Smoked Fish and Oreo Cookies

So Cap'n Dave, you just about finished six years of service with the State of Minnesota, you are a little bit worn out, a little bit tired, but you have met good people and had some pretty darn good times along the way. Where are you going to next? "I'M GOING TO STILLWATER!"

No kids, I haven't been sent away for five to ten in that fancy dancy high security prison, but rather I've made a slight career change and have accepted a position in the Elections Division of Washington County. It was a difficult change to make, giving up much security and the good reputation of a few accomplishments to start anew someplace else. But at age thirty one and still rather rudderless in my career waters, I decided the challenge of a new atmosphere, the potential of this particular job at this particular time in my life was too good an opportunity to pass by. I was wooed by the offer, and flattered by a counter offer from my bosses at the State. The ego inflated just a tad, but sometimes a little fella like myself needs that.

Over time this change might have some influence in these pages. Quite frankly, for the past year and a half, I haven't had much time to work on this publication other than typing, formatting your articles and writing this page of high quality tripe every week. Of course we can do things better, but I'm lucky to have a spare thought any more. Since the drive to Stillwater will be a tad lengthier than I'm used to, I'll have at least that period to and from work to think about some things (LOOK OUT!). Also, a change of scenery does tend to do wonders for anyone who has fallen into a bit of a rut. My life has become nothing if not routine of late.

One of the deciding factors in my decision was a question I was asked at the initial interview for the position. They asked me what my career goals were for the next five years and how this job would help me meet those goals. I thought about it for a bit and replied, "I can't tell you what my goals are for five years because I have enough trouble deciding what I'm going to do next week. I do hope this job helps me begin to see what some of those goals might be." It was an honest answer to a difficult question. How many of us do think that far ahead and have a clear picture of where we will be, or want to be in five years? I was impressed they asked me that question because it was clear they were looking for a motivated and ambitious employee rather than someone merely looking for another job.

I had an enlightening talk this week with the fabulous sleekone, who despite having a difficult winter following a difficult relationship and difficult work problems, said she felt good because for the first time in her life she feels independent and free. An admirable discovery, and now she's on her merry way. It wasn't lost on everybody that I'm making this change so close to the Fourth of July. Say what you want about some of my life's choices but you'd be hard pressed to find a time when at least a feeling of independence was not a part of my life . One of the factors in my changing jobs was the difficulty in leaving all the benefits of state employment. Walking away from 500 hours of accrued sick time, or 182 hours of vacation time every year was not an easy thing to do. But I figured the longer I worked for the state, the harder walking away would become and I didn't exactly want to be a lifer. At the same time, when I think of my history with Cheapo, a company I've had the honor of working for on and off for the past nine years, a feeling of accomplishment and pride exists. If you find a place that is worth working for, it isn't a bad idea to stick around because that isn't something to take for granted. It is nice to have some stability, some continuation in your life. It's nice sometimes going from Point A to Point B rather than from Point A to Point A all the time.

So where will I be five years from now? When I asked the County Auditor (one of the people I interviewed with) what opportunities there were for promotion, he gave me a lengthy explanation of where he saw the county government headed and concluded his answer by saying that he would probably be retiring in a few years and that I could even run for his position. He said I might have a good chance of winning if only I could convince the fine people of Washington County I was a Scandinavian.