Random Bullets from my head

June 15, 2007 by
Filed under: Life, Religion, Work 

My life has been … not so much turbulent as full of changes at my periphery and disquiet in my mind.  Here are some random thoughts:

  • Today is the last day at my company of the woman who sits across the aisle from me.  She started with the company about 3 months before I did back in 1993.  For the last almost-year we’ve sat across from each other and been very happy (we both like quiet, we enjoy each other’s company).  I’m really gonna miss seeing a beautiful, intelligent, and friendly face every day.
  • Also at work:  the CIO has realized that morale within the IT group is not particularly good.  We’ve had four voluntary departures in the last month (out of a group that was about 45 people).  He’s holding lunch meetings with a smattering of people in each (everybody goes to one of them) to talk about issues.  I took the initiative to meet with him this past Monday.  I scheduled the meeting for an hour and his questions drew my list of issues out to an hour and 45 minutes.  It was a good session and minor happenings since show that he listened to what I said.  The problem is that many of my issues are outside of his direct control – they are company-wide.
  • Between what is happening with my church work (on an upswing) and what is going on at work (on a downswing), I’m wondering if I’m in the right career.  That’s right – not just right job but right career.  Any assistance for someone undergoing a mid-life career discernment questioning period would be appreciated – leave a comment or use the e-mail link at left.
  • This weekend I should be going flying for the first time since the end of March.  My blood pressure broke free of control back then – my doctor changed my dosage and I’m now stable again.  Actually I’ve been stable since early May, but I’ve been too busy to fly.
  • Also this weekend I’m a bachelor.  Carolyn is headed up north to go to a garden show with her parents.  She’ll stay overnight Saturday and come home on Sunday.  My bachelor amusements will include lawn-cutting, bill-paying, and laundry.
  • Sunday at church we have the Annual Congregational Meeting.  This includes the usual reports and election of officers.  I’m not on the program (either giving a report or being elected), so I will probably attend.  If it’s too hot (and it’s looking that way) I might just grab a copy of the annual report and check out if they have a quorum.  You see, our church isn’t air conditioned ….
  • I’m waiting for Verizon to finish installing FIOS in the neighborhood.  They ran the underground conduits 2 weeks ago.  So far the box in the ground had nothing in it but mud (or high water when it rains – I don’t know if they’ll actually be able to use the box).  I’m looking forward to getting FIOS Internet service and dumping Cablevision completely.  I might get FIOS TV as well (it’s available in my town) but I’ll have to see how it stacks up against DirecTV.  I’d like to keep my HD Tivo, but DirecTV is switching technology for HD programming and a Tivo will not be an option soon.  I can do a Tivo Series 3 with FIOS, but I lose video on demand and pay per view.  Decisions, decisions.
  • The cats are fine, but increasingly geriatric at age 11.  Sometimes they still run around like maniacs but those episodes are few and far between.

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Have a good weekend!

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Comments

4 Comments on Random Bullets from my head

  1. gannetgirl on Fri, 15th Jun 2007 10:09 pm

    2. Read all of Parker Palmer’s books.

  2. Jon on Sat, 16th Jun 2007 12:25 am

    3. Re: career/job, I like your focus on membership/evangelism. I hope you continue to develop this. It may take some work to see if it part of a more radical change of work, or part of your ministry at Lawrenceville. Obviously, church work has lots of downswings too..

  3. Mark on Sun, 17th Jun 2007 2:42 pm

    4. Thank you both.

    Gannet – thanks for the recommendation. One of those books was used in an Adult Ed class at church this winter, but it was at 8:30 and I couldn’t drag myself out of bed that early on a Sunday. 🙂

    Jon – thanks. At this point, I’ve just about ruled out the professional ministry as I don’t think that I have the gifts. I suspect that I’m a better choice for “behind the scenes” work and support.

  4. gannetgirl on Sun, 17th Jun 2007 5:07 pm

    5. Today’s sermon was about you. Well, not about you personally, of course. But our senior pastor used as his illustration a man who had come to him for guidance, having decided that he would approach the onslaught of midlife crisis not by having an affair or by purchasing a red convertible, but rather by trying to deepen his prayer life. Apparently the result many months later is that he is on the verge of making a number of changes in his lifestyle, a lifestyle that reflects great professional success.

    Regardless of where your journey is taking you, it wuld be hard to overestimate the value of focusing on your life of prayer and of seeking guidance for the process. A spiritual director’s task is to help you pay attention to the presence and movement of God in your life and can make a huge difference in how you see and understand things.

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