Okay, well, things are starting to get a little other-worldly in my world; perhaps even beginning to "crystallize" a bit. I was up for a job with Ford that would have required relocation, although as part of the deal, I had to get an adequately high score on their "technical assessment." I didn't. As a teacher, I'd have flunked me, too, going by results like the ones I got. The "low lights," were a 1-out-of-5 score in electrical, a 1-out-of-6 score in brakes, and big, fat goose egg, 0-for-3, in steering and suspension. On the up-side, I went 5-for-6 in engine repair, and 6-out-of-8 in engine controls, so evidently I'm not a complete moron. None the less, I think at this point, my career as an automotive technician is in the circular file. Which, strangely, is not so bad. I didn't react badly to not getting a high enough score on this little test. And the whole idea that I frequently found myself unemployed wrenching......you do the math.

There's probably a place in this world for my automotive passions, but it sure as hell isn't wrenching. I could say I felt a little bad, because of how hard I worked to break into the field, but that in itself should have said a lot. Score one for that facet of "the awakening." Anyway, I've swallowed pills that were a lot more bitter than that one. As I've said, I can see that life as a teacher is going to require a lot of things I don't have right now, but judging by the success I've had, relatively speaking, the essential parts of the package seem to be there. It's the fine tuning that promises to be a bi*ch. Given that my INF-Whatever (INFJ, or INFP,) self seems to be more in tune with people than things, I suspect I'm becoming better off by the day. And there was a point at which this would have seemed positively miraculous, but now it just feels more natural.

As for the photo above, that would be my Uncle Joe and Aunt Susie, who live in Hawaii. As a result of some mis-communication and poor planning, I didn't get to see them when they were in town recently, their first time anywhere in MY vicinity since, 1972, I think it was. My Aunt Susie swears they'll be back more frequently in the future, and I certainly hope they will. My regard for that still tends to be, "I'll believe it when I see it," but enough of that. With any luck, at some point in the future, I can go visit them in Hawaii, and spare myself all the rest. Trust me, you don't wanna know, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story."