Saturday, August 30, 2008

Time for another new horizon

I thought that I would be gone by now. Its been almost 5 years that I've been at my organization, and there has been a lot of stress, and a lot of frustration. Its hard being a worker bee in a hive where you never see the queen. So why did I accept a promotion? Well, its really more than about the money.

After two years in my current department, I felt that it was time for a change. There were a whole bunch of middle management positions opening up after a round of retirements (some forced), and a few straight-up firings. I was unhappy with the way things were being changed without my or my colleagues opinions. So, of course, I started looking elsewhere. But guess what? The economy kinda sucks right now.

And it took forever for this promotion to happen--almost three months. But it finally did, and yesterday was my last day in my current position as a regular librarian. It was sad to leave my colleagues, as I had never felt such a strong sense of camraderie as I did there. I'm moving on to a position where I'm the boss, and as such, probably won't have as many opportunities to bond with my immediate co-workers (who wants to hang out with the boss?). And the commute is going to be tough--cross-town, ten miles each way in DC traffic. And did I mention its in the 'hood?

I can't say that this location was even on my list of places I wanted to go. But I really hope to be an agent of change. This is a community that needs a library. Not just a place to find books to read, but a safe place for kids, a place for adults to learn how to type up their resumes.

So we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Civic duty

Well, Honda Civic, we had some good times. You were such a good little car, despite the fact that the brakes were a little warped so you shimmied when we were trying to brake on the highway. Those road trips were great...remember when the wild mule in South Dakota slobbered all over the driver's side window? Your highway mpg are still awesome.

But let's face it, you were getting a little expensive. Remember 3 weeks ago, when the muffler fell off and we had to wait an hour and half for a tow truck? And then the repair ended up costing $400? Yeah.

I can't help thinking of you now, sitting on that car lot, as we drove away in our new-to-us Toyota Prius. Are you thinking that we're going to come back? I'm sorry. I hope your new owners take better care of you then we did, and you get those rust spots taken care of, and maybe someone will be willing to pay to see if they can fix those brakes, and get that timing belt replaced. I'll think of you every time we see another green Civic.
Matt and his Civic