October 26th, 2006
If you’ve been tracking with us over the past year, you’ll know that 2006 has brought a lot of changes. Early in Janurary Jen and I quit our jobs, put all of our stuff in storage, moved out of our apartment in Berkeley, flew out to Massachusetts for the winter term at L’Abri Fellowship, went back a second time during the summer, driving across the country to the east coast and back over 7,000 miles and through thirty states. After that was all done, we thought we wanted to move to San Diego, then changed our minds and came back up to the San Francisco Bay Area. All of that you can read about in past blog entries.
When we got back up here to the Bay Area, a friend of ours hooked us up with a couple in Danville, CA who generously opened their home for us to stay while we both found jobs and a new apartment. We had a great time with Joe and Tanya. They were very hospitable and accommodating. I think they probably would have let us stay six months if we needed. Joe turned out to be quite the chef, I think due in large part to his Italian blood. At least a couple times a week he would grill or bake some great dinner for the four of us.
It took a couple weeks of hitting the pavement (online and in the real world) and Jen found a job at a small IT company in Oakland near Jack London Square on the waterfront. She went in for an interview and was offered the job on the spot because her boss said he recognized something in her character that he knew would be a great asset. She’s now working as an office manager / executive assistant / mother for two bachelor tech support guys and her boss. It’s not the most ideal job to suit her passions, but it pays decently well, her boss likes her, and it gave us a source of income again for the first time in the several months since leaving Crusade earlier this year. Some of you may wonder, “what about grad school? since that was her plan a few months ago. Well she’s still interested in doing it, but isn’t sure about commiting to two years of full-time schooling plus another 2-3 working to get established in the field. She’s still looking into grad schools, but right now is focussing on her job. It’s a big relief for her to be back working again, having a regular weekly schedule with evenings at home together.
About a week after Jen got hired, I landed a contract job doing QA work for Wells Fargo in downtown San Francisco. It’s related closely to computer programming, what I ideally want to end up in, only instead of writing new software I write software to test other software and find bugs so that other people can fix it. I just started there this week, and though I’m not sure yet if I’m going to love the work, I can tell already that I’m going to like my coworkers and the work environment which feels big-company corporate though fairly laid-back and casual. There is a strong possibility that my six-month contract will get extended to a year, and also a chance if it goes well and there is still more work to do that it could turn into a full-hire.
The timing of us getting our jobs worked out at the same time as this apartment that we found became available. It’s a unique sort of place unlike any that we’ve ever lived in before, but seems to suit us. The building was originally part of the California Cotton Mills factory built in Oakland in 1917. It’s all brick with big factory windows, and has recently been converted into loft apartments. Our suite sits on the top-the fourth floor, and affords an amazing view of downtown Oakland, and even the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges and downtown SF. Sometimes we just sit in our living room and stare out the windows. The interior is industrial with all hardwood factory flooring, exposed brick and concrete walls, and steel girder beams that reinforce the original external brick wall. It’s got a lot of space, and presumably because of the location in the industrial part of Oakland (at 23rd Ave and 880) across the Park St bridge from Alameda, the rent is affordable. We feel really fortunate that it became available at the same time that we were landing our jobs. You can check out some photos on my Flickr page of the place during the stages of moving in.
All in all, we are really happy to be back in the Bay Area, not in the least because of our church home at First Pres in Berkeley. We’ve come to admire our pastor Mark Labberton because of his preaching, the importance he places on seeking the welfare of the people in our city and around the world, and for his personal input in our lives post-Crusade. He was largely responsible for getting us connected with the Massachusetts L’Abri which played a vital role in helping us transition from a poor fit in Crusade campus ministry to beginning to discover what this next phase of our life would be like and re-instilling hope for the future.
Filed under L'Abri, Moving, Personal Updates, Travel | 9 Comments »
July 31st, 2006
So I’m breaking the blog silence after nearly two months. We just finished the L’Abri term last Saturday, have said our goodbyes, and are heading west again in the ol’ Sentra.
Spending a second term at L’Abri was really worth it. As helpers, we had a lot less study time and a lot more work to do, which I was glad for actually. I think my brain appreciated the rest from absorbing new stuff, because it got more time for processing what what I’ve been learning and where I’ve landed post-L’Abri.
Going into the winter term last January, I was dealing with some significant doubts about the truth of the Christian faith, some frustrations with my own Christian experience, and just feeling fried in life.
My mentor at L’Abri, Dick Keyes, was really helpful in talking through my doubts. He was one of the first Christians in my life to encourage me to express my doubts openly in their most obnoxious form. Through conversations with Dick and the wealth of lectures and books he pointed me to in my study time, I’ve come to a a renewed belief that the Christian faith in the Bible is the truest source of meaning available. I’ve also learned that a lot of my doubts have come from a general attitude of cynicism I’ve slid into. The effect of identifying the cynicism has been to clear out room in my mind and my heart for belief.
So now we’re on the road headed back west. Since we were in New England and Canada was so close, Jen and I popped up to Montreal for a couple days. We enjoyed being surrounded by French (which makes it seem like farther away place), walking around the Old Town, and trying out the Montreal Casino. After putting a whopping $30 in the nickel slots, we walked away only ten in the whole thanks to my skills at the one-arm bandit.
We stopped to see some good friends in Ashland, Ohio for a few days and had a good time with them. Today we’re headed on to Iowa, then on to Minnesota after that. Inevitably Eventually we should find our way back to California. We’re planning on staying with my parents in Fallbrook, CA which is near San Diego. Jen’s looking into a graduate program at San Diego State University in Rhetoric. I’ll be looking for a job in computer programming or systems support. Hopefully we should be back into an apartment of our own by my birthday, September 11.
Filed under L'Abri, Moving, Travel | 6 Comments »
January 17th, 2006
A month ago Jen and I decided to quit our jobs with Campus Crusade and embark on a new direction in life. The process of coming to that decision has been stretching to say the least, since the choice we eventually landed on is the one involving the most change and unknowns.
I was telling a good friend last night on the phone that when I graduated from college nearly a half dozen years ago I skipped the senior panic. Back then, when I was on the verge of completing my degree I really wasn’t too stressed about my future. I knew with a relatively high degree of certainty that my future was working full-time with Campus Crusade. The next couple of years before joining staff were just a holding pattern during which our major goal was to pay off school loans. As I thought to the future, I envisioned myself as one of those CCC staff lifers, the ones who stand up at conferences and are praised for their 25 years of service.
Well, that vision clearly is not going to become a reality. Now nearly four years later here I sit and I wonder what’s next?, and I feel that senior panic nipping at my heels. What am I going to do with my life? What do I want to accomplish? What am I passionate about? These questions are running through my head, and I feel it especially when I tell people about the change we’re making. When I get to the part about “what are we doing next?” I feel a pressure to convince others that I’ve got a plan and not to worry because everything’s gonna be fine.
But to tell the truth my plan can pretty much be summed up as follows:
- Pack up the apartment
- Go to L’Abri
- Come back from L’Abri
- Find a job
- Find a place to live
Yee-hah, it looks like we’re off on an adventure. But then again, my parents raised us on adventures. Now that I’m all grown up, Mom and Dad have let me in on a little secret: those “adventures” were usually their method of turning a mundane trip driving across four states on family vacation into something to look forward to, or putting a positive spin on a difficult expereience like moving to a new town and starting over. Ten years ago, I scoffed in that cynical teenage way at the prospect of one of mom and dad’s “adventures.” But now at twenty seven, with a third of life under my belt, I find my mother’s outlook much more attractive. In fact I think I’ll follow her advice on this one and look at this change as a new adventure, one filled with opportunity, growth and discovery.
So what’s my plan you ask? Well, we’re at step 1: pack up the aparmtent. And it’s funny because now the reality of what we’ve decided to do is starting to set in. A week from today I and my wife of five years will offically be homeless. I feel as if I’ve started a ball rolling that can’t be stopped, and whose path is TBD. But you know what, as my mom would say, it’s just the start of a new adventure…
Filed under L'Abri, Moving | 2 Comments »