A Start to Something - Part 2

Fast forward a year and some change. I'm sitting behind a desk in the Learning Information Services department of the Davenport Community School District as a Data Analyst. Bryce is proclaiming in one ear how there's no such thing as too much love. Two 19-inch wide screen monitors sit in front of me along with a comfortable salary, health benefits, premium retirement options and vacation time. I live in a brand new condominium in the Deer Meadows sub-division in Silvis, Illinois with two good friends. Sounds ideal? It is.

After I stepped off that stage at graduation, I went on to work for a little over a year at the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, Iowa as a database analyst for Peninsula Gaming Corporation. Was this what I wanted to do? Yes. Did I learn and grow both as an indvidual and as a
database professional? Yes. Overall, did I enjoy my time with Diamond Jo? Definitely. I knew shortly after starting at the casino however that this was not where a large portion of my journey was going to be spent. But it was merely another series of steps to be taken that would inevitably lead to another opportunity and another transition.

Two successful interviews and a few months of preparation later, I was ready to embark on a very important leg of my journey. Ready to move?

One more quick Tarantino and I'll be back to the present.
I was born at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque, Iowa. I have lived my entire life here in Dubuque. Uprooting my life is proving to be the biggest change in my life to date. There's nothing like some new sets of scenery to put certain things in perspective. Priorities shift, behaviors alter, people AND hobbies are found, lost and rediscovered. But despite any misconceived notions of "success", I have come to realize that my devotion to my life, my love and the happiness of both myself and others is the form that success has taken for me.

So a job or two, a few apartments and a handful of relationships later, I sit at this desk working on absolutely nothing and theoretically getting paid to write this blog. Time and its passing are humbling concepts to think about. As this initial two-part blog ends and a doorway is opened for future musings; I extend both a formal invitation to join me on my journey and a polite request to let me join you on your's.