I’ll be off of the internet for a few days while I move. Grand Rapids here I come. Tomorrow is the big day. My brother and I are going to get this thing done; I have faith. Well, that and not a lot of stuff.

As far as work goes… I spoke to my new boss, Dave, and he’s going to pick me up on Monday so that I can get my truck. My tools are waiting for me. My uniforms have been ordered. My phone arrived today, Verizon XV6800 Smartphone, and is charging as I type this.

I’ve forwarded my mail and changed my address, but I’m keeping my existing phone number. Tomorrow I’ll sign the lease and move in.

Yesterday, I got the motorcycle out for the first time this year. Took it for a short ride to pick up my last check from Nichols. It felt good to be riding again and I’m looking forward to riding it around this summer. Yes, it’ll be going with me. Probably not until next weekend though. I can only drive so many vehicles at one time.

I’m both looking forward to this change in my life and anxious about moving so far away from everyone I know. The stress of it all caught up with me on Tuesday when the apartment complex called to say I was approved. Now it’s really happening. I’m moving. Out on my own for the first time. No family. No girlfriend. No wife. No kids. Hell, no friends. It’s a completely fresh start. And that’s both exciting and a tad frightening. But it’ll make me a better, stronger person and the money should be pretty good, too.

Okay, next post should be from my new digs. Maybe there’ll even be pictures. Take care and wish me luck. Later.

We went and found me an apartment last weekend, despite rainy weather and gloomy news from the prospective employer. It’s a two bedroom apartment, about 900 sq. ft., with a fireplace, washer and dryer hook-up, and sits about 25-feet from a nice little lake. I think I’ll like it. The rent isn’t bad either. Should be a nice place to call home.

Monday I made some calls and got the drivers license thing straightened out, the recruiter was of the impression that I have been and was still driving on a suspended license. Crazy. Anyway, that’s straightened out. My start date is going to be the 21st, I just don’t know exactly where I’ll be starting… my guess is down at the same warehouse I had my interview at. Gotta pick up my truck, tools, uniforms, etc… and get the whole orientation thing taken care of.

I also had lunch with my boys and told them I was moving. They weren’t terribly surprised. Their mother had apparently told them to expect that I was going to tell them I was moving to Florida or Arizona or someplace equally distant. So that went well. Tyler is looking good, he’s lost about 20-lbs. and Zachary claims to have gotten a hair cut… I don’t see it.

And one other thing of note, I put insurance back on my motorcycle. We’re good to go for the summer. And it’s a good thing because it’s supposed to be beautiful over the next few days.

Today, I got the approval to rent from the apartment complex. I’m going to go sign the papers on Friday morning. I’ll do the rest of the moving in on Saturday, I think. Haven’t got that quite figured out.

All in all the reality of this move is finally crashing down on me. I’m feeling both overwhelmed and impatient to get it over with. So much change. So damn fast.

To add to my stress I was driving down M-59 today and out of the blue my windshield cracked; about 6″ up from the hood and easily 3′ long (horizontally). I of course don’t have glass on my insurance, damn it. Good thing it’s not in my field of vision. But damn it, I am so ready to get a new car.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll chat with you later.

Well, I’ve gone and made myself unemployed. Today was my last day at Nichols. No cake. No party. No thanks for your service. Just my last day. Keys, shirts, and phone are all turned in. My tools are out of the van. And my last paycheck will arrive in the bank on Wednesday. It would feel good except for one little thing…

So I mentioned my background check showed a driver license suspension, right? Anyway, I got a ticket for something, I don’t remember what, and forgot to pay it. So they suspended my license until the ticket was paid. So we’re talking 07/2001 until 09/2001 when they pulled me over for something and the whole thing got straightend out. Like I said, forgot to pay a ticket. Didn’t know my license was revoked. Kindly officer took me to the station and we got it all straightened out. 2001. Apparantly this is causing some angst for the folks who want me to come work for them. And now it’s causing me angst.

I called the recruiter today to make sure everything was copasetic, what with the quiting my job, the apartment search, the moving and all that. Voice mail. The recruiter calls me back and leaves me a voice mail saying that there’s an issue with my driving record and that the hiring/background people will get in touch with me. So I call them and say, what’s the dilly? They tell me that unless I have anything to contest on the report they can’t help me, because all they do is generate the report. Well, the report is fine. So now I’m in the dark until Monday. Nice. Then I get a call from Steve, the guy who told me about the job. He says that the driving record is what tangled up the Lansing guy. He now works as maintenance in a single building. I just want to know what’s going on.

Ah well, I’m still going to go to Grand Rapids. The power of positive thinking and all that. Later.

I feel like I’m going to explode. Obviously, I have eaten too much. I went to Qdoba, or as I like to call it, my reading place, and while I didn’t get anything out of the ordinary, the girl made my burrito HUGE! Of course, I ate the whole thing. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Now I’m paying the price.

Okay, I’m a little stressed. I didn’t realize it until earlier today. But there’s a lot of change going on around here and maybe manning it up isn’t quite the way to deal with it. Job changes, relationship changes, money problems, where to live… yeesh. What brought it to a head was the copy of my background check that arrived yesterday. One little sentence highlighted. My drivers licnse was suspended for a month or two in 2001 for an unpaid ticket, expired plate I think. If that keeps me from getting this job…. I don’t even want to think about it. Tasha says that if that were the case I’d have heard by now. I hope she’s right. But I’m going to call tomorrow just to be sure, I don’t want to get an apartment and move just to find out that I was wrong.

It doesn’t help that yesterday I had a touch of the 24-hour flu. I think I slept it off, but I still don’t feel 100% quite yet.

Today, I packed up one car load of tools from the work van; All the stuff that I know I won’t need tomorrow. I dropped my ladders off at my brother’s house. And I cleaned up the inside of the van so that I can just grab my stuff and go at the end of the day. I’m not going to be able to get the job I’m working on done, but really, that’s not my problem now is it. I did as much as I could and I feel good about what I’ve done. Somebody else will have to finish it up.

I also wanted to report that Nichols has given my buddy, Dave, a job. Congrats Dave. I think it’ll be a good opportunity for him to get his feet wet. I hope it works out for all parties.

Tomorrow or Saturday I’m headed to Grand Rapids to find a place to live. Wish me luck. I’m outta here. Later.

Yesterday I cleaned the dirtiest flame sensor I have ever seen. This thing had actual clumps of junk on it. I don’t know how it had been working up until this point, seems like it should have stopped working months ago. Crazy.

I’ve given my boss my 1-week notice, Friday the 11th will be my last day with Nichols. He teared up a little, but I gave him a big hug and told him everything would be alright. Okay, that part didn’t happen. Or did it? Hmmm… I’ll never tell. I also pushed for him to hire my schoolmate, Dave, and he said he’d give him an interview. So let’s all cross our fingers and hope that Dave gets the job. Go Dave!

Monday I went and peed in a cup for my drug test. Did you know that they have a time limit for that? I didn’t. Apparently if you can’t pee within 4-minutes, you have to come out of the bathroom and let them inspect the room and give you a glass of water. How did I find this out? Let’s just say that I was interrupted while I was working up to the task at hand. It was a little weird. But I got the job done on the second go round. Without interruption, I might add.

I also faxed back all the paperwork that they sent me and when I called the recruiter today to see if everything was in order, she said it was. Good news. I’ve also finished reading the new hire manual and things look even better than they did before. Benefits will start on the first day of the month following my hire date, so that means only 10-days before my benefits kick in. Vacation accrues at 1.5 days a month, that’s 18-days a year… Sweet. Plus, since it’s a bank contract, I’ll get all the bank holidays off as well. And best of all, after one year of service I’ll be eligible for $5,000 a year in educational reimbursement. This is going to be so cool.

I’ve been looking at apartments and rental homes in the Grand Rapids area online and I’m going to head out there this coming weekend to check out some places. I’m thinking that the best way to handle it is to get a short-term lease until I get to know the area a little better. No sense in rushing into someplace that I may not really want to be in. See, I think this stuff out.

I’m off to have dinner at Tasha’s and discuss further this big move and how we’ll handle this long distance relationship; oh, and we’ll probably kill some monsters in Balder’s Gate after we walk the dog. That’s just how we roll. Later.

First thing this morning FedEx rang the buzzer with my new employee package. Basically a folder full of forms for me to sign and return and a drug test form for the lab to fill out. So I sat down to fill out all that good stuff.

Okay, one aspect of this makes me nervous. The credit check. My credit is some kind of torn up right now. Why? Something like this layoff, repossession, separation, layoff, foreclosure, divorce, uninsured extended hospital visit, low-paying job, and school reducing my hours. Things are getting better now, but all that medical stuff is in collections. I sure hope that none of this keeps me from getting this job. Because I’m on the cusp of something very good and very positive here.

Then I got a couple of calls. No heat on a 60-degree day seems silly to those of us who don’t have that problem. One call was a bad circuit board, that happens when the dog chews through the water hose on the washing machine and water pours down on the furnace. I didn’t have the part, so they’ll have to wait until Monday for heat. The second call was for a disconnected phone number; I’m not going to drive out there to quote the price for a service call. They never called back, so they must have gotten someone else. That was about 2-hours out of my day. Nothing else so far, but I’ve got the pager until Tuesday morning so stay tuned.

I did some online searching for housing in and around Grand Rapids but really I’m just putting a list of places to visit out there next weekend.

I started packing and it makes me realize what a good job of parring my stuff down I did when I moved out of the house. I don’t own much stuff. Should be a very easy move. If I didn’t have a bed and a desk I could probably just do it in two trips with the car. But I do have those things, so I’ll have to rent a cargo van. Ah well, such is life.

Tasha is with a friend tonight, that’s why I’m here writing this. Aren’t you lucky. Yes, you are. I went to dinner with my sister earlier, really, I don’t think that’s news worthy. I think I’ve run out of things to say. Later.

The call came in this afternoon a little after 1:00, Jones Lang LaSalle wants me to be a part of their team. I accepted the invitation to handle their Grand Rapids territory. Sure it means moving to Grand Rapids, MI (some 3-hours away), but it also means I’ll be getting a $10/hour raise, a brand spanking new truck full of brand spanking new tools, health benefits, 401k, educational reimbursements, and most importantly the possibility of advancement. Sounds like this is the real deal. The kind of job I’ve been looking for.

Sure, I have some reservations about moving to a city that I’ve never actually been to before, but I’ve heard it’s nice. Besides… I’ve got three whole weekends to find a place and move. I start on the 21st of April. Well, two weekends, since I’m on-call this weekend and won’t exactly be in a position to zip out to Grand Rapids and look for housing.

I’d like to be able to give Nichols my full 2-weeks notice, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to, what with finding a place to live and moving and all that jazz. I don’t like the way I’ve been handled there, but I know that it’s mostly my own doing. Or at least, I set things in place to make it easy for me to be under paid and difficult for me to get to the salary I should be at. No hard feelings on my part, I needed to get back into the field and Nichols gave me the opportunity to do that while I was going to school. I’ve known for awhile now that this wasn’t the place where I was going to stay, but I’m thankful for the chance to work when I needed it. So I think I’ll give them next week and have Friday be my last day. That should give me enough time to get things in order… I hope.

This weekend is the home show in Troy and I did an on-call swap for another guy who’s going on vacation. So I’ve managed to salvage one weekend. Otherwise I’d be working the show this weekend and on-call next weekend… you know, if I stayed that long. This way I feel like I’m doing one last good deed before I depart.

I’ll miss my friends, but I’m already nearly an hour away from them now, so it’s not like this’ll make that much of a difference. It’ll still be an all-day thing to see them. And then there’s the whole thing with Tasha and doing the long distance relationship thing. How will that work? I don’t know, having never done it. But then again lay-off rumors are flying around her job and things are looking grim for her position. Will she look for work in Grand Rapids? Would she move out there with me? These are things that we haven’t really sat down and discussed. Sure we’ve talked about the possibilities, but we haven’t really talked about them in detail. She says that the only way she’d move out there with me is if we get married, and I’ve got to tell you, there is a certain appeal to that possibility. Hmmm…

Well, that’s it for now. Just wanted to share the big news. Later.

Wait. Here’s a bit about who I’ll be working for:

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL), the only real estate money management and services firm named to FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and Forbes magazine’s “400 Best Big Companies,” has approximately 160 offices worldwide and operates in more than 450 cities in over 50 countries. With 2006 revenue of more than $2.0 billion, the company provides comprehensive integrated real estate and investment management expertise on a local, regional and global level to owner, occupier and investor clients. Jones Lang LaSalle is an industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 1.3 billion square feet worldwide. In 2006, the firm completed capital markets sales and acquisitions, debt financing, and equity placements on assets and portfolios valued at $70.9 billion. LaSalle Investment Management, the company’s investment management business, is one of the world’s largest and most diverse real estate money management firms, with approximately $46.9 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit our Web site, www.joneslanglasalle.com.

Now I’ll say it. Later.