The Dog, The Bills, a Little Blues, and The Monster Snow Blower!

I didn't write anything last week because of the Labor Day holiday.? We had a weekend of camping, kayaking, and cycling ahead of us, and the last thing I was thinking about was writing another article.? With all the activity of learning a new job, selling a house, buying a house, and getting ready to move, we were in need of some time away, off-grid.?

The picture is of me and our family's best friend on our way to Findley Lake for the 25th Annual Findley Lake Harvest Festival. My wife and daughter wanted to go antiquing and wine-tasting, the Big Dog and I went for the live bands and beer tent. Findley Lake is a really nice small summer-resort town with a big festival that's perfect for slipping away from the daily grind. I can think of no better way to relax than sitting with the Big Dog under a jam-packed beer tent, drinking craft beers while listening to the Duke Sherman Band bang out blues tunes. It was glorious! And the Big Dog made many (MANY) friends among the humans and the dogs in attendance. ?

In analytical terms, this week was the inflection point between the sale & purchase of our homes, and the closings a month or less away. We're starting to think about and plan all the little things we need to do after moving…setting up Internet services, mail, license address changes, and all the little things we normally take for granted. We've made a zillion checklists and done a lot of research. For instance, we know we will have Verizon FIOS service, which is a huge relief...I'm of the belief that our household single-handedly chews up half the county's Internet bandwidth. We've also started to contact doctor's offices and contractors for some potential work.

Getting Ready for Snow!

Now, rumor has it, Buffalo gets a bit of snow in the winter, so we've put some effort into thinking about snow removal. Should we get a snow blower? A plowing service? A friend shared a picture with us of a snow blower and tractor for sale on a local site. By amazing coincidence, the seller of the snow blower is also the owner of the house we just bought. Look at the SIZE of that auger!!! A little research says it's probably a WoodMaxx SB-84 that's 27" tall, 84" wide, and can throw snow some 50' away! If my math is correct, that's roughly 35 cubic feet (or 1.3 yards) of snow this beast can attack at once. WOW! I believe in being prepared, and evidently, so does the existing homeowner. My wife and I have some more thinking to do...stay tuned...

Volunteering with Habitat For Humanity

I got to spend Wednesday Aug 30th with volunteers from M&T Bank's Enterprise Data & Analytics team building a home with Habitat for Humanity. I've mentioned in prior posts that one of the things that attracted me to M&T Bank was their encouragement to volunteer in the community. Every employee gets 40 hours per year of volunteer service time, and here I was...one month in, and already in a volunteer effort. Our team installed 2nd floor trusses for almost the entire 2nd floor - you can see them across the top of the framing in the picture below. We also framed out the stairwell walls, and prepared the side door patio by installing a perimeter for decking sleepers. There are many people who don't have the luxury of a "home" to come back to, and just helping one family get a roof over its head is a terrific volunteer cause. If you're looking to Volunteer, Habitat is always looking for volunteers, and they are willing to train you. I will certainly be back.

Biking and More Pizza!

You all know by now that I??Pizza and biking! Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of the summer. The days are growing shorter, and bicycling groups are starting to wrap up their summer meet-ups. I rode with Love and Sprockets Cycling Rockets, associated with Love and Sprockets Bike Shop out of Hamburg for the last time this summer. Like other groups I ride with, there was a pizza party after the ride. It's been a LOT of work to make new social connections over the past month, but that work is paying off. After just a couple of rides, I'm connected with many people, and we're going to keep connected through the fall and winter. We're starting to gear up for night-riding on gravel trails until the snow starts. Riding in the dark is an amazing adventure. The picture below was taken from a recent ride in the abandoned subway tunnel of Rochester, NY. I'll be spending the next few months exploring the gravel trail scene in Buffalo!

Go Bills!

I've been a life-long fan of the Buffalo Bills! The new football season is upon us, which means a 24-hour saturation of Buffalo Bills news in the Buffalo area. Their schedule is ridiculously hard this year, starting out with a really strong NY Jets team. I've always been a fan of Aaron Rogers, and I obviously think the world of Josh Allen. Josh has done so much for Buffalo...he's a great symbol. The season-opener is a Monday-night game, and everyone's expecting it to be a helluva contest. I'm looking forward to being immersed in Bills Mafia over the next several months.

?Work Stuff!

I won't put work details here, but things are coming along. I'm a month in and still drinking from the fire hose! Some things are starting to make sense, and I'm starting to take a few [baby] steps forward, but I still have several "deer in the headlights" moments each day. I'm surrounded by really hard-working and knowledgeable people who work well together and want to make a difference. I'm blown away by all the talent around me, and I hope to step-it-up in the months ahead as we start to carve out the future. In the month ahead, I'll be diving deeper into the strategy and operational aspects of the role and working to understand and build alignments and partnerships that will achieve the strategy set forth by the CDO and the Enterprise Data and Analytics team.

Over the coming months, I will also get start to get involved in Buffalo's professional networking scene. I believe in Buffalo's future, and I want to be a part of building a nationally recognized tech hub here. I have no idea how to do that yet. Stay tuned...

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