Trip to Sedona, Arizona

5:07pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Thursday evening, June 16, 2022. Drove to Sedona today to get out of the house. Enjoyed the drive and took some pictures. While there, I was contacted for two follow up interviews next week. That is in addition to a couple already scheduled. Finally, I applied for two more jobs. One of the follow up interviews is for a job I really want; it isn’t a director position, which makes for a nice change. If that one comes to fruition it is definitely my first choice.

Wednesday June 15

4:48pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Wednesday afternoon, June 15, 2022. Woke up early to walk and work out, wrote a little then applied for unemployment. The second interview today was rescheduled for Friday. Turns out the Rancho Cucamonga job also covers Riverside. Not sure what is going on there with so many vacancies! That is three jobs at the same time. Started looking at Chaplain positions as well but, haven’t applied yet. It would be nice to have something to do, earn some money and get benefits again.

Get on with life

6:35pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Tuesday evening, June 14, 2022. One interview this morning for a position in Riverside, California. It seemed to go alright but, there was no follow up as expected, so now I am unsure. Two interviews are scheduled for tomorrow, both in California; Riverside again and Rancho Cucamonga. The Riverside one was a surprise. When I applied it said the position was in Phoenix. As always, I remain open to any possibility. However, the constant interviewing is getting old. Time to land an offer and get on with life.

Another good day

6:17pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Monday evening, June 13, 2022. Had a good day; set up an interview for tomorrow morning and was contacted about two other jobs. One of them is in Phoenix, the others are in California. Not sure how viable any of them are, but I am open to explore. Nothing came of the San Diego opportunity from a couple weeks ago, or the other jobs I interviewed for, but no worries; life moves forward and so do I. Continued working on the manuscript I found last week. It has been enjoyable creating something fun.

Early to bed

6:22pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Sunday evening, June 2, 2022. Got back to Arizona from Orange County, California at 3:30pm. The drive was uneventful. I feel exhausted but ready for the new week tomorrow. Time to go to bed early, catch up on needed rest.

Travel to California

8:53pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Thursday night, June 9, 2022. Drove from Chandler, Arizona to Dana Point, California today. After arriving in town I took my daughter and her friend to the mall to buy a birthday present, since yesterday was her mom’s birthday. We ate dinner at the food court. Now I am going to take the dog out and go to bed. Tomorrow at ten am is my daughter’s 8th grade promotion.

Writing work

4:00pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Wednesday afternoon, June 8, 2022. The entire day was filled working on the manuscript, with the largest bulk of time establishing consistent timelines as the story unfolds. You would think it not very hard but, surprisingly, it is. The other task I need to address is fleshing out dialogue for the chapters; I want to be “showing” rather than telling. I must say though, the story is good and the structure is sound. I will be patient and consistent as I fine tune it to perfection.

Eleven years later

5:31pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Tuesday evening, June 7, 2022. This afternoon I read the manuscript of a novel I stopped working on eleven years ago. Perusing it brought back memories; who I was when I wrote it, what I hoped to accomplish when it was finished and, ultimately, what I failed to achieve when I stopped working on it. That novel was, by far, the most time and effort I had put into any piece of work, before or since. Ultimately, I gave up when I moved to California before my 40th birthday. It has been left unfinished all this time. For years, I avoided revisiting it, simply because I was convinced all I would feel was disappointment. However, that was not the case. This afternoon, reading it again, I felt two distinct emotions; first, pride, for having written something so good and two, excitement about finishing it. I am happy to say I have found my new project; I am going to clean up that piece and finally give it the ending it deserves.

To fruition

6:13pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Monday evening, June 6, 2022. The virtual interview went well this morning. However, there could be an issue with a contract. They have a non-hire clause with the company I previously worked for. It unfortunately may be a dealbreaker. On different note, I did not hear back from San Diego. That is alright. I realize everyday I don’t want to go back to that role. This morning I saw new possibilities; moving back to California, taking the job I interviewed for today and doing PRN chaplain work to make up the salary difference. I have seen the solution, now I just need to bring it to fruition.

Sunday June 5, 2022

7:43pm, pacific standard time, apartment in chandler, Arizona, USA, Sunday night, June 5, 2022. Had a low key day, spent most of the afternoon at home, watching movies and sports. Was contacted a little while ago for the position in the Midwest. I will interview with them tomorrow and see how things go. Hopefully it turns out well.