New Job and lots of other changes

As many people know, I have left the world of academic publishing and entered the world of internet banking. While both industries are thrilling in their own right, I have to admit that I miss the publishing world.

Sour grapes, you say? No, not really. I'm just bored out of my mind. I have very little to do that is of any real consequence. I have been demoted from the world of the people with four walls and a door, to the land of Dilbert. That is not my real issue though. I was "promised" one thing and feel like I've gotten something completely different. FALSE ADVERTISING! Well that is certainly a funny statement coming from an advertiser. I'm doing conferences, I wanted to do marketing. If marketing means punching numbers into excel spreadsheets all day, then count me out! But to view it from a much more fair angle, I haven't even been employed here for a full month yet (that's Friday). I should wait until I've settled in to make any major life changing decisions...again. Changing jobs and marital status all in one month is an awful lot to do to one's psyche. I even lost a family member in May when my Uncle Bill Ripley passed away. I covered three of the four most stressful things anyone can do - Change Jobs, Get Married, Death in the Family and Move. I think that perhaps have a child should also be on that list, but I'll leave it with those four.

On to more mundane things, I turned 29 a few weeks ago. I'm going to be 30 next year. That is scary! That means I will have to start acting like an adult at some stage. 30! Wow that's over half way to middle age, almost half way to retirement (presuming I retire at 65). Chris is 35, so I guess I can hold on the fact that he will always be older than me. That makes me feel a little better. Anyway, the real story of the birthday weekend was poor Kathleen. My cousin Kathleen came to spend some time at Mom and Dad's and work on the farm that Dad works on to complete some requirements for vet school. We were going to get together on her last weekend in town. I was at work, bored, as usual, when I receive a panicked phone call from Aunt Joanne, who immediately passed me off to a very distraught Uncle Gerry. I was informed that Kathleen had been in a accident on her way to meet Mom in Barre. I had a good idea where, once I knew she was in South Barre and convinced Uncle Gerry that I would leave work immediately and head to Barre to meet Mom and go to where Kathleen was. She had called him from the paramedic's cell phone to fill them in on what had happened. Well, I got to Barre to meet Mom and there was Kathleen, in perfect condition (minus some rattled nerves) with Mom trying to cover up her passenger side window which had been completely shattered when she was T-boned by a large Chevy truck. Thankfully all was well and she rode with me to Colchester and called her dad on my cell phone and convinced the crew in North Carolina that she really was fine and that the car, though drivable, was going to need some work. We all went to see Star Wars Ep. 3 (isn't Darth Vader HOT!) and she had some chocolate and all was well. On Tuesday she drove back to Delaware in her dented car without further incident, more things happened when she got there, but I'll let her tell you those if she so chooses.

There is lots more going in the lives of people in Vermont, but that's going to have to be that for now.

Later Days!