Retirements

I am still at the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records due to the fact that there have been layoffs and retirements over the past few months. A good co-worker of mine Louise Muir worked here for 42 years and just had her last day yesterday. I am grateful for her advice and wisdom in the two years that I have been here.

We are having another goodbye for Michele Reily who will be going to Houston in a few weeks. She gave me instruction on putting up metadata in a program. I am hopeful that I will see her down the road.

Old motels

I am taking a break from the employment situation to talk about the old motels that I stayed at when I was a kid. thanks to Google Street View. I am able to view street scenes of small towns like Lordsburg, NM and Van Horn, TX and check to see if those old motels are still around.

Sadly, I can say for certain that the old Seven Kay Motel in Van Horn has been torn down while the old Best Western American Motor Inn is still around, but it seems to be a shell of its old self. The Flying W Lodge in Ozona is still around, but it has been taken over by Travelodge chain.

I think that it is sad that in today's cookie cutter world that the old motels are falling by the wayside and falling into disrepair.

Another repreive

Retirements from some of the library staff is giving me new life in my library work here. Now that I am almost back to full-time, I can have Joseph finish his Kindergarten here with no problems and that my look for work will not be as frantic. It is my guess that my stay here will be until June 30 or thereabouts as the uncertain budget situation will cast a shadow over the library at that time.

With that in mind, I am hoping to get a library position in Casa Grande, Henderson, NV or somewhere in South Texas.

A reprieve

I am now still on half-time, but through the generosity of a fellow church member, I will be able to stay until the end of April. At least my son Joseph will finish most of Kindergarten without missing much and I can stay here where I can be reached by various libraries that I applied for.

The job hunt is a big waiting game and it grates on me a bit, but I must put my trust in God and HE will sustain me.

Half-time (and we're not talking football)

The continuing decline in the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records is accelerating now that I have been placed on half-time along with several co-workers. I can hold out for a little more than a month, but it looks as if it will come to an end for all of us regardless by the end of the fiscal year.

I am going to take my family to Texas to explore my options as I now have a bunch of applications turned in for libraries across the Lone State State. I only hoped that the half-time would have occurred in May which would have let my Joseph complete Kindergarten here.

Arizona setting?

Well folks, it looks as if my time here in Arizona might be coming to an end. We had a division meeting at the library where our division director told us that the furloughs we have been taking for the last month won't meet the budget shortfall that has arisen.

I am hoping that the layoffs will not occur until the end of May so that my son Joseph can finish Kindergarten and then we can head out to Texas where some of my brothers live. I have been applying for library jobs throughout the state so keep me in prayer. I am getting a little tired now of moving around the country which I have been doing since I was a boy. I am 46 now so i hope I will only do a few more moves before I settle down.

Sad news on the job front

Well folks, it looks as if my days at the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records are coming to an end. The budget cutbacks have had a devastating effect on the library budget and with a larger deficit to close next fiscal year, the library where I work may not exist.

I love the Grand Canyon State and I don't wish to leave, but I have to go where I can support my family.

I am looking to explore options so keep me in your prayers.