Goings on

So things have been a little crazy lately in the Barrus home.

1. Scott has turned into an escape artist extraordinaire, and will take any opportunity he can to flee down the street. Often we notice he has left and track him down, but a couple times now a neighbor has corralled him for us and brought home with looks of "We're calling CPS if this happens again" in their eyes. We're looking into options for securing the front door.

2. I got a second job working for Unisys, a tech support outsource company, doing Windows support for the City of Minneapolis and Standard Parking (a nationwide parking garage company). It's been pretty good, though being back in the cube farm and having to report on every second of my day has been fairly soul-sucking. But then...

3. I got a job offer at the Apple store in Salt Lake, to do tech support with them (the position title is Genius, but I hate using that term). It pays well (more than I've ever made before) and has amazing benefits. I got the job mostly due to a referral from my friend Jimmy, who works there. Jimmy has also informed me that I should be able to finagle this Genius job into a tech writing position in a couple years, which would be amazing. I feel very blessed at how things are going, career-wise. All that hard work of sending hundreds of resumes out paid off in the end. And even if I don't stick with Apple, my resume will show I've done support for Windows, Netware and Apple operating systems, which is pretty nice.

While I like Apple's products (I've purchased six or seven different portable devices from them over the years), I am far from a fanboy. In fact, all irrational love Apple gets from its rabid supporters has annoyed me greatly, so I hope I don't turn into one of them in the near future. I'll remain vigilant.

That's about it. Mandi's been doing tons of craft projects and started a fashion blog for nursing mothers I think is pretty neat. I've started playing soccer on Saturday mornings, in an attempt to remain somewhat in shape as I near 30, and it's been pretty fun.

Caleb's thiiiis close to walking; I need to post some video of him cruising around on the fire truck Steven got for Scott back in the day. It's pretty cute.

The shape of my dreams

I've been doing some thinking lately. I've always had dreams and goals for myself. These have shaped what I'd like to pursue with the talents and education I've been blessed with the opportunity to develop and earn. I want to make money performing opera. I want to be an artistic leader in the community where we eventually settle.

I may be taking the long way to achieving any of these goals, and that fact has frustrated me in times past. But today all of these quotes seemed to combine to help me understand how the shape of my dreams has been changing, and I'm OK with it.

Neal A. Maxwell said:

When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.

Dallin H. Oaks, from his "Good, Better, Best" talk:

We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.

This quote is from one of my favorite plays, "The Rainmaker". There is a terrible drought. Starbuck is a “rainmaker”. His larger-than-life personality and made-up name at once attract and put off Lizzie. Lizzie is a smart, plain woman who is feeling the pressure of fast becoming an old maid. In this scene she discovers something about herself after Starbuck has been egging her on about his exciting life in comparison to her dull one.

You think all dreams have to be your kind! Golden fleece and thunder on the mountain! But there are other dreams, Starbuck! Little quiet ones that come to a woman when she’s shining the silverware and putting moth flakes in the closet. Like a man’s voice saying: “Lizzie, is my blue suit pressed?” And the same man saying: “Scratch between my shoulder blades.” And kids laughing and teasing and setting up a racket! And how it feels to say the word “Husband”!----There are all kinds of dreams, Mr. Starbuck! Mine are small ones---like my name---Lizzie! But they’re REAL like my name---real! So you can have yours---and I’ll have mine!

Lizzie realizes that she really would be happy with those "little quiet" dreams, and that realization helps her to accept a proposal of marriage from a wonderful man later in the play.

The last thing that I can't get out of my mind today is this: I had the opportunity during my last semester at BYU-I as a student (about 6 months along with Scott) to listen to a talk given by Jane Clayson-Johnson. I later read her book, in which she mentions a lot of the same things. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, Jane Clayson has dealt with a lot of the same feelings I've been having--she has a great talent in news reporting and at one time was co-host of The Early Show. She took the opportunity to be married in the temple and became step-mother to 3 children and eventually had two more children. She ended her full-time broadcasting career when she became a mother, but as you can read in her book, she still remains relevant in her field while joying in motherhood.

One thought she expressed during her address to us that afternoon at BYU-Idaho will always stay with me (I apologize, I'm paraphrasing--she says it so much better in her book):

We all have seasons in our lives. Never let anyone make you feel bad for living in the season of your life that is happening now. Only you can truly know all of the blessings you receive by living the season of your life now.

I love that so much. It's not the time in my life for me to be travelling to Europe or trying to get hired full-time by an opera company. But it is the precious season while my children are young, the time for me to teach them and nurture them and love them. And I needn't take any heed of pressure or questioning from others who don't understand my priorities (including the side of myself that sounds a lot like Starbuck). The Lord understands.

Day 1

I have completed my first day as a degree-holding writing professional. Here are some things I learned:

1. Writing deadlines for magazines are almost humorous when compared to their counterparts in the newspaper industry. If I wanted, I could hammer out every assignment I have in a week, and I've been given over a month. I'm not sure how to deal with this yet.

2. It's nice having your own office. I work in a converted old-timey hotel in downtown Idaho Falls, so the offices of today were hotel rooms in 1945. I've got a washroom attached to my room... a bath used to be in there, but was ripped out sometime ago. It's fun. 

3. Harris Publishing is a really laid-back place to work. After being employed at "rah rah rah go get 'em don't stop until you drop" phone jobs for the past five years of my life, it's incredibly quiet. People just get their work done, no need for micro-managing or keeping track of stats. 

In short, so far, so good. I wonder if I brought up my ability to complete more work I could parlay it into a raise. 

Well, that was quick

I got an e-mail this morning from Harris Publishing offering me the full-time editing/staff writing position. Pays pretty well (more than I would have gotten if I'd been hired on at the Post Register) and has benefits and all that good stuff. 

Woot!

Of course, this means we'll be sticking around Eastern Idaho for longer than we expected, but that's fine. At this point, I'm just glad I have a job that I think I'll enjoy. 

It's nice to move on from the student phase of life I've been in for what seems like a decade and into the professional phase. 

The job hunt continues

Thus far my efforts to find a job have met with rejection at every turn. I haven't even received a response from 95% of the businesses I've applied with. It's highly moralizing. 

But today, I actually interviewed with a publishing company in Idaho Falls. I wore a tie and everything.

It's Harris Publishing, and they produce 12 different magazines with topics ranging from boating to potato growing. Mandi found the job opening for me on betteridahofallsjobs.com for a part-time editor. At this point, I just need to get a start to my writing career, and am not feeling overly picky. While not a sports writing position, this job would help me get some good experience editing and involvement in the magazine industry. 

So I applied online. A couple days later, I received an e-mail response from Brady Kay, Executive Editor. He told me he felt I was overqualified for the position I'd initially applied for, but told me he was looking for an editor/writer position and asked if I'd like to interview for it.

This afternoon I went to downtown Idaho Falls and met with him and one other gentleman named Greg. We discussed my ability to work under a deadline (compared to a sports writing deadline, magazine deadlines are cake), willingness to do some travel, and whether or not I wanted full- or part-time work, among other topics.

I think it went well. The environment was very, very low-key, which I like. I hope I came across as someone they could see fitting into such an environment. I feel like I answered all the questions to their satisfaction, and did not give them any reason to disqualify me from the position. 

I wish I'd focused more on the fact that I am a writer that I am confident in my writing abilities... it's what I do and what I want to do for my career, but we did touch on this a couple times, and my history with the Post Register (which we discussed quite a bit) indicates it pretty well. 

They said they'd let me know by Monday, so we're praying it works out. 

Internship update

I started my internship for the Idaho Falls Post-Register almost two weeks ago now. So far, so good, though I'm not enjoying the commute to IF five days a week. After working from home (commute time: four seconds), making the 30+ minute drive one-way is taking some getting used to.

Not to mention the fact that there's tons of construction on Highway 20. After the snow and ice melted off the highway a few months ago, nasty cracks started showing up for long stretches. I'm guessing the process of ice melting and freezing over and over on the road made these cracks and then worsened them. That's what you get for not consistently plowing your streets, Idaho.

Anyway, it looks like they're completing ripping up all four lanes (two each way), and making a new road entirely. It's restricted to one lane for at least half of the 30-mile stretch between here and IF, both ways. Normally this isn't too big of a problem, but for some reason they aren't working on the overpasses, so every time they have to transition from road they're working on to overpass, the road elevates about eight inches in the form of a small ramp. And then once you're over the overpass, it ramps back down again. This happens about 10 times from IF to Rexburg.

If I take these ramps at anything over 40, bad things happen to my car's suspension.

Overall, not good times.

Commute aside, work is great so far. I've covered minor-minor league baseball, written stories about high school players of the year for tennis and golf, and even gone to a high school football All-star game.

The atmosphere is very laid back... I'm one of only four people who do sports for the paper, and my boss is a great guy. He treats me like a regular staff member, so I'm not fetching coffee or anything. I'm the only member on staff, too, which is somewhat interesting, but not an issue.

This week I'll be covering the Idaho High School Rodeo Finals in Pocatello. I'm doing a feature story on a couple kids who've done this since the day there were born. Pretty interesting.

A good experience thus far. Ten more weeks to go.

New semester

So I started my fifth consecutive semester of school on Monday, the latest in my string of six consecutive semesters I'll take before I graduate in December.

I'm taking nine credits total for Summer. Three three credit classes, all history related, as part of my history minor.

In addition, I'll be writing for the Scroll again, which is always something of an adventure. It's a one-credit class, and the staff actually meets every Tuesday and Thursday to do... uh... stuff.

See, I've only ever attended two or three of these meetings. Partly because of my "work 40 hours and take 15 credits" schedule, which hasn't allowed me to show up too often, and partly because I feel like it's a waste of my time.

Because I don't want to spend the time required to have a paid position, ie. editor, assistant editor, I work underneath someone who does have a paid position. Now, generally, the staff of each section of the paper meets at least once a week to give out assignments. At least that's what I hear

Last semester, I wrote for the Sports section. My editor just sent me assignments by e-mail or phone for the most part.

Tomorrow I'll show up to the Scroll class for the one and only time this semester, find a section to work for, meet my editor, then tell him/her that they'll never see me again.

Should be fun. I'm thinking I'd like to write for the Opinion section again. Maybe this time I can actually inspire some angry letters.