A couple more days

6:47pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday evening, January 31, 2023. I didn’t leave the office all day except for a short walk in the morning. There were too many meetings scheduled back to back and the only window available to step out occurred when everyone else had already left for lunch. It is alright, I survived. There are only two full days left in my work week. After tomorrow and Thursday I will hit the road Friday morning. The weeks feel shorter now which reduces my anxiety. I can survive a couple more days and make it to the weekend.

Be here for a while

6:02pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday night, January 24, 2023. Spent most of the day cleaning up HR files. There are so many back office things that haven’t been touched in the past two years. I am finally getting a handle on the most egregious. The site is really starting to come around; new staff, new attitude. I believe it is going to be a successful year. Which is good because the recruiter announced on a team call today she is focusing on “critical needs” in the region. The Director position in Palm Desert isn’t one of them. I am pretty sure I am going to be here for a while.

January 17, 2023

6:18pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday evening, January 17, 2023. My time in Palm Desert could be winding down. A potential candidate is visiting the site next week. I will show her around and go over job duties. If things go well she could be in place by the end of February. That means I would be on to my next assignment, location to be determined. There are a few open positions but, it sounds like they have strong applicants as well. I am not too worried. I am sure there is a need for me somewhere. On a side note; my ordination into Christian ministry was 24 years ago today. Hard to believe I ever lived that life. So much has changed in the past two decades.

Dinner with friends

7:57pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California,USA, Tuesday night, January 10, 2023. My friend from Washington and her husband are visiting the area this week. They invited me to dinner tonight at the resort where they are staying. I saw them this October at their Halloween party in Utah but didn’t get to spend too much time talking with them back then. Tonight was nice. It was just the three of us, sitting down, drinking wine, eating and catching up. I don’t get many opportunities like this; to have a home (or at least vacation rental) cooked meal, spend time with friends and appreciate not being alone yet another night in the desert.

Mom made it safely

11:18pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday night, December 28, 2022. Mom made it safely to Wyoming without my accompanying her. The accomplishment was a team effort; my daughter’s mom drove her to the airport, my daughter and her friend got her through check in and finally, a family acquaintance picked her up in Salt Lake City for the drive back to Wyoming. I am glad she made it and, to be honest, happy I didn’t have to go. This weekend gave me a chance to relax and change perspective regarding work. Now I feel less stressed. If I had missed work yesterday I would have fallen back into the same energy as before. I needed a change. Fortunately there are only three more work days until 2023. Time to make the best of them.

Which is the better choice?

5:26am, in my apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Tuesday morning, December 7, 2021. Which is better: To rise up and face the challenges life presents? Or to constantly attempt eliminating worry and fear on a daily basis? Facing adversity is daunting, yet noble. Eradicating stress is a futile endeavor that only makes me sad. I know which choice I should make everyday. The harder path is the only road worth taking.

Tuesday night

7:32pm Tuesday night. The call came in nine minutes earlier. I checked the voicemail then called her back. She is a colleague in the LA office. I like talking to her. We commiserated about work. At one point she used her boyfriend for an analogy. I became jealous. I don’t know why. She has a boyfriend. I am married. After we hung up I felt irritable. I got water from the kitchen the went for a walk around the building. Another hot afternoon bore down on the parking lot. By the time I got back to my desk I was sweating and tired.

Tuesday morning

5:39am It feels like a lightening storm is going off in my brain. I have all these thoughts that flash bright then disappear. There are so many things I want but don’t know how to get. I miss Orange County. I miss my daughter. I miss seeing her everyday and taking her to activities. I want to succeed professionally. I want a stable income. I want to stay in Arizona. I want to move. I want to buy a house. I want to quit. It is emotionally draining. I have the Denver interview today at 8am. I have my one on one with my supervisor at 11:30am.