Where's the Love?

I was reading some posts on Reddit today (surprise, surprise), and I came across a post that asked "What is a misconception about your job?" I started thinking about what my answer would be and I finally came up with an answer: that my job is hard. Don't get me wrong; my job does require some critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as attention to small details. However, when it really comes down to it, I could teach any of my customers how to do my job. It may take a few months, but it is possible. This fact always come to mind whenever I have a frustrated customer on the line and easily handle the problem they are having. It makes it seem like I am some experienced veteran with years of experience, when the truth is, I've been doing my job for less than two. I had just this kind of call earlier today when one of my Puerto Rican dealers called in and I spent over three hours helping him make adjustments to his system. He acted like I had unlocked some magic secrets in the system that only someone with the right voodoo could access, but I looked up half the things I helped him with in a database that we have in our system.

This all brings me to the subject of my post: giving credit to those who deserve it. This is a subject that has been on my mind lately because of my wife, Betina. She is an amazing teacher and her students were in the top 20 in the district for their writing scores in one of the largest districts in the entire US. What makes it more amazing is that she is the only 8th grade language arts teacher at her school, so those scores are a direct reflection of her teaching abilities. I would venture to say that she is one of the best teachers in the state, if not the nation. Now that may be the loving husband in me coming out, but I wouldn't say it if it wasn't what I really felt. I tell her how amazing she is every chance I get, but I know that the praise that she so rightly deserves is not coming from the one place you would expect, her school. From everything that I have seen so far, it seems like they are quick to give credit to everyone under the sun for something they had no real influence on. I'm sorry, but a math teacher doesn't help kids write an essay better. For all of her hard earned results, Betina doesn't get credit she deserves. So, while I may be "the Fixer" to some of my customers, I feel that I may be a bit undeserving of it. I sit at a desk all day and basically do IT work. Betina gets up every day and she molds the minds of the future leaders of our country, but doesn't get half the praise that I do. It only reinforces our excitement in the move to Abu Dhabi as they are showing their appreciation for teachers with great pay and benefits.

On another note, I got to spend some quality time with Betina and Aurelia over the weekend. I took Friday off, so I ended up having a four day weekend with my favorite ladies. We took advantage of the situation and got some paperwork done for our move and cleaned up around the house. All in all it was great to spend some much needed time with Betina and Aurelia and I'm looking forward to doing it more often.

A Case of the Mondays

Yes, I know today is Wednesday. I'm sure most of you get the reference to the movie Office Space, and can appreciate that Monday feeling. The fact that I'm writing this while in my cubicle only adds to the subject of today's blog: perspective.

It's a word that I use all the time when I talk about being stressed out and just down in the dumps. "It could always be worse; it's all about perspective." Well, today that word really struck a chord with me on my way in to work. I walked past the landscaping crew getting out of their van and thought to myself, "Man, I would love to be working outside today." It was in that moment that I remembered my days of working at AutoZone and longing for a job where I could relax and get off my feet.  It's funny how your perspective changes along with the changes in your life. Five years ago I was a single guy who was living up the bachelor life. I went out to the bar every night and drank and smoked until the sun was coming up. Now I'm a happily married husband, with the most amazing wife and baby daughter, who's idea of a great night is sitting on the couch watching our favorite shows and curling up in bed by 10.

I started working in the sod fields with my father when I was just 12 years old, and it was by no means easy. My next job was as a server in a retirement home dining room. Not the most difficult or arduous job in the world, but never an easy one at that. Then came Lowes, where I loaded rain soaked bags of mulch and sheets of plywood into the backs of trucks all day. I moved onto AutoZone and sold parts all day, along with installing batteries and wipers. I even sold sunglasses for a while, in between two long stints with AutoZone. Then I came to where I am now and have been for almost two years. A lot of different jobs that had one thing in common with each other. I would always look at where I was at and say "Well, it's better than my last job." 

As I look forward to becoming a stay-at-home dad in a foreign country, I try to put things in perspective. I may be a man who's jumping into the unknown and don't have any idea where I'll be a decade from now, but one thing is very clear to me: my wife and daughter will be there with me every step of the way, and well, that better than anything else in the whole world.

How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice.

I got to practice my stay-at-home-dad skills this past Friday as our daycare was observing a professional day. I will need all the practice I can get before the move to Abu Dhabi, as once we get there, it will be my full time job. I seem to be getting the hang of it pretty well, although there are some occupational hazards.



Things are starting to become more real, as Betina received her passport this past week and her authenticated forms should be arriving any day now. Betina even spilled the beans to her job about leaving and so far everyone has been very supportive.

It's been a very uneventful time as of late, and I don't really mind too much honestly. It almost feels like the calm before the storm, because as we get closer to our departure I know things will get very crazy. So for now I will try to enjoy the time we have left here in the States and keep practicing.