Something New

So here goes the first blog of the new year. 2008 is in the rear view, which seems surprising in some ways, but welcome in others. The dawning of the new year brought a career change for me. The new job with State Farm has been nothing if not new and challenging. I had to take two tests to even be considered for the job. Now that I have worked there for three weeks, I had to take another test today to prove to the good ol' state of Texas that I am actually competent to do the job. I have actually enjoyed the process of being tested. Sometimes I am more in touch with the part of me that wants to be recognized as capable and intelligent. I have long had a touch of fear that I will surrender to that part of me, which in my estimation, would be a tragic way to live. I think everyone has some need to be recognized, and it's part of who we are. But to become dependent on that would so compromise who we are and how we live. The new job, selling insurance, comes complete with sales quotas based on selling "products" I barely understand using systems I've never heard of within procedures that seem to originate in a foreign language. But it's cool... I passed the tests. In all seriousness, there have been some hoops to jump through, which I am good with (just don't ask me to hula the hoops).
My typical blog begins with an idea that I want to express that takes form. Tonight, I just felt like writing. A possibility exists that I will read this tomorrow or the next day and wonder why the heck I decided to post it. But I won't delete it. Isn't that kind of part or the deal? If I get to spew out some thoughts that you may read and neither of us have to look each other in the eyes... then shouldn't I have to leave it out there? I dunno...
Anyway, 2007 was easily, far and away the absolute worst year of my life. 2008 was considerably better. Maybe we are on the upswing. New year, new job, new tests, new procedures, and new challenges. OK.