New job!

Actually, I've been back on the military base since July but I've been a bit hesitant to even mention it fearing some ill would befall me if I did. In the words of Bruce Springsteen, I feel "like a dog that's been beat too much until you spend half your life just covering up." Life has certainly been challenging and very different since I was laid off in April 2006 so it's not like I feel this way without reason.

Back in 1987, I began my college career at UAH in the EE department but realized that I had neither the discipline nor the intelligence for the math. I took classes in various areas over the next five years never earning a degree but gaining enough knowledge to earn a decent living in computer support. After the lay-off, I was determined to complete my undergraduate degree hoping that furthering my education would provide some job security.

After looking at the curriculum at local colleges, I chose the CIS program at Athens State University. UAH's MIS program was considered but was more business while ASU's program provided more programming and networking so I headed down the interstate to Athens. At the recommendation of one of my professors, I took a support job at a local cable company that I greatly enjoyed but at half of my prior pay. Convenient to furthering my education but damaging to our finances draining my dwindling resources and forcing me to take out student loans. Sigh.

Two years later, I finished my degree but it didn't seem to help much in pursuit of more gainful employment in the sagging economy. My clearance was inactive and I wasn't certified which knocked me out of contention with many companies and the lack of a clearance kept me out of many local job fairs. In the soft economy, many companies simply didn't want to spend the money for clearances or certs when there was a surplus of over qualified applicants with them already in hand.

Four years post lay-off and thanks to a friend from the racing world, I'm back on the base doing desktop support (but still making less moolah than before) and looking at various options for upward mobility. I just completed my Network+ certification and will be taking a computing environment cert very soon. I'm hoping that these industry certifications will bolster my resume even more and propel my career forward once more. For the first time in many years, I feel somewhat confident that my luck may turn around.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost