Skip to main content

Here We Go Again

I have not been blogging lately and it was due to the fact that I had been struggling with darkness in my life and my blogs when I have some depressed feelings are too dark to read.  Very simple, I did not share the pain, you did nothing to deserve any of that stuff. 

But, this week I am in Northern Virginia starting a new job in a converting plant that takes giant rolls of tissue and towel and cuts them to size and packages them for distribution in your local stores.   I will be a Base Paper Engineer and be involved with product development, manufacturing trouble shooting and most importantly, interfacing with the roll producers to get the best product into the plant.  So my career path now veers back into manufacturing after a 26 year stroll through the supplier forest.  All the technical information that I have gathered over the decades will come to play in the new role and also people skills will definitely be challenged.  Converting is stressful and not everybody is on the same page, so to speak. 

A job search at age 63 is brutal.  The majority of the companies that I contacted and applied are not interested in an experienced person of my age.  Too old.  They do not say it, but their intentions are crystal clear, we are not interested.  I applied at least 75 times to jobs I felt I was qualified and about a third did nothing, another third just waited you out and the remainder acted professionally and started a dialog at least.  Most of them threw a lot of experience out the window--their lose.  I really want to work another 5 or 6 years. 
 After eight months of grinding, late December appeared to finally show signs of the end of the job search.  There was three possible roles for me.  Mercury Paper--my current employer--found my application on Indeed and called my back immediately and started to recruit me hard--finally somebody is pushing to get me on board.   We set up an interview at the plant two weeks before Christmas,  Another job I had been trying to get an interview for 2 months and it was going to finally happen the week after interviewing at Mercury.   A third job I had interviewed in late October and I asked for a decision by December 27--ten weeks after the interview. They felt they could not make a decision around the Holidays and they were out in my opinion--they got fair warning.   I cannot retire waiting on your decision!! 
Once I had my final interview with Thiele Kaolin, I  already had an offer from Mercury and at that point, I had something in the bank and I could get my decision made.  Thiele took another two weeks to make a decision and I was using a head hunter on this job and she did the heavy lifting of keeping my informed on the delay.   The decision was between me and another guy.  The CEO wanted me and the the rest of the staff wanted the other candidate.   After a two week stare down, the CEO backed down and I was out.   In late December I made an agreement with Mercury and here I am. Glad to be back to work.  Thiele paid a lot more and would allow us to stay in Tennessee if we wanted, so I really wanted to wait and see it if would be something worth seriously considering.

We are still trying to sell our house in Brentwood.   We had two signed contract that fell apart before we could close and it has been really hard to continue to keep it prepped to show and stay positive about the outcome.   Our realtor has been busting her butt to get this thing sold and we have also dulled down the kitchen and eliminated a lot of colors so it appeals to a larger and much more boring demographic.    The daffodils are starting to bloom and the Spring colors should help the process, we are hoping.   Last weekend, we had 6 scheduled showing and things are active--we just need to get it sold.  Saint Joseph is buried in the correct position and Linda had a shaman (I think) calm down any evil spirits last weekend so we have positive energy all around--great! 

Throw this mess together and and it has been a dark Winter for me.   Things are picking up and we will not be burning 401K cash to survive--the stock market last year was great and that really helped get us through much easier. I actually get paid this week too!  Next step is to find some short term housing and work on getting moved.   The company has a relocation plan for me and that will do most of the expensive part of the moving, whew!

The area I am currently working is very near the Shenandoah National Park entrance  and the Appalachian Trail.  As the weather improves I will get to exploring some of the local scenery and challenges on the trails.   Training has been really spotty this season, too busy with house showing and other stuff to be interested in any real training.   The indoor season may get skipped.   Little training to date and I do not have any time off for a while to travel to meets.  The new people have to start over on vacation accumulation. 😫

Things are getting better, believe me, they are. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jump Ahead

 Hello to all the faithful readers out there is the ethernet.  As you know, I have been dealing with an issue with a pinched nerve in my back that has been affecting my right leg strength.  My leg strength is back to 85% according to the squat machine at the gym.  I use the type of machine that has belt around your waist and you hook up to an arm that connections to the weight rack. This machine does no put any weight on my lower back and allows for leg strength development.  Progress has been made and I am also running a couple days a week at the Pettit Ice Center in West Allis as well.   Things are coming along.    About 6 weeks ago I began doing weekly pilates classes.   The pilates has been very helpful in generating flexibility and strength in  my lower body.   The sessions are around one hour and they are very intense and I am enjoying the improvement in my body strength and movement. I plan on continuing these ...

Really Important Information

I participated in the USATF Masters Indoor National meet last weekend in Winston-Salem, NC.   It was good meet for me and I will add the details of the results in another post later this week.  What I want to reflect on here is the quality of people in that building.   I am just so impressed with the high level of competition and caring for each other that goes on for 3 days.  Hug and Cry Area for Awards  There were around 1000 competitors for the event, and with families and officials, generally 500 to 2000 people were in the building during the times the track was open. It was not completely full at JDL Fast Track, but a really good crowd. North Carolina passed some very hateful and just plain repressive legislation a few years back concerning rest room usage and anything that did not meet the "hateful Jesus" religion that they were  promoting.   The NBA pushed back and moved their All Star Game location and I think this may hav...

Race Day Again

Finally, we get to race again! As many of you know, I was injured last April 4, 2024. I had a disk at L4 vertebra collapse and pinch a nerve in my back that caused over half of my lower leg strenth to disappear. I had a lot of atrophy in my right leg quad and I have been recovering ever since. I am close to 100% on strength and the right leg looks like it is very close to normal size again, but it has been a battle. I have been working in the gym, doing pilates again and also running. All of these things must be done in balance so you can get the proper rest and recover. I still do full body massages every two weeks and I also have been working with a Cox Technique Chiro since the injury on a weekly or biweekly basis. The chiro has gotten me stretched back out and the pressure off the nerve, that treatment has been the real source of healing in my opinion. MY normal doctor was not any help, but this is not what normal doctors do--naturally healing. The first meet of 202...