Tuesday, November 15, 2016

#employed

It happened.  Finally.  I landed another position.  This time, it really has nothing to do with IBM Notes/Domino being a prominent part of the position.  More details later on what it is I'm doing, but I do get to stay within the IT field and utilize ALL of the skills I've gained over the past 20+ years I've been in it. 
I've learned a lot over these past few months.  Hell, this past year.  It was right around this time last year, October 29th, 2015 to be exact, that my wife Denise had the mass discovered inside her that lead to her surgery the day before Thanksgiving 2015.  Then finding out a few weeks later before Christmas that it was cancer and the battle that was her treatment that started in January.  I chronicled that whole story on a different blog and it was a journey. Then in April, I was told that I was no longer needed in the office that had been my second home for 17 years and I was "on call" until the end of May.  When I awoke May 28th, it was official.  I was unemployed. Thus began the search for employment.  After being in a career for 17 years that you defined and it defined you it was hard to step outside of that.  And it was scarier than hell.  Yes, we had been through a lot leading up to April with the chemo and its side effects, but this was a new war to wage.  The FUD war.  Fear, uncertainty and doubt.  Fear that I would lose everything I have worked for.  Uncertainty that I had skills for the job hunt.  Doubt that I would find anything.  When you've gotten to my point in life it's easy to think that if you lose a job like I had, you're done.
So, I took a week or two off to myself.  Needed to regroup and decide what the next step was.  Once I was officially separated, it was time to start the hunt.  Right away I found a job I thought I was perfect for.  I interviewed and later found I was turned down.  So I kept hunting.  In the middle of it all, my Mom passed after her own battle with Alzheimer/Dementia.  That of course took the wind out of my sails for a bit.  Then I found another job opportunity in Pittsburgh, but got turned down for that.  Found another job up near Cleveland.  That panned out too.  But during all this, the first job kept popping up as available.  So, I hounded them about it.  Kept it polite and professional, but the persistence paid off.  I landed a second set of interviews.  Well, the rest is history.  So, yes, there were a lot of lows, and I sure hit them, but having faith in something greater than me and being persistent about going after what I wanted payed off.  I got the job.
But also, there were a lot of HUGE highlights from these last 5 months that have added to the strange trip.  Like a great group of people sending us on an adventure of a lifetime to Ireland.  Like my son marrying the love of his life.  Like my Grandson, Gideon, coming into the world and filling my days with love and snuggles.  Like watching my daughter start her senior year of high school and continue to blossom into the women she is becoming.
So I guess my point is and it's something I've reminded myself often, there truly are no guarantees on this rock.  You only get so many sunrises and so many sunsets.  People get sick.  People are born.  People die.  People are generous and gracious to you.  People lose their jobs.  People offer advice, even when you don't want it.  People care.  The best advice I can offer someone is, don't give up hope and have faith.  Faith in something greater than you, faith in yourself, faith in those around you.  It sucks, sure.  But if you give up then you're done.  I came close a few times but didn't like the view of the abyss.
So, where does that leave us, here?  Well, I've been thinking it's about time I pull the plug on the old Andy's House O' Blog.  The blog was started to share my ups and downs as a Domino Admin and it served its purpose well.  But in looking at it, I haven't done a whole lot with it in a while.  It will stay here, active.  People are still looking up things Notes/Domino related, at least according to my stat counter.  But, I will likely not publish anything new beyond this.  It's time to move on and start a new chapter, but I thank you for following along with this one.
Geronimo!