Mathew

So I got fired last week. It was 50/50 which would come first - me quit or them cut me loose. I was completely sick and tired of the drive (125 miles round trip), the INSANE management merry-go-round, and the frustration of seeing so many solvable problems be ignored, swept under the rug, or seen as acceptable behavior. You can only run head first into the wall so many times before it starts to hurt. My production had turned to shit and I just didn't want to be there anymore. That's hard to disguise, and I refuse to just resign myself to those conditions because I need a paycheck.

I liked the people, for the most part. I hope I can remain on cordial terms with them. And I liked the work when I was allowed to do what I'm good at.

It has crossed my mind that maybe the problem is me, and yes, I'll accept part of the responsibility for my discontent. I'll also quote 4 out of 5 co-workers: "Man, this place has serious problems." And these are people with as much experience in the industry as I have - 20 to 30 years of continuous work in various venues with exposure to a multitude of different production philosophies. And I think that may be a big part of the problem - the owner has never worked anywhere else, so his way is not only the right way, it's the only way. But enough of spilled milk.

Starting Sunday Sherry and I, accompanied by her daughter Alicia and Alicia's partner Santiago, are going to spend a week in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado - Santa Fe and Pagosa Springs. We have a wedding present, a free week in a condo in Pagosa Springs. That should be a really nice little break. Leaving Texas for the mountains in August is always a treat, though this summer has been remarkably cool so far. I almost wish it was hotter, make the trip seem more like escapism :).

The following week I start a new job here in Mason. I can walk to work. I'll be doing drafting for a survey company, land plats and such. I know nothing about the business, I can just go to work and do my job. I feel like this will be a huge transition. I'll finally be a full time resident, after 2 years of living here. I will no longer be a weekend visitor, I'll be part of the life around the square, have lunch with the ranchers at the cafe. Maybe I'll even join the Lions Club.

This has been a week for reflections - This is the last stop on my journey, the place where I dig in. My last stand where I settle down and do all those things I've been promising myself I'll do for 20 years. I've never felt PERMANENT before, I've always known it was temporary, just a way station, even when I've lived there for years. Someplace to mark time till the right place came along. Well, this is it. I'll never get a better shot at realizing my dreams than I do right here in Mason. They're not big dreams anymore, but they're achievable. And I've got time.