. With a win, the team finishes in first place heading into the playoff which start on Sunday.
Grady has 3 games left for t-ball and had a huge hit last week. Unfortunately, no one was there to see it. It was one of those weekends where we we had to be in 3 different places at the same time.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
No Autos
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post.....here's the latest.
Matt: The International Autos opportunity did not work out. As with most opportunities, employers are looking for an exact fit and are less likely to fill positions if you do not have the exact experience they are looking for. That was the case with this opportunity, although they were impressed with my background, they were looking for someone with more benefits design experience. Oh well, no Porsche for me! So, now what? I'm still looking at teaching opportunities in the schools. My latest application went into the Salem School District last week. I have to say, the schools have the most difficult application process. They ask some very challenging questions that require a lot of thought. I'm also going to start educating myself on how to start a small business. Kelly and I kick around tons of ideas, but never pursue any of them. So, with time on my hands, I guess it makes sense to get smart!
Kelly: Starts her PT job on Monday 6/1/2009. She will be working approx 20 hours per week at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. She's not terribly excited about it, but I give her a lot of credit. It's far from what she feels called to do, but she's willing to do things that are not ideal in order to help.
Derek: Wrapped up his regular season for HMS baseball last Friday. He pitched 4 innings and only allowed one run. Unfortunately, the team lost 11-2 and finished with a 6-4 record. They will most likely be the 5th seed going into the playoffs. In a Hudson Youth Baseball game last Friday night, he hit a home run that easily went 320 feet. The blog spot is not easy to explain how impressive this is, but to give some perspective, the normal dimensions of the field he plays on has a fence set to 200 feet. General reaction from those that saw it was "WOW, I've never seen anything like it!"
Matt: The International Autos opportunity did not work out. As with most opportunities, employers are looking for an exact fit and are less likely to fill positions if you do not have the exact experience they are looking for. That was the case with this opportunity, although they were impressed with my background, they were looking for someone with more benefits design experience. Oh well, no Porsche for me! So, now what? I'm still looking at teaching opportunities in the schools. My latest application went into the Salem School District last week. I have to say, the schools have the most difficult application process. They ask some very challenging questions that require a lot of thought. I'm also going to start educating myself on how to start a small business. Kelly and I kick around tons of ideas, but never pursue any of them. So, with time on my hands, I guess it makes sense to get smart!
Kelly: Starts her PT job on Monday 6/1/2009. She will be working approx 20 hours per week at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. She's not terribly excited about it, but I give her a lot of credit. It's far from what she feels called to do, but she's willing to do things that are not ideal in order to help.
Derek: Wrapped up his regular season for HMS baseball last Friday. He pitched 4 innings and only allowed one run. Unfortunately, the team lost 11-2 and finished with a 6-4 record. They will most likely be the 5th seed going into the playoffs. In a Hudson Youth Baseball game last Friday night, he hit a home run that easily went 320 feet. The blog spot is not easy to explain how impressive this is, but to give some perspective, the normal dimensions of the field he plays on has a fence set to 200 feet. General reaction from those that saw it was "WOW, I've never seen anything like it!"
Jacen: The home runs continue.....Jacen hit his first out of the park home run yesterday during a scrimmage game with his All Star team. To top things off, it was a Grand Slam! It's a pretty significant accomplishment at 10 years old and he achieved one of his goals this year, so of course we're proud of him.
Grady: No home runs to report, but as always providing plenty of laughter to family and friends. He's cruising through his first grade curriculum. I jokingly tell the kids, he's the smartest one in the family...probably not a great idea, but they know I'm kidding!
School Update: Homeschool co-ops have finished meeting. Jacen and Derek had to pair up with another co-op student and report on a country. Jacen and Lindsay R. reported on China. Jacen made "Mooncakes" (click here) for the class to enjoy. Derek and Cecilia P. reported on France. Derek also got into the cooking spirit and made some real heavy duty "French Toast". If I get technically proficient, I'll post their presentations. The boys are only focused on Math and English for the remainder of the school year, having wrapped up their History and Science already. We completed standardized testing last week and should get results in June to file with the SAU.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Not the Auto Industry!
Matt: Today is a day of some job search activity for me. I received a call to from a recruiter and I may have an opportunity within the next week to meet with her client. The position is for a Manager of Employee Benefits for an auto dealership. Of course the reaction was, "oh no, not a auto dealer" with all the turmoil in the auto industry. She was reassuring and informed me that this company deals in Porsche and Audi automobiles. With any luck I"ll be in a position that pays fairly well and maybe get a cool set of wheels! The other opportunity was again speaking with a recruiter out of Boston for positions within Philips Electronics. If anyone has any contacts at Philips, send them my way!
Kelly: Kelly's interview is set for next Wednesday. She's also been doing some assembly work at a friend of ours printing company to pick up a few extra dollars. What can I say, other than she amazes me.
Boys: Nothing new to report today.
Kelly: Kelly's interview is set for next Wednesday. She's also been doing some assembly work at a friend of ours printing company to pick up a few extra dollars. What can I say, other than she amazes me.
Boys: Nothing new to report today.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Getting Started
Ok, so for those of you who want to know what's going on in NH for the Hudsons, I'm going to try and post on a regular basis.
Matt: Yes, I'm still in search of work. I had an opportunity with Putnam Investments that the door closed on yesterday. Well...not completely closed, Putnam has plans to grow their 401k business, so who knows what may happen down the road. I still have teaching applications in the works and will be following up on those later this week. Check out my profile on LinkedIN to learn more about my background www.linkedin.com/in/matthewshudson
Kelly: Kelly is going to pursue some part-time work at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. So, things will change for us. I will probably start to pick up some of the homeschool responsibilities while Kelly goes to work 4 hours per day.
Derek: Derek's AAU basketball team won their division in the NH State Tournament. It's a great accomplishment for this team's first year together. He's going to play baseball this summer on the Cal Ripken 12U team for Hudson.
Jacen: Jacen is also going to play summer baseball. He is going to play on our 10U team. He and Grady are often found across the street in the neighbors yard playing in the brook. It's the latest place for these boys to experience the big adventure of the outdoors =).
Grady: Grady is playing T-ball again. He is enjoying it, although, it is not very challenging for him. He is often found playing with his various action figures (Star Wars, Spider-Man, Iron-Man and others)
That should get us started....stay tuned.
Matt: Yes, I'm still in search of work. I had an opportunity with Putnam Investments that the door closed on yesterday. Well...not completely closed, Putnam has plans to grow their 401k business, so who knows what may happen down the road. I still have teaching applications in the works and will be following up on those later this week. Check out my profile on LinkedIN to learn more about my background www.linkedin.com/in/matthewshudson
Kelly: Kelly is going to pursue some part-time work at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. So, things will change for us. I will probably start to pick up some of the homeschool responsibilities while Kelly goes to work 4 hours per day.
Derek: Derek's AAU basketball team won their division in the NH State Tournament. It's a great accomplishment for this team's first year together. He's going to play baseball this summer on the Cal Ripken 12U team for Hudson.
Jacen: Jacen is also going to play summer baseball. He is going to play on our 10U team. He and Grady are often found across the street in the neighbors yard playing in the brook. It's the latest place for these boys to experience the big adventure of the outdoors =).
Grady: Grady is playing T-ball again. He is enjoying it, although, it is not very challenging for him. He is often found playing with his various action figures (Star Wars, Spider-Man, Iron-Man and others)
That should get us started....stay tuned.
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