Hooray Hoorah.

Well.
The day at CAT was great! Everyone I met and spoke with seemed to really enjoy what they do. And the conclusion was that CAT takes care of its people and they, in turn, take care of CAT.
what a concept.

I had three interviews and met with a few others that are currently in the rotation program over lunch. The entire experience was positive and affirming. It would be a HUGE blessing to work in the environmental, health and safety department. The steps that CAT is taking to remain the world leader in sustainable development and to reduce the environmental impact from their facilities is greatly encouraging. I would love to be a part of that change!

So, the three interviewers are having a meeting on Monday to discuss their thoughts and I will know if I will be offered the job by midweek!
Thank you again to all who have been praying! Your prayers have been heard!
Go Big Yellow!

'Twas the night before...

In approximately 9 hours I will be sitting in the lobby at CAT h.q. downtown, preparing to interview for a position that could bring great change to my life. I've been chatting with a friend from Bradley who has held the same position for about 3 years and she loves it. The more I hear about it, the more excited I get about the potential future. It's not just about the financial stability it would provide (although that is something I'd gladly welcome), but the thought of being in a career where innovation and creativity are acknowledged and rewarded would be uplifting. I don't think I was made to check off numbers on a page or to maintain databases, or to sample poo water, and I certainly was not created to be an 8-hour cube dweller. I am passionate about people and our environment. If those two things can be brought together in an innovative atmosphere, I'd be proud to be on the team.

thank you to all who have been praying, fasting, thinking good thoughts, crossing fingers, or whatever you do. The Ultimate Employeer sees and hears them all!

I'll let you know how it went when I get home tomorrow night!
-j

Blessed.

The weekend was great. Just what a weary soul needed.

My ole' buddy, Jeff, from high school came down Friday night. We went to One World and then spent a few hours catching up. It had poured all day, but we still planned on getting up early (fairly) and hitting the trails at Jubilee. We used to go riding almost every weekend when we both were attending Bradley, but I've only ridden there once or twice since. So after putting the rack on the car, strapping down the bikes and loading up the rest of our gear, we headed to the park. We decided to park on the back side and ride in since we figured there would be big crowds there for the holiday weekend. We found a deer trail and cut into the woods. I learned a lot that morning. Hooves are better for ascending and descending steep slopes than knobby tires and wet brakes. And stinging nettles EARNED that name. I also learned that you should call the park's phone number before setting out. When we finally found a road 1.5 hours later, there was a sign stating the trails were closed for the day due to the rain. A park employee also stopped his truck to inform us of our error. There was no denying where we had been...covered in mud from the shoulders down. it was a good morning.

Saturday evening Gina and I were to go to the Sletten's for dinner. or so she would have had me believe.
First, she led me astray by having me look down the side streets of the subdivision for the house that the Sletten's were going to buy to be used for Young Life activities. total farce.
Then she was very insistent on carrying the gigantic pan of cheesy potatoes. my gentlemanly manners would not allow it. nor did i question why she made such a ridiculous amount of potatoes for 4 people and a baby.
When I rounded the corner of the house to go through the back gate (also strange, but I didn't think twice about it), there was a large group of people gathered on the deck.
My first thought: oh, this was a cookout? i thought it was just us and the slettens.

Then I saw my family and Gina's family.
Everyone shouted something in unison. I heard "surprise!," and thought, "what in the world is this for?"
I was later told, they shouted "happy graduation," which totally makes sense now.

Anyway, it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. That my friends and family all took time out of their lives to come down and hang out was a humbling and blessing experience. Gina is the best. And Summer is close behind.

Thank you everyone who came out and everyone else who offered words of encouragement over the years! I love you all!

Sometimes you end up a streak on the pavement.

I'll just say upfront that context of this entry is going to be weird.
but that's me. sorry.

For some reason, the county or the state has cut off funding for the highway department to pick up roadkill until June because of high gas prices. Needless to say, the shoulders are littered with bloated and half-scavenged carcasses of deer, raccoons, possums, and other things splattered beyond recognition.

It's made me realize a few things.
1) The guys that pick up roadkill have an important job. and one that I would not want (except it would be free groceries).
2) Our politicians are not smart.
3) A freaking lot of animals die on our locals highways and byways everyday (I saw no fewer than 4 dead deer just today).

But it's that third point I'll focus on.
Sunday night I narrowly missed a raccoon as it darted across the road between myself and an oncoming SUV.

Yesterday, while cruising the fine streets of Pekin, a Jack Russell terrier bolted across the path of an oncoming truck and I hit the gas to avoid it going under my back tires. It's owner, a young boy on a bike, watched horrified as his best friend was nearly flattened before his eyes. I could see him crying out across the street in my rearview mirror. As traffic cleared the intersection, he pedaled as fast as he could down the adjacent street to catch the frightened pup.

I couldn't help but think of the pain it would have caused the boy if his dog, his friend, would have been lost while just doing what dogs do. Seeking what was across the next street with reckless abandon. What's over that next hill or around the corner? Dogs don't think about the consequences. They don't count the cost of their wandering.
are we so different?

Our own Master calls out to us daily, trying to keep up from becoming a streak on the pavement. The world bowls us over, spins us around, tramples us, and kicks us into the ditch. The world keeps going. People are left to rot while the world drives by, focused on the own road ahead.

But we can keep them from becoming food for the birds and wild animals by walking with them. While we can't take the cars of the road, we can amplify the Master's call. While not choking them with a chain of rules, regulations, and religion, we can take them by the hand and show them a better way to navigate life here.

and one day they will safely reach their destination.

Tardiness is next to...(oh that's something else)

Allow me to start by saying the season finale of The Office was outlandish. Loved every akwardly hilarious moment.

Michael: "Toby has been cruisin' for a brusin' for twelve years. Today I am his cruise director and my name is Captain Bruisin."

Michael: "I'm pretty sure she's baked on a professional level."

where do the days go?

Hey, I'm still alive.
just busier (i thought things would slow down after the thesis was done).

Last week was a whirlwind of working both jobs, completing a video project for my sister's graduating students, and a few hours of sleep.

The only real news is that after a second phone interview with CAT on tuesday (the first was waaaay back in January), I was given an invitation for a formal interview. It will be on May 29th from 7am-4pmish. The position is with the Environmental, Heath & Safety department. CAT has some really exciting things going on in the reduction of waste, energy consumption, green house gas emmissions, and green building. I think this could be the beginning of a lifetime career. So please feel free to pray for the interview and that if I do get the job, there would be no relocation after the first 6 months (it's not too soon to start now).

It feels like doors may be starting to open after all those years of academic strife. I have also become more frustrated with my current job. It has become mundane and administrative. I was told at my first interview at TCHD that the position was a "stepping stone". I've learned a lot, but it's time to set my ladder on that foundation and climb.

On Tuesday May 6th, 2008 at 11:35am, Scott Massie left this world.
He was an inspector here at the health department and he loved his job.
The last time I saw him was at the benefit held here a few short weeks ago. His hair was gone and he was in a wheelchair, but he was still the same old Scott, asking about the geothermal program and if I had received the plans from a big job he had worked on. As his wife Paula was getting him ready to leave the office for the last time, he said in a shaky voice, "I hope you guys know how much I want to be here."

Today I had the honor of bearing his casket. And as we trudged across the cemetery lawn from the hearse to the tomb, the weight in my left hand was extreme. Even with seven grown men carrying the coffin, it was heavy. I was reminded in that moment that Scott no longer has a load to bear. All the weight of this world is gone from him. He is free.

The pastor of Calvary Baptist delivered a beautiful message of hope for all who believe. He spoke of the death of Jesus' close friend, Lazarus. When word reached Jesus that his friend had died, he went to him to the town of Bethany to comfort those who were mourning. Jesus arrived three days after Lazarus’ death and people were still weeping with Mary, his sister. Luke 11:33 says, "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.

Jesus wept. The Jesus who knew that Lazarus was with his Father and that the pains of this world had left him…wept.
Was it because He was grieved at the worldly loss of his friend? I don't think so. I think it was because Jesus was moved by the love that these people had for Lazarus and for Mary. He felt their pain.
The pastor suggested that if Scott had the choice of returning to earth, he would do so only to relieve the grief of his family.

I hadn't been to a funeral in a few years.
And I see death differently now.
It's still not easy to lose someone, but "death has lost its sting."
At least for those who believe.

As we stood around the open grave, the sun began to break through the clouds. You can cast away the empty shell, ravaged and broken by sicknesses that this fallen creation succumbs to. You can bury it in a deep, dark hole and cover it with a stone.
But the beloved is not there.
They've changed their address.
Now they reside the nice part of town.

Scott is now in the place where light comes from.
And where life comes from.

Job Fair

Michael Scott: "We're going to get some young blood in here. We're going to youth-anize this place."


also, it's great to know that Pam was a "Cougar" in high school!

Passing the Torch

I'll admit this is a little late, but my computer at work wouldn't let me access my blog and then we were out of town for the weekend.
Anywho, Mr. Charlie Dean has handed me the torch for posting new quotes from each week's episode of The Office. So here goes:

Dwight (to Andy in response to his Xterra's "For Sale" poster): "The way I see it, you have four options: 1. Sell it for parts, 2. Push it off a cliff, 3. Donate it to someone you want to see die in a car accident, or 4. Sell it to me for next to nothing."

lost in bloggerdom

Well, when we left off, I had just had the night of a lifetime, meeting with Mr. Corwin. Last week was just as hectic as any. I got the final revisions back from my committee on Monday and worked into the late hours of the night Tuesday, editing, cutting, and pasting until the two separate papers became one, 52-page beast. With all the required paperwork signed, I turned in the final product Friday to the grad school for binding. So, (sigh) it's all said and done now. I don't think the realization of it all will finally come until I have the diploma in hand.

Gina and I spent a wonderful weekend in St. Louis with her bro, Wes. We went to the zoo on Saturday. It's a great place and it's FREE!! double awesome. We didn't do anything else of note, except eat and relax (two of my favorite things).

Sunday was beautiful. We drove back in time for church at Imago and then split the afternoon between two cookouts with wonderful friends. Could not have been better!