Trip results

Wow! We had the smoothest trip of all time. :) Flew into Denver from Memphis then from Denver to Spokane. We landed, got our car, and drove to Idaho. Absolutely beautiful area. Amazing, really. Drove through and past Coeur D'Alene, past Silverwood, and into Sandpoint. Visited the realty spots there a bit after checking into the lodge. Later that evening, we drove to Heron, which was a terrific/scenic drive filled with mountains on our left and gorgeous water (Lake Pend Oreille pronounced Ponderay) and Clark Fork River. We found the school without much difficulty.

As far as the interview, wow! I spent the day with some fantastic people; the children there were amazing, really. I was able to see a great portion of the campus and interact with these incredible kids. After lunch, we had an extensive group session. At times, it was very intense. Never once did I feel shaky or nervous during the time. I even spoke up and asked some questions during to the kids. At the end of the day, I felt good. I did the best I could and was completely myself. I had one kid tell me he hoped he saw me again. I felt good from the staff interactions. So, the waiting game is on.

All I can say about this experience was I'm so glad I got to be there with my wife during this whole event. We had a great time and got to see some impressive sites, indeed (good job, God! He knows what He is doing!). I am so grateful to God for this trip and this experience. If nothing comes from it, at least we got to see some beautiful country and experience some lovely weather.

By the way, my wife and I came up with a new game called "Subaru" in which one calls out a "Subaru" each and every time one sees a "Subaru." It's very much if not identical to the "Bug" game only with "Subaru" instead. We have decided when we move we will have to have an AWD car. I'm looking at giving up my beloved Civic hatchback. :(

Also, we're hoping to sell this place and its contents even if there is a delay in me finding a job.

That's all for now, guys. I'm so thankful.

Peace

Trip

Well, we're quickly approaching the trip that could be the opportunity of a lifetime for both my wife and me. At the same time, I'm trying to prepare myself in the event that something doesn't work out. I have a couple of more places that I'm checking into, and both seem interested. I'm optimistic, which is quite surprising for me if you have known me very long. I'm believing things will work out just fine. I'm not stressed so much although apparently my body is going through a stomach virus thing (thanks, people at work!).

We're trying to get things together. Slowly, our Winter clothes have been arriving. We've had to switch out a few pieces here and there because of sizing. It's very exciting, though. We're hopeful to get a chance to look at a few places while we're there. My wife is an excellent trip organizer/packer. My mom and grandmother plan to take us to the airport as well as pick us up. That's exciting because our kids will get to see the planes and the airport. We have extremely early flights (worst of which is Wednesday). That's what sleep on the plane is for. :)

(On a side note, if any of you are now selling things door to door, be prepared. I almost grew incredibly angry at this pushy kid selling educational crap. There was a huge degree of guilt and arrogance, which does nothing more than irritate/anger me. A few more seconds of me saying the word "no" would have probably become ugly.)

Let's go fly to WA...

Okay, so my interview went well and now I'm going to WA for the first ever work trip. On a similar note, my wife is going after her interview went so well! We're on the same flight and will stay at same place and be in same car! Holy moly! On the 28th, we fly out across the states to territory unknown to me and visit what we hope to be our future career place. In my head, I'm there already.

Okay, I pinched self. This is apparently real.

Lord, your power is amazing. What You can do is beyond comprehension. Thanks, O Lord, for Your love. Guide me to serve Your will.

Thanks be to God.

"I hate you!"

Yeah, those words suck, especially hearing it from your child. I heard that for the first time ever today, a few minutes ago. It won't be the last time probably that something will be said that is hurtful.

I try not to take things personally. It's a little bit harder when it's your own kid, maybe, but I try to do the same thing with him/them as I would with my clients.

I've been saying I want to do a reward system for my children here. I would like to do something that is beneficial yet fun. That is something I'm going to work on over the next bit, I think. Hopefully, it will be more engaging and have us as parents more involved with what's going on here.

Wish me luck. :)

Son's 5th birthday party, job interviews, etc.

Okay, so Thursday netted me 2 job interviews and our camcorder. I had one interview at 12pm and one at 5pm. I had my mind made up that I did not want the job at 5pm . . . until I talked with them.

First, the interview at 12 went well. I felt comfortable. My 11 o'clock session ran over, and luckily, they were a little late on calling. I had to return a voice mail, but I think it went well. We seemed to connect on some philosophies. It's a school-based position that pays about what I'm making now but over 10 months. One has the option to have job-attached unemployment during Summer or work some sort of Summer program. I was even given a possible start date, which is nice, and was told if this position did not work out, there was the possibility of me working as a family counselor.

So, keep in mind, of all the interviews I have had, this was the best one. I felt like myself and felt comfortable, no stress. I went from that interview, that good feeling, to taking on the interview at 5pm. I got the call and my mom agreed to stay and watch the kids for me while my wife was at a doctor's appointment (thinking she has her medical stuff on the mend finally as she was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid). The number was an Idaho number, and we started the interview generically talking about the weather. At the time, it was storming here. It was interesting to me. The first things out of the box were questions about my plans, my interests, and where I saw myself in 3-5 years. I explained those things, mentioning that I would be interested in relocating to Montana, working toward licensure, and possibly adopting a little girl. Then, we talked more about this position and the kind of work I would be doing.

First, let me say I have always been interested in helping people. That is the joy I receive from doing what I do. Second, making a difference is very important to me. This place sounds amazing! I would work with children from enrollment until graduation as a mentor, counselor, support, for guidance . . . a position that makes a difference, perhaps? Wow!

The salary and the benefits were spot on. I would make more money than I have ever made for doing something I want to do. I went to the web site of the company and realized I had interviewed with the founder. Had I known that I might have been much more nervous. As it stands, I felt comfortable and believed we had a good conversation. He mentioned to me that he would like to have me visit and work with the kids there. I explained I had to talk this over with my family and examine funds. I did more research and talked with my wife. We were both in agreement to go for it.

(Interestingly enough, we received a check for some flood damage resulting from some rains we had a few weeks back. The check was much more than either of us expected. Isn't it mind boggling how God works? The interweavings of His doings are phenomenal and beyond understanding. That is probably why I love Philippians 4:7 so much.)

I sent an email directed for the founder with whom I spoke. Basically, I said I was definitely interested in coming out and was grateful for the opportunity to speak with him about this amazing place.

So, folks, we shall see.

Yesterday, we had my son's 5th birthday party. We all had a great time. It gave me a chance to play with the camcorder we got. I'm very pleased with the quality and versatility of the product, itself. If you're on a budget as we are, I have to say we are quite pleased with the Aiptek MZ DV. I'm all about best bang for the buck. :) Last night, I played around the the near-30 minutes of acquired video and made a movie using Windows Movie Maker. It turned out okay. It's fun to play with and fun to document important events. We have not really done that throughout my oldest son's life, but we're hoping we get more into doing that these days.

That's about it for now. I paniced for a moment because my baby hit the reset button. When I returned to my blog, I could not find the sucker. heh So, I'm heading out before the button is pressed again.

Peace

Old songs

Okay, so finally, I took some time to record some old music our band (Jakub's Grudge) used to play. It took me a while to sift through 3 hours of recorded music (badly recorded at that!). Out of all of that, there are maybe 12 songs or so that were recordable.

After hooking my cassette player to my computer, I was able to find a really nifty program called Audacity to record, edit, and add a few effects to the old songs. Keep in mind they were recorded live using a "jam box." So, yeah, quality stinks.

Listening to them, though, made me really appreciate the group we used to have. They were great musicians and good guys all around. I never really appreciated them as I should have. Listening to me, well, I tried to do too much sometimes vocally. I can carry a tune, but sometimes, I'd try to run marathons when 5k was the distance required.

In any event, it's great having those pieces to hold onto and treasure. I'm trying to pass them along to my friend (and bass player) so he can distribute as he can. We never got around to recording music even though we had some nifty equipment. It's regrettable, unfortunately, but it happens. I have what I have, and for that, I'm grateful.

We weren't bad. I can say that honestly. We had a few highlights as a band that I'm still proud of to this day. There were a lot of good times in the music we played. Lot of tears and mood swings, too. :)

Thanks, God, for good times, good memories, and good friends.

Five

My oldest boy turned 5 today. I can't believe it. I can remember holding him early one morning after we brought him home and crying my eyes out, hoping I would not let him down in life. It was purely a father-son moment and hugely emotional.

Now, our family is blessed with 2 wonderful, precious boys. We still hope for adopting a little girl at some point. So far, though, it has been incredible watching my son (and sons) grow. They are my greatest achievements in life. I'm grateful and thankful to God for my family, especially my boys.

Dear God, thank You for my children and family.

Amen

My, how things change...

Okay, so I've been frustrated but not hopeless nor have I been faithless. Today, in a drastic change of events, I received 4 phone calls with 3 pending interviews for this week. One interview is in a town that I'd really like to live in (Billings).

So, we'll see. I watched Joel Osteen yesterday, and he preached about expecting God's favor. I know we'll end up in Montana. I do not know when it will be or where we will live/work. It's still very exciting. My wife and I have compiled so much research about Montana; we're interested in living in a larger city in the state. I have faith God has things worked out. I know He will do what is right, and I pray for God's will. It's His time schedule.

God's drivin;' I'm ridin.' Let's check out the scenery!

Dreams, Montana, etc.

I had a dream last night in which I was living in St. Louis and working in a factory. My wife and kids were still home. The conditions were not good at all, really. So, what made me dream this dream? Let's think about that a bit, shall we?

First, my whole life has revolved around work, change, and moving in recent months. We're trying hard to relocate in Montana, which translates into lots of postage, email, some phone conversations, and an occasional interview. Lately, if I were a tracker, I'd say the hot trail of a job has now grown icy cold.

One thing that has definitely been on my mind is that most likely my family and I will have to be without each other in some form or another while we get ready to move. We've talked about various options on how to go about this. None are exactly what I'd call ideal. One problem currently with our home is that it's still not quite finished which translates into a lot of work for my dad and us. I'm not a person that is good with his hands in a building sense (computers, yes; houses, no). So, that is one snag. Another issue is that we have accumulated a lot of "stuff" (please see George Carlin's take on "stuff"). The question remains what to do with that stuff. Do we keep some of it or try to sell the majority? Another option would be to sell the house with the "stuff" and take the important (to us) goodies. Lots of random thoughts, really.

So, what did I learn from this dream? I learned I don't want to go somewhere and not be prepared, meaning I need a job before I get there. Otherwise, I'll end up barely scraping by if even and struggling. I've struggled the majority of my life, and I must say that struggling sucks.

You know what's really kind of interesting in all of this? Check this out: Montana creeps into everything we run across. Video games, books, movies, web readings (incidental not Montana research). The other part is the belief in God and the strength of our faith.

Things will work out as intended. I realize this isn't drive-thru nor is it Burger King. This is life. I want to make it count as best I can.

Remember: God's driving; we're riding.

en masse

Well, thanks to the lack of interest lately, my wife and I have started a mass campaign across most of Montana, particularly central and western sections. We're hitting as many of the community mental health centers as possible as well as trying to hit the federal positions.

Will I qualify for these? We'll see. Some of the experience I have is not communicated well in my resume. I keep trying to remind myself there is no pressure and no rush, that God is driving. We've just hit a frustrating point.

The excellent news is that my wife has an interview in the Helena school district-a dream job for her. So, we'll see what happens. God has it worked out; we just have to see how this plays out. :)

Frustration

I've managed to keep a pretty clear and cool head about this job search thing. Today, however, I would not say that. I've been uptight and very frustrated about this whole process.

I've spoken with about 3-5 places. Each time at the start, each company expresses much interest. As the process continues, either I end up not getting the job or interest wanes. Today, I'm frustrated. I can handle not getting the job. I don't understand the change in interest.

Anyway, the search has been intensified. I still know God's in control. We are trying hard. I know God's driving. It's His time and pace.