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These words are my diary screaming out loud

Friday, September 18, 2009

Times, they are a-changing...

Wow, its been a good while since I wrote something on here. Not that I have many readers, especially not these days...

The past year or so has been nothing short of interesting. I got out of the Navy, moved to Atlanta, met the man I'm planning on spending the rest of my life with, got a job, and lost a job. I know, a lot, right? So I'll back up...

In June of 2008, I put on the uniform for the last time and said farewell to the Navy. After about 6 weeks of leave that I had built up, on August 1st I officially became an Individual Ready Reservist. At least, that's what I thought I became. But more on that later. It wasn't as easy to find a job in Atlanta as I thought it would be - unfortunately I got down here just as the job market was beginning its downward spiral. I was working with a couple of military recruiting firms, and Lucas Group offered me a job. I took it, thinking the challenge of sales would be something I could thrive in, especially since I would be selling a product that I was intimately familiar with and helping folks like me. Unfortunately, the rest of the US job market tanked right around that time as well. My boss and coworkers were convinced I could do the job, though, and as I watched other people come and go around me, I somehow managed to still have my job. Until the one year mark approached. There are mandatory numbers for the one year mark, and I just didn't make the cut. The job market being what it is, the recruiting industry is hurting badly. I even had coworkers try to donate billings to boost my numbers, but that would have only kept me safe for another month, and ultimately I made the decision that it was best for me to move along. The stress of this job has been eating at me for a while. Had the timing been better, perhaps things would have been different.

And, the boy part :) I met Matt in May of 2008 when I came to Atlanta job hunting. We have a lot of mutual friends in Atlanta, and it can get a bit confusing, but here goes - my friend Amy Gerhartz, who I have known for several years and is a fabulous singer-songwriter, lived with Anna in New York City, and Ryan produced her first CD. She introduced them several years back, and Anna moved to Atlanta soon after. Ryan and Matt have known each other since middle school. So when I came job hunting, Amy was playing a show, and the whole group was there. We conversed well, but I had just broken up with someone and was preoccupied with job hunting and moving and getting out of the Navy. He started asking them about me, and when I moved down 3 months later, Anna and Ryan facilitated the meetup. We clicked immediately, and have been together ever since. He's a wonderful man who has been extremely supportive of me through everything. We have a lot in common - he's an amazing musician, and comes from a very strong family background. We've broadened each others horizons. His family is wonderful, and treat me like one of them, and while he's only met my family once, they all got along really well.

Oh, and I almost forgot! A few months ago I was looking at going back into a drilling status with the reserves, and found out that instead of making me a reservist, the Navy had completely separated me. So I actually have been a real live civilian since 2008! Of course, I don't have a discharge certificate to prove it, but thats OK... its in the system, and they can't hold me accountable for their screw up. So I'll take it!

So there we are, the updates on my world. We'll see what comes next...