Life, Reformed: Keep Pushin’ On

Well it’s comin together I finally feel like a man, oh yes I do

I never thought that I’d be where I am, oh

Everyday I wake a little bit higher

Whoa I keep pushin on, oh yeah

— REO Speedwagon, Keep Pushin’ On

Well, I still haven’t gone insane from my work-a-holic reformation.  I’m really a little shocked by that.

In fact, things have been going great!  Well, OK, mostly great – there’s always room for improvement.

First, the whole schedule change – I’m getting to bed and waking up on schedule, or pretty close.  Last night and today was the only exception – I had a site to release around midnight (I usually do new site kickovers late night not because I work better at night, but because it’s easier on the customers nerves most time to NOT see it happening live, along with traffic issues.)  Woke up at 10 when my alarm went off – I figured even if I went to bed late, getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep minimum per day is just a good idea.

The question in the back of my head was if it would screw up my schedule the next day – well, it’s already starting to feel a bit like bedtime, so I don’t think messing up my schedule it going to much of an issue.  But, that’s something to watch out for – doing it once because it’s necessary is OK, but making sure it’s not a habit it the thing I need to guard against.

The effects of changing my schedule and my work habits are pretty interesting.  I feel better, physically and mentally.  I’m sharper at work and outside of work.  Reducing the number of hours I work has been a major win.  But I’m also more active away from the computer now – I feel like I’m gaining more muscle and loosing some fat without actually DOING anything (IE, workouts).  I flat out feel better!

On the finding a job and the finding a new home part… well, I got a job offer that’s unbelievable.  Problem is that it requires some unbelievable things to happen at the same time for them to hire me.  But, if it were to happen, it becomes the penultimate piece of the reformation of my life.  OK, nearly penultimate – I suppose there are two, not one, more thing that ranks above that.  Anyway, if the job happens (which includes selling my company to my new employer), so does the next part – a new home.  Heck, pretty much exactly the type of place I’ve always wanted – I’ve found it, and have told Kat about it, but just like the job, other things have to happen.

The home, btw, is neither the ultimate nor penultimate piece of my reformation.  And in a way, it’s a toss up which item is which.

Of course, I’m hedging my bets anyway.  One of the big projects I’m working on for myself is my resume.  I’ve done too much, have too many skills, and have done too many notable projects to just slap it on a single page.  So I’m creating an resume that links to an online component that fleshes it all out.  There’s actually more to it than that – that’s the simple version of it.  But it’s a unique way to handle a resume 🙂

The reason for all these changes are three fold:  For me to be happier, for me to be in a situation where I can support a marriage in my life (emotionally, financially, etc.), and for me to be a better follower.  You can pick your own order of importance for that list – they are all directly tied together.

The “better follower’ portion is highly important to me – I’ve always had a problem with people who follow a religion, but don’t follow the truth of it.  So, I’m fixing that.  In fixing that it also helps make my life a little more conventional.  And making my life a little more conventional means I’ve got room, physically and emotionally, for a person to exist in it.

And I apear to not being doing any of this change in small degrees either.  I’m meeting most of my goals every day, or at least trying to – some still require more work to happen.  Going back to the house thing for instance, I can’t have that without consistent income.  Some things just depend on other things.

In keeping with the “better follower” portion, I’m finally doing something I’ve been contemplating for months now (well, actually, years – but there’s a long Messianic Musings post on WHY I’ve refused to do it until now):  July 29th, 2011 (my 40th birthday – all gifts are accepted, of course 😉 I’m going to be baptized.  Despite the religious influences early on in my life, I’ve never been baptized – I’ve decided to change that, and it’s all arranged. 🙂

What about the better able to support a relationship part?  Well, Kat saw what I was doing with my life and talked to me about it.  So I’m going to throw another important date that lands on the 29th – April 29th, 2012 Kat and I are getting married.

Apparently changing my life isn’t as hard as I expected it to be – at the moment, there’s always the unknowns around the corner that could be a gotcha.  And the payoffs sure look a whole lot better, and came a whole lot faster than I expected.

Praise God 🙂