Lame but thrilled

I haven't kept my promise to blog. I apologize. Let me give you the rundown:

I start a new job next week.

How great is that? This wasn't anything posted... just from networking on Facebook (and you thought it was just to invite people to play Mafia Wars). IT is kind of an incestuous industry, and it would be too much to explain here, so let's just say I'll be consulting with a bunch of people with whom I used to work and for a company that I kind of worked for once.

I knew something would come up. And I'm glad too, because the posts on this blog have been real downers. So, starting tomorrow, I'll probably blog about cake again, since it's my final cake day and I have it on good authority that there will be plenty to be had. In the meantime, since both of you reading this have been chomping at the bit for more posts, just rest knowing that more shall follow tomorrow. Maybe with pictures and everything!

Till then...

Gallows humor

I think my idea for blogging about my experiences as a statistic have gotten a little too serious. I mean, it is serious, but I don't like being so serious and introspective all the time. So today, I share some gallows humor that seemed highly appropriate.

(Click the image to see the last frame.)













This is good, but has not been my experience at work. This is because no one ever believes the Man. It's more of a relief that you have made it so far. That the rug isn't being pulled out from under you yet. The next is better:













Yes, that feels about right.

Blessed indeed

What a great day! I was able to volunteer at the kids' school and cap off the day with a lacrosse game. Good day to be a Dad. I guess that's all this whole job thing boils down to me. I'm a Dad who loves his kids. I want to see them taken care of, and that's why I work. I have not been particularly happy with my job the last few years, so I don't feel a great loss there. What I fear is not my career being stunted: it's not having a paycheck so that I can provide for my kids.

But today was great. I got a job lead, finished updating my resume, and, besides checking my email and Facebook accounts every 15 seconds to see whether I had received any news, I was not manic about anything. Last time I was unemployed, I really hit the wall. I learned through that experience. Granted, it's only been a few days, but the last experience taught me the way God works things out. And let me tell you, He does things His own way.

Last time I was unemployed, I was actively attending seminary. I had my plans all set. Seminary, ordination, full-time vocational ministry. Even after I was unemployed, I kept telling God in my head just how He could make all of this happen through my unemployment. Our best laid plans are nothing but crap, though.

I have learned more about myself in the last five years than at any other time in my life. I'm anxious to learn more, and hopefully change from the experience. God's ways are best. I've come to accept that I might never complete my seminary education, might never enter the full-time vocational ministry. That's just fine. He has blessed me in many more ways. And I wouldn't change a thing.

It's not you, it's me

Day one wasn't too bad, despite the overwhelming lack of knowing what to do. Being laid off for me is more startling than anything. I have worked since I was fifteen years old. To be told to get lost, to be rejected, really, is difficult.

The fact that I was told that the decision had nothing to do with my performance was comforting yesterday. Not that I don't believe the Man, it's just that I was raised, like many typical Americans, to believe that hard work, that quality work, that competent work, was rewarded. Working in the computer industry has taught me otherwise. Being told that the decision was about dollars strikes me the same as the teenager whose girlfriend dumps him with the line, "It's not you-it's me." It's not comforting at all.

Where's the cake?

It has happened. The economy found me in my comfortable new office space. Only one more month and my free cappuccino is gone. The Powers-That-Be have decided that a skeleton staff is far too big for the tasks demanded of the workers in our little Charlotte outpost...they now demand marrow and blood. I became part of the blood-letting.

Before you think that I'm gonna get all "whoa-is-me" and all down on the Man, I must say that he is treating me quite fairly in all this. The package is fair, my treatment has been fair, and I will be able to slowly ween myself from the evil cappuccino machine so as not to go through the night sweats related to any sudden stops. This too is fair, I suppose.

I hope that this blog will serve some sort of purpose for these days...perhaps as an encouragement for others working through unemployment and the uncertainty that comes with it. Perhaps my writing will improve. (And the peasants rejoiced!) Most of all, I hope it serves as a testimony to what my God can do. Will do.

As many of you know, I have been considering a career change for some time, so maybe this will be my chance. Maybe my next job will see me back in the computer world. Who knows? I do know that God is faithful and that He will care for me and my family regardless of my employment situation.

The last time I was unemployed, I struggled through a streak of depression...about three months worth. Right now, my number one goal is to not let it get to that point. I will try to chart my course on this blog, try to let you into my world a little. In the end, I'll read all of these posts and try to learn something about myself and the God Who created me in His image. At times this might be funny, or adventurous, but it will also likely be hairy in places. But in order to be the person that God created me to be, I must face these challenges (James 1:2-4). I intend to come out on the other side a stronger Christian and a stronger man.

So, let's all buckle up and pass the Twinkies. It should be quite a ride.

New year, new look

For those that have visited my little corner of the Internet before: yes, I chose these colors. Why switch from the black? It was sucking the life from my soul, that's why! I aim to post more this year, so I thought something a little more subdued might be more attractive to newcomers and passers by. Call it part of my grand marketing scheme, if you will. I might change it again, so don't get too attached to it. If you think I should switch back, let me know. I'd love to get some feedback...you know, help me to feel like I'm not all alone on the World Wide Web.

New U2 single and other disappointments: UPDATE

It looks like someone has been reading this blog after all:
http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=5231

New U2 single and other disappointments

I love U2. Like other people that love U2, I have been waiting with anticipation for their new album since the last one they released way back in 2004. U2 is one of those bands that likes to integrate new sounds into their albums, to push the boundaries of their artistic creativity, and to stay current with many of the trends popular in the industry at the time so as to constantly grow their fan base. Being part of the fan base, I have read every article describing what the new album would sound like: they went to Morocco for some middle eastern inspiration, they hung out with Kanye West and recorded with Mary J. Blige and promised to integrate some hip hop (a great concern to me), and of course, the earliest indications were that it would indeed be straight ahead rock 'n' roll. On March 3 we will finally get to hear if what we read in all of those articles is really true, when No Line on the Horizon is released to the ears of the waiting public.

As a teaser, U2 released the first single early. Called "Get On Your Boots", it shows some promise. I think it's good, but I hope they released the worst stuff as singles first. It's the sixth track on the album, which does little to instill confidence, as I would think that if there were stronger singles they would be placed earlier on the album.

To answer the question that's forming in your head right now, yes, I will buy the album the day it is released and no, I have not purchased the single from iTunes. I had not even heard the song through anything but my dinky computer speakers until it was played on the radio yesterday on my way home from work. That was a better experience to be sure, but it raised another, even more nagging question than how good the single actually is. There was something in the verse of the song that bothered me, some skeleton in the top 40 closet that wouldn't go away. And then it came to me, all at once:

"She's so mean but I don't care
I love her eyes and her wild wild hair...
Living in the wild, wild west..."

Yes, I was able to place the chorus to "Wild, Wild West" after each verse. Easily. I'm talking about a group called Escape Club and their (only) number one hit, "Wild, Wild West" (1988). I have included the video below:


While I cannot say that this song is among my favorites, it does have a catchy element to it. Now, here's the U2 single. Remember, only the verses are similar:


Granted, they aren't totally identical, but I think the similarities are greater than those between George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and the Chiffons' "He's So Fine". If you don't know how that one turned out, a federal court ruled that the former Beatle had "unintentionally copied" the earlier song.

Just for fun, I looked up the lyrics to "Wild, Wild West" and played "Get On Your Boots" while I read the lyrics out loud. Fun to be sure. (This is going to come across as blasphemy to most U2 fans, but I think Escape Club actually has a better chorus.)

So, anticipation is growing. I'm saving my pennies for the new album and will probably at least make an attempt to see them in concert (good luck with that, since Charlotte is a small enough city to get them on a third leg at best for one night at best). Still, I have U2 to blame for getting that ridiculous other song in my head. And you now have me to thank.

You're welcome.