The time has finally arrived. After much thought and deliberation of what the next step should be, I am ready to set forth down the next path. Every time I go out on a seemingly new adventure I'm reminded of The Road Not Taken, the legendary poem by Robert Frost. I presume everyone travels their own path, that which they feel is different than the path of everyone else, but when I look around and see friends getting married, some already married and with children, I really begin to reflect on how my own path certainly feels more like the second one described by Mr. Frost. My hope is that by taking the road less traveled, it will make all the difference for me as well. I'm confident it will.
The actual road i'm traveling is here. Plan is to split the trip in two, 12 hour days behind the wheel of my Altima. Wish me luck.
More later
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Fresh 35 Hits the Job Trail
A dream of mine has always been to live in the state of North Carolina. I've never actually been there, so its difficult to know for certain if I would enjoy living there, but from what everyone has told me, the variety of attractions the state has to offer and the sheer majestic of mountains, oceans and forests, its hard to assume I wouldn't feel right at home there. As luck would have it, a week before moving West, an employment opportunity has opened up in the state of North Carolina.
Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem has recently posted a position in their athletic office as an Assistant Director, Event Management and Facilities. The full position description can be viewed here. Suffice it to say, between my internships at North Texas, Quincy (twice), the Ohio Valley Conference office, my stint as a basketball manager and assisting in game operations during the Missouri Valley Conference's men's basketball championship in 2009, I feel confident in saying that I'm qualified for this position. I successfully applied on Friday the 22nd and instantaneously my mind began comprehending what it would be like to move more than a thousand miles West in the coming days only to move a couple thousand miles East only a few short weeks later. While that fact doesn't sound appealing, I hope that I'm fortunate enough to get to that decision, because I would obviously take the job and move across the country (again) to settle into something I've been working toward for so long.
Elsewhere, Illinois State University in Normal had a job posting similar to that of WF this week. Director of Events and Game Operations is the other most recent job opening I feel qualified enough to pursue and subsequently applied for. ISU write up is here. Bloomington-Normal doesn't excite me quite like Winston-Salem, but again, I'll pretty much go wherever to get that first job. While I am against cold weather, I am not against family and since ISU is only a few hours from home the list of pros outweigh the cons.
Neither job closes until November so assuming they stay on their predicted schedule, it will be a few weeks before I hear anything one way or another on these opportunities.
In other news, I undertook my final Iowa tailgate for a while this past weekend. All in all, the weekend was a success if you excuse the tiny fact that Iowa's special teams unit crapped the bed again and lost a game that could have easily been won. Had a blast hanging with my brother and recent addition to the family, sister in law. I played Tiger Woods on the Wii for the first time ever and after a 5 holes of looking like Michael J Fox swinging a golf club (too soon?) I was able to stage an epic comeback at Sawgrass and steal the improbable win from my bro. Fun times were had by all and I look forward to the next tailgate, whenever the hell that may be for me.
Weather forecast calls for snow in Colorado this week so while travel plans remain the same, I'm keeping a weathered eye on the weather channel - pun intended...
More later
Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem has recently posted a position in their athletic office as an Assistant Director, Event Management and Facilities. The full position description can be viewed here. Suffice it to say, between my internships at North Texas, Quincy (twice), the Ohio Valley Conference office, my stint as a basketball manager and assisting in game operations during the Missouri Valley Conference's men's basketball championship in 2009, I feel confident in saying that I'm qualified for this position. I successfully applied on Friday the 22nd and instantaneously my mind began comprehending what it would be like to move more than a thousand miles West in the coming days only to move a couple thousand miles East only a few short weeks later. While that fact doesn't sound appealing, I hope that I'm fortunate enough to get to that decision, because I would obviously take the job and move across the country (again) to settle into something I've been working toward for so long.
Elsewhere, Illinois State University in Normal had a job posting similar to that of WF this week. Director of Events and Game Operations is the other most recent job opening I feel qualified enough to pursue and subsequently applied for. ISU write up is here. Bloomington-Normal doesn't excite me quite like Winston-Salem, but again, I'll pretty much go wherever to get that first job. While I am against cold weather, I am not against family and since ISU is only a few hours from home the list of pros outweigh the cons.
Neither job closes until November so assuming they stay on their predicted schedule, it will be a few weeks before I hear anything one way or another on these opportunities.
In other news, I undertook my final Iowa tailgate for a while this past weekend. All in all, the weekend was a success if you excuse the tiny fact that Iowa's special teams unit crapped the bed again and lost a game that could have easily been won. Had a blast hanging with my brother and recent addition to the family, sister in law. I played Tiger Woods on the Wii for the first time ever and after a 5 holes of looking like Michael J Fox swinging a golf club (too soon?) I was able to stage an epic comeback at Sawgrass and steal the improbable win from my bro. Fun times were had by all and I look forward to the next tailgate, whenever the hell that may be for me.
Weather forecast calls for snow in Colorado this week so while travel plans remain the same, I'm keeping a weathered eye on the weather channel - pun intended...
More later
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Go West Young Man!
After much thought of what my next professional move should be after failing to land a job or internship during the past few months I have decided to take my talents to the Desert! By the way, thanks for the new catch phrase LeBron. While what talents I do possess remain unnoticed by any hiring entity at this point, its clearly in my best interest to stay involved in athletics in some capacity, however minute it may prove to be, so that my resume avoids any glaring holes from unrelated work.
The plan is to pack my 4 door sedan with clothes, computers and optimism and hit the road at the end of October. The trek from Bettendorf, Iowa to Phoenix, Arizona, corn stalks to cacti, will likely take 2 or 3 days depending on how often I stop for gas, food, sleep, entertainment or sight seeing (rumor is there's a large canyon somewhere west of colorado? Anyone hear about this yet?). Upon my arrival I will begin to track down contacts I have been given from various friends and colleagues. While interviewing for a position with the Patriot League I learned my host for the interviews attended Arizona State and spent some time down there after graduation and he was more than happy to provide me with a few names tied to professional and collegiate athletics in the Phoenix area. Number one on my "to contact list" is a gentleman working with the Insight and Fiesta Bowls to inquire about volunteering for those bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship (if you consider that a national championship, but that post is for another day...) which will all be held in Phoenix from New Years Eve thru early January.
In the midst of my professional job search I felt compelled to find a part time job for some type of income and that came in July via the local Hobby Lobby. To make matters easier for myself I'm attempting to receive a transfer from the store in Bettendorf to one in the PHX area so I wont miss a beat financially. The plan, of course, is to get involved with one of the pro teams, ASU, the bowl games, spring training, or any other quasi related athletic team/organization but if this past summer has shown me anything its that I need to have a back up plan if no opportunities present themselves, which will take the form of Hobby Lobby. Perhaps there is a golf course looking for help which would also allow time for me to volunteer with the aforementioned athletic options so at the very least I'm staying involved in the business.
If a year ago you would have told me that I will be going to Phoenix with no job lined up I might have believed you, but I would have been skeptical. Certainly, nothing in life is ever promised and I've been learning that lesson over and over all too frequently as of late but it simply will not stop me from accomplishing the goals I've set for myself even if it requires me to take some old advice: "Go west young man!" Perhaps its there that I finally find what I'm looking for and that, I'm certain, will be worth more than its weight in gold.
The plan is to pack my 4 door sedan with clothes, computers and optimism and hit the road at the end of October. The trek from Bettendorf, Iowa to Phoenix, Arizona, corn stalks to cacti, will likely take 2 or 3 days depending on how often I stop for gas, food, sleep, entertainment or sight seeing (rumor is there's a large canyon somewhere west of colorado? Anyone hear about this yet?). Upon my arrival I will begin to track down contacts I have been given from various friends and colleagues. While interviewing for a position with the Patriot League I learned my host for the interviews attended Arizona State and spent some time down there after graduation and he was more than happy to provide me with a few names tied to professional and collegiate athletics in the Phoenix area. Number one on my "to contact list" is a gentleman working with the Insight and Fiesta Bowls to inquire about volunteering for those bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship (if you consider that a national championship, but that post is for another day...) which will all be held in Phoenix from New Years Eve thru early January.
In the midst of my professional job search I felt compelled to find a part time job for some type of income and that came in July via the local Hobby Lobby. To make matters easier for myself I'm attempting to receive a transfer from the store in Bettendorf to one in the PHX area so I wont miss a beat financially. The plan, of course, is to get involved with one of the pro teams, ASU, the bowl games, spring training, or any other quasi related athletic team/organization but if this past summer has shown me anything its that I need to have a back up plan if no opportunities present themselves, which will take the form of Hobby Lobby. Perhaps there is a golf course looking for help which would also allow time for me to volunteer with the aforementioned athletic options so at the very least I'm staying involved in the business.
If a year ago you would have told me that I will be going to Phoenix with no job lined up I might have believed you, but I would have been skeptical. Certainly, nothing in life is ever promised and I've been learning that lesson over and over all too frequently as of late but it simply will not stop me from accomplishing the goals I've set for myself even if it requires me to take some old advice: "Go west young man!" Perhaps its there that I finally find what I'm looking for and that, I'm certain, will be worth more than its weight in gold.
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