A Fresh Start

Today I begin training for my new job. After a long and arduous serch I have found employment, and I have done it before the Army stopped paying me.

In my search I took the advice of one of my brothers. I prayed the prayer "Lord, open the doors you want opened, and close the doors you want closed." I did so often. I was seriously disappointed for quite some time as interviews that went very well failed to produce employment. Finally, I had an interview where the manager hired me on the spot.

It is a sales job, and while some sales jobs, like telemarketing, are easy to get, this manager had been interviewing people for 5 weeks without hiring anyone. Naturally, I took the job, and no, it's NOT telemarketing. Could me and this job be a match made in Heaven? I hope so.

Still, I begin my new carreer in sales with some trepidation. I also begin it knowing that I need to keep looking because the sales project will only be in the area for another 4 months or so. I told the manager up front that I won't become a traveling salesman because I will not live away from my wife. I told her the Army had already taken me away from my wife enough and I didn't want to keep doing that. She hired me anyway.

I also begin my new job with a sense of calm, the kind that can be called a calm in a storm. I have peace about taking this job, and have a sense that it will provide for my family despite being straight commission.

On the political side of the fence, there are a LOT of forms that need to be filled out to run for public office. There are also a staggering number of conditional forms. Like almos every government entity, this is an overly complex process. I'm sure it's just that way to discourage newcomers from challenging incumbents. After all, if you make something difficult enough you WILL drive some people away. I want this too bad to be frightened off by mere paperwork.

My family has concerns, naturally. Political candidates tend to get smeared and slandered by the opposition, and they want to protect me from that. I am tougher than that though. I can thank my former stepmother for her abuse in this situation. After what I lived through as a child I doubt there is anything some politician can say that will hurt me. My skin is quite thick in this area.

My family also asks me two questions. First is "What if you lose horribly?". To this I say "That's okay. The odds are against me and I know it." Second is "Okay, but what if you win? Can you do the job?" To this I say, "Yes. It won't be easy, but I can do it."

Finally, my wife in California for our third round of fertility treatment. If this time fails we cannot afford to try again. The last time we did this she had a positive prgnancy test, only to have the pregnancy fail 2 weeks later. It was heartbreaking. This time, Lord willing, we will finally produce a child. however, if the Lord does not choose to bless us in this endeavor we plan on adopting. We plan on adopting no matter what actually, we just really want a child of our own first.

Goodness. There is a lot going on in my life right now. This is why my posting has been reduced, why I have not been visiting other blogs very much, and why this will continue for some time to come. The oly days I can guarantee new posts are Wednesday and Friday. There will continue to be no weekend posts. Monday, Tueday, and Thursday will be patchy.

I apologize to all of my readers for the reduction in content. I apologize to all of my allies in the blog world for not visiting thier sites more often. It is my hope that this flurry of activity will be temporary and I will soon be able to post at least once a day and visit other blogs with more regularity. However, the campaign will put a serious damper on that for as long as it lasts. Even this pre-campaign phase I am in is rather involved. It will either end with the September primaries, or the November general election. Then, Lord willing, I will be dealing with all the joys and trials of a newborn in the house shortly thereafter. Of course, there is always the chance of flameout early in the campaign, which would free a lot of time much sooner. I really hope this doesn't happen.