So, Journaling eh?

Yeah,

well the truth is I have about 45 journals that I have started over the course of my lifetime. each one has about 3 pages worth of writing in them... the first day where i declare some dramatic life altering new statement and commit to journaling the new adventure, the second entry where i don't have much to say but i'm trying to stick to my commitment, and a third entry dated several months later saying that a lot has changed and i want to continue with the commitment, then pages and pages of white that mock my failure to stick to the plan....

well this is the fourth entry in my blog, which is like a journal, except instead of not wanting people to read it you try to publicize it as much as possible and get other people to read it through Search Engine Optimization, which is a combination of creating constant new content, maintaining a frequency of popular key words (Obama, Oprah, recession, Comedy, Bored, Money, Laughing Baby, People getting hit with baseball bats) those sorts of things, and links which take you to other people's pages that are trying to accomplish the same thing (Google, microsoft, starbucks, ebay, tonka truck, beanie baby, low cost health care...)

Well today was a great day for me, eventually. In typical dramatic fashion I took something that was pretty basic and turned it into something that was epic. (epic like Star Wards, Lord of the Rings, Telletubbies... etc) Today was the day that I took my Washington State Insurance Agents Exam, on Life and Health insurance. A brutal 4.5 hour exam testing you on general information, federal and state law regarding every facit of life insurance, health insurance, 401k's annuities, endowments, social security, medicare, medicaid, and fair insurance practices. And also of the existence of a top secret agency that it is forbidden for any insurance professional to mention to a potential client at any point during a sale called the ...... oh wait, i should probably not mention it. If you are curious look up the words "insurance guarantee association" in your favorite web browser... such as (google, yahoo, altavista, etc...)

Anyway, i have been in a crash course (40 hour course in 5 days) to learn this information in a hotel room in Portland, 9 hours of class time a day, with 5-6 hours of homework a night (i'm not kidding i didn't even get to watch American Idol, ABC's hit show LOST, or Fringe this week). I also didn't get to see such popular movies as "he's just not that into you" or "taken", nor did i catch the Academy Awards hosted by Hollywood Hunk Hugh Jackman.... (is this getting obnoxious or what?). 

So my test for the exam was at 8a.m. this morning. The exam is timed for 4.5 hours, you have to reserve a slot a week in advance, and they recommend that you get there 30 minutes early to guarantee you will have your paperwork done in time to start on your start time...

So my classmate Jeff calls my room at 540am to get me up. He was so nervous he woke up at 4, couldn't go to sleep, scraped the snow of his car (yes it was snowing this morning) and studied for an hour, and then couldn't wait any longer. I didn't mind, cause i'm such a nice guy so i got dressed and made sure to brew a  pot of coffee, i put it in my travel mug, i grabbed all my paperwork, i grabbed my sales binder for sales school this afternoon, i brushed my teeth, and left my hotel room. Jeff and I left the hotel at 6:20 am. We arrived in Vancouver at the testing facility at 6:45, a full 45 minutes before the recommended 30 minutes prior time. That's right 1hr, 15min early for the test. We went to Burger King, "home of the Whopper™" and Jeff ordered a small coffee...

this is when i freaked out. I didn't have my wallet. I was about to ask Jeff to spot me $5 for breakfast, when i realized i was in a worse situation than having to mooch breakfast.... to take the test you need to have 2 forms of i.d. including a driver's license. I had 0.

The battle between prayer, and profanity raged through my mind as my heart began beating faster than a matador at a bull fight (or a man after 4 red bulls in flight) and i couldn't beleive it. I forgot my wallet. I made coffee, i put on my suit and tie, i grabbed every scrap of paperwork, i had my phone, i even put loose change in my pocket, but had no wallet.....

Jeff asked me what was wrong, i told him, he laughed because he thought it was a sick joke, it was actually a sick truth.... 

Without hesitating he briskly walked out to his car which we had ridden in and said, "let's go." We were going to drive back to Beaverton where our hotel is. It was 6:45 am. We drove in tense silence most of the way back, it was still snowing, but we were making good time. I told him how grateful i was, and how sorry i was. He was tense and nervous, and I was afraid for both of us, that we would not be able to test. We made it back to the hotel at 7:20 am. Based on my calculations and i sped to the front desk, demanded a new room key, sprinted to the 4th floor, flew into my room, grabbed my wallet (turned off the coffee pot full of still hot starbucks® coffee) and ran back down the stairs we might still be able to make it back in time, in theory. 

That theory was crushed as we waited for 10 minutes to enter back on to the freeway at a controlled traffic light. it was 735 when we came to a dead stop in the freeway at the tunnel near i-5. As we came to the end of highway 84, turning onto 205 near the portland airport, the clock struck 7:59. little was said. there was little to say. I offered to pay for Jeff's re-test if we were not allowed to test. He accepted. This meant though at least a full week for both of us without being able to work our new jobs, not to mention that the test costs $80 or so dollars. This was going to be a $160 mistake if we were rejected from the test center. 

We pulled into the testing facility at 8:10. We flew into the room and it was empty, the Lady looked at us, helped us with our paperwork and we were allowed to take our tests. Flustered and in a rush of adrenaline, and stress i labored for almost 3 hours in the testing center. Nerves worse than any I have ever felt. Jeff finished a full 45 minutes before me and left (he had to get back to Seattle, home of Nordstrom, REI, and Amazon.com) I walked out of the test center and recieved my sheet saying 1 simple word... "Pass"

The lady told me we were lucky, that several people had "no-showed" that morning and sometimes if it's full they give away the seats. She also handed me a sticky note from Jeff. It said "Bill, I passed see you around"

I have never been so nerve racked, stressed, relieved, etc. all at the same time before. If I had had breakfast i might have thrown up. All that to say, I am now able to receive my Washington State Insurance License. So, thanks to Jeff, the guy who put his own test, his own job on the line to help me out, and risked a week of not being paid to be a good friend.

That's what insurance is, by the way, it's defined as this simple concept, the practice of taking one person's risk and spreading it out among multiple people to reduce the chance of a large loss to one individual. 

Thanks Jeff.

Love is in the air

Ah so it's valentine's day... love is in the air, people are walking around in a stupor, for those who are single, it's black saturday and a reminder of how alone there are everywhere they go... for those in the greeting card industry it's another payday invented to create and expectation of gifts, cards, flowers, diamonds, chocolate... etc...

Since the topic of the day whether you love it, hate it, or enjoy the capitalistic result of it, is love I thought that I would spend a few minutes examining what American's love (as of today). 

America loves music. Ipods, cd's, mp3 downloads (legal and illegal) and radio are immune to the effects of the economy (though my guess is that illegal downloads go up and legal go down when monies are tighter) and according to billboard this is what we love on valentines day 2009...

#1 album - The Fray, #1 single - Eminem: Crack a bottle #1 airplay - Beyonce: Single girls put a ring on, and #1 adult hit : Nickleback: gotta be somebody

I own none of these songs, but i think i've probably heard some of the songs off the fray album...

But perhaps I don't love music the way the rest of the country does... one of the other things that we love to love is movies...

Our #1 grossing box office movie as of last weekend was "he's just not that into you"

of the top 10 movies in america I have seen exactly 0....

But that's because i don't have a baby sitter at my disposal, nor the funds to watch theatre priced movies right now... so lets check dvd's...

The #1 movie rental is lakeview terrace (? is that the one where creepy Samuel L. Jackson lives next door?) and the #2 movie is Madagascar 2 (which i'm pretty sure went straight to dvd..)

Of the top 10 rentals i did see one of them this month; Max Payne (and it was not good, i much preffered Mark Wahlberg in his appearance on Saturday Night Live talking to animals which if you haven't seen  you should check out on HULU)

oh yeah, speaking of HULU (even though it was in an aside)... 

The top 5 videos that are rated the most popular all time on Hulu are

#1 - Craig fegustin PSA (i haven't seen it, and for the integrity of this post will not watch it till after I publish this blog..)

#2 - Family Guy 

#3 - Family Guy

#4 - SNL - Sarah Palin cold open with Tina Fey

#5 - Family Guy

America loves Family Guy and I must confess that I am a fan as well... I never did like it until this last year, I was much more a fan of the simpson's, i thought that the Simpson's was classier (seriously, it is) more intelligent, and overall written better. All those things are true but I would rather watch Family Guy, you know why? shock value, and it's funnier. The problem with saying that you would rather watch Simpsons because of class, writing, and intelligence, is that it only wins when compared to something in the same genre like south park, or Family Guy. But you aren't watching those shows because you crave intelligence, good writing, and class... if that's what you want you should watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which by the way was cancelled halfway through it's first season because people don't care about intelligence, class, or writing) we are watching T.V. to be entertained, and we will watch the funniest, or the most entertaining, regardless of depth, or even content. If we wanted to think and be challenged the book stores and newpapers would be in the black, and the reality tv genre would be going down the toilet....

not the case.... (watch how I masterfully bring this back on topic now) .... since we LOVE our reality T.V. case-in-point

#1 highest  rated television program this week?

Wednesday's American Idol broadcast

#2 - this was a close second.... (drumroll.....)

Tuesday's American Idol broadcast

Now, partly this is my fault because i watched American Idol this week.... both days... but in m defense... 1- the only channel i get is fox, so it was that or nothing because the computer iuse isn't fast enough to watch streaming video online (hence my new blogging hobby) and 2- I don't have a job right now, the kids go to bed at 8 which is when Idol airs, and it's nice to just sit once the storm of child rearing has settled and be entertained.... 

So to recap...

we love - 

The fray, eminem, beyonce, nickelback, chick flicks, Samuel L Jackson, Anything that our kids will watch and give us 2 hours of peace (madagascar 2 - straight to dvd ), The family guy, and Reality television.

oh yeah, the number one news story clicked on this week according to Google was PenutCorp of america going bankrupt... and the number one videos of all time, and this week respectively on you tube are...

 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (they cheat btw) and "I"m on a boat" also cheating.

the #1 non-music video 

Jeff Dunham, Charlie bit my finger, and Laughing Baby.

Love is patient, Love is Kind, Just not in America...

Heading to Portland

Well, after almost a month of applying for new jobs in the Wenatchee area I am getting ready to stop the job seeking process and begin working again. It's interesting because everyone keeps talking about the current state of this economy... everyone is laid off, everyone is looking for a job, there are no jobs to be had.... that is simply not true. A lot of people have lost their jobs that is true and I am one of them. I was laid off in January of '09 along with 6 others from the church that I worked at. As a church employee in the great anti-church state of Washington I do not qualify for any un-employment benefits, or continues medical coverage via COBRA, though my church did offer to let us continue our medical benefits at the cost of $750 per month for my family.... but that almost feels like a cruel joke right? Don't you think that if I was employed to the point where I could afford an additional $750 a month that there might be a insurance option through that employment?

Anyway, this is not about complaining.... it's about making some observations and updating those who care on where my family and I are at. So back to the job search. I have had 5 interviews in 3 weeks. 2 with Starbucks who offered me a job, albeit a part time job, which can provide health insurance with 20 hours a week. They offered me 15 hours a week, but I think it would not be too hard to pick up the additional 5 through offering to work friday and saturday nights for the high school students, or open for someone at 4 am once a week so that they can sleep in. I also have had 2 interviews with Pac-Sun... (yes the clothing store for skater kids) they are looking for an assistant manager but it's also a part time (15-20 hours) position. My plan was to balance these two jobs, to pick up extra shifts at Starbucks and make due as best as we can as a family. Both of these jobs are of the $9ish per hour variety, which is going to make things difficult for us.

Tuesday I had another interview, this one was for a company called Combined Insurance. They sell supplemental insurance policies. The easiest way for me to simply explain what it is would be to tell you it's similar to AFLAC, but they don't like that being their description since they were doing it first, and AFLAC is their main competition. They interviewed me, and then they asked me to job shadow an agent for a day. That day was yesterday, and that agent was working in Yakima.

I woke up at 5:30am and drove in the snow 2 hours to Yakima. I spent 7 hours in the field observing what it looks like to be a Combined insurance agent. It's a fascinating job that intrigues me. It's sales, it's 100% commission based, and it seems to be something that would be very hard, but also would be rewarding and fun. I like the product, and I like the style of work that is self driven, people focused, and based on building and maintaining relationships. I have a phone call today to go over some final details of the job, but it looks like they are going to offer me the position. I'm excited about it, and if I am successful it has the potential to provide for us much better than the two part time hourly jobs. I am still going to try and maintain the starbucks gig on the side for 6 months at least, because after 6 months the Combined job provides insurance as well.

So what's the big deal? here's the kicker, i have to be licensed and bonded as a Washington State insurance agent before I can begin. This is a requirement by the state, and is going to be unpaid for three weeks. While they will not be paying me for the training, Combined is going to fly me to Portland, put me up in a hotel for the 3 weeks, and give me a stipend for food. It's a significant investment on their part, but it's also going to be a significant sacrifice on our part. it means in a town where we know virtually no one yet, leaving my family for 3 weeks, not working for an additional 3 weeks, delaying my Starbucks training (scheduled to start on the 16th of Feb) until after i get back from my insurance training (scheduled to start on the 17th of Feb). It's a huge struggle and we have been praying about it and talking it over and it seems like it's a sacrifice worth making though. 

So if all goes well and I can get all my documents in order i will be on a plane Monday afternoon to Portland for 3 weeks to be trained as an insurance agent.

I will have to turn down the Pac Sun position, which they called and offered me this morning as well. I haven't made that final decision yet, but here I am having to choose between employment opportunities. Having worked for so long in the non-profit Church environment it is a difficult and challenging transition to be looking for employment in the for-profit business sector. I am excited, I am nervous, I am anxious, I also have a measure of peace and confidence. I will post regular updates from training as I go along over the next 3 weeks, and then when I finish school on March 9th (my anniversary BTW) I will be able to assist everyone with their insurance needs :)

Stay tuned.... 

Welcome to my Blog

A month ago a friend of mine and I were sitting in a bar drinking some beer samplers, and sharpening each other like iron. I told him about this idea I had for an invention, it was a murphy theatre seating arrangement, where instead of having a murphy bed that folded down out of a wall, you could have a row of theatre seats that folded out of a wall, so that you could have a place for people to sit when you have a large number of people over. It would be particularly useful for people who host community groups or small church plants in their homes. A small market niche admittedly. He suggested that i create a blog and blog about what was going on in my life and people could take my ideas and turn them into actual inventions, and i could give away my ideas for free  and just ask that if people develop them they send me one for free.... at least that was his logic, i think he more wanted a blog to expose me to the ridicule of comments and posts and world wide mockery. Well this weekend i was in Seattle for my daughter's 4th birthday party (a party celebrating the age of 4, not the fourth birthday party she has had this year) and another friend of mine asked me how it was going in Wenatchee (we recently moved here in January of 2009.) I told him, and i also told him that everyone asked the same questions so you forget who you have told what to, and you get tired of the same answers over and over, and he suggested the blog as well as a way to inform people who want to know, and who want to pray for us, two things that I am excited about. So I began this blog. I don't know what i will do with it yet, or what direction i will take it, but it will probably have a combination of random comedic observations of daily life, personal updates about myself, my family, and our friends, (though my wife's blog covers that in a more approachable and tolerably feminine way), and a selection of what i am reading currently and how that is affecting me. I suppose i will simply leave this as an introductory post and share with you simply where the Take a firm grip title comes from.

I'm tired. I'm searching for where to anchor my self, my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength. As a christian, and a person who God has called to serve him with everything i have I know that the overwhelming answer is to anchor myself in Jesus. I can say those words a thousand times but the great task of my life will be how to embody that beyond a cheesy religious expression of piety and in a real penetrating way that changes how i think and live.

The title and the quest of this for me comes from Hebrews 12. 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God....Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. strive for peace with everyone.

That is the ESV which i have in front of me, the part that talks about drooping hand in the NIV reads, "take a firm grip with your tired hands" and that has always been a great verse for me. And that is what i am trying to do now with my life, to take a firm grip, to mark out a straight path. And to do it in such a way that creates peace with everyone...