• Things I Should Warn You About

shenrydafrankmann

~ Hopeful honesty from simple sentences

shenrydafrankmann

Monthly Archives: April 2014

Spinning Head

25 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by shenrydafrankmann in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

employment, job, miracle, opportunity

I feel like I am announcing that my wife is pregnant, waiting until we know the baby is healthy and growing inside of her before broadcasting the good news.  I think it’s safe to say this, although nothing is 100% official yet, nothing is in writing but should be by tomorrow.

Last Tuesday I received a verbal job offer from the managing director of the U.S. subsidiary of a company based in Budapest.  This was after I met the owners during a Skype interview, a bit odd as they were concluding their work day in Budapest.  It was 10 in the morning here.  There were times I had to stifle a laugh as the Hungarians on the other side of the computer webcam got caught up in their excitement over something we discussed, forgot we were watching and engaged in a full blown discussion in their language.  I liked the people I met that morning, liked it even better when the managing director showed me around the small office I will be sharing with him and the office manager, then told me he was writing up the official offer for approval and presentation to me on April 25.

He sent me an email tonight.  They are proposing I start with the company on May 1, fly to Budapest on May 3, attend sales meetings there and train with them until May 15.  I will know tomorrow if the offer is officially approved, if I will actually be working for the company.

My head is spinning.  All of this happened very fast.  March 27 I woke up for the first time in more than 24 years without a job.  March 28 I found out that this job may be coming available.  I am perfect for this job, a much better opportunity than anything that would have been made available to me at my previous job, with so much potential that really depends on what I make of the opportunity.  There is risk because this is a new venture, but I love the fresh feel of starting with a ground floor venture.  The new company was not planning to hire until June or July, but I am perfect for the job because this company is a European equivalent to the company I worked for.  I fell into their lap, made it easy for them, so suited to them that they decided they need me now!

I get to fly to Budapest.  Wow.  I worked for a company that had offices in Belgium, Brazil, Shanghai, Toronto.. and I worked with all of them, but they never once sent me there.

So much more I can and want to say.  This time has been a time where God has shown me so much mercy, shown me that He really does look out for me.  I have found out that I have many, many, many genuine friends and relationships.. and I am grateful.  Support has come in so many ways.  I want to talk about that more, but I am going to save that for another blog.

AIN’T THIS COOL?!!?

I Work On The Meaning Of Life

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by shenrydafrankmann in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

bicycling, fatherhood, golf, life

Easter has come and gone, bringing with it hopes of warmer temperatures along with all manner of sprouting green plants and awakening grass.  In my household that means we finally get out of the house.  Our house is not a large house and after a long, frigid winter we begin to resemble Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy

Heh heh heh

Not that I have stayed in all of the time.  This is my year to shine again on the bicycle, I have decided, and as soon as temperatures began to climb over 20 degrees I started riding my bicycle outside.  I have been riding consistently since the beginning of March and am already beginning to feel good on the bike.  Last week I got out on the dirt trails, my mountain bike a bit rusty since my blue weenie ride in January, but the trails were perfect Wednesday night.  Since I enjoyed myself so much on Wednesday, I went back again on Thursday.

I ran over a rock the size of a loaf of bread, the wrong way so that it flew straight up and broke off the rear derailleur (translation:  shifter) on my mountain bike.  Oops.  The parts won’t be in until at least this Wednesday.  I got my exercise the rest of Thursday’s ride by hiking out to the parking lot with my bike slung over my shoulder.

Miriam frowned when I told her.  She reminded me that we don’t have health insurance right now.  Oops again.

It’s also fib truthfully season.  Nate and I are playing golf again.  Anyone who plays golf knows what I mean when I say ‘fib truthfully’.  It’s an art I see practiced most on the golf course.

The thought struck me last evening as we walked a fairway together that golf is the time when Nate really treats me like his father.  We don’t argue.  Lately Nate has been arguing with me about getting a smart phone and we had an argument about it all weekend.  Did he mention it on the golf course?  Not once nor did he on the way home.  I realized that it’s always that way when we are playing golf.

Hmmmm…. is there a way we can play golf all of the time?  I might actually get somewhere with the kid.

Nate is my size now.  When we played golf last November, I was hitting the ball farther than him.  The first time Nate and I played together this year (a week ago last Sunday), Nate was hitting 270-280 yard tee shots.  He has almost always been a better golfer than me but at least I could out drive him before now.  Oh well.  I don’t have to be better, just available.

And, finally, I thought I would share this little scene from the street in front of my house this afternoon.  It’s my neighbor Doug getting his ten year project running, a restored John Deere tractor.  Sweet.  I wouldn’t have seen that happen had I been at work.

Makes me think I am back home around Springfield, not in Chicagoland.

Makes me think I am back home around Springfield, not in Chicagoland.

Time To Write?

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by shenrydafrankmann in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

unemployment thoughts

I am unemployed.  Some day I will write about how that happened, but for now….

I won’t.

After more than 24 years working for the same company, suddenly I have to try to figure out the nuances of looking for a job.  Times have changed.  No longer do I grab the newspaper and look up the want ads.  Everything is online with most applications linking to some type of social network – LinkedIn, Facebook, Indeed.  The way of writing a resume has evolved, including the necessity of inserting words that recruiters and company HR will use as keywords when they search for possible candidates.  Networking is done through email and FB contacts.  The old fashioned way of networking still exists and may still be the best way to find a job, however.  It still comes down to who you know.  In that way, 24 years experience helps.

It also hurts.  I am in that age category that is avoided, likely the reason why the growing company who just fired me was so eager to show me the door.  My replacement will likely be a recent college graduate.  They are looking for someone with an engineering degree, to fit a job description that looks like it was written with me in mind.  I chuckled when I saw that.  My college degree is a ministry degree. 

I am replaceable, I know.  Just ask my wife.

We are on a budget, one of those “geez, we’re going to have to sell a kid soon” budgets. 

The challenge is to concentrate my efforts on productive job leads.  There is a whole lot of..ummm.. well.. stuff I would never consider doing that is available as employment.  Gone are the days where I can go back to being a gigolo to pay the bills.

Nick, our sheltie, has the worst breath in the world.  Miriam calls him Tijuana Breath (she and I have enough experience there to qualify that one, especially from the ‘toilet’ facilities we had on our trips there).  My typical day starts with my getting out of bed at 5 AM as I am accustomed, then I leave the house.  It helps me to feel like I am going to a job.  Last week I stayed away all morning because the kids on Spring break from school and home all day.  This week I come home when I know my family is gone and get busy.  Nick is my constant companion, a nice thing except for when Nick gets tired of waiting for me to pay attention to him, stands next to me and pants in my direction.  I think the hair that I have left is turning green and curly.

Several friends have encouraged me to make sure I make this a time to recuperate, take time each day for myself.  That does not mean hours of Call of Duty.  My lunches the last two days have been spent riding a bicycle.  Three out of the last four days have seen me on a bicycle. 

Maybe some one will hire me to ride a bicycle?

I got to see my son play, and win, his first singles match for the high school tennis team.

My days have been very busy, much more than I could have ever imagined, but without the constant deadlines that seemed to be ever present during my work days the last couple of decades.  Believe it or not, I miss those deadlines and the purpose they gave to me.  The time without them has provided an odd feeling peaceful rest, productive, giving me energy that I have not had for a while.  It’s not like I wasn’t energetic before now, but, well, it is different.

The tables have turned a bit too.  A week before I was terminated, Miriam was promoted to a supervisory role at the elementary school lunch room.  She starts work at 7:30 AM, comes home mid afternoon.  Suddenly she is going to sleep early, waking up early instead of staying up past midnight and sleeping past eight every morning.  Weird.  That means I can roam the house in my BVDs all day.

Not really.  Don’t lose sleep with that picture in your head.

I do have a job prospect.  I have found several opportunities.  This time of unemployment may not last long at all.  We’ll see.

 

Yes, I really do say these things

  • My Father is Yacky
  • Image Bearer
  • Evening Ramble
  • Exposure of the Indecent Kind
  • Just Say Gnome

Yes, I really did

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012

Categories

My brain hurts with you

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012

Blogs I Follow (and maybe even read)

  • glennkaiser.com
  • There and Bach Again
  • Dean
  • Southern Georgia Bunny
  • The Rambling Biker
  • Storyshucker
  • Ah dad...
  • Squeeze the Space Man's Taco
  • I didn't have my glasses on....
  • kidscrumbsandcrackers
  • longawkwardpause.wordpress.com/
  • Cycling Dutch Girl
  • The Shameful Sheep
  • Blog Woman!!! - Life Uncategorized
  • Life in Lucie's Shoes
  • Fit Recovery
  • lifebeyondexaggeration
  • Globe Drifting
  • I AM TOM NARDONE
  • Cathy's Voice Now

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 269 other subscribers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

glennkaiser.com

There and Bach Again

a teacher's journey

Dean

Marketing major. Outdoor sports lover. San Diego living.

Southern Georgia Bunny

Adventures of an Southern Bunny everything from dating, sex, life and shake your head moments.

The Rambling Biker

Roaming & Rambling in search of MTB Stoke

Storyshucker

A blog full of humorous and poignant observations.

Ah dad...

I need the funny because they're teenagers now

Squeeze the Space Man's Taco

A journey into Cade's world

I didn't have my glasses on....

A trip through life with fingers crossed and eternal optimism.

kidscrumbsandcrackers

Kids - I`m like the old woman who lived in a shoe - Crumbs, my house is full of them - Crackers, Im slowly going

longawkwardpause.wordpress.com/

Cycling Dutch Girl

the only certainty is change

The Shameful Sheep

Blog Woman!!! - Life Uncategorized

Mother, Nehiyaw, Metis, & Itisahwâkan - career communicator. This is my collection of opinions, stories, and the occasional rise to, or fall from, challenge. In other words, it's my party, I can fun if I want to. Artwork by aaronpaquette.net

Life in Lucie's Shoes

Life in a bubble: a dose of New York humor with an Italian twist!

Fit Recovery

Stay Clean Get Fit

lifebeyondexaggeration

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stranger

Globe Drifting

Global issues, travel, photography & fashion. Drifting across the globe; the world is my oyster, my oyster through a lens.

I AM TOM NARDONE

Cathy's Voice Now

Sharing my "voice"

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • shenrydafrankmann
    • Join 269 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • shenrydafrankmann
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...