Recovering from the 4th...

So, I'm recovering from 5 straight days of 4th of July weekend excitement, followed by 2 pretty mediocre days at work. I don't want to see another hot dog or hear another Black Cat go off for quite a while. I went through some kind of emotional time warp yesterday, feeling really depressed and defeated about this whole job/career/money thing. I think that when things in life are difficult (as they are now), there are some people who find an extra measure of inner strength and "come through in the clutch" with rousing victory and success. I, on the other hand, want to throw in the towel, take my ball and go pout in my room. It's sad, but it's the brutal truth. So, lately I've been toying with quitting my job and doing something (anything) else, toying with finishing my seminary degree, toying with getting a master's degree in something else, toying with getting a second job to make more money, etc etc etc. But, today I realize the truth: toys are for little boys. I'm a man, and I have a great wife and great kids, a nice house, 2 decent cars, a good church, supportive friends, and a God who loves me and sent his son to save me. Things aren't so bad. And, sometimes there are times in our lives when we just need to do what's in front of us. I think this is one of those times. Now, having said that, I think that I will be starting back up with my seminary degree, either this fall or next spring. A lot of that will depend on whether or not my company will pay for it. It seems unlikely, since a Master of Arts in Religion is not quite science-related, but the wording of the tuition reimbursement policy is somewhat vague. I have a meeting with HR tomorrow to discuss it. If they will pay, HOORAY! If not, Rachel and I have agreed that taking out some loans for this is not the worst thing in the world. Ever since 2000, it's been pretty obvious that theological study is what I want to do. It's what excites me, far more than bioanalytical chemistry ever will. So, even if I never do anything vocational with this Master's degree, I'll at least have it on my wall.

Gen Con is only a month away now, and I'm getting quite excited about it. I just found out that 3 of the folks from the show MythBusters are going to be at Gen Con, busting a myth LIVE! So, I just HAD to get tickets to that event. In preparation for the 2 Magic: The Gathering tournaments that LoRD and I will be playing in, we decided to play in a local MTG tournament at our FLGS last Friday night. It was, to say the least, an experience. We learned that a) although we're not as hard-core into Magic as some of these guys, we still can hang with tournament-style play, b) we don't suck as badly as we thought we did, and c) we still suck pretty badly. I did end up with the "Sportsmanship Award" at the end of the night, since I had to sit out the last game due to an odd number of players. I'm now the proud owner of an FNM foil "Wild Mongrel" card. Yeah, I know you're jealous. :-)