The Six Month Update

Well, I am sorry for the hiatus. I have heard your comments, and I am happy to return to the blogosphere.

I should apologize for the long break. This summer has been, well, quite a bit more than I bargained for in terms of finding personal time. Or really, any time at all.

The biggest change that I have gone through this summer is the start of a new job, and the farewell to an old job. It was time for me to look for some new challenges in my career, and an exciting opportunity came up where I could expand my skills, travel, use my Spanish speaking, and have a shorter commute. The downside was that I would be moving to a smaller office - a total of four people, and one position is open right now! - and that I would not be in the city anymore.

My philosophy on career movement is that you want to make your moves like a flight of stairs: work in a small organization to gain experience, then make a lateral move in terms of job title, but into a larger organization so you can apply your knowledge and see how the larger organization does things in the level above you. Once you learn that, take a step forward in terms of job title, but move back to a small organization so you can do all the things that you saw your boss do. Repeat the cycle, and you will see that you are moving over, then up, then over, then up - just like a flight of stairs.

So, the size of the organization wasn't something that I worried too much about, because I was at a larger organization. And, while I would rather be in the city, I could get over that because of all the other positive things that I saw in making the change.

Of course, leaving all of my colleagues and friends has been dificult, but on my last day, I realized that I don't have to say goodbye to those relationships: I take them with me into my new experiences. And, it's not like those lines on my resume go away either. Instead, I get to add to them with new projects. So, overall, I am feeling quite positive about the move.

That said, it has been a disruption, like any job change would be.

On top of that, my brother came to stay with us over the summer to gain some professional internship experience before going into his last year of college. It was good to have him close by, and get to know him in a different way than I have before. It was also hard to share your space so intimately with a guest. We didn't realize how much we used our guest room/office! But, now that he's gone, I do miss having him around...

Also, my sister, brother-in-law and nephew just moved to the area for her training to become a foreign service officer. It really has been great having them around, but it's been an adjustment to find the time that I want to spend with them. Since they will only be here until November, I really feel the need to get our time in together.

And, Michael and I had various and sundry other guests visit over the course of the summer; I also took two summer classes in order to stay on track to finish school this coming May. While I am glad now that I did it, it was really a nightmare to have class four nights a week during the summer, especially with everything else going on.

So, now that the summer is coming to an end, and I go back for fall semester tonight for the first time, I am looking forward to a more focused, productive fall.

Thanks for your patience while I get my life together, and I'm looking forward to being in better touch.

Also, I am sort of giving up on the audioblogging for right now. I think it's a great formula, and I am looking forward to using it more, but I don't think this blog is quite the place for it.