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| Sloan helping me write my blog. |
Three nights ago Jennifer and I were about to eat
dinner. We heard the doorbell ring. Both of us were surprised as we hardly ever
get unannounced guests. So I yell to the
door hold on, and I finish what I was doing and go to answer it. When I opened the door, no one was
there. Doorbell ditch was my first
thought until I looked down. On the
porch was a small basket with two wrapped pears. The note on the outside of the package said,
“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear
tree.” I thought it was cute. I showed it to Jennifer and neither one of us
had a clue to who it was from. Jennifer
thought one of the neighbors, I thought maybe someone from the new church we
are attending. Later that night was
trivia. That is my regular thing on
Tuesday nights. Not really sure why I
enjoy it so much. Perhaps it makes me
feel smarter or I am getting something useful out of the warehouse of useless
information in my head.
I am enjoying myself at work. I was transferred to a different department
called Curriculum Pathways at SAS. They
provide an incredible online resources of information for schools. It’s a huge philanthropic endeavor from SAS
as the entire program is absolutely free, no catches at all. It is quickly become a staple for teachers
around the world as they plan their curriculums for their students. I am the producer-director-editor-cameraman
for the department. I started out my
career as a one-man-band, and now I find myself getting back to my roots. It’s a little bit of an adjustment because
when I was in Dubai I was only a writer-director. I sure enjoyed the perks of being pampered
like a director. With staff fetching
diet cokes for me and not having to carry any equipment. I embraced the role of the director, calling
out the shots, having crews of up 25 people waiting on my instructions. I was really good at it. So now I am back to the original and I am
enjoying it. I am working with
fabulously talented people. Most of my co-workers have been with the company
for 10-15+ years. That is such an
incredible concept for me to witness.
Stability…Wow. I want that too.
If you know me, you know that I tend to have moved around a
lot in my career and life. It seems that
aside from 8 years in Los Angeles, I have pretty much moved to a different part
of the country/world every 18-24 months.
After growing up in California for 18 years 68-86, I went to college in
Springfield Missouri 86-90. The I went
to Graduate School in Virginia Beach, VA 90-92.
I then lived in my hometown of Hayward, CA for a year 1993. I had a Master’s degree on my wall but I was
busy delivering pizzas and parking cars to make a living. These were hard times. I decided that if I really wanted to be a
filmmaker I had to go to Los Angeles. So
we lived in Los Angeles from 93-2001.
Los Angeles was my favorite place to live. The energy there was just amazing. But it was difficult too. LA was extremely superficial,
hyper-competitive and really expensive.
Leaving there was tough as I thought I was leaving my dream behind. Little did I realize at the time that God had
other ideas and other timelines for my dreams.
We moved to Oklahoma for 18 months from 2001-2002. Then we were dramatically called by God to
move to Taiwan in 2003. Taiwan other
than 2010 was the best year of my life.
It was an amazing experience. I
wasn’t keeping up with the Joneses as I felt compelled to do while I was in Los
Angeles. In fact, I wasn’t making hardly
any money, didn’t have any saved up for the future, but we had enough. I think that is what God was trying to teach
me. To be content with whatever I
had. Like Paul said in Philippians 4, “I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I should write a whole blog on my experiences
in Taiwan, really I could write a whole book.
But sadly SARS hit. We felt
compelled to leave because of my diabetes and history of upper respiratory
illness. God for my safety was telling
me to get out. We thought we temporarily
relocated to San Francisco 2003-2004 as we wanted to go back to Taiwan. But that opportunity never reappeared. About 18 months in San Franciso is when I was
called to Saudi Arabia in 2005. My
family was supposed to join me in Saudi once I determined it was safe, but by
that time my ex wife decided she didn’t want to be married anymore and she
relocated to Texas to start a new life, unbeknownst to me at the time. When I realized my marriage and family was in
serious jeopardy I followed her to Texas 2006-2007. I tried and prayed to save my marriage but
she had moved on. I lived in Texas for
another 18-24 months. I got a pretty
amazing job offer back in San Francisco, so in 2007 I was a commuter. I worked in San Francisco/Dublin area and
lived with my parents while maintaining my home in Texas. I used to fly from Oakland to Houston every
other weekend for a year to maintain visitation with my children. In 2008 I moved back to the Middle East and
lived in Bahrain for 18 months. You see
a pattern with the 18 months here? I
loved living in Bahrain. It was a
rebirth for me in a sense. I had just
turned 40 the week before I arrived and I was starting a new life on my own
through Christ. I met Jenni in Bahrain
and got married there. I left Bahrain
and moved back to North Carolina for five months in 2009 then lived in Dubai
for 9 months in 2010. Along the way
Jenni and I got pregnant on one of my visits back…”Bullseye”…and I felt
compelled to return to the US in 2011, and that is where we are today…Whew…what
an adventure. I am not averse to having
roots. I loved living in Los Angeles for
as long as I did. The plan for whatever
reason keeps changing. The good part
with all the moves that I have been content wherever I have lived.
OK…I went off on another tangent. Back to roots and North Carolina. Yesterday we got another ring on our
doorbell. I made it to the door quicker
this time. Still when I got there, there
was no one there except another package on the porch. This time it was two boxes of chocolate with
one of them being turtles. Tonight I
made it to the door within 10 seconds and they just vanished. These people whoever they are, are good. Tonight was a nice bag on the porch. Inside was a rotisserie chicken, French style
green beans, and French bread, with a note, on the third day of Christmas my
true love gave to me, three French hens.
So its nice to have roots and community again. We sure feel loved and appreciated both in
our place of employment, our church, and our family. I guess I am living out the personification
of the American Dream. I am halfway
through this latest version of the 18 month treatment. What will the next nine days leave on our
porch and what will the next nine months bring? Whatever it will be, I just
hope it will be more of the same. I have
truly lived a blessed life.
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