115 to 1

Odds, luck, or maybe even skill can provide you with great things that happen, and not so great. Sometimes I have been lucky. Sometimes life just bites me in the ass.

When I moved out here to the Central Coast of California, I thought getting a decent job would not be difficult. Wrong. This area has people driving to work here from all over, even two hours away, one way. The demand for a "good" job out here is more than I knew it would be. Some people say it's the economy. I just know I am here now and this seems to be how it is.

Before Sarah and I moved down here to Nipomo, CA, I was applying for work. I elicited the help of head hunters, posted my resume on any site I could find, and talked to people-who-might-know-people in the area. I received phone calls and even offers for pre-employment testing and interviews.

When you apply for a job you consider that a couple of people have also applied. You figure at least one person is as qualified as yourself. This is both a survival and logical idea. You actually have no real facts to base this on. You are only guessing about your "competitors." I am smart enough, have some experience, but what I really rely on is my interpersonal skills. I interview well, as long as I don't say something too stupid, which I have.

I was recently selected for a job from 115 applicants. That's 115 to 1 odds. I applied, then took a test, then interviewed. When I found out how many took the pre-employment, I all but counted myself out. It's funny because I also interviewed for another job with less applicants that I was more qualified for, but did not get the job.

That is the "humor" in life. You get the yin, then the yang. You get the bad, then good. It's strange how it's always been this way. You find the love of your life, then your dog dies.

I saw Marley and Me, the recent book made into a movie. It's great example of how you from such happiness to feeling such great loss. Everyday is really like this. When my brother passed away in January of 2001, my sister just gave birth to her first child. Our calendar in January is marked with a death next to a birthday.\
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So, at the same time the odds may be in my favor, there is always something after that which balances it all out. I don't think of it as good and evil or anything that deep. I think I just try to get passed it and go on the what's next. Hopefully the next thing is better.

It's like winning $1 on a $1 lottery ticket...what's the chance?

Maybe 115 to 1.