Monday, November 11, 2013

My Journey To Unemployment



On Friday, November 8, 2013, I was notified that my position at AT&T was one of 200 that was going to be out sourced to Tech Mahindra (an Indian Company).  30 of the 200 AT&T employees were going to be offered jobs but I was not one of them.  So, once I become “officially” surplus” on December 2nd, I will have approximately 60 days to find a new job (by January 31st) or I will be terminated!  (Oh, sounds so permanent and somewhat violent!
This is the story of my journey to unemployment and God working in my life.  I have been praying for the opportunity to make a job change and it looks like God finally has answered my prayers; not exactly the way I expected but answered nun the less.

I had been thinking about other options rather than AT&T over the last year or so.  The main thing I wanted to do was to make a difference in peoples’ lives.  So, I was thinking about working for a non-profit organization.  I wanted to work with people directly (from a social work perspective that is) but am not really qualified (no social work degree).  I do have a degree in Math Education so I may look into that area.

I have the details on the company’s early retirement offer and it looks pretty good to me.  I can apply for early retirement any time from 11-12 through 12-16 but will need to finalize my decision by 12-6 which is my last day before going on vacation for the rest of the year.  The other option would be not to retire and try to find another job at AT&T before January 31st.  If I did not find a job before the, I would be terminated.  The good news is that I have a month or so to make a decision or look for another job.

I posted on Facebook that this was the most exciting thing to happen in my life since my prostate cancer.  I have been struggling with this decision for a long time and have actually updated my resume and LinkedIn profile.  The company’s early retirement / surplus announcement has made this an easier decision for me.

I had been hoping that I could make it to my 35th Service Anniversary on May 29th but it looks very likely that that is not going to happen.  It looks like I will end up end not quite four months shy of 35 years!!!!  If I was terminated on January 31st that would be quite a 60th birthday gift (just 4 days late)!!!  However, this could be the best birthday present ever!!!! J

The most amazing part about this is God’s timing.  If I would have gotten this retirement offer BEFORE hearing that my job had been eliminated, I think I might have really struggled thinking that I needed to work another 5 years or so at AT&T.  But, now, knowing that my current job is going away, it made this decision kind of a no brainer.

Again, I have been praying about a job change but this is probably not the way I would have done it BUT I am thankful that God is in charge.  So, I see this as an answer to a yearlong or more prayer request.  So, there seems to be a lot of changes and decisions to be made over the next 30 days.  It is hard to think of almost 35 years at AT&T coming to an end.  My last day of work could be less than a month away!  I do need prayer for wisdom for a new job and career direction if I do retire from AT&T this year.

This is kind of an unreal but very exciting time!  I need to continue to pray about what God wants me to do.  Since I don’t have a social work background, my educational background may be the key. Also, I am going to try a little different approach to getting a job.  This may sound naive but I am praying that God will bring a job to me instead of me having to go out and find one.  So, at least for right now, until God tells me differently, I am going to let Him be my job recruiter!

I don’t know how this story is going to pan out but I felt that God wanted me to pass along my current thinking on my job search because I think God wants to show Himself working in my life to all of you.

I hope in some way this is an encouragement to all of you to continue to trust God in all aspects of your life.  Some of you probably know from my Facebook post that I feel that God also has given me a new theme song for my life. Interestingly enough, God gave me this song the morning right before I got the news that my job was going to be surplused.  So, He just wanted to affirm me before the news.  So, sit back, trust God and see what He is going to do, not only in my life but YOURS!

Below are the lyrics to BRANDON HEATH’s "Give Me Your Eyes" that I felt that God gave me this morning before I heard about my job situation.  I thought this was my queue to maybe move onto another job.  It really moved me this morning.

BRANDON HEATH LYRICS

"Give Me Your Eyes"
Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion
And chaos

All those people goin' somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buyin' time

All those people goin' somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You've seen the people all along

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Give me Your Eyes (Give me Your eyes for just one second)
Lord, give me Your eyes (Give me Your eyes so I can see)
Everything (Everything that I keep missing)
(Give me Your love for humanity)
Give me Your heart (Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted)
For the broken hearted (The ones that are far beyond my reach)
Give me Your heart (Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten)
Lord, give me Your eyes (Give me Your eyes so I can see)
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
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1 comment:

Candy Sjerven said...

I haven't visited your blog since your prostrate cancer, so to say say I'm amazed that your job is being terminated is an understatement! I just want to encourage you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would take "early retirement at age 45 from a job I totally enjoyed. The reduced income (I'm assuming you'll receive some type of monthly retirement check)was the big shock. My job loss was the result of Al Gore "reorganizing" BPA. October 1, everyone would have had new suprvisors. Rather than submit myself to all that chaos, I chose to take the $25,000 retirement bribe and leave - never regretted it for a moment. So . . . my advice (for what it's worth)is - retire and run. Spend what's left of your life doing something you enjoy. My comment upon retirement was, "I spent 25 years working for the government. I'd like to spend the next 25 years (or more) working for God." Sounds like you want to do the same. Go for it!

Love,
Candy

November 11, 2013 at 10:18 PM

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Colonoscopy - Written by Dave Barry

So here's the story.

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis.

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'

I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep.

You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.' This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic.. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothe s and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this is, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.

'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me. 'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald. On the subject of Colonoscopies... Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:

1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!

2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'

3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'

4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'

5. 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'

6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'

7. 'You put your left hand in; you take your left hand out...'

8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'

9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!

10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'

11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'

12. Now I know why I am not gay.'

And the best one of all.

13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'



Inspirational Stories

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?' The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'

Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'

The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.'

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold.. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.'

Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.

The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room.

She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said :

'Dear Mom,

I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say 'I Love You' . I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of His pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus, Himself, took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you.. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked: where was He when I needed Him?' 'God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.

Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore the cancer is all gone.. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?

Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.

When Grandma Goes To Court

When Grandma Goes To Court
Don't Jack With This Lady!