Community Blood Center

It has been many years since I worked at the Community Blood Center.  My role was as a Lab Assistant.  I was there for five years and it was a good experience.  As I look to a new opportunity, I was thinking back on why I liked working at CBC for all those years.  There was privacy for one thing, as I worked in the lab over night and had just a few hours of overlap with other employees.  In previous work, I had been deeply wounded emotionally by co-workers.  This gave me time to heal.  I liked having control over my environment with lots of space to myself.  It was a job with many routine tasks.  I like predicability and steadiness and I like knowing what I am doing.  Putting things away in order is natural for me and there was a lot of inventory control with this position.  I liked how I could make decisions over my time.  Usually, I would get there and push hard on getting the blood bags labeled which took a few hours.  Then I would take a lunch break.  After that I hit a few more tasks for a few hours.  All the while I could choose the radio station I wanted to hear or I could keep it quiet.  I liked scheduling my own day and not having to put up with other people's poor choices and habits.

The hours were tough and made visiting with family on weekends very difficult.  There was also a picky employee in the lab that went out of her way to make her co-workers lives miserable.  Eventually, I grew more and more in my desire to earn a bigger paycheck.  This happened to be a straight hourly job.  That provided stability, which is important to me.  However, I had the stable base and was looking to do more.  It was eventually time for me to leave and try something new.

I am looking for a position where I have privacy, where I know what I am doing, that has routine tasks, involves order and organizing AND pays well.  I do not think that my gifts have to come cheap.  There must be a place that I can work that also has high salary.  I am looking for happy work and that means enjoyment in what I do and it also includes being paid well.

Social

I am not the worlds most social guy.  It is not that I dislike people.  Even I have a social need.  However, if you are having an elective gathering, don't count on me being there.  I am not trying to be rude but I find a party to be emotionally draining.  I much prefer to spend my free hours with my family, at home, on the computer, or reading a book.  This is because I am introverted and I recharge my batteries by having downtime at home.  I do socialize in select areas.  I attend church on a regular basis.  I also attend a couple of career networking classes.  On Tuesdays, I am taking a financial management class in town.  There are also a few men's accountability groups I attend throughout the month.  I like to find people that I respect and trust because then I think the most can be done and the results can be the most favorable.  Whenever the extended family has a get-together, I make every effort to be in attendance.  This maybe Christmas, or a family reunion, a birthday, wedding, or funeral.  I like to get people's names and speak it back to them.  I try to exchange information that is beneficial.  It is always interesting to find out what people are up to because it can inspire and motivate me.  Overall, I don't think I am under social.  It is my goal to have quality friendships and to give back to the community as I can.

Spiritual

The next area of life is Spiritual.  I believe we are more than just a physical body.  I think we have a spirit that will last for eternity.  I do not have all the answers, but I have found great hope and comfort in my Christianity.  It makes me feel good to attend church, to sign songs of praise, and to read my Bible.  The inner man has been minimized in our culture today which is materialistic and elevates man so highly.  Things will degrade and pass out of existence and mankind only knows so much and can only do so much.  The teaching I have received about creation and redemption through God's Son Jesus Christ has given me understanding and contentment.  I think the area of a man's soul has been undervalued.  It is my hope to see this area rise again to a much greater part of our community and individual conscience.

Physical

Physical is the next part of having a complete life.  Since childhood, I have enjoyed some form or another of outside activity.  That has been shooting baskets, biking, or playing football.  These days, my physical activity is more deliberate.  I am happy to be getting exercise 5 days a week.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I run 2 to 3 miles.  My route is through our subdivision.  It is an enjoyable run with little traffic and certainly doable even for me.   My goal is to complete four 5k races this year.  I have already completed one and my time improved over the times I had last year.  On Tuesday and Thursday I go to the city pool.  There, I go to the weight room and lift free weights and then go on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes.  After that I swim for about 15 minutes.  All told, I am there about an hour.  It is nice to do something that is somewhat social while getting some exercise.  The other physical activity I do is working in the yard, mowing, trimming, and planting and I also will take a walk with the dog.  The other side of physical is eating and living right.  I could probably improve in what I eat by simply taking in less sweets.  Sugar is a weakness of mine and one that I am easily drawn too.  Otherwise, I have eliminated or minimized other poisons.   It has been my life long goal to be physically fit and healthy.  I want to live my life to its greatest potential with minimum pain and maximum functionality.

Intellectual

The next area of life is Intellectual or Personal Development.  One way I grow personally is by reading books.  My goal is to complete two non-fiction books per month.  I also challenge myself by attending seminars and classes.  Currently, I am about half way through Financial Peace University.  I also attend Brave Heart, a men's group at our church, every other Saturday.  There is another men's Bible study on each Thursday night that I attend which pushes me to speak and think.  Another way I grow personally is by reading blogs.  I read blogs written by Dan Miller, Jon Acuff, Seth Godin and several others.  A third way I grow personally is by listening to podcasts.  Some of the programs I hear are Writer's Almanac, No More Monday's show, and 48 Days.  One last area that I have experienced growth in is by trying new things.  I attempt to stretch myself by reaching into new areas that I have not explored before.  Avoiding failure and succeeding are not actually the point.  The objective is to try something new to see what it is like and to have the experience.  This maybe done by traveling, interacting with something in the environment, or introducing myself to someone I have not met before.  I enjoy personal development because I like to learn and become more of the person I was meant to become.