2:00 a.m. - June 06, 2007
Shut Up, Brain!
Darn you overactive brain! Darn you!
Tonight is the first night in a l-o-n-g time that I have had trouble sleeping. OK, I took a nap today, and yes, I may have had one too many sodas, but still, considering the paradigm shifts (without clutches and with a balky gearbox) I�ve made since February, I�m lucky that I�m not an insomniac.
But my mind is spinning, and that�s because I want to be sure that I will make the right choice for the future of me and the Smed family.
Obviously it�s way early in the game, and I have some time to make the right decision, but some things are happening.
I�d like them to happen faster, even, but I can�t control things out of my control, and some of my contacts can�t either. (Wow, that�s profound.)
Let�s back up a bit.
There was an enigmatic (even for me) posting here about irony. Well, believe me when I wrote that thing about the stuff in my desk drawer I had no idea that I was going to actually be clearing it out within a week.
But I did and it�s for the best, especially now that I seem to be a bit in demand. At least the news of my free agency is on the vine and I�ve had a few good leads.
Heck, some great leads. And I�m still working it. I don�t want to jinx anything, and I need to follow up with some people.
But I�m sleepless because I�m trying to decide what�s best for everyone if I do have a choice to make. That�s a bit premature, I know, because I haven�t been offered anything yet, but I have a good feeling about a couple of things on the horizon.
One of the good things I really feel strongly about, since I�ve had some good phone conversations and emails with the person in charge of the job search. There�s some rigmarole from the state involved, but I�m patient. They want to get Liz and me there to look over the area when I interview. It�s close to family and friends, so we wouldn�t be all lonesome, and it�s a nice growing area as well.
There are a couple of other good leads, going north of Indiana, going west a bit, or going down to the southwest and hopefully staying out of the way of crazy cult people. (Oh, that�s right, they�re gone�)
I also have some leads where I won�t have to move and stay in higher ed, or in non-profit.
You see, my area of expertise is young, and people know people. I�ve been around and got my name out there, so I have some cache. I need to follow up on a couple and get some more networking done.
And then there�s a chance to go into the consulting world. I could probably stay here, but be on the road 100+ days a year.
My brain is now wondering what happens if I get two or three offers. Should I stay? Should I uproot everything? Should I join the �dark side� and consult, like Dogbert?
Should I not worry about this at all, yet, since nothing has come to pass?
I�m an optimist and I know everything happens for a reason and there is a plan, but I need to make sure I make the right choices as well.
Deep down, I know to just let things play out and not get wrapped up into things.
OK, so tell that to my brain, so I can get some SLEEP.
