Crossroads

I thought about posting this last week and refrained. As the month comes to a close and my decision has been made, I'm ready to share.

It's no secret the US economy is in horrible shape and if you work in a government agency you've probably felt the impact of huge deficits in one way or another. I'm at a crossroads with my job right now. For the last 3 months my agency has started the process of forcing major structural changes in an effort to better meet the needs of the families we serve. Hours are changing, well functioning coherent teams are being uprooted and shifted around. I've been anxious and angry for 3 months...what will my job be, when will I work, who will my supervisor be, why are they fixing something that isn't broken, is this really going to help better serve our clients?

Three weeks ago it was announced that 25 employees would be laid off. Our workloads and the nature of our work is such that the loss of 25 employees coupled with monumental structural changes has me (and many other people) scared. Then a week ago we were told that employees can accept a voluntary layoff. What ensued was a week of sleepless nights and contemplation about one of the toughest decisions I've made in my 29 years.


When very knowledgeable people that you trust in your agency say, "if I could I would" and "I don't blame you and I support you" it speaks to the negative climate. So, here I am with 4 more days of work and then...

No, I won't abandon the field of social work but I will study for and take the licenced clinical social worker exam, take the Colorado school social worker exam and continue to explore the few job possibilities that are out there right now. Oh, and I might have a bit more time to train and finish some home projects. I think I might be able to sleep tonight!

Offseason Happenings

Just in case anyone cares...I'm still alive and have not completely abandoned my blog. The last few months have gone by too quickly. It's time to start focusing on training again and I'm getting excited for the upcoming season. One thing I may do a bit more seriously than my competitors it really embrace my offseason...I'm an expert at it really. I took several weeks of no training, ok maybe more like 3.5 weeks afters Worlds and then about a month of simple "exercise" with no agenda. January marked the start of my "start to train" and now it's "let's get a little more serious mode". Most exciting news is that I was asked to be part of Mels rad racing for the upcoming season. I'm really looking forward to being on this team with awesome sponsors and great teammates. Thanks Mel for giving me this opportunity!

Doug and I have been doing lots of home improvement projects this winter. We insulated the attic and crawlspace to. We have ripped down some wood paneling, painted some walls and are getting ready to tackle a kitchen update. It is a slow process but rewarding to be doing it all ourselves. I had one construction injury...smashing my foot with a hammer while trying to get a nail out of the baseboard. No broken bones, just tissue damages that took a good week to heal. I wish I could say we've had some awesome skiing but there has been a serious lack of snow at the resorts we ski...oh well, more time to work on the house.

Here are a few pictures from the last few monts. We spent Christmas in Bradford, PA for the second year in a row with Doug's family. Yes, I'm in love with a redneck and he loves when I shoot beer cans! If Doug could learn to skate ski fast we would for sure be headed to the next Olympics for biathlon...

My man and his dad shooting

Me shooting some beer cans at the gun club

My new ride...watch out Mel!

Getting ready to insulate the crawlspace with toxic spray foam