A lot has happened since last I wrote. Here's the short version.
Peggy and I split up over some differences. I have a new house. I am busy at church, taking several leadership positions. And I got promoted at work.
Back in March, Peggy and I broke up. I couldn't adjust to her family, and they couldn't adjust to me. I knew there would be challenges; she and the kids had been through a lot. When it came down to it, we couldn't find a compromise when it came to disciplining the kids, especially her son Josh.
I really wanted to make the relationship work. I tried going along with her idea that her kids were just hurt, and that they just needed love and acceptance.
That all changed the first of March. We had an argument, the last in a series of arguments, about how to deal with Josh. She gave me an ultimatim, saying that I had to do it her way or leave: I chose to leave.
The whole thing was an example of the adage: "What you compromise your principles to gain, you will always lose." I compromised several principles, the main one being "Don't live with a woman until you are married to her."
I had the best of intentions. They were short of money, and her loser ex-husband wasn't paying his child support. I thought that by living there I could help them through a very cold and expensive winter. I think my moving in with her short-circuited the maturation process for what could have been a wonderful thing. We didn't take the time to learn how each other really thought and lived, and our proximity didn't give us the breathing room needed to work out how to come together on things. Overall, the whole thing was a mistake, and we both paid a high price for it.
A lot of good came from our relationship, though. I got a good job at a great place, Cayuse Technologies. Back in August, I was promoted from Junior Software Engineer to Software Engineer. I like to write software; since management found out I can write, I end up writing a lot of user manuals and such. I also write letters to the editor of the local paper, the East Oregonian. I don't want to turn into a serial letter-writer, though. When I used to work at the Tribune, we used to make fun of those kind of people; it'd be ironic if I were to become one of them.
Church is probably the most exciting thing I have going. I teach a weekly Bible study for Sunday school (topic: Christian maturity), and run the men's ministry and the long-range planning committee. The most important (and enjoyable) thing I do is minister to our senior pastor Marc. He's a great guy, and as such, he is way overworked. I think the reason I was sent there is to give him a sounding board, pray for him, and help him grow and mature the church. He is a hard worker, but has a hard time delegating, which is probably a consequence of his ministry training. He's getting better, though, and my work there is starting to produce some excellent fruit.
After I left Peggy's, I lived with Richard and Margaret Rettig for about three months. That gave me time to get myself together and find an apartment. I have one that meets my needs now, a two-bedroom duplex. I use the spare bedroom as an office. I am slowly amassing furniture and stuff like that.
In addition to above, I am busy with other things:
- I'm working on a book about bivocational ministry.
- I'm trying to get freelance writing work on the side.
- I'm trying to do some standup comedy.
- I'm trying to apply for some other side work.
So what do I need from life?
- A new car to replace the one that broke down.
- More friends to hang out with.
- Newer and more comfortable furniture.
Other than that, I'm in pretty good shape.
Ciao!
