I know, I know, it’s been more than a month since I wrote a post here, but I’m not dead (yet). I promise I’ll get back to a more regular publishing schedule soon. In the meantime, here’s a nice relaxing photo from God’s Country to liven up the 7 Minute Miles home page.

It’s been almost a week and a half since I started working at Fortune Bay and so far things have been wonderful. The people on staff here are great to work with, it’s been interesting learning all the new technologies in use and I love the overall excitement of working in a casino. They assigned me a nice office just off the casino floor and I’m slowly getting used to where everything resides and how to get access to all of the tools I need to do the job.

There have been a few issues to deal with: we had a big storm last week that included a lighting strike behind one of the buildings that knocked out all of the cash registers and one of my staff members quit this week before I even got to meet him. I also still haven’t figured out what I’m going to do about housing next month, but I’m starting to find some leads.

The evenings last week were fun. A friend from the Twin Cities called me late Monday afternoon and said he was a half hour away. We played 18 holes at The Wilderness in two hours and 35 minutes, then had a nice dinner at the Grill. I played another post-work round on Thursday night – the course is spectacular and it’s hard to stay away when it’s right outside the door.

The other nights I spent scouting some of the nearby cities: Tower, Ely and Virginia. I looked at a few houses, drove by the schools and basically just checked out the overall vibe of each place. Based on the people I’ve talked to, Virginia and Ely probably have the best schools. My favorite house was in Tower, but I liked the general feel of Ely and Virginia has some nice bigger city amenities (Target, movie theater, McDonald’s).

I’d still love to find some lakeshore and build new, but prices on Vermilion don’t seem to be impacted much by the recession. This week I drove along the south shore and saw some amazing properties, but they were all way out of my price range. I’ll probably just rent for now and see what happens. The family comes up this weekend to check things out, so their input will help firm up plans too.

Tonight I ran for the first time since Grandma’s and I stopped in at the wellness center, which is located about a mile from the resort. Employees can use the facility for free and I spoke with the manager for a bit. She said the building is five years old and doesn’t get used much. All of the equipment is top of the line and the workout room overlooks the lake. I’m really excited to get trained on all of the machines and start getting back on track for TCM in October.

The rest of this week brings a bunch of meetings, the visit by the family (and maybe a few other friends), then one last consulting trip for 318 in Phoenix. I also found out today that my first business trip for Fortune Bay might be a September conference at the Palms in Las Vegas. Could this job get any better?

I know the snow and cold is coming in a few short months, but I just can’t get over how pretty it is in northeast Minnesota. More on the first week coming soon…

I guess it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. Next week I start a new chapter in my life as IT Director for Fortune Bay Resort Casino on Lake Vermilion. Everything has happened very quickly and there are still a lot of unknowns, but I’m very excited.

We stayed there two years ago and loved the place. The golf course has been rated the top public course in Minnesota the past two years by Golfweek (7MM Photo Gallery), the casino is the perfect size and has a great mix of games, the hotel rooms are all new and the location on the south shore of Lake Vermilion is very scenic.

I’ve always thought about working for a resort (specifically, Brainerd, Lutsen, Colorado, Pebble Beach, Hawaii or Florida). When I saw this position posted on their website, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. Here is the job summary:

The Information Technology (IT) Director is responsible for the overall management and security of information technology systems of gaming, hospitality management, sales, computer technology, and all company and corporation telecommunications services and programs. The IT Director will manage such areas as computer systems analysis and design, database and network administration, systems programming, telecommunications systems, and other information technology applications while meeting all budgetary requirements, policy and planning responsibilities, and payroll objectives. The IT Director shall provide effective leadership and personnel management to all Information Technology staff and contribute to the overall goals and mission of Fortune Bay and the Bois Forte Development Companies.

From a career standpoint, I couldn’t be more excited – lots of new things to learn and people to meet in a high-profile position in a well-run organization with a bright outlook.

I’m also excited about the lifestyle change. That part of the state is beautiful, offering lots of outdoor activities (hiking, mountain biking, golf, skiing, running, boating) and a more relaxed pace. Plus Duluth is only 90 minutes away and a return to the Twin Cities is about three and a half hours in the MINI.

We’ll spend the next few weeks looking at the various cities (Ely, Tower, Virginia) to see what schools and amenities are available and decide what we want to do. My longer term goal would be to get some land on one of the lakes and build a not-so-big cabin, just like I originally wanted on Lake Superior.

This bottle made me a little sad as I realized that Disneyland is celebrating their 55th anniversary this year. The 1980 penny inside is still shiny and kid two wants to know how they got it in there to begin with. Good question!

As some of you know, my family members have been big Disney fans as long as I can remember. The first trip I can remember to Disneyland was 1975 during the bicentennial celebration. With my mom working at Northwest, we pretty much just alternated between California and Florida for many, many years.

I really like the old Disney souvenirs. I found a bunch of older postcards too that I’ll scan soon. Stay tuned…

How many nerds out there can say they have one of these bad boys? That game was pretty terrible, too, if I remember correctly…

This weekend I did some cleaning in the basement and found all sorts of fun stuff. I’ll start posting photos here this week, starting with this this excellent Northwest Orient egg plane. I think the “Orient” name was dropped in 1986 after the Republic merger, so I’m guessing this is from the mid-80s.