Big News, Hector! Really Big News!

As many of you know, Catherine and I have been working very hard for the last several months and we have gained some incredible experiences. Several months ago I started thinking of making a career change that would be more challenging and fulfilling than working with NewDay Financial, so we started a casual exploration of alternative career opportunities. Here's a rundown of the contenders we filtered from the pool:


Catherine is very well connected at Siemens because she works for the VP of HR. Siemens is best characterized as GE for the rest of the world. At the end of Fiscal Year 2006, they recorded 87.3 Billion Dollars in Sales with 475,000 employees. From medical equipment to semi-conductors to light bulbs, Siemens does it all. The corporate headquarters for Siemens Medical is but two miles from our little home in Malvern, PA. The benefits for Siemens employees are outrageous, the international opportunities are endless, and opportunity for growth within the company is vast and very lucrative. Nobody cares about filthy lucre anyway, but I still interviewed for a position. . .

In the opposite corner, I had heard very strong things about one of the most successful mutual fund companies in the world - also with headquarters but two miles away from our humble home in Malvern. Vanguard manages $1.1 Trillion Dollars in U.S. investments and employs over 12,000 of the nation's brightest financial minds. My interviews with Vanguard were gruelling and exciting - phone screens, a day of interviews with six managers, a financial assessment, follow-up interview, and breakfast with the "Top Brass" of my division at 6:30 in the morning. Mmmmm...... fruit bowls. Opportunities with Vanguard are just as vast as Siemens, though joining this company will inevitably open the door to any financial company in the nation.

Do any of you know what if feels like to be in a situation where you are prayerful, pensive, and yearning for any kind of divine guidance (or intervention)? Sometimes I just want to say, "Just tell me what you want me to do, Lord, and I'll do it." (Un)Fortunately, that's not the way the Lord works. Just ask Jared's brother . . . err. . . the Brother of Jared. Catherine and I have been searching for the right next move for some time, and this week, everything that we had been considering came to a head - I suppose I'll take a moment to mention a third contender in the career search. . .

Several months ago, I did some basic business consulting to help John Thornton, my brother-in-law, explore the viability of a web and software development company. John is an extremely talented programmer and has been exploring a variety of different product opportunities for quite a while. Johnny has invited me on several occasions to run Comma Development. Comma is based out of Salt Lake City, employs two full-time employees (Johnny included), revenues are unknown, and daily commute would be just over 2,150 miles from Malvern. Yikes!

Miraculously, all three of these companies finalized their offers to me this week, though they were all previously in varying stages of consideration. Each offer was very strong (Vanguard gives four weeks vacation - wow!), but we knew we could only choose one of them. . . . Two out of three offers lead to a predictable schedule, a clear path for advancement, international opportunity, and a very comfortable living. One offer leads to a path of unpredictability, high risk, blood, sweat, and tears. . .

And so, if you haven't guessed it already, Catherine and I are moving back to Utah!!! We can't think of a better time in our lives than now to take risks and experience the rollercoaster ride of running a company. We are so excited!!! We aren't sure what to think about how crazy life is going to be for the next little while, but we know that the Lord has approved our decisions and look forward to life's next great adventure. Catherine will be going back to the University of Utah to finish her degree (December, 2008 - mark your calendars for a fiesta) and I will be running the most successful startup web and software development company on the West Coast. :)

Things are going to get crazy around here for a little while. We have six weeks before we load up a truck and make the grand trek across the country. Our last anticipated day in our home is July 31. We realized that every week until then is fully booked. We are:

1) working as counselors for a multi region EFY-esque youth activity
2) seeing the best sites of the East Coast with family
3) entertaining friends moving to the East Coast
4) traveling upstate New York and New England with the Hill Cumorah Pageant
5) escaping to Cape May, NJ (for a romantic anniversary getaway)
6) packing up a ridiculously ugly and uneconomical Penske truck for a cross-country adventure

Well, there you have it. That's about all the big news we've got for right now. We spent Friday and Saturday in Washington D.C. with Philip, Michala, Emma, and baby Richard Webb (I like the name, but they don't think it's a good fit for a girl). We took Emma shopping in Georgetown for a few hours to give the parents a break, and we spent the afternoon at an El Salvadorian Graduation fiesta, the likes of which you wouldn't believe! It was delicioso!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!