Talking helps.

Had a good talk with Beau-retard, one of my co-workers, today. Beau is, in all seriousness, a fine, upstanding, Christian man. He's the person at work whose family life is most similar to mine. And he's probably the guy at work whose opinion I value most.

He'd been talking about leaving to work in a different field, and has an interview with the VP of a local outdoor advertising firm here sometime soon. A some point, he turns and tells me, "You oughta start putting out resumes, too. Don's never going to change. He needs to be in control. He doesn't want to grow his business. None of that bodes well for you." Basically, everything I've ever complained about to anyone regarding work, Beau verbalized inside 10 minutes and then told me I was selling myself and my family short.

I explained how I felt a bit trapped, having worked in landscaping for 14 years, yet having no degree, no quantitative CAD experience, yet being fairly highly paid (due to massive overtime) for what I do. He countered with, "You've managed construction projects. You've mediated costumer disputes. You've negotiated contracts. No one really cares what your degree is in, unless you're going to be a doctor or an engineer, which neither of us are, they just want to know you're bright enough to graduate. And if you don't tell them that 80% of your time is spent planting pansies, then you can use that other 20% to get the job."

And he's right. Getting out of this hellhole is just a matter of selling myself, and of conquering the fear of change. Jenn and the boys sure as heck deserve more, and after a decade-and-a-half of 50 to 60 hour weeks, I wouldn't mind something a little more family-friendly myself. So I guess it's time to give the ole resume a spit shine and see what's out there, landscaping or otherwise.

In the meantime, Cam and I are taking Friday off and going fishing. He's a good kid, and I promised him last week I'd take him if he could behave himself at school, He did, but Tropical Storm Barry interfered with our plans. So, depending on the tides, maybe the Eastern Shore...