Move Number 18

It has been a while since I have posted, but this time I have a good reason. I am changing jobs, companies and even states. I have lived here for the last 5 years, and it has been an incredible journey that I never could have foreseen. I think that I have matured a lot. I say matured but that is a nice way of saying that I look and feel a whole lot older after my time here. I came to go to school and be able to provide for my family, and I accomplished that goal.


Yet somewhere along the way I lost sight of my goal. Generally that means that the goal doesn't get accomplished, but that wasn't the case. I guess that since my existence here was formed around going to school, I had to finish, but somehow my attention and effort really switched to my career after about my first year of school. It wasn't supposed to be that way of course. I was supposed to get an easy part-time college student job and focus on getting a diploma, but that didn't last long. First of all, it was a flawed plan. I had a family: a wife and three kids. Part-time jobs don't support families. Second, it just isn't in my nature.

So after a year of struggling and depleting our savings from my pre-college career, I got serious about my job, and school slowly slipped from my priority list. I kept going, because I had committed to it and commitment is a part of who I am (go ahead and laugh), but my focus was on succeeding at work. Now I am leaving that job, which became an all-consuming factor in my life, and on my way out of the door I am realizing a few things.


1. I will never know what I don't know, so I had better watch out for it.
2. All I can do is my best and sometimes that just isn't good enough. And that is OK. I'll live.
3. School is over. In every aspect. It is time to get to work.


So with that knowledge I am approaching a new career in a new industry. I am going to do my best, and maybe it will work out great and I will make lots of money, etc., etc. or maybe I will fail and life will suck and I will have to do something else. It is both exciting and a bit daunting, but either way, I will live. There are things in my control that I have to take care of: spiritual matters, family concerns, expenditures in their many forms. But the rest will come and go. Good times and bad. Plentiful and scarce. And I think I am OK with that.


Am I ready to move on? Yes, it is time. Am I sad to go? Yes, I am. It is another chapter of my life closing, an unexpected chapter maybe, but a chapter I will label with the word "college" and stick on the shelf. What is next? Well, I have a family to provide for and raise, and I still haven't completely ignored the possibility of an MBA, despite my less-than-exciting GMAT score. We will see what the future holds, and I hope that you (who bothered to read my personal ramblings on my blog) are there with me.

Politics, one more time

So last month I got into a few political discussions, which were fun and informative, but the topic kind of dried up at that point in time. Even though I haven't posted about it lately, I have still struggled with the "political" question. Well, now I have done my homework and wanted to share my opinion with everyone. Why? Because that is what blogs are for. Opinion-sharing.

President of the United States:

Bob Barr - Libertarian
I was torn between Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin (Constitution party). They are both more to my level of conservatism, but Barr supports a few too many social liberties for my liking and Baldwin has this opinion that Lincoln was a crappy president and that the South should have been allowed to secede. In the end I am going with Barr. He has been in the House of Representatives, and so at least comes close to the type of experience needed to be president, which can be hard to find among third party candidates.

U.S. Representative District 3 - Jim Noorlander - Constitution Party

Governor - Jon Huntsman - Republican

Attorney General - Mark Shurtleff - Republican

State Auditor - Clare Collard - Democrat (she was the only one with a website. I figure that if the other candidates--even the incumbent--didn't care enough to throw a simple web page out there, then give the job to the one who wants it.)

State Treasurer - Richard Ellis - Republican

State Senate District 16 - Radene Hatfield - Democrat (she automatically gets the vote for attempting to tell me why I should vote. Oh, and she never yelled at a pizza delivery person that I know of.)

Representative District 64 - Becky Lockhart - Republican (she went to my wife's scrapbooking party when no one else did. That is also good for a vote.)

The judges (there is a whole list of them and I am supposed to say whether or not to keep them) - Yes to all of them. I looked at their annual report and they all had like 90% or better responses in the extremely satisfied section. Good enough for me I guess.

State School Board District 13 - Neither - I don't have enough information about either candidate and I don't use the public school system and I am leaving Utah within the next few years (at least).

Constitutional Amendments A-D - Yes

Constitutional Amendment E - Yes, but this was harder. Should we invest public funds in private enterprise, even if on a very small scale? In the current economy? I admit that the thought of the corruptive possibilities make me weak in the knees, but in the end, my belief is in the people, not the government, so it is a yes.

Commission Seat C - Not Voting - there is only one candidate. Basically I figure that he can elect himself.

Well, there you have it. My cards are on the table. Now I urge all of you to vote for the same people I voted for. Don't bother with all of that tedious research, just trust me:)