The Goodrums

I have a good friend that is wise and is cool and with whom I shared a subtle epiphany about life that summarizes things pretty well. He is a photographer. One day while cruising to Lowe's to pick up some pegboard for the garage, we were talking about his recent decision to leave his current job and pursue the dream of starting his own business. For quite some time (read "a few months") it had been an abstract idea or lofty dream that they were tossing around with nothing particularly concrete about it (other than they were considering it). Then one day it was real and happening, way to fast for that matter. It was at this point that we found ourselves traveling to Lowe's. I too was considering a move of my own, both in career and location, and it was also going somewhere (albeit, not quite so fast in retrospect). We were talking about the excitement of seeing your dreams fulfilled and the adventure it would be. We also talked about all those things that came along with it that were not part of your dream. Then he said, "Yeah, you're all excited and then it's like, 'Oh, this is real life.'" I read in the New York Times that this is the reason Americans don't take vacation anymore. They spend all this time and thought planning and anticipating the perfect vacation, and then when they get to Cabo San Lucas, it rains. So now we find ourselves witnessing the fulfillment of a dream in real life and it's exciting but not all easy; there is much to be done and not that much time. Eric's quote makes me think of something Jesus said. He told the disciples that they were going to have to deal with real life, but he followed that up by telling them that he had already won that battle. Good news for us, that's for sure.
Okay, now what you were waiting for. For those who did not pick up on Jen's little game, we are preparing to move. We are headed to Denver, CO, with a short stint in Boston, MA first, with an energy service company called NORESCO. I will be working in energy efficiency, which is a change from nuclear power, but something I want to do. From my understanding of the position, it will most involve the mechanical engineering discipline which is good because it is similar to nuclear and I will have an okay background. My interest in energy efficiency can be traced back to the topic of sustainable design that I encountered in Architecture 310 at Texas A&M University. I would be lying though if I did not say that I was also trying to find a job in Denver. I could go through the list of reasons that we are excited about this move, but suffice it to say that God has given us an opportunity that is better than we would have expected. Change can be tough, and there is some sadness over leaving friends, but change is also a source of new growth and that is exciting. I am already trying to figure out how we can hit the Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island highpoints on the way to Boston. Then, if we can manage Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and even Kansas (for good measure) on the way out to Denver then we'd be doing pretty good. Somewhere in there I think we're supposed to move some stuff, see some family, and work or something. So we have a lot ahead of us, but are looking forward to what is in store and where we will be taken. We'll (Jennifer) do our best to chronicle our adventures for you to read about, and for those friends and family interested in visiting, we welcome the company and would love to have you; just remember that rent in Denver will be $25.00 per night* to help pay for the house.


In honor of our friends Henry and Michelle's newsletters:

Jennifer - "I've never seen a Mexican restaurant that didn't serve margaritas."
Michael (Goodie) - "I have. Taco Bell."


*Bed not included