All I Want continued

Another recruiter called and emailed me today with another job opportunity. Apparently I have yet to internalize this lesson I'm supposed to learn...

All I Want

What's up with this weather? God just can't decide whether to make it spring or keep it winter here in northern Cal. I think He's just teasing us, giving us a little taste of the good stuff, then yanking it back just when we've traded our sweaters and scarves for shorts and sandals. But nevermind the mind games. The switchback seems to suit my season conflicting cravings that exemplify my juvenile-like, adult stage of life. Golf, tennis, and skiing all in the same week...only in Northern California. Funny how complaining has slowly infiltrated what was once and should still be nothing but blessing. So that's my self, slap in the face of a reminder that life is good here in the Bay area.

And so it is with my career as well, except backwards. I am the first to admit that I hold a good job. More times than not, I am intellectually challenged, enjoy the company of my coworkers enough to grab a drink with them off the clock, and am compensated enough to fork over a chunk of my paycheck to the mortgage bank and still play golf once a week with the leftover. I honestly have nothing to complain about; this job is nothing short of a blessing, giving me no grounds for lament. But in stability often comes complacency with me. So shouldn't I be looking to stay fresh in my field by finding new avenues to discover the latest in polymer engineering (there are advances in plastics everyday!) and develop new skills? These last couple weeks, a couple recruiters reminded me that there are these sorts of opportunities outside of the familiar, positive cash flowing, Redwood City office I've called home for many years. And what about moving up the proverbial ladder? Ambition was reintroduced to me when I heard a classmate had recently moved to the area to serve as a senior director at Cisco. Granted, that's not the norm. But aspiration, it's taken a back seat to status quo. That has to change.

And there I went, fueled with a pipe dream or two propelling me down the hall into my boss' office...