The thing you do, when you have made a mistake, is not to give up doing what you were doing and start something altogether new, but to start over again with the thing you began badly and try, for the love of God, to do it well.

(Merton, Journals, Oct 7, 1949, II.372)

Well, there goes that.  I guess I have to get back on the horse here.

“So sorry” delivered with a sarcastic tone. That’s all she had to say for herself when I asked her if she really loved him. Well, those two words preceded with “Yes.”

It’s funny how two little words can just rip your heart out when delivered one way, yet be so comforting when delivered differently.

Note to males that want to read the blog – I suggest reading it in a feed reader, lest you feel your manhood slipping away just a little bit each time you visit the site just from viewing the site design.

Oh, and in case Ms. Markley wanders by here some way, some how – your design is great, and thanks for the great writing and the inspiration.

It made me wish I was a photographer, or at least had started my photography hobby much earlier so I actually had some decent equipment and skills.

“I’ve never been able to do nothin’ like this.  Never.  It’s just amazing. I felt beautiful and special. I’ve never felt special before.”

Did you read that last sentence?  “I’ve never felt special before.”

Can you imagine that? Being in your 50’s and never having felt special before?

If you are a photographer and have stumbled across this post, PLEASE PARTICIPATE!

For those that were not readers before the move – all the old stuff made the transition.  Never fear.

I found a template I like, and will be gradually changing things and rearranging things over the next few weeks to make it more my own and less generic.  Heck, it may even completely change.

I just re-read that before hitting “publish post”. Nothing life threatening or anything, so don’t worry. Good change, but change none-the-less.

There have been many changes since then. First of all, it was the 4 week mark on my new job and I was loving it. Well, I made it 6 weeks. At that point they laid off over 50% of the company. The group of 8 developers I was part of lost 6 plus our manager. The only two that stayed were the team lead and another developer that were working on that last killer feature needed for version 1 of the product. Their emergency backup funding sources had suddenly dried up. The owners, who broke the news themselves, seemed shell-shocked. That was Nov. Since then they found just enough funding from other sources to get to their first release. They will need to get a certain number of subscribers to continue past that point. They have until October, 2009 to hit that goal. At this point they have not increased staff at all and in fact have decreased just a little more as a few people have left the company for other jobs since it has become so uncertain there.

In less than 2 weeks I was back to work at my prior employer (before the startup), doing the same kind of thing but in a different development group than before. Everyone seems happy to have me back. That is a nice feeling.

As for the house – we received an offer and are now in the closing period. We hope to be moved in the new (old) house by mid-March. We will own the new house free and clear – no mortgage at all. A very comforting feeling in this time of economic turmoil.

On the writing front – well, what’s that saying about best laid plans and stuff? I really hope to start writing more. I want to. And trying to get it going again with the whole upheaval of moving is probably a bad idea. But, I’m doing it anyway. Away I go.

there is no excuse for us not to love – and therefore act – on behalf of those without. without food, water, healthcare, or freedom. the bible does not give us an option. we are told over and over again what we need to do, but we get lost in our burden of wealth and we forget.

we compartmentalize “poverty” and “injustice” as causes and don’t integrate serving those trapped in them in our minute-by-minute living, as our continual act of worship.

She then promotes blog action day and emphasizes the action.  She suggests Compassion International, which is a fine organization.  I personally support World Vision, but toMAYto, toMAHto as they say.

Go check out the post.  And add her to your feed reader or whatever you use to track blogs.  Trust me, it’s worth your time.
]]> http://www.myfirstmillionwords.com/?feed=rss2&p=102 1 http://www.myfirstmillionwords.com/?p=101 http://www.myfirstmillionwords.com/?p=101#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:11:00 +0000 learningtowrite http://www.myfirstmillionwords.com/?p=101 A little status update on my major life changes mentioned in prior posts.  Everything is moving forward in a positive manner.

First, on the job front: I got an offer from that other company.  This is my 4th week there.  I get to work with some old friends again, which is great, and I have work to do that doesn’t bore me to tears.  I’m actually excited to get to work in the morning.  The environment is great.  The work is fun.  Maybe one day I can talk about it, but right now it’s under NDA.  One thing is for sure, nothing will get your adrenaline going like starting a job at a startup at the same time the market is tanking.

On the house front: We are definitely moving forward.  We are now listed for sale, and should be able to get exactly what we need to close the other deal.  God is good all the time.  All the time God is good.  It is really amazing how this whole situation has worked out.  There are all kinds of behind-the-scenes details that I can’t go into here that have just fallen into place and is helping this whole thing move forward.

Life looks positive in all areas right now.  Praise the Lord!
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