Mark's Blog

Mark's Deviled Egg Salad Sandwiches

2011-03-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

Description

Egg salad with a little bit of a kick. Makes 6 sandwiches.

Ingredients

12 Eggs

2 heaping tbl Mayo
2 tbl Sweet Pickle Relish
1 tbl Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chili Flakes
Salt and Pepper

Wheat Bread

Hard-Boiling the Eggs

1. Place eggs in a saucepan of cold water. Make sure there is at least an inch of cold water above the eggs. Add a tablespoon of salt and cover the saucepan.
2. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil.
3. Once the water is at a rolling boil, remove from heat. Leave eggs in the hot water for another 10 minutes.
4. Prepare a bowl of ice water, and move the eggs from the hot water immediately into the cold ice water.
5. Let eggs sit in the ice water for at least 5 minutes.
6. Crack and peel the eggs, and chop/dice the eggs on a cutting board. Put the chopped eggs into a large mixing bowl.

Preparing the Egg Salad Sandwiches

1. Add the Mayo, Dijon Mustard, Paprika, Sweet Pickle Relish, Garlic Powder, Red Chili Flakes, Parmesan Cheese, and just a pinch of salt and pepper into the mixing bowl with the eggs.
2. Combine all ingredients. The egg whites should retain their shape and consistency, and the egg yolks should combine nicely with all the ingredients to a creamy consistency, which will bind the salad together.
3. Toast the wheat bread, and scoop a generous heap of the egg salad onto the bread to make a delicious sandwich. Serve with a pickle spear, apple slices, and kettle barbeque chips.

MBA Accomplished!

2011-01-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished the last session of the last class in my MBA program!

The way APU does things, I actually already walked in my graduation ceremony back in December (a month prior to the end of the Fall II term). Tonight, though, represented the completion of my academic obligations for my degree. Woot!

On another exciting note, we all had to take an MBA Field Exam as part of our exit process. Think of it as taking a certification test or a GMAT exam, but instead of using it to qualify for getting into the program, it measures whether or not you learned what you were supposed to learn. Mainly, it's used as an instrument to assess the integrity of the MBA program at the university for accreditation purposes.

Anyway, I scored a 272 on the exam (range is 220-300) which put me in the 90th percentile in the country (again, I say "Woot!"). I don't really get anything for taking the test, other than validation that the program I just invested four years of work into actually taught me the things that I was supposed to learn, and that I learned them better than 90% of my fellow MBA peers across the nation. That's a nice way to finish.

Now that my MBA is officially behind me, I can sit back and wait for my baby boy to arrive. Higher education complete (for now), parenting adventure about to begin. =)

Fallen Tree

2010-11-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to the sound of a tree in my backyard splitting apart and crashing into my neighbor's house.

Enjoy.

Becky's Fender Bender

2010-11-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

Becky was in a fender bender today. She's doing fine - a lady merged into her lane in a residential neighborhood at pretty slow speeds. Here's what happened:

Baby's First Pictures!

2010-10-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

Pictures at 18-weeks

The Science of Motivation

2010-07-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

James sent me a link to a very interesting animation and lecture on motivation. I don't have much to add to this, other than that I agree with what is being presented. I have certainly witnessed in others and experienced personally that you don't have to make a lot of money to be content in a job you enjoy, and if you are stuck in a job you hate more money doesn't necessarily cause you to be content with your situation.

Enjoy!

Getting Naked

2010-06-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention...

In my Business Ethics class, one of my assignments is to do 1,000 pages of "collateral reading" - basically, read 1,000 pages of anything I want that is related to business ethics.

So, as I was perusing the "Business Best-Sellers" section of Barnes and Noble today, I noticed this book and read the back cover. It was basically a philosophy on how to treat clients, presented as a narrative fable. It looked interesting, so I bought it and read it this evening.

I was actually surprised by what a neat book it was (and, after finishing the book, was not surprised but was pleased to learn that the author is actually a Christian). The main point the author makes is that the best way to serve our customers is by being vulnerable to them. He demonstrates that the strongest customer relationships are built when we:

1. Consult instead of sell. Instead of trying to convince your customer that you can help them, just start helping them.
2. Tell the kind truth. You know that elephant in the room, that everybody knows is the problem but nobody wants to talk about? Have the courage to address the real issue. Yes it will be awkward, but if you do it kindly, it will benefit your customer much more than if you quietly ignore it.
3. Ask dumb questions. If you don't know something, chances are somebody else in the room doesn't either. Don't be afraid to ask questions - it will demonstrate that you care more about gathering the info needed to solve the problem than you do about your ego.
4. Make dumb suggestions. It is ok to make a suggestion that you aren't sure of - it may be the great idea they needed. Or it might not be, but if it isn't, just roll with it and keep looking for the solution.
5. Take a bullet for your customer. This doesn't mean blindly absorbing blame and enabling a customer to do the wrong thing. It is about humbling ourselves in those times when we can take some of the burden off of our customer in a difficult situation, and then confronting them about the situation after. Without the confrontation, taking a bullet is just enablement.
6. Make everything about the customer. It isn't important that we be recognized for our expertise or our knowledge - we are here to understand, honor, and support our customers. If we're good at this, we won't need to build ourselves up - our customers will realize and appreciate all on their own the value of our services.
7. Do the dirty work. Be willing to take on whatever a customer needs (within the context of the services you provide). Sometimes what a customer needs might be seen as "below us", but since service is about them and not us, we do for them those things they need us to do with a humble spirit.
8. Admit your weaknesses and limitation. If we try to cover up our weaknesses, we will spend more and more time and energy doing things we aren't good at. If we can admit our weaknesses, we can look for better ways to fill those gaps (sometimes another member of the team), and more effectively spend our time and energy on the things we are good at.

I think these guidelines have some strong ties to Biblical principles, and therefore are not necessarily alien in concept to somebody working at a Christian institution. However, the book was clearly written for a secular, corporate audience, where some of these principles are very much out of the norm.

Finally, one other thing the book emphasizes is, while some humility can go a long way in building a meaningful relationship with customers, you still have to be competent in the things you do. It is good to admit your mistakes, but if all you make are mistakes, then you have a different problem.

I definitely recommend this book for anybody that serves people in a business setting. It's a quick read (few hours) and the narrative style is very engaging.

My Best Golf Scores by Course

2010-05-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Course	Best Score (9 Holes)	Best Score (18 Holes)	Date
Lake Tahoe Golf Course Lake Tahoe, CA		DNF	May 23, 2010
Bijou Golf Course Lake Tahoe, CA	52 (Par 32) White Tees		May 26, 2010
Claremont Golf Course Claremont, CA	43 (Par 29) White Tees		June 12, 2010
Sinaloa Golf Course Simi Valley, CA	38 (Par 27) White Tees		July 11, 2010
Royal Vista Golf Course - North/South Course Walnut, CA		132 (Par 71) White Tees	Sept 23, 2010
Blackberry Farm Golf Course Cupertino, CA	39 (Par 29) White Tees		Oct 16, 2010
Upland Hills Country Club Upland, CA		119 (Par 70) White Tees	Dec 30, 2010
Colton Golf Course Colton, CA		89 (Par 57) White Tees	Jan 15, 2011
Rancho Duarte Golf Course Duarte, CA	43 (Par 32) White Tees		February 12, 2011
Glenoaks Golf Course Glendora, CA	36 (Par 27) White Tees		March 15, 2011
Riverlakes Ranch Golf Course Bakersfield, CA		124 (Par 72) Blue Tees	Aug 6, 2011
San Dimas Canyon Golf Course - Back 9 San Dimas, CA	53 (Par 36) White Tees		Aug 16, 2011
Oak Quarry Golf Course Riverside, CA		112 (Par 72) White Tees	Aug 30, 2011
Goose Creek Golf Course Mira Loma, CA		108 (Par 71) White Tees	Aug 30, 2011

Finishing Well

2010-03-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

I just registered for the last class I need to earn my MBA, and it put me into a reflective mood. I started my MBA program at Azusa Pacific in September 2006. When I walk across the stage at graduation on July 30, 2010, it will be one month shy of four years from when I first started.

So, other than working on an MBA, what have I been up to for the last four years? What have I accomplished that was worthwhile? What have been my failures? Am I a better man now than I was four years ago?

Accomplishments

Let's start with the fun part. Here are the good things that have happened in my life over the past four years.

Got married to the most beautiful girl in the world.
Played a significant role in APU's PeopleSoft implementation project (Eiro).
Promoted twice in three years, first to PeopleSoft DBA, and then to Assistant Director.
Purchased a home in Rancho Cucamonga.
Participated in Men's Fraternity, a three-year men's Bible study at church.

Failures

Now for the sobering part - what have been my major failures over the last four years?

My prayer and devotional life has been inconsistent at best.
Gained 30 pounds during Project Eiro. I am squarely in the "obese" category.
Spent more time at work and less time with my wife than I should have.

What Matters, Anyway?

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:13-14)

Our small group is currently reading through Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In it, he makes some interesting statements:

Since the world began, there have been somewhere between 45 and 125 billion people that have lived on this earth.
In less than 100 years, nobody will remember a thing about me. I will die, and life will go on.

So, what matters? For what purpose was I placed on this earth, and over the last four years, have I been fulfilling that purpose?

I guess the best answer I have is "yes", "no", and "I don't know":

Yes, I have fulfilled my purpose at times. I think I have done many things over the last four years that God meant for me to do, including get married to my wife and participate in project Eiro and Men's Fraternity.
No, I haven't fulfilled my purpose at times. I know there have certainly been plenty of times where sin has caused me to fall short of the plans or purposes God had for my life, or miss Kingdom opportunities altogether.
I don't always know what God's plan for my life is. The best way to know God's will for your life is to be in continual, consistent relationship with him, which includes spending time in solitude, communing with the Holy Spirit, who petitions God the Father through Christ on our behalf. I have not had a consistent devotional life, and therefore cannot say with confidence that I am in tune with God's purposes.

Finishing Well

As I look back on the last four years, I see that I have accomplished much and been blessed greatly. But there is also a lot of room for improvement. Looking forward to the final four months of my MBA program, I don't just want to finish - I want to finish well. I want to look back on my life and be able to say with confidence "I am a better man now than I was before. I am closer to God now than I was then."

So, over the next four months, I want to do some things differently. I'm setting the following goals for myself for the next four months:

Make solitary time with God a daily part of my routine. This will mean waking up by 6:00AM each day in order to spend time praying and listening to God. (Ultimately, what this really means is that I need to go to bed by 10:00PM each night.)
As much as possible, limit my work week to 45 hours, and spend more time with my wife. I've actually begun carpooling with a co-worker as a way to have accountability for an 8-9 hour workday.
Maintain a healthier lifestyle. I need to lose 50 pounds to get to a "normal" BMI - over the next four months, I'd like to get a good start on that. All this extra weight is probably killing me slowly. As busy as I usually am, I need to plan for convenient healthy alternatives to Jack in the Box and McDonalds. A Slim-Fast for breakfast and a Lean Cuisine for lunch is about as easy as it gets - there really isn't a good excuse for not making such an easy change.

I'll be posting my progress - anybody that happens to read this, please feel free to check up on me if you see that I'm not posting progress. A little accountability goes a long way. =)

My New Dartboard

2010-01-02T01:26:00.000-08:00

So, I got a sweet dartboard for Christmas, and decided that it would make a nice addition to our living room. Becky agreed to let me put it up in the house, but I needed to make sure the wall was protected (it's a cork dartboard for steel tips darts).

Since this was going up in the house, I wanted it to look nice. I got some masonite board and moulding to use as trim, and built a backstop with a frame:

Originally I was thinking I'd paint the masonite white to match the trim, and then hang up a chalkboard nearby to keep score. When I mentioned that to Dante he threw out a great idea - just paint the masonite with chalkboard paint.

I went to Lowes and bought a can for ten bucks. My buddy Jon was in town for the holidays, and helped me paint the board. It worked great - take a look:

Goodbye WoW!

2009-12-20T16:22:00.000-08:00

After four years, I have officially quit World of Warcraft. For most of you, this probably doesn't sound like a big deal. But, WoW is definitely the most addicting game I've ever played, and for a number of reasons.

First of all, the game never ends. You invest in a character and a world that is always changing. I've been playing this game for four years, and I've probably only experienced 60% of the game's content - and another expansion is coming out next year.

Secondly, this game has real people behind it. I was part of a raiding guild composed both of people I know from school, work, and people that I'd never met except in the game. I actually have friends in Australia and Hawaii because of World of Warcraft.

The bottom line though - I'd rather play WoW than do the stuff I should be doing. I'm married, I've got a demanding job, and want to have kids sometime in the near future. It's not that video games in general are bad, but I think it's safe to say that this game is designed to make you want to play it more than is reasonable. Time to dust off games like Halo and Mario Kart - things you can play for 20 minutes and then put down.

I feel like I made friends that I never would have made if not for WoW, and I think that is really the sad part of walking away. I'll definitely miss those guys. For those of you who play WoW, you know you can "cancel" your account and reactivate later, resuming with your old characters. I've ensured that this won't be the case for me - I permanently deleted all of my characters before canceling.

Goodbye WoW - it was fun.

~ Mark (Avallach)

Oktoberfest!

2009-10-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Some family and friends headed up to Lake Arrowhead this weekend to relax, enjoy one another's company, and celebrate the one holiday a year where it's cool to wear lederhosen. Oktoberfest!!! We stayed in a big, four bedroom cabin, which was surprisingly nice and roomy (even for nine people). Here are some pictures from the weekend:

The Cabin

Oktoberfest!

Finishing the Garage (Update 1)

2009-10-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

So, two months have passed since I began finishing my garage, and life/work/school sort of got in the way of progress. I finally made some time this afternoon to get back to it. I put up the final piece of drywall and started plastering the wall.

The first step (or so the internet says) is to fill the screw holes with joint compound and tape/plaster the seams. I think it's going well so far - take a look:

Patching the Screw Holes

The Wall So Far...

Up Close

I've got a couple more "coats" of plaster to apply on the seams, then I can mud the entire wall. More updates to come!

Extending the Patio

2009-08-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

So, the smart thing to do is to finish the first project before you start the second project, but I'm just not that guy. We're trying to get our back yard fixed up, and at the same time, find ways to reduce maintenance time, since we're both so busy.

Right now, that means hardscaping. We have this corner of our backyard where there is a concrete patio slab, then a corner of grass, and then concrete again on the side of the house. We decided that the little corner of grass was a lot of maintenance for not much benefit - it isn't big enough for kids to play in, so its a lot of water and mowing for not much practical use.

We decided that we wanted to lay down pavers and to unify the two patio areas, and create a space for more outdoor seating and perhaps even put in a fire pit. As I researched the proper way to lay down pavers, it turns out you have to do some digging first. We needed to dig out the grass and dig down about a foot, so that I can fill in the hole with gravel and then sand.

This will provide better drainage, and ensure a level foundation for eventually putting in the pavers. So...my little brother came into town to help with the garage, but instead wound up digging me a big hole. Take a look!

It is kind of hard to appreciate how big the hole is without seeing how much dirt got removed:

Thanks to my little bro for digging me a huge hole - time to start filling it up with gravel and sand!

Finishing the Garage

2009-08-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we have really wanted to do since we moved in to our house is build garage cabinets for storage. Becky would like to be able to park the cars in the garage, and I'd like the garage to be clean so that I can set up a little area to start painting again. Before we build cabinets though, we needed to put up insulation and drywall. Take a look!

Materials and Tools:

Cleaning the Wall:

Insulating:

Hanging Drywall:

The project continues - stay tuned for updates!