Choice Mindsets

19 Sep Breadsticks?!

Ryan Lefeld: Breadsticks? There were breadsticks?!

Casey Heitkamp: I didn’t see any breadsticks. Did you know there were breadsticks?

Brian Goubeaux: I knew there were breadsticks. They were right next to me so I didn’t mention them to anyone else.

Michael Seeger: Mention what?

Brian Goubeaux: That there were breadsticks.

Tyler Thobe: There were breadsticks?

This was just a sampling of the hubbub that trickled down the line of designers and engineers here this week as they left the conference room after a supplier provided pizza (and breadsticks!?) during a lunch and learn. It’s like “The Song that Never Ends”—the same basic conversation just went on and on, my friend.

A free lunch (especially pizza) is serious business here. Just as serious is missing even a portion of a free lunch (especially, apparently, if it’s breadsticks). We hate to miss things at Choice One. It’s why Mitch and Allen Heitbrink stand on the corner to watch a new traffic signal cycle through its timings late into the evening (NERDS!). It’s why Jeff Kunk never takes his birthday off, lest he miss his yearly delivery of flowers (but never doughnuts. NEVER!). And it’s why Caray never missed a three-point shot in high school basketball.

The conversation that wasn’t supposed to end did the next morning. A devious individual (described by onlookers as “wearing a safety yellow shirt”) ate the leftover pizza before most of us got to the office. The never-ending conversation trickling down the line quickly turned from “Breadsticks?” to “Justice!” But it will change again—probably by the time we’re looking for free lunch.

05 Sep Not So Fast, My Friend

“Wait… Not so fast. Not so fast! NOT SO FAST! I can only type so fast!”
– Tony Schroeder

Imagine Tony taking dictation from Brian Barhorst. Yes, let that scene sink in.

For those of you who don’t know them, Tony is a slow typist, and Brian is not a slow anything. So watching such a scene unfold in person may have led to a few stifled laughs.

Slowing down is challenging when there are plans to draw up, layout stakes to drive, and Cincinnati-area traffic to beat. Furthermore, we have prided ourselves on being timely and responsive since Choice One was created 20 years ago in the “Batcave” (otherwise known as Tony’s basement). Indeed, some here reminisce on those times, visualizing themselves as prompt, nimble superheroes, quick to respond to the villains of storm water runoff and intersection congestion who mercilessly destroy helpless infrastructure.

(We hate to burst your bubble, guys, but you probably looked more like Gomer Pyle than Batman. Although come to think of it, some at Choice One were still in diapers 20 years ago and have no idea who Gomer Pyle is.)

Nonetheless, Tony, as long as you’re timely and responsive to clients, don’t worry about typing slow. Use that typing time to take a deep breath and focus. You and Brian may not communicate at the same speed, but at least you have one thing in common: you’re both old enough to know who Gomer Pyle is. Shazam.

22 Aug Jump! Jump!

“Caray left her lights on. It took two cars to jump her. Again.”
–  Brittany Clinehens and Kaye Borchers

There are three lessons in today’s Choice Mindset:

1. Caray needs a vehicle with automatic lights.
2. If Brian Barhorst’s car is unable to jump-start Caray’s van nine months ago because it’s “too fancy,” it’s not going to jump-start Caray’s van today, either.
3. It’s a good thing Caray has at least TWO people who pretend to be her friends here at Choice One so she can get herself home.

To address Item 1:
Not only should Caray’s replacement vehicle have automatic lights, but maybe a place for her children’s unwanted food as well. And it definitely should have the power NOT to get stuck in the mud in the middle of a major metropolis.

To address Item 2:
Since Brian’s car is “too fancy” to jump-start another car, we can assume that profits from The Canteen are not only going towards lavish vacations, but “fancy” vehicles as well. In fact, we bet Brian’s “fancy” vehicle has automatic lights, a trash can, AND four-wheel drive.

To address Item 3:
We really are pretty lucky to work with friends here at Choice One (both coworkers and clients). Except for Kaye. She makes NO friends within Choice One writing these Mindsets, for obvious reasons.

08 Aug Baby on Board

“Matt, I thought we were a family here at Choice One. Why did I have to find out you and your wife are having a baby through Facebook?!”
– Greg Albers

Choice One has a pretty “uncommon” family atmosphere. And it’s pretty obvious from the photo that we’re probably that one really weird family in your neighborhood.

See, several months ago, Matt announced his wife’s pregnancy on Facebook rather than in person, prompting Greg to make the statement above. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when Greg announced the actual BIRTH of his son to everyone at Choice One on Facebook rather than in a private call or message. Pot calling the kettle black, much?

This prompts us to compare Choice One to a stereotypical pregnancy and see many correlations: we love to eat ice cream, snacks, pizza, and pickles. We often feel awkward and ungraceful. We can get frustrated and be grumpy with each other. And when it’s all said and done, we are willing to put in hours of painstaking labor to deliver something we love and can all be proud of.

Matt, when you and your wife Amanda have your little girl this December, we hope you don’t just inform us via Facebook. And for the baby’s future sanity, we hope she likes green and purple.

25 Jul “She’s My Lady”

“Well, if I have to listen to ‘Lady’ again, might as well crank it up.”

– Nick Sanders

A little backstory here: Nick Sanders is NOT a fan of the 1980 Kenny Rogers hit “Lady.” At all. So, naturally, it gets played at top volume in our Sidney location often.

Nick’s “joyful” endurance of the song “Lady” is a” good lesson: sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. Heck, the lucky guys and gals who are delightfully spotlighted in these biweekly Choice Mindsets are good sports enough to exercise that same tolerance. Let’s just not mention to Nick that he’s both the victim, er… “highlight” of this week’s Choice Mindset AND has had to listen to “Lady” at top volume on repeat.

It’s probably safe to say we all have to do things we dislike. Matt cleans toilets. Wes endures hugs. Doing those things with a good attitude doesn’t make them disappear, but it can make them a little more bearable. Just imagine what it might be like if Jeff Kunk didn’t grin and bear it every time he spent $10 to bring doughnuts in for everyone? Oh wait that’s NEVER HAPPENED, so we wouldn’t know…

Thanks for the positive attitude, Nick. Maybe if you just listen to “Lady” one more time you’ll finally like it. We’ll play it two more times, just to be sure.

11 Jul Tony the Kid

“No cavities again. Because I’m a rock star.”
– Tony Schroeder

Or a cowboy. We’re not sure. Maybe he’s preparing to be a Cowboy Rock Star for this weekend’s Country Concert in Fort Loramie, just up the road from the

If Tony WAS a Cowboy Rock Star, perhaps the rest of us at Choice One could be his band, backup singers, and roadies. I wonder what kinds of songs we would perform?

• “I’ve Got a Box for a Briefcase, and I’m Stuck in the Mud” by Calamity Caray Schmiesing
• “Diaper Genies and Wipe Warmers Ain’t the Way it Used to Be” by Nick “One-Arm” Sanders
• “Business in the Front, Party in the Back” a duet by Hayseed Kaye Borchers and Sunshine Matt Hoying
• “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone in Ada” by Angela “Deadeye” Polechek
• “Achy Breaky Truck” by Ryan “Lucky” Francis

Other than occasionally singing along to AC/DC on the radio, not many of us have heard Tony sing. So we’re not too sure what kind of Cowboy Rock Star Tony will make, although his song list does look interesting. At least one thing’s for sure: he’ll have clean, cavity free teeth!