All right; I feel a bit more energetic tonight, so I thought I'd sit down and take a shot at writing about some of the change described in part 1.
I think I'll take it one life-rattling event at a time. I can do justice to each that way, and perhaps generate some better writing which ultimately may be more therapeutic also.
I never intended this blog page to be a personal, on-line diary. I am far too "personal" to do that! I've never kept a diary, but I've always assumed that they are places to express yourself to yourself. Maybe that happens with me at The Mole Hole, but it would be an unintended consequence of simply wanting to express an opinion, publicly, which is what I'm about on this site, and what I'm probably like in person too. (Did I say "probably"?!!)
So in keeping with above, I hope you've read my opinion on facing "change". Now I can write about the first item; the Job!
March 18th, 2008; I am officially out of work after 23 years on the job. I could spend an entire day just writing about what lead up to this, but that's pointless now. This article is about the change.
All of the job searching with the computer, with recruiters (a.k.a headhunters), with newspapers, turns up nothing. All of my contacts, dozens and dozens still working in the industry, turns up nothing. Six weeks of fruitless hunting. And so how do I finally land a fantastic position that provides a nice increase in both rank and compensation? They contact me on the chance that some good people have been left behind in the wake of the sale of my previous company! Crazy! Devine intervention? Perhaps. This would still fit my true belief that while God doesn't make things happen for us, he does provide the opportunity to make them for ourselves. For whatever the reason, it is there for me.
This new one seems like a very good organization. My research, which can only go so far, makes me feel comfortable in accepting the offer. I need to be, because it means uprooting the family and moving 300 miles. On the other hand, did I have much choice? My gut feel says that I would probably still be looking for a job here in September. Maybe in December. Maybe much longer than that even. Unless we decided to completely deconstruct our standard of living, I see no evidence that I could even come close to replacing what I had before in any reasonable amount of time. Not here. Not in this town.
I look forward to the new challenges and responsibilities this new job brings. I am not ready for even semi-retirement yet. I will be given a chance to grow, and I need to continue to do so. Someday soon, I will probably look back and decide that 23 years in any one place is not really healthy anyway. I think that it breeds a kind of comfort that can slowly kill your own creativeness, adaptability and motivation among other things.
My friend Paul reminds me of the old adage about "a ship in port" being safe, but that it's "not why the ship was built." He was responding to Part 1 of this article and the bigger picture of all the changes that are upon my family at this time, and about which I intend to write. But more than any of the other changes, I see his comments being mainly applicable to the Job. Because it is that which brings to mind the safety and comfort of staying in one port for 23 years. Or maybe more accurately, staying in home-waters for 23 years.
Now there is a new mission. The ship is stocked and prepared to head out into the open sea. It is as ready as I can make it. All engines ahead.....slow!
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