Goodbye Room2Think

Last year, when I worked for Logos Bible Software, I had the opportunity to be a part of the formation and marketing of a brand new side business for the company — Room2Think. Logos had the great idea to use some extra office space and transform it into a creative meeting space for local businesses, non-profits, and other groups to use for off-site planning days or staff retreats. It was a pretty cool experience, from working with the Chamber of Commerce, to talking with similar businesses around the country (Inspiration Point, Catalyst Ranch), and working to promote the business with our local community.

Unfortunately, Room2Think closed it’s doors just before the New Year. I was kinda bummed out to hear that the time had come for Logos to retake the office space for their technical support department. But, that means good growth for the software company, so that’s optimistic. I really liked working there and it’s good to hear they are doing well and growing.

Check out the Logos blog post about their (re)expansion into the Room2Think space and see the pictures to get a little feel for how the space looks.

Weekly Reflection – 11/3/06

At the beginning of this year, our senior staff set out to define our individual goals for the year, including personal, professional, and spiritual aspects of ourselves. For me, this exercise helped me define a bit more about what I’m doing at the INN, but also helped me dream a bit about what I’d like to see this year look like.

One of my goals was to write at least once a week on what I am doing/experiencing/feeling/learning in my first year in college ministry. When I wrote this goal, I really had this blog in mind, seeing as I’ve come to use it as a place for talking about work, faith, and life anyways and I’m open to sharing with whoever reads this what I’m working through. What I’ve decided to do is this: I will begin a weekly post series about  "what I am doing/experiencing/feeling/learning in my first year in college ministry." This is the first post of this type, starting this first week of a new month, November, and hopefully carrying on throughout this year.

Hopefully this will be a positive exercise in sharing and processing the ideas and experiences I’m working through at the INN, while also giving people a little glimpse at what we do in the day-to-day. My views on ministry, theology, and whatever else I end up writing on don’t necessarily reflect the views of my co-workers or our church, but instead are my ramblings on processing the things I experience. My hopes are that I will grow as a writer, develop my voice for sharing my faith in words, and actually process all that we go through this year in a coherent way that will in turn help me to learn and develop in the years to come.

More from the home front

Day three of stay-at-home-designer-Seth. Today we’ve moved on to an actual site design. The last couple of days were spent in relatively unfamiliar territory (logos and business cards) but today I’m back at the web drawing board. It feels good.

I’m working on a couple of layouts right now, toying a bit with my Photoshop and Illustrator skills. This is an interesting part in the process, because the sky is the limit. Within the confines of an 800 pixel wide screen, you can do a lot. I wish I were a better designer and I could imagine all the amazing things I see at sites like CSS Zen Garden, but I feel like I’m at least getting better.

As I reminisce a bit, I remember back about 4 years ago, getting called by the New Student Programs (now Services) office at Western to be offered a job as the Reservations student coordinator. A large part of the job was to be devoted to their website, meaning I would have to learn how to do that kind of thing. I naively said, "I’m sure I’ll be able to just pick it up as I go." Well, 4 years later web design has turned into a passion for me and I still feel like I’m trying to pick it up as I go. Anyone who has lived/worked with me can attest to how excited I get when I work on this stuff.

Needless to say, this has been a fun summer, spent working on web stuff and working at the INN. I’m excited for the year, for working full time at the INN, and for the prospect of dabbling in web design again next summer.

Oh yeah, tunes for the day: Sonya Kitchell, Leigh Nash, Thrice (just to mix it up), and Zero 7.

Working from home

This morning has been spent updating logo proofs and laying out business cards for my newest web design project, Valley Computer Services. It has also included two cups of tea (Peach Black Tea and Wild Raspberry Herbal, both by Stash), a sampling from Leigh Nash’s new album, and Say I Am You by the Weepies.  Umm, this is a pretty good life.

I like the idea of working from home. There’s something about being in a comfortable environment, where it’s quiet, and the phone isn’t ringing. I think working in fast-paced offices over the last few years has helped me appreciate the feeling of solitude this style of work provides. I haven’t read up on it, but I would venture to guess that if you’re a self-motivated person, working from home is probably more productive on the whole than being in an office setting. I’m sure I would get lonely after a while doing this, but I feel pretty dang good right now.

Last day at Logos

Yesterday was my last day at Logos. I’ll be moving on to go work at The INN, starting part-time this summer and the full time in the Fall. To celebrate them getting rid of me, a bunch of the Logos guys took me out for a pint on Thursday night. We went over the Irish pub, Uisce, next door to the office and enjoyed some good beer and hanging out.

Check out the photo album – Last Day at Work

Leaving has been bittersweet. I have really enjoyed my time with Logos. I’ve definitely learned a lot, about marketing, about working in a larger office setting, about Bible reference stuff, and much more. One of the best things about a company like that is the people. I have made some great friends, people I hope to keep in touch with for a long time.

The next chapter is going to be exciting, but it was great to hang out one last time, be encouraged about the transition I’m making, and just enjoy a good Guinness with some good dudes.

A Little Announcement

So, I’ve been sorta quiet about a pretty major thing in my life the past few weeks. But, today it’s out in the open.

I’ve applied for and accepted a job on Senior staff at the INN for next year! I’m super excited about working at the INN full time and about working in ministry.

It’s been kept pretty quiet up until now because I hadn’t told my work about applying. I let them know today and I was encouraged by their response. While it’s disappointing to leave a great place like I’m working at now, it’s really exciting to be able to step into something that I feel God is leading me into.

Thanks to everyone who has known about this and have been praying for me and Stacy. More details will obviously follow, but I just wanted to post this tonight to let everyone know.

May the Lord continue to guide us as this new chapter begins…

This week in meet the Logos staff

They’ve been doing this blog post series at work where every Friday,
there’s a new video posted featuring a staff member. Guess who was up
this week…

Check it out here.

PS: Post comments about how dorky I look on MY BLOG, not my work blog. Thanks.

Picasa Photo Collage

I found this cool thing in Picasa today. You can make a photo collage of images in a folder that Picasa has imported. It’s really easy and looks pretty cool. I’ve made one of Stacy and my recent trip to Victoria.

I like what I do…

Google recently announced their Google toolbar beta release for version 4.0. I actually think these toolbars are annoying at times, but for some things, they are useful and  downright cool. Like this. At blog.logos.com, you can now download a Google toolbar customizable button that you can use to search logos.com. I built it (it was pretty easy) and I think it’s pretty dang cool. This is nerdy, but I just like that fact that I work for a cool software company that helps people study the Bible in new and amazing ways. It’s an awesome blessing and I think it’s really fun. So, if you’re looking around the internet for theology books, commentaries, or Bibles, download the toolbar and search Logos Bible Software.

PS: Unfortunately, it doesn’t work in Firefox yet…stupid, I know.