Here's What's Going On

Okay, I'm slowly accepting that I won't be going back to school in the Fall.  Will I ever go back?  Hard to tell at this point.  I'm honestly not sure.

I have accepted a job with the Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton, OH.  The position is "contract negotiator".  I've been interested in this job for years and tried to pursue it in the Navy.  Literally, just a few months before I finished my requirements for my defense aquisition certification, the Navy changed up the rules and basically made it impossible for me to get it as a reservist.

To qualify for this training program, you need to either have a JD or an MBA.  I've had the MBA for a while, now, and when they came on-campus to interview, I got my appointment because I was studying for a JD.

This was actually pretty high on my list of jobs I'd like to pursue after graduation.  So, getting it without finishing the last 2 years of the JD is a good deal for me.

I'm really looking forward to this.  If things work out, then I will probably retire from this job.  If not, I may be back in school.  Who knows. 

Now, there is one downside to the job:  it's in Dayton, which is a good 3 hours from my house.  I still have Logan every other night and this will mean hauling butt out of there.  I hope I can use flex hours and telecommuting, but won't know all the details about that until I'm actually working there. 

The upsides are plenty.  It's a federal government job with benefits and holidays and all the other stuff you get with a federal government job.  The vacation policy is pretty good.  They actually give you paid time off during the week so you can work out.  Military bases are very fitness conscious.  It'll be nice to get back into a fitness routine after all these years of being out of any fitness routine.


Mostly I feel fortunate that an organization was willing to take a chance on a trainee in his mid-40s.  Plus, the Air Force is a great organization.  I always looked at it with a mix of jealousy and envy when I served in other branches. 


So, provided it's everything I hoped it would be, plus provided they are happy with me as an employee, the only real hassle will be driving back and forth.  Obviously, on days Tessa has Logan, I'll be able to stay down there.

I thought about trying to get an apartment, then maybe just renting a room.  However, until I'm sure I'll be there for good, I don't feel comfortable signing any leases.  I will probably just pray that priceline gives me a merciful price at a hotel. 

My days as an entrepreneur are done, though.  It has been nonstop bad news for three years, now.  Having my own business was awesome in a lot of ways, and I may do it again sometime in life, but for the time being, I'm gonna be pretty darned happy to see that paycheck get direct deposited every two weeks.

And a final funny note:  once I draw a paycheck from this job, I'll have drawn a paycheck for all the three major defense departments.  I was active-duty enlisted in the Army.  I was an officer as a reservist in the Navy.  And now, I'll be a DOD civilian working for the Air Force.  (The Marines are under the department of the Navy.)