The Pee Wee Knight

The funniest thing I've seen all afternoon.

Brief update

We had some great news today in that the SC company will now allow us to start a few weeks later than we planned, allowing me to stay with Jan and the kids during the recovery time. This saves on a huge headache and saves quite a bit of time and money too. So now we're set for an 8/14 move. MUCHHHHH better!

South Carolina, or The Silver Skates

Sorry, I couldn't resist. That's from my favorite book title ever, 'Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates.' Apparently the author couldn't make up his mind and just wanted it both ways. It would be nice if you could name children that way. "Hans Brinker, or Larry Morris."


Where was I? Oh yeah, how our lives are about to change again. We're almost definitely moving to Greenville, South Carolina. I say almost definitely because there's a small chance another job may be making an offer. But it's just a small chance, and in any case we're going full speed ahead on SC unless the stars align perfectly.


How did we get here? It started last December when I got a new boss, and she made it clear from the start that she and I didn't see eye to eye. Ever since then, my life has been a Kevin Spacey movie poster.

Specifically, this one.

It's been rough, and I've tried very very hard to find something else. I got very close on a few occasions. I had a good opportunity in Florence, SC that didn't pan out, and I had something in Oklahoma City and San Diego that were 95% sure things except the pay didn't work in SD and we really didn't want to live in Oklahoma City. 

Every morning has the same. I wake up early and review literally 20-25 emails with dozens of jobs each on them from job sites. This year I have sent out approximately 25 resumes, which doesn't sound like much except I wrote a very detailed cover letter with each one and customized my resume to emphasize different things depending on the job. I only heard back on a small hand full of them. It was difficult.

Fortunately, with no formal ties to Texas, we had the luxury of looking at jobs in the whole country. That was nice, and it opened up the possibilities a lot more. 

In May, a friend at the COB arranged interviews with two department heads there. I spent 50% of my vacation meeting with them. It was valuable time, and both gentlemen were very friendly, but the more interested one of the two said "I might have something for you soon. Possibly in as little as 2-3 years or so." 

That week I went to a job interview on Wednesday and Thursday, a wedding on Friday, flew home to Texas on Saturday, hopped on a plane to Pittsburgh for a job interview on Sunday,  interviewed on Monday, and flew back Monday night. What a week.

Pittsburgh was gorgeous. It was like Middle Earth-that's an odd description but you'd have to see it to understand. I've never seen so many hills and mountains and cool valleys and bridges. I've really never been anywhere like it before. I really liked it. The company I interviewed with is the one that is the 'remote possibility' one I mentioned at the beginning. They have offices in Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, and just today expressed potential interest in 'talking to me.' It's remote; I'm not counting on it, but conceivably something could occur.

My view at lunch on the interview day.

I kept on applying for things and a few weeks later saw an escrow-related job in Greenville, SC. I applied, and they called right away. I had an interview 1 day later and 4 days later I was on a plane to Greenville.

It was nice. Not Pittsburgh gorgeous but better than Texas, with more trees and hills. Plus the town is 30 minutes from an honest to goodness Tennessee mountain range & forest, and is 2 hours away from Columbus, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA. And it's 3 1/2 hours away from the Atlantic ocean. 

A pretty park area downtown in Greenville

It's a very small company and the job is a step down in title and salary. But they're growing and I really liked the people I'll be working with. Plus, just to get me, they took the job to the CEO and made it a manager and got much more salary for it than it started out as. To work for people that really want me and are fighting for me rather than with me is something I haven't experienced for a while.

So I'm headed out there at the end of this month. My Sister-in-law and Mother-in-law will both be arriving to help with Jan and the new baby, who is due in just 11 days. It's going to be very difficult to leave my little family for a few weeks, but I will be back quickly to pick them up once Jan is ready.

There are many other logistics of all this but this is the long and short of it. We've been on a real adventure all year, never quite knowing what was next. Lots of prayers and lots of applications finally paid off, and it took a lot of discouragement and disappointment to get here. I'm sorry if I've seemed stressed or not myself this year-my mind has definitely been elsewhere. That should all hopefully resolve soon. We've very blessed to have the families we have-thanks everyone for the love and support.

HE pt 2

Story about Henry Eyring as relayed by Henry B. Eyring:

Dad was the senior high councilor in his stake, and he had the responsibility for the welfare farm. An assignment was given to weed a field of onions, so Dad assigned himself to go work on the farm. He never told me how hard it was, but I have met several people who were with him that day. I talked to one of them on the phone, and he said that he was weeding in the row next to Dad through much of the day. He told me the same thing that others who were there have told me. He said that the pain was so great that Dad was pulling himself along on his stomach for him to kneel. Everyone who has talked to me about that day has remarked how Dad smiled and laughed and talked happily with them as they worked in the field of onions. 

Now, this is the joke Dad told me on himself afterward. He said he was there at the end of the day. After all the work was finished and the onions were all weeded, someone said to him, 'Henry, good heavens! You didn't pull those weeds, did you? Those weeds were sprayed two days ago, and they were going to die anyway." 

Dad just roared. He thought that was the funniest thing. He thought it was a great joke on himself. He had worked through the day on the wrong weeds.  

When Dad told me this story, I knew how tough it was. So I asked him, "Dad, how could you make a joke out of that? How could you take it so pleasantly?" He said something to me that I will never forget, and I hope you won't. He said, "Hal, I wasn't there for the weeds."

-Henry B. Eyring

(In minor blog news, bear with me as I figure out my new Paint program. It has some issues with stuff, and thus my pictures will look even lamer than usual for a time...)

In the baby zone

GBH

Things work out, it isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out, don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in him, if we will pray to him, if we will live worthy of his blessings, he will hear our prayers.

-Gordon B. Hinckley

(And yes, I know this isn't one of my better likenesses. Wrinkles are hard.)