Wow, it's 2006.  Wow. Just… Wow… As I look back on 2005, I realize that it was probably the most pivotal year in my life since 2000, when I left PNG and moved to Chicago for school.  This year saw me quit grad school, pack my bags and move out to the Seattle area to start a new job at Microsoft.  Many of you were with me in spirit during that whole process, supporting me with emails and phone calls, especially as I progressed through the interview process with Microsoft. I truly appreciate the encouragement you all gave me then and continue to give me.

I don't think I realized when I took the job how much of a transition this was going to be for me.  Leaving Chicago, a city I have come to love, and the many friendships I forged there during college, was the obvious right decision when faced with the awesome job opportunity, but that didn't make the transition any easier.

At first, the hardest part was the job itself.  The Program Manager position is pretty enigmatic, and I discover new things about it every day. While I was at Heather Relyea and Philip Ashley's wedding a couple of weeks ago, a lot of people asked me if I like it, and my stock answer is "for the most part." It is a challenging job, and very mentally draining.  I work really really really hard.  The week before my two week Christmas vacation, I put in nearly 70 hours.  That's not really typical, but it just illustrates that I earn my salary. :-) It can also be pretty frustrating.  I am lucky that I am surrounded by really smart co-workers who are awesome, but the downside to that is that I can feel pretty dumb sometimes.  But if living in the fraternity taught me anything, it's that surrounding yourself with intelligent people increases your own intelligence.  Plus, God has really done a bang-up job of providing for me financially with this job.  I am certainly not in the clear, but I am well on my way to getting rid of 100% of that pesky college debt, and I am taking advantage of the health benefits with the weight loss program and getting my teeth fixed up.  I was also able to get a new car when my old one was declared a death-trap. :-) I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.

So the job is good, I am financially blessed… but socially I am still struggling.  It's easy for me to blame the long hours at work, and indeed that plays a major part in my lack of friends here in the northwest, but I think most of the blame lies with me.  Despite what you all probably think, I am not very good at meeting people, and that lack of skill is kind of hurting me out here.  I have resolved to be more proactive about developing relationships this year, but I would definitely appreciate your prayer and encouragement in this.  Pray mostly that I would have the resolve and motivation to get involved socially even when I've worked a long week and just want to sleep or watch TV.  It's easy for me to just do nothing, but friends and relationships don't just materialize out of thin air. :-)

I am desperately trying to import friends out here, though. :-)  Ben Onken is coming to live me for awhile while he looks for work in the area, and I learned this past week that David Boogaard and his wife live in Spokane now, so I will have even more excuses to go out east.  That said, if you're considering coming out to the northwest to visit or permanently, please let me know.  I'd love to see you!

I guess that's about it for now… It's funny how boring your life gets after college.  I mean, in college, all kinds of things are happening and things are changing really fast, but when you become a working stiff, you fall into a routine, and about the only thing to talk about is work. Booooorrrrriiiinnnggg. :-)

Well, that's all from me, I hope to hear back from some of you all soon.