Final weekend of unemployment!

And it should be a holiday weekend, darn it! I'm celebrating, anyhow. (being employed, that is!) Hopefully the next celebration will be for selling the house!

As of this minute, I'm on my way to spend time with a bunch of family this weekend in the Badger State. My car has the back seat full of stuff, including the first week's worth of clothing (dress shoes - yuk!)
I then leave from the Badger State on Monday to head to the Hawkeye State, beginning work there on Tuesday, God be praised [crosses self]. :)

Next weekend, I make a speed run back to the North Star State to grab more stuff (including my trusty iMac) and host a (last?) three-track party, before heading back for a two-week stint at the job.

Note to self: stop at Trader Joe's at every opportunity (since there are none in my new state. :( Thankfully, I have located 5 different places to get Caribou Coffee, though. mmm.)

So, computerless for now, not much will be posted here until I get a chance to settle in, work a couple of days, and then jot down a few impressions. Until then, I'm crossing my fingers on the working conditions, and looking forward to that first paycheck...

Hasta luego, web-compadres. I'm heading out.

Retro night at the X

...with James Taylor and Carole King, on their Reunion Tour. Far out!


(But T-shirts at the merch table were being hawked for $40. Yikes! Who do they think they are, U2? At least they allowed cell phone cameras.)



The place was sold out, but thanks to being an AMEX cardholder, I was able to get an advance opportunity at buying tickets, so for once we were on the first level, instead of in nosebleed level.



What was also nice was that the centrally-placed stage rotated every 15 minutes, so every 4 songs or so you got to see them straight on.



Even so, the jumbotrons were very helpful. We baby boomers can't see all that great anymore, and need a little help. Although, maybe a little less help would've been good. These guys were wrinkly and grey!! As the reviewer in the local paper said the next morning, the performers looked like "a retired dentist and his wife" taking the stage, as if they were receiving some lifetime achievement award for cavity prevention or something.



But they still sounded very much like they did 40 years ago. The songs were so recognizable, and the affection of the crowd washed over them as much as their memorable music washed over us. The whole show was cathartic, really, for all parties, I think. They seemed to genuinely be humbled by the affection the crowd showed. The music sounded so much like it did back in the day, in large part because all the original band members were on stage, too, as well as some of the backup vocalists from way back.



The only bizarre part of the evening was that the bass player looked rather like the love child of ZZTop and a sasquatch.



Beyond that, all else seemed right, and good, like 1972 all over again (except without all the blemishes and none of that old teenage angst). :)

Surveying the new home town

24 hours was about all that was needed. It ain't that big a place.

Toured all the neighborhoods (from upscale retail-heavy suburbs to low-cost sleeper towns to urban-renewal hipster hangouts), saw four properties, picked out an extended living facility for me to use in June, and... still had time for dinner and a movie. :)

The four hour drive each way allowed for both planning and debriefing. And while on this trip nothing jumped up and said "live here, live here", we have enough information to use the month of June to find a home.

It's also good to know that, while it is a corn-driven state, we are not fully abandoning the land of whole milk and cheese curds...

Painting, Plumbing, Boxing, Hauling

A lot is going on this week (and next) as to getting the house ready to show, including signing papers with the realtor. It goes on the market Tuesday! My goal is to pack boxes of books, get those and some excess furniture hauled to a storage garage before Memorial Day weekend, drop a couple pounds (control my intake & hit the gym), in between all that make a run to Iowa to preview rentals, and still manage to finish and submit my last two papers for NT609DE.

Yikes! I have to get disciplined again. Three+ months without employment allows one to get a little undisciplined (in more than one area of life, I might add).

At least having plumbers & painters in the house is forcing me to get up and dressed by ... oh ... what time is it now ... 9AM?

Highlight Reel Romance

At the gym the other day, ESPN was on the TV monitor. So while pedalling away on the recumbent bike watching Sportscenter's Top Ten Plays, I had an insight, and subsequently shared it with a male friend over dinner. He agreed with my basic thesis: when it comes to romantic relationships, I think every woman has a highlight reel.

Yes, some girls have more than others, but there are common themes.
You know, there's that first "real" kiss.. that summer romance.. the date for her first formal.. that older man.. then later, that younger man.. that Spring Break fling.. that forbidden relationship.. that road trip for the ages.. the great guy who got away.. that knock-your-red-pumps-off random encounter.. the complicated office romance.. and the very first man that, well, you know...

Be it short or long, every woman has a romantic highlight reel.

And as I told my friend, if you're a guy in his situation (working out a new relationship)... it might be fun to make it into her highlight reel, to thrill a girl, to stick in her memory as a real "wow", to be one of those once-in-her-lifetime experiences.

But, long-term, you don't want to simply be on a girl's highlight reel. You don't want to be just one of many romantic "big plays" in her life. You want to be the guy whom she follows as a loyal fan.

You want to be the one she goes back to see again and again, year after year, sitting in the same section, cheering for you through thick and thin, good seasons and bad.. not just a "fair-weather" fan, but pulling for you long-term. You want her to collect all your cards, know your career stats, wear YOUR name on her team jersey! (metaphorically speaking, of course..)

Highlight reel romance is nice, yeah, but... when she gets season tickets to see YOU, baby, that's a girl who makes you want to hit it out of the park every time you step to the plate. In your fervor, though, you do have to remember not to over-reach.. just be yourself, buddy, relax, and it'll all come.

(sorry for the extended sports metaphors, but... it is baseball season after all, and this is a male-focused insight gleaned from ESPN..)

Graduating Minnesota Style

Leave it to Minnesota schools to hold their commencement ceremonies on a hockey rink.



They even had a penalty box for unruly fans, or the graduates who did unauthorized flips as they crossed the stage.



Our entourage sat close to the faculty, who all wore their degree regalia. I couldn't help staring at the Master's hoods, wondering what mine will look like a couple of years from now, God willing. Guess I'll have to hang on to that next cap & gown, too, since if I do get a teaching gig someday, there will be commencement ceremonies to attend, looking all fine and professorial...



However, I did manage to snap out of my reverie in time to witness what we all came to see. :) Congratulations!! No more homework - yay! All that's left is the party!

People, people, everywhere!

So many guests, from so many disparate connections: church, school, work, family, other. And easily more than one unique setting from within each category. You need a scorecard to keep up.

Saturday will be one of those days where I have to pretend I'm not an introvert. Yikes!

But, hey, how many times in a lifetime do you have graduations to celebrate? And add to D's accomplishment my timely job offer and acceptance, and... bring on the guests, baby! There's ample reason to fire up the grill, and knock back a couple.

I can go hide and recover later, after I've been charming. ;)

Ready to go

So today I signed the offer letter, accepting the terms. June 1st is my start date, with a need for temporary living quarters until the household move later in Summer.

God willing, this is my last job in this career, and it will last until I finish my grad school degree and I'm ready to switch to a new career.

I think to myself.. okay, then. Should I change the title of this blog?

Um, not anytime soon.

I'm happy to start a new situation. But I won't fool myself into thinking that it's permanent. There's no such thing in this fleeting life. A day's work - for a day's pay. That's as far as the arrangement goes. And for now, that's just fine.

Concerts on the cheap

This is a dicey thing. Concerts are still therapy for me.. especially with good company.. but there is a measure of rationalization that happens when there is no regular paycheck. But like Joseph in Genesis, that's why you set aside resources during times of prosperity - so that you have something to draw upon when times are hard.

So, going to see Sia Furler a couple of weeks ago was simply way too good an opportunity to pass up. :) Opportunities like that one don't come around very often. Well worth the investment, let me tell you..

But this last week, I saw two more shows, one of which was cheap ($15) and the other pre-paid (a postponed show from January). Plus the company was great.. my buddy SQ at one, and First Kid J1 at the other.. seeing Aqualung and Low, respectively. And the venue, an old fave (The Varsity) with a new look, fully remodeled. Simply swell.

It was just the ticket in a frustrating week waiting for an offer to show up. And after two concerts in that same week.. the offer came!

See? I need to keep going to these things. They help with my well being, in all sorts of ways that one might not expect.

Any Offer is a Good Offer

Really.

(well, within reason)

And the first offer of this particular job search cycle has landed! Yay! If I bite on it, with their proposed start date of June 1, it will mean this stretch of job hunting will have gone 18 weeks. Another personal record for length. But maybe one that will never be threatened again. :)

It might not be exactly the terms that I was carrying around in my head which would've produced an automatic "Sure! When can I start?" response, but... it's not an affront to my self-esteem, either. It's.. worth serious consideration.

Of course, it would be an easier decision if 1) the pay was higher, 2) the job was more glamorous, and 3) I had nothing else in the pipeline to consider.

But, it also has its plusses: 1) the cost of living is lower there, 2) it's not a great professional risk, and 3) it's not too far from loved ones of all sorts.

At first blush, it's looking good. The next few days will tell, as I negotiate with recruiters, and they in turn negotiate with various employers (East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest) on my behalf to see what can be expedited or improved.

I think we're close...

Sonnet 17

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you simply, without problems or pride:

I love you in this way

because I don’t know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I nor you,

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,

so intimate that when I fall asleep

it is your eyes that close.

----- Pablo Neruda

(props to E for refreshing my memory of this, from Patch Adams.. and elsewhere in life.)

disguise

.


apple blossom time
fragrant, delicate, lovely
hiding bitter fruit


.




Flowering crab trees are a highlight of my Spring; they remind me of classic Asian art, just in real life.

Bethel Seminary's campus is full of big, old crab trees, which this weekend left a blanket of blossoms on the lawn.



But while gorgeous and sweet-smelling in Spring.. they produce only little sour apples in Fall. And isn't that like some of us, too? We go through a season of promise and delight, but the end result is pretty useless (unless you add a boatload of sugar, and try for jelly!) ;)



No wonder Jesus said, of trees and people: "by their fruit you shall know them." Doesn't really matter how pretty the blossoms are.. unless that's all you see them as being good for: a temporary treat for the senses. I think I've learned to simply enjoy what delight is offered, when it's offered.. with crab trees, at least.



With people... somehow I still expect the fruit to match the blossoms.

Now, here's some hopeful news..

NOT.

NPR this week did a piece on how unemployment is treating Baby Boomers. The upshot of it is... not well.

While the unemployment rate for Boomers is smaller than the national average (after all, we have some measure of seasoning and experience.. probably less likely to be the first out the door during a contraction), that rate is the highest since the post-WWII glut of returning military came onto the job market. Plus, the length of the period of unemployment is above the national average: nearly 9 mos!

Of course, that's only an average, with some going longer and some shorter. And naturally, some younger workers are off work longer than that as well - you probably know some! But still, with mortgage and college debts not going away anytime soon, it's a scary prospect to contemplate. My longest stretch ever without a paycheck was in 2007: 15 weeks. This one is now at 12 weeks (just feels longer because I knew it was coming about 6 weeks earlier).

So, I should be grateful! (and I am.)

But I'm still impatient. And anxious. Philippians 4:6-7 and Proverbs 12:25 come to mind. Time to preach to myself, again. :)