The Downside of Impatience

Sometimes waiting really is the best and the most intelligent thing to do. My husband admitted to me that if he gets this job in Anchorage, he might not be so willing to move to the bush to teach. He has always wanted to teach university level, it appeals to him more than the younger students, he just never desired the publication driven tenure track of a full fledged professor. If he gets this position he has applied for, it would essentially be his dream job in the state he loves. And while I would love for this to happen for him, it would essentially mean I will be stuck in the city. I have heard that of all cities, Anchorage is one of the most beautiful and does not feel so much like a big city. I am certain it has to be better than my current locality of Salt Lake City where the air is hard to breathe and the traffic is amazingly miserable. I am determined to make the most of whatever happens. My husband is not so certain he even has a chance at this position, he does not have much experience at getting jobs, but I have the utmost faith in him and his credentials. He is a brilliant man and sociology is his passion. He knows more about it than many of the undergraduate sociology teachers I have met. However, if more qualified applicants happen to exist and apply, then we will be out nothing and continue on with our current plan. We will make it to Alaska eventually, whether in two months or two years I cannot say.

Journeys and Destinations

I am the mistress of clichés. I don’t particularly believe them but I always have one handy when something distresses me. So the one I am thinking about today? It is not the destination that ultimately provides us with happiness but the journey. (Or something pretty close to that.) I called the local university and it will take me three more years to finish my teaching degree. Nevermind that I have already completed an Associate’s Degree. Nevermind that I have been taking online courses for the past year that apparently do not count. So does that mean three more years in Utah? Most likely. On a whim we looked at housing prices in Anchorage and we could probably swing a small one bedroom apartment while I finish my degree but the costs are exorbitant and we have the dogs. Pets are always an issue but they are even more of an issue when one weighs over 200 pounds and the other weighs over 100. There is almost more doggy poundage in our household than there is human poundage. On another whim, I looked at becoming an aid, or what they call a paraprofessional, in one of the rural villages we are looking at while my husband teaches and I finish my degree online but we are not sure how easy that will be. I could imagine cabin fever sinking in even more dramatically. However, the option is still floating around in the back of my mind. It wouldn’t be this school year but possibly the next when my husband has his teaching cert in hand and we have had ample time to try and sell the house. There really is no hurry but how boring will this blog be if it really is three years before I end up in Alaska? Enthusiasm can only carry this so far. I don’t suppose I would be so distressed if I were starting school in three months instead of seven. I have to work the rest of the year, it doesn’t make sense financially not to due to several things I won’t go into at the moment. So… seven more months of sitting on my bum in front of a computer pretending like I care, although not pretending too hard obviously. We already know I am not the world’s best actress. Seriously though, just because it is not happening tomorrow does not mean it is not as exciting or that it might not happen. It only means that I have more time in which to learn and explore and prepare myself.

The Present Situation

Ok so I am backing off of my obsession with the future momentarily to rant about the present. I am not particularly pleased with my current occupation which is good considering I am about to make a complete career change. I always find it somewhat difficult to tell people what I do currently. Their inevitable answer is “oh, you must be really good at math” or “you must love numbers.” Um…not really. Throughout school, math was the only area in which I really struggled. If it weren’t for the math section of my ACT, I would have finished with a score of 35 or 36 compared to a 32. I am a lover of words, as can probably be surmised from my rambling posts. My career at the moment is not so much a career as it is a job, an aid to help pay the bills. There are some aspects of it I enjoy but the majority is tedious, monotonous work belabored by bureaucratic, politically correct bull@#$!. I have developed a reputation at my current workplace of being blunt, saying exactly what is on my mind and not sugar coating things. Now granted, I am not so stupid to be rude or demeaning or to get myself fired on the spot but I also don’t believe in dishonesty. My boss knows I won’t be making a career out of being a financial analyst and my coworkers know it as well. Anyway, this post really does have more substance than just a rant on my current job dissatisfaction. The point is that I cannot believe people would spend their entire life doing something they hate just to pay the mortgage on their three car garage, grinning all the while. Life is to be enjoyed. Life is to be reveled in, life is to be an adventure and a challenge. Life is meant to be spent doing whatever you love, not doing what pays the bills on things you don’t even need. Ok, stepping off my soapbox and rant over.