Recently in Personal Category

[This is the last in a series looking at my decision to leave the UCC and what's next for me. Return to the first post.]

A Knights of Columbus Field Agent?

Yes sir! Yes ma'am! The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by the Venerable Servant of God Father Michael McGivney. Fr. McGivney had his own seminary studies interrupted by the premature death of his father, forcing him to return home to work for the survival of his family. Later, as a young priest, he witnessed first-hand what was happened to the families in his parish if and when the primary breadwinner died. Emotionally, it's hard to lose a family member, but financially, it can be downright cruel.

Fr. McGivney at one point volunteered to be a count-appointed guardian to a boy whose family couldn't prove to the court that they had the means to support him. (At that time in Connecticut, families had to prove their income potential after the husband passed away. If they couldn't prove enough potential, the courts would move to break apart the family to try to keep the family as financially solvent as possible).

Between that and seeing a need for a way for Catholic men to have a sense of belonging, he founded the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefits society to give men both a brotherhood of which to be a part as well as to help ensure the welfare of widows and children if one of the members died.

As a Field Agent, basically, I would see to further enact Fr. McGivney's vision of financial security to Catholic families if the unthinkable happened for a geographical area within Austin. I will be assigned a number of councils (the local, parish-level organization) and will meet with those families to help them assess their financial needs with a particular emphasis on life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance.

In other words, I'm not about what you should invest in or not nor other things like that, but rather to help with the questions of: What would happen if one of us passed away? What is a safe vehicle for retirement? What happens if the stock market crashes the year before I retire--can I plan for that? What happens to my family if I need some type of long-term care (rehab hospital, nursing home, home health care, etc)?

The Knights of Columbus offers to members various products to help find solutions to those questions and my job will be to personally help members figure out what they need and to get it.

Additionally, I will be a resource to my councils to help them in other ways related to the Knights and to help introduce men to the Knights of Columbus.

Vanessa and I are excited about this new opportunity and I'm honored that I will be welcomed into so many homes around Austin. I'm looking forward to being able to do some good for families. If you have any questions about this all, leave a comment, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail.

Thank you all for your prayers for our family as I transition into this new role.

[This the third post in a series looking at my decision to leave the UCC and what's next. Return to the first post.]

What are you going to do now?

When discerning how to handle the conflict rising in me, I created a list of priorities:

1. Need to be home more.
2. Need to make no less than my current salary.
3. Need flexible schedule.
4. Need to continue doing something I'm passionate about.

At first, I started thinking about if I should try to flesh out "Brandon Kraft Tech Services". When friends, small organizations I'm involved with, etc have asked me to help them on some level with a website, I use Tech Services as a platform for offering them webspace, domain name and some other really basic things at a low price that, frankly, I would like to see offset the total cost of my website. I don't spend much on this, but it would be nice to be able to tell Vanessa that all my geekness is budget-neutral. I'm too nice and never charge enough to really offset all of my costs, but whatever.

That would give me 1, 3 and 4 (to a degree). That's scary though. With little savings (at least little when you have a wife and kid, thinking about all of the possible unforeseen expenses there) and only one income source (my salary), I don't feel that it would be a prudent choice to do that. Simply stated, there's too much that could go wrong with no safety net and I would have to seek out and find any and all support structures for starting this business.

I'd would like, sometime, to do something like that or freelance, but I know I need some more structure and experience before completely jumping off the deck. If nothing else, need to make it a hobby that produces a side income first.

I started thinking about other churches or non-profits, but quickly dismissed that thought. Moving into something similar than what I've been doing, while safe, wouldn't be different enough to meet my objectives.

While all of this thought is going on, I've been increasing being more active with the Knights of Columbus. Originally, I joined the St. Ignatius council, built and currently operate their website. The UCC started a new push to reactive their dormant council and as part of that, I was convinced to serve as the Financial Secretary for the new council, something that is actually fun and I'm enjoying.

The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefits society, which means they exist to give benefit to their members. In their case, the Knights offer life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance to their members and I met a few different field agents who work toward that aspect of the Knights.

I found my way into contact with the General Agent for this area who told me more about the position and that they were looking for someone in Austin. It would allow me to office from home while meeting with families in their homes. My schedule would be flexible, as long as I get the work done. The salary starting off is in the right ballpark. The mission of ensuring the financial well-being of a family after a death is important to me.

For those that don't know, my father, the sole-income source for my family, died when I was 12 years old; without his life insurance, I have zero idea how my family would have survived. Losing him was incredibly hard emotionally, but financially, he had planned well-enough to ensure that we had enough to make ends meet.

If you add up working from home, with a flexible schedule, suitable income and a cause I care about, it resulted in a possibility with real merit. Vanessa and I talked. The Knights and I talked. I will soon be the newest Knights of Columbus Field Agent.

What does that mean?

[This is the second of four posts regarding my decision to leave the UCC and what's next. Read the first post.]

Why are you leaving the UCC?

I met my wife through a mission trip that I only went on because a friend asked me to go in the UCC computer lab. Four of the five priests and the deacon at our wedding I knew through the UCC (and the fifth I met because of the trip I met my wife on!). We went to the marriage preparation workshop here and had our daughter baptized here. As much of my family existing is because of the UCC, they are my primary motivation in moving on.

Having two weeks at home after the birth of Olivia got to me. I liked being at home. I liked being able to go in from working in another room into the living room with Vanessa and Olivia. If I missed Olivia, I just picked her up. I liked that a lot. As much as I tried to shake it, I simply missed being at home with my family. I know, I know, most people spend 40+ hours a week at work outside the home and that's great. It's not what was enriching me though.

I was fortunate enough to transition out of pastoral ministry into a position driven more by operations when Olivia was born, which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it established regular, set hours and allowed me the freedom, without guilt, of being at home even though most things within the building happen in the evenings. The curse, however, was that I missed the students.

In all fairness, there's no way to have my cake and eat it too. Can I have all of the hours at home I want while still doing everything that satisfied me at the UCC? At least with our current workload levels, it's not possible. Do I do something that isn't as enjoyable while not being as home as much as I want, do I do something I enjoy quite a bit but be at home even less, or do I go for a third option?

I'm choosing option three.

All good things must come to an end and this is true once again.

After much discernment, prayer, conversation and a bit of gut feeling, I am resigning from the University Catholic Center, effective March 1st. I've been employed at the UCC full-time through various positions since the summer of 2005 and have done a great range of project and activities. These five years with all of the experiences I've had, new friends I've met and folks I've (hopefully) had the blessing to help have been quite amazing, unique and, in the true sense of the word, special to me.

I've seen quite a bit at the UCC. When I started, Fr. Dave was a year into the director chair, Fr. Ed Koharchik was a newly-ordained priest, Fr. Richard was packing up after helping with the transition of leadership. Deacon John was still working full-time at the UT System and thus not at the UCC anywhere nearly as often as we see him now. Pat Martin was the business manager not long after taking over for her husband, Deacon Terry Martin. Terri Grayson welcomed students and parents at the Front Desk. We had no development office or effort, all of the musicians were volunteers and I was the first student-employee in a number of years.

Fr. Dave left to serve as vocations director for the Paulists. Fr. Ed Koharchik left to serve the Paulists in outreach ministry and was tapped by then-Bishop Aymond to serve as pastor in Dripping Springs. Fr. Richard went back to hospital and other pastoral work. Pat moved on to start her own business and Terri left us to move on to other opportunities. I've had the pleasure of working, on staff, with some amazing folks-- Jimmy Rose, Chris Babb, Amelia (Perry), Michelle Goodwin, Amber Fogarty, Ana-Cristina Gonzalez, Vanessa Mena, Deacon Tom Johnson, Ruben Garza, Beth Boren, Rosa Marroquin, Eugene Martir, Patrick Sheffield, Allie D'Amico, Adam Henry, Emily Bivona, Alicia Bivona, Maricar Reyes, Rob Johnson, Scott Ball, Jason Pinkstaff and the rest of the CCS crew here during the Diocesan campaign and eight great students from San Juan Diego Catholic High School. I've learned from all of these folks and so many more in our student organizations and our resident community.

The UCC was my spiritual home when I first walked onto the 40 Acres in August 2002. I've been in this building, more or less, every day since then. I can't remember how much has changed. The baptismal font, crucifix behind the altar, the chairs, the altar and ambo, the stations of the cross were all great changes in the chapel space. I used to talk to Gloria in the office that's since been renovated into our reconciliation chapel, the computer lab used to be just another classroom, the basement had completely inadequate heating and cooling, our parking lot used to have a full-time attendant facilitating the double-parking. I've fought with people who couldn't understand why we wouldn't let them park in our lot at 7:45 p.m. on a Sunday night (I don't care if the Tower has a big "1" on it for the football team... you can't park here!)

This building, this community, these organizations have been a home to me when I first left home and helped to guide me into making Austin my home. This community took a know-it-all, overall closed-minded 17-year old into a know-most-everything, relatively open-minded 25-year old. (The transformation seems more extreme in my head than it does typed out.)

In short, it has been truly an honor and blessing to be able to call this place my home and my workplace for all of these years. The University Catholic Center and all of the people I've encountered through it will hold a dear place in my heart.

I'll follow-up with more on why I'm leaving and where I'm going.

My cat, Phoenix, passed away this morning suffering from either liver failure or liver cancer. He lived a long life providing a great deal of companionship to me and then, after I left for college, for my mom, who lives alone.

We adopted him from the groomer, The Dog Patch, that we took my collie, Duke, to in 1992. Another client of the groomer went to the local mall and left her car doors unlocked. She returned to her car to find someone had left a litter of kittens in her backseat. She brought them to The Dog Patch where my dad found him and adopted him, without consulting my mom.

He was a light gray pile of fur when he was a kitten, thus the name Phoenix after the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes.

He never seemed "quite right", a bit slow or stupid, if you will. We joked that being left in the backseat of a car in Texas must have fried his brain a bit. We realized later something else was going on.

The most remarkable story, which if I wasn't there, I would not believe it myself, took place in early 1997. My mom found Phoenix playing with a live mouse in our living room. Flipping the mouse up in the air, letting him land and running away a bit, only to come in and pounce the rodent. Repeatedly. There is truth to the notion that cats like to play with their food.

Mom freaked out--yelling, a bit scared, since well, it is a mouse. Phoenix promptly killed the mouse and ran with it back to her bedroom in his mouth, returning empty handed. Great. Not only is there a dead mouse in the house, but the cat hit it somewhere.

Later that night, when my dad returned home from work, my mom approached the cat and said in a calm voice "Okay Phoenix, you were a really good boy today killing the mouse. Momma doesn't like mice, but Daddy really does. He would like to see your mouse." I would testify in court to this, as sure enough, the damn cat who we were convinced was stupid and slow, ran back into the bedroom and came back to the living room with the mouse. He stopped and set it in front on my dad. I feel insane typing this out now, but like I said, I would testify to this in any court-of-law as the truth.

Nevertheless, after that day, we never called him slow again.

My beloved collie, Duke, and Phoenix had a great life together. "Wrestling" around with each other, fighting, literally, like cats and dogs, but would tire themselves out and fall asleep together--Phoenix sleeping snuggled up along the underbelly of the 100+ pound dog. After Duke passed away in 2001, Phoenix became much more picky without the competition for his food.

In the years after my dad's death, the animals provided a bit of companionship to a virtually-only child (all my siblings are 17+ years older than I am and none lived at home much after I was old enough to remember). After I left for school, Phoenix was "my" cat, providing my mom with a bit of me and companionship as she adjusted to life alone.

My wife doesn't quite understand the attachment that some pet owners have with their pets, so I do feel a bit silly typing all of this out, but nevertheless, having a pet, namely a dog that was with me from age 4 to age 16 and a cat from age 7 to age 24, can really mold a person.

While he was only a cat, he was a faithful part of the family who (even if he had motives of wanting to ensure a supply of food and clean litter boxes) always was there when you needed a little paw resting on your leg as you watch TV, or someone to talk to in an empty house.

In response to the issue mentioned on this blog earlier, McD's responded:

Hello Brandon:

Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's Customer Service Center to bring your recent experience to our attention.

First, I hope you will accept my sincere apology for your disappointment in McDonald's. I can assure you that we want you to be completely satisfied every time you visit one of our restaurants.

Because most McDonald's restaurants are independently owned and operated, I have forwarded your comments to the franchise owner or local representative for follow up at the restaurant you visited in Wichita Falls, Tx. Please be assured that your comments will be investigated and, if appropriate, corrective action will be taken.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's Customer Service Center and giving us the opportunity to address your concerns. Customer feedback is very important to us as it helps us improve.

Dana
McDonald's Customer Response Center

Today, I ended my BlackBerry data plan.

With a kid on the way, a two-income household becoming a single-income household, and trying to move toward a more balanced online/offline life, I cut the cord.

My job doesn't require me to be able to respond to an e-mail within 10 minutes no matter when or where I happen to exist in time. I've been slowly converting my personal e-mail system from "always-on-sometimes-responding" to something closer to Merlin Mann's "Inbox Zero". In short, check e-mail less often, but when you do, do something with your e-mail. Why should we keep an e-mail in our inbox for days, looking at it multiple times a day?

There's no reason. An inbox should be just that, a box of incoming items. Once we see an item, it's no longer incoming. The message should be processed--replied to, archived, added to calendar or task list, whatever.

Adding to the e-mail side, I use my iPod Touch for keeping my calendar and task list on the road. Since I rarely have someone else add events to my calendar, syncing only when I'm in WiFi range is acceptable.

Now, start taking bets on how long until I go insane without the Internet everywhere.

My sister went to the McDonald's location in Wal-Mart on Lawrence Rd in Wichita Falls yesterday. She ordered a hamburger for my niece, who is a toddler, and is very allergic to many, many things. In order for her to safely consume a hamburger, it must be plain with meat and bun only. Dry. Nothing else.

After ordering the hamburger, it arrived with ketchup and pickles. My sister returned to the counter to request a replacement because of her daughter's allergies. The employees made fun of my niece and offered to "scrape the ketchup" off of the bun. My sister replied that she's deathly allergic and that's not acceptable.

The employees continued to mock and make fun of my niece and her condition. The situation ended when my sister threw the hamburger at the cook, apologized to the other patrons and left.

Currently, my niece is at Cook's Children's Hospital in Fort Worth for tests. [Editor's note: My understanding is that she is at Cook's for testing unrelated to the McDonald's event. It was originally written to underscore that McD's is treating a sick kid badly. Ronald McDonald's Charities would be proud.]

Personally, I'm boycotting McDonald's until they respond in a way acceptable to the family.

This occurred at the McDonald's location in Wal-Mart Supercenter #1148 located at 3130 Lawrence Rd, Wichita Falls, TX 76308. Wal-Mart's phone number is (940) 692-0771.

The McDonald's phone number is 940-691-8833. McDonald's does have an online contact form, however. This occured on April 21, 2009 for lunch.

Vanessa and I took a trip last week (both of our Spring Break) to Santa Fe and Chicago. Stories and pictures to come, but all safe and sound in the Kraft household.

With all of this talk of the start of the Christmas season, I've been asked what's on my wish list. Honestly, I'm happy with the time off and spending it with Vanessa.

But, if you were to twist my arm, there are a few things I'd like to see under the tree this year.

First, I think Apple's iPhone is on many folks list, including mine. I already have a BlackBerry and I'm not sure if the iPhone's AT&T plan would be cost efficient. Nevertheless, the iPhone is fun.

More likely, Apple's iPod Touch (an iPhone without the phone) is the top item on my list. The iTunes App Store with computer-favorites, like Remember the Milk or Facebook, plus some iPod Touch apps like UrbanSpoon are just cool.

I like technological toys, so Amazon's Kindle would also find a happy home with me. The Kindle is an ebook reader, that among other things, can download new ebooks to itself from anywhere with a Sprint wireless data connection.

On Amazon.com, I have a few wishlists listing various other things I've thought were interesting over the years.

All of that being said, I'm not actually wanting of this for Christmas. Every year, for as long as I can remember, I've "wished" for various things, most of them were overpriced electronics. Christmas isn't about getting what you want, or getting anything at all, but about giving to others, about celebrating the coming of the Savior into the world. It's easy to get swept into the commercialism and materialism that the secular side of the holiday provides, and within limits, it is fun to dream of what cool toys might be found under the tree.

For Christmas, far too many people will go without food, clean water, decent shelter or human companionship. Our focus should not be on ourselves, or the gifts that we want to give or recieve from our families and friends, but rather, how can we become Christ to others? Afterall, Christmas is about Christ coming into the world, so why shouldn't we make our own Christmas celebration about Christ coming to those left neglected in the world.

Can we do both? Help others and get a cool toy? Sure, but don't forget which is more important.