Stay free

So, a lot of jumbled thoughts have been racing through my mind lately, and although I have wanted to blog several times, there just has not been good enough material until tonight.

I realised some time ago that I have a very hard time staying in one place and in one job. Five years of living on a three-month schedule between college, camp, and home sort of conditioned me to be used to that sort of thing...not to mention my insatiable wanderlust. Keeping a steady job is something I esteem in my mind, but after a few months I start getting anxious. I suppose the grass always looks greener elsewhere to me as well. The same is happening at my current job working for a moving company. It is certainly not a bad job. Some days I get anxious about who I will have to work with, but the pay is good and the work is enjoyable for the most part. I am not getting enough hours right now, but I know the summer moving season is closing in, and I could apply for a driver position and immediately start making more money.

So, why look for a new job? I suppose I don't have a good enough reason.

Right now, I think this is a test of my endurance. I could make more money working at a camp all summer (which I am currently doing on the weekends), but a regular summer job would necessarily end eventually, and I would be out of work again. Not a healthy cycle to continue in the long run. Buckling down and saving money should take prime importance to me right now.

A long-time friend of mine is visiting Grand Rapids from Rapid City, South Dakota, and we got a chance to catch up this evening. Hearing about my job situation, he informed me that oilfield workers in North Dakota can make upwards of $40,000 per year in entry-level jobs, and that the job market in the Dakotas in general is MUCH better than here in Michigan. This not only raised my hopes for finding better work out West next summer, but also piqued my interest toward the oilfield jobs. I have certainly considered similar jobs because of the pay, but I had not given it any serious thought. Now, however, I may actually go join one of these operations once my year lease is up in 2015.

This presents another self-imposed quandary. I am always laying obligations on myself: ministry obligations, job obligations (jobligations?), friend obligations...you name it. I try to make plans very far in advance and then keep myself to them. This is not always a negative thing. A man of his word is very hard to find nowadays. The issue comes when I regret the obligations I have unnecessarily forced on myself.

Example: I very much want to move to Durango, Colorado Springs, or Santa Fe in summer 2015. When I first considered working the oilfields, I immediately thought, "Oh, but then I would be going back on what I said to this person, and that one, and...." Wait a minute. I am about to sign a year lease in Grand Rapids, sure, but I have made no agreements past that point. None. I am a free agent once that year is up, and I really should take advantage of it.

The plan is to move out West. Beyond that, I will stay speculating, and avoid making any promises.

I think I'll post more journal entries from Idaho next.

Peace.