Getting Closer

Here is the new complementary logo that I like best. I'm finally really liking it. The main logo will be the eye chart you saw a couple weeks ago only in these colors and white (so, brown w/white letters or blue w/white letters...etc.). The color scheme is based on the 3 colors of eyes in the world. Pretty cool.

This little mark would go on lots of stuff (pens, shirts, golfballs, etc....) instead of the big eye chart. Feel free to comment, we are close to done, but not quite...

Papa's Pride

This boat=good times.

That's the boat we had. Some good friends of ours gave it to Lisa and I several years ago. It is a 1968 Wellcraft... A beast of a boat. We got to the point a couple years ago where we realized we weren't using it enough and we gave it to our friends (Big John and Brandy) to keep spreading the joy.

Recently, I have become slightly obsessed about owning a boat again. It's quite ridiculous, but you know, I have to take a mental break sometimes during the day...and that's what I think about right now. I won't buy one in the next few days. That's what I tell myself to keep from spending all my time researching which one I want.

Maybe I just need to get out in creation for a bit. I can always use Papas Pride...or maybe I should buy a new flats boat???

Small Obstacle

Sometimes there is an obstacle in the way.

I am headed out to go buy a car for 5 cents. I guess that is about what they cost...

I got the quote for renovation of Hunter Vision last night. Wow. I was off by a mile. So off on my estimate, that I am beginning to question whether or not that just really happened. I mean, I am always "close". I was off by a hundred thousand dollars! Not sure what happened there, but clearly we have to go a new route now that may involve a bit more elbow grease.

Well, I actually care way more that I was off by that much in my estimation than I do that we have to go to another plan. I know it will all work out fine and be awesome. When there is a roadblock in the way you just figure it out...but how do you fix a busted estimator?

188 Days

Every morning when I log in to my computer, I get a little message that tells me how many days left until Hunter Vision is officially open. This morning I noticed we had gone under 190. Sometimes, the number of days hits me funny and actually makes me a little sick to my stomach. Today, it did. We are right at 6 months. I am on a 188 day sprint to get the doors open.

Monday

My days seem to be running together lately and this blog is one of the ways I keep track of which day it is. It helps me to write some stuff down before I hit the factory each morning. Today is a weenie wagon, factory lunchbox day.

This morning I had to give myself the, "get off the weenie wagon" pep talk. I was tired and wanted to sleep. Luckily, my wife was up before I wanted to get up and was kind enough to help me get up by simply asking, "do you want to get up this morning?" I mean it when I say she was kind. I have asked her many times to just check to see if I want to get up at 5 if she is awake by then. She always does, and it helps me. ***sidenote*** I am sure that if left to my own, I would not be half of the man she helps me to be. I likely would live in a shack, in the middle of the woods, with all of my guns, only seeking to talk to people if they came to visit me, only sleeping when deer sleep. Unfortunately, even as I type that this morning it sounds like a good idea. Luckily, I have Lisa.***sidenote ended***

When she asks me if I want to get up, I find it very hard to say no. It's like saying, "nah, today is not worth my best effort." But, there are days when it requires a "get off the weenie wagon" self pep talk as I lay in bed, awake before 5. Today was one of those days.

It is a factory lunchbox day. I have my grandpa's lunchbox on my desk at work. I got it from my Aunt Michele years ago and have kept it in every office I have had since that day. It reminds me to work hard. He went to work every day for years and years in a carbon paper factory. It was a job that took care of his family. It wasn't one he loved. It was one he did to put food on the table. His lunchbox reminds me that I come from a long line of hard work. If papaw can sweat in a factory for 30 years, I can certainly deal with the small issues behind my desk today.

So here I sit. I got off the weenie wagon and I am headed for a factory lunchbox kind of day. Just keep pluggin...

Dang it!

Don't use one of these for an alarm if you sleep like I do.

I slept in on accident. I must now find another method for waking up. I awoke with the alarm in my hand, so I must have heard it. I don't remember it at all though. So ridiculous. I'm so mad. I sure hope the day is better than the start. grrrrrrr. I didn't even go to bed late. Oh man, I'm angry.

Hunter Vision Logo Idea

Well after 2 rounds of edits and tweaks and likely one more to go, there is a 90% chance that this will be our mark. I am learning all about primary mark, secondary mark, complimentary mark...etc. I say 90% because we are still entertaining another idea. However, this one has the momentum right now. The color palette would be blues, browns, and greens (eye colors). I thought that was pretty cool. I would have never thought of that. The guys who put together our stuff have really done some great creative work for us. We are pleased with the product and all of the ideas they have for it. However, we are checking a few last things before we go completely thumbs up on this one. Which is why I am posting it today... I want to know what you think about it...especially if you hate it! I can deal with love it or don't feel one way or another...but if you hate it, I would like to know why. This is our mark for the next hundred years (ahhhhh) so it has to be good and it has to be timeless (by the way, I realize we could change it later if we wanted to, but I know me and know I would never get to something that is already done when there are other things that are not done).

Well, what do you think? Also, this may give me a chance to see who actually reads this little piece of literature I write each day!

BassPro

There are days when you should go to Bass Pro Shops. It's one thing I have learned in my years here on earth. You can't feel good about going everyday or people will think you don't do anything. However, it is a great place to go when you need a little reminder about what's important...God, family, hunting and fishing. You will find all 4 of these things at Bass Pro. You will also find a dress shirt that has an american flag embroidered as big as the back of the shirt with the stateliest of bucks majestically posed in front of it. Though I am not sure what tie I would wear with that, I am sure they have one.

I should go there soon. It will make a difference in my week. It's time to get out in the woods or on the water for a few hours. I need to figure out how to do that.

Hmmm. You never know what you get when you come to this blog, huh? Could be big news, could be me just wishing I was typing this from a tree stand in Ohio.

Hunter Vision Tour

Hunter Vision Jan 2010 from Josh Hunter on Vimeo.

So I decided to do a small video tour of Hunter Vision as it exists now. The renovations begin in the next month or so and I am really fired up about it. Plans are as done as they are gonna be for now and we are waiting for the bids to come in so that we can get a number as to what it will cost to do what we want...it's possible that we will then not want as much. This video was made to show out of town family who can't come and see it and for when CNN wants to interview us in 20 years because we changed the way modern medicine was practiced. I thought they might want some "b" roll footage. :) Enjoy the behind the scenes sneak preview.

Shot was fallin'

Noah blows by a helpless defender

Well, good weekend around the Hunter house. We got the logo ideas for Hunter Vision from our branding company. Noah played basketball. We watched football. We went to church. We cleaned the house a bit.

All in all, solid.

The basketball game was great. Went right down to the wire in another defensive masterpiece. The kids really improved from game one though. They actually ran a few plays and their aggressiveness was noticeably better. Also, Noah's shot was fallin'. He was pretty happy. Once he settled down into the rhythm of the game, he was a scoring machine. I don't know that a Hunter will ever have a basketball performance like that again. The final score was 17-16. We won. Noah scored 14 of our team's 17 points. Who knew a Hunter could ever play basketball?

Prep Time

Every big event has prep time. I'm not sure which event is bigger, the prep for our family Christmas picture (as shown above) or the prep I am going through for Hunter Vision right now. Fridays are Hunter Vision office days and I am fully ready to spend more time today preparing for the launch on August 2nd. Yes, it seems far to you...but to me, it feels like tomorrow. I met with the architect and contractor again yesterday and it made it very real. Full steam ahead.

Oh, we get the branding looks for Hunter Vision today! I'll keep you in the loop. Exciting times.

Straight A's

Noah got 'em again. It's pretty amazing really. He just keeps nailing it. His teachers continue to comment on his work ethic and how kind he is to everyone. It's hard not to be proud when your boy does that much good. So, I'm proud and getting ready for our next adventure together. Noah gets to pick whatever he would like to do for one event. That is our deal. The last two times he wanted to play golf at nice courses. This time he wants to go to a Magic game. So, that's where I'll be with him. It'll be great.

My thought on this one is that you learn how to make A's. Things get more complicated, but the effort required to get A's pretty much stays the same. The incentive is just a reminder to him that those who work hard are rewarded eventually. It does not come daily, but it does come if you are patient, faithful, and work hard. If you learn how to make A's, you can almost always make them. It will serve him well over his life.

It's nice to be in this season of his life. We can do things together and he still wants to spend time with me. I know I only have a few more years of that before it is at least not as obvious that he'd like to hang out with me :) I am excited that Noah has chosen the path of hard work. I know it could just as easily go the other way.

He is continuing the Hunter tradition.

"Work your butt off and watch what God does with it." -my own self, just now.

Reading makes me think

I got the protection part down. I watch her even when she doesn't know it...

I don't read a lot. I take that back. I don't read a lot of fiction. I read a lot.

Our small group is reading through a book called "Strong Father, Strong Daughter." The book is written to fathers about the impact they will have on the development of their daughters. It is quite fascinating. I don't want to believe what this lady is saying, but I know it's true. I see it everywhere around me. Women who did not have loving, strong, fathers struggle with things that others who did, don't. The book talks about how a father will teach his daughter about God, love, sex, confidence, security and a host of other things, just by the way he builds into her life without ever saying a word.

Needless to say, (but, I will anyway) It made me very much consider who I am for Ava. I know she needs a present father who can point her back to Christ. A father who will protect her, set boundaries for her, and listen to her like she is the only one in the room when she talks. I am not good at the last one yet. I am purposing to engage more with her in the days ahead. I want her to know that she matters. I want to do all I can to help her not have to "overcome" when she is an adult. I know I can't control that part, but I can control me. I can put forth the energy to not look at my cell phone when it buzzes at 7:30pm and she is in the middle of a story.

I am going to. It's worth it.

Well, she just got up...gonna go spend some time with her.

Hunter Vision Update

The rough sketch of Hunter Vision location #1

(click on it to make it the size of Detroit)

It's been a while since the last real update. So I figured I'd give the lowdown. I don't know where that phrase comes from, but I like it. Lowdown.

Big week this week:

1. Got round 2 of concept sketches showing what the space may look like. Just floor plans, not 3-d holograms or anything.

2. Subcontractors will take the sketches and walk the space today to begin to put together initial scopes of work and ballpark bids.

3. We got our own checks. Now when I write a company check it doesn't look like I tore it out of my personal checkbook! I know that is not really a big deal, but I sure am happy about it. Now, if we can just get some checks to counter the ones I am writing, we will be in business.

4. Thursday we get to see round one of our new logo and branding work. We are really excited about it. It will be nice to finally have a business card when people ask. Pray that turns out how we want it to. I really don't know what it will look like.

The next few weeks:

1. Drawings will move to construction docs and will be sent to permit (hopefully by the end of the month).

2. Web work will begin as we build our first small website that will have our information, a blog (of sorts), and a place where people can put their info to sign up for appointments.

3. Massive amounts of detail in the office will be tackled. The list is as long as my arm.

This stuff is fun.

p.s. When you look at the drawing, the area that is ours in in white. The greyish hatched area is Centra Care...their lobby is in white also. We are dividing, what is currently, a shared lobby with some of this construction work.

5th Grade Basketball

What a defensive battle. Lisa and I saw our first, live, 5th grade basketball game on Saturday morning. It was awesome. Noah did great. He hasn't ever played before (other than a shooting hoops with his buddies in our driveway) so this made him a weeee bit nervous :) I believe the final score, after a 48 minute game of hoops, was 16-12. We lost, but it was great stuff.

Noah scored 1 basket, (pictured above) but he wasn't too happy about it. He said, "some days I guess your shot just isn't fallin'." I, for one, resonated with that and whole-heartedly agreed. I failed to mention to him that my "shot has never fallen" for fear I might discourage him or pierce the jaded veil of super-hero powers he still believes I wear. I also told him that Uncle Joel never scored a basket in several years of league basketball and now he is a brilliant Dr., so hoops doesn't have to be his career path. He laughed a bunch that Uncle Joel never scored...I think he missed my point.

Good times with the family this weekend...

My Uncle Matt and Aunt Linda came and visited, too! We ate some dinner at Mom and Pop's and talked corporate tax structure. It was awesome. They are smart and I need all the help I can get.

More exciting adventure tales tomorrow...I'm fully back on the wagon.

Friday stuff

Man Stuff.

Mom, those are decorative flasks that do not work. Ok, now I will begin my post. Just wanted to make that clear...

I realized yesterday that I had not shown the blogosphere the awesome Christmas present that I got from Lisa. It was a lot of work to get this squared away and into it's final location. But, after a few hours of organizing, it was complete. I had kept all of my guns and ammo in the full-on, lockable, fireproof, no one can break in, safe that I have.

That worked fine until Christmas this year. Uncle Jan got me a new rifle and it wouldn't quite fit with all my other guns. I was forced to add more "manly storage". Lisa agreed that a lockable ammo cabinet would be a good idea so that the safe could only hold valuable guns and knives and all the ammo could be stored in another location. So, my new space was born.

Lockable ammo storage. Who could possibly want anything else for Christmas? And yes, that's a lot of ammo. I think the cabinet weighs more than my car.

***(unrelated) I work at RDV all day today. That's kind of weird. On today's agenda...find out how to get internet access into our space.

The last few days...

Since I am pretty much an all or nothing guy, I decided not to begin 2010's year of discipline push until after I knew I would have a fighting chance of doing it. I spent the last 3 days with the Summit leadership guys on a planning retreat and those just never work for maintaining disciplined sleeping and eating schedules. So, like all great and accomplished men before me, I figured "why even try?" The year of discipline begins now.

Much has happened in the last few days since the last blog. I'll get us up to date today and then get back to the main theme of no theme tomorrow.

1. My cousin Angela had a baby.

Crazy and scary stuff! She was only 30 weeks and found out on a routine Dr. visit that she was super sick and the only way to make her well was to get baby Lydia out. You can get the full story on my cousin Amber's blog here. The short version is Angela looks to be doing much better and baby Lydia is doing as well as a 2 lb baby can (but, 2 lbs is super tiny and she'll be in NICU for a while).

2. Ashley and Andy had a baby.

Sweet Janie Simonds was born this morning at around 12 am. From what I gather, all are doing well and she and Luke will be married by the end of the week as soon as she can get her stuff together and get out of the hospital. Andy and Ashley are great friends of ours and we couldn't be happier for them!

3. I moved my first load of Hunter Vision stuff to RDV.

This was pretty awesome. Kinda surreal, but I moved a couple boxes of random items to RDV this week. While it was only some picture frames and a little coffee pot, it made it all that much more real. Tomorrow is my first full day in the Hunter Vision offices.

4. The branding work for Hunter Vision began.

Maven began to develop the identity that will be Hunter Vision for the next decades. I really can't wait to see what they come up with.

***sidenote here: we secured the web domain "huntervision.com" which just about sent Joel through the roof with happiness. It had been owned by some guy in New York for the past 10 years, expired in November, he didn't renew, it went to a private auction (that we by luck entered) and then we ended up paying $300 for something we could have paid much more to own...God is good and this was pretty incredible. It was also incredible that Joel did not go into cardiac arrest when trying to watch the last few minutes of the auction. Look for great stuff to be on that web address in the hopefully near future!

5. I worked out in all of Lisa's fitness classes at RDV (she knows everyone and those classes really hurt)

Lisa's friends are so fit they are intimidating. You know when you look at them that even though they are 100 lbs they could outrun you, outlast you and outpunch you if it were ever necessary. Luckily, Lisa and her friends are all nice and only tried to kill me in the hardest exercise classes since high school wrestling practice. Also, I tried Yoga. It is for tall or skinny people...I'll just leave it at that.

6. Noah started basketball

Noah had his first basketball scrimmage yesterday. He loved it. Apparently, he doesn't pass much because he scored 14 of his team's 20 points in the game. I really am looking forward to these games. The first one is on Saturday...I will have the camera ready.

2010...Day 1

Hunter Vision lobby (before renovation)...nice 90's colors eh?

This is day one.

2010 will be a year I remember for the rest of my life. Like the year I started my first job at Olde stockbrokers, the year I started at Northland, and the year I started at Summit...this is a year of the start of Hunter Vision. While it feels like it has been around for a long time, it is for real this year. It moves from idea to reality. I started on payroll today. That makes it official to me. I am 3/4 time Summit employee and full time Hunter Vision employee. Pretty awesome. I go full time at Hunter Vision on April fools day. (no joke)

The next few months will be fun. No lack of things to do, but it will all be great stuff. No matter what I will be helping my brothers. It's what I do. I love it.

2010...gonna be good. Bring it.