There's Always a Beginning

In my latest pursuit of employment, I find myself challenged to remain motivated throughout each day. Therefore, it is in this blog that I will describe the various projects I'm working on, what jobs I'm chasing, and assorted other thoughts and opinions that cross my mind in the hours between dropping off and picking up the kids from school. This is my effort to make sure I don't let a day (well, at least not too many days) go by without some kind of positive productivity.

Good lord, this sounds boring already. Sorry.

I got this idea from a respected cycling coach that I was fortunate enough to work with earlier this year who is operating his own blog as a training tool as he prepares for this super hard, super insane bike race in Costa Rica. It made sense to keep a public account of one's progress because in my experience, as one falls into a sloth-like behavior pattern it becomes increasingly easy to believe that minimal effort/productivity is actually substantial.

Sure, I could surf the job listings on Craigslist all I want, but unless I'm actually submitting several resumes throughout the week, is the act of simply looking for a job productive? I mean, no one's gonna hire me just because I read the job description. Until I learn the Force and become a Jedi. And that would truly be something to blog about.

When I was deemed to no longer be an integral part of my previous employer's staff, I made a few immediate decisions. The first was that I had to maintain my fitness. This is the year I hit 40 and I just happened to have my best physical condition since I was 20 and jumping out of gyms playing for the University of Arizona Men's Volleyball Club. In the two bike races I rode in this spring, I bested previous times by massive margins. I felt good and I didn't want to lose that. Besides, on the days I either rode or did yoga, I noticed my productivity and creative thinking was vastly improved over the days I "rested".

I also decided that I needed to participate on projects or with organizations in ways that help my community. With all of the political shenanigans in the air here in Arizona currently, I have tired of being a spectator. I'm not looking to be the driver of immediate, sweeping change, but I want to get in and do some things that are important to me in small, significant ways.

Lastly, as this idle member of America's labor force looks at forty, I'm fully aware that I only have so many opportunities to restart a career. Sure, this ain't the same America that our parents grew up in, working for a single company until retirement knowing that pension + Social Security = moderate stability. But I need to not take too much of a step backwards in terms of the experience and skills I have developed over the past six years. Having said that...

My problem in terms of my professional career is that I've typically held positions with hard-to-describe, nebulous titles or descriptions like Production Manager, Coordinator, or Special Projects Manager. Why didn't I follow through on my childhood ambitions of archeologist or architect or professional basketball player? People know what those things are. It's pretty bad when your wife has trouble explaining what it is that you do. So, in this fun job market, trying to take my resume and place it in specific holes is...ummm...challenging in an already challenging environment.

Anyways, so today I submitted a resume for a position with PayPal's new customer service center opening in Chandler, something called a User Experience Manager. Sounds like a perfect fit for someone with my background. We shall see. Regardless, I'm not sure how entitled I am to participate in Labor Day celebrations this Monday. Then again, I'm not getting a paid holiday so what the hay!

See, told you this would be boring. Happy Labor Day everybody!!!