May Musical

Time really does go faster as you get older doesn't it? I can not believe that it is May already. And not just May... its almost mid-May!

Mrs. Claus and I have been very busy. Since my last update, we have spent most of our free time working in orphanages in eastern Russia, Vietnam, and China. We also participated in a couple of fund-raising events. In fact, we hosted one event here at the North Pole. It was alot of fun and it was all for charity. We coordinated with Mr. Lucas and - with the help of Jangle's creative adaptations - hosted a musical version of "The Empire Strikes Back" at the North Pole auditorium. Jingle played Yoda. I was Darth Vader. I've told you before how I sing.... I don't. Its a horrible screeching sound. So my singing parts were all pre-recorded by Trace Adkins. The best part was I didn't even have to lip sync.... love that Vader mask! It was such a success that we'll probably host a musical again next year. Maybe next year we can get Jangle to adapt "Horton Hears A Who" or "Harry And The Hendersons".

It's been busy on the work front as well. Most of my focus was on the budget. We have been over budget the past two months. While we're forecasting to make it up over the summer, I have had the team busy building out scenarios to cut costs in the event it doesn't play out as we expect it will. Of course, I've also had all the typical State visits, CEO summits, and leadership conferences that always fill my Spring and Summer months.

I'm off to the US East Coast next week to speak at a couple of conferences. I'm looking forward to taking a couple of extra days to spend some time on the beach in Key West. Should be fun. If you are down there, please keep an eye out for me.

I'll post again soon (I hope!). Be good... even in May, I know if you have been naughty or nice.