Well in just a week a lot has changed. Sort of.

On Saturday I went to the post office to pick up my certified letter from UNF. Although it was only a single letter and nothing indicating it was any sort of package, the letter told me that I had, after all of the anticipation of the past year, been accepted into the accelerated nursing program at UNF. This clearly changes everything. Or does it?

On Wednesday I got a call from the Mayo Clinic for a "Help Desk Manager" position that I had applied for. The only reason I applied for it was that I wanted to make sure my name was noticed for the regular help desk job I'd applied for earlier in the month. Anyway I was very surprised that they called to request an interview, especially since I didn't even get a call about the help desk position. I went in on Friday for the interview, and was even more surprised when after the interview the guy told me I should probably expect a call for a second interview. That 2nd interview, should I be given one, will not be for another month.

In a way I wish this had never happened. After all this time of being in limbo, I finally had a definite answer from UNF and a reason to relax about my long term future. But now, with this other job a surprising possibility, I can't say for sure that I'll be doing the program. This job pays 45,000 bucks a year to start, maybe more. Could I really be offered such a job and turn it down for nursing school? As much as it's taken to convince me that it's time to leave this line of work behind, should I turn around and stay in it?

My gut right now tells me no. It tells me that regardless of what happens with this Mayo job, I should stick with my plan with nursing. In the long run, it probably has the best outlook. It's the short run that would make me wonder. I could be making that starting salary and house hunting in a few months, or I can take out a student loan and go into debt to ultimately make what will probably be more money in the long run in nursing. Moneywise I think that it would be at best a wash, and if anything nursing would give the bigger yield. But job security-wise, it's not even close. And that's a big factor after what happened to me last year.

It also comes down to satisfaction. Nursing gives me a chance to expand my horizons so much wider and make me so much better rounded as a person. I see it as something I will enjoy and something that will never bore me. The "yuck" factor is what makes me wonder about it. Tech has gotten to this point that it does bore me.

So this should pretty much decide it. While I won't say for sure that this will be my ultimate decision, I expect to be in the thick of nursing school in a year. In a way, I kind of hope I'm never faced with the decision, and that Mayo goes with someone else. I guess I hope that just because it would make my decision so much easier.

This past weekend was a pretty cool time. I went to Orlando Saturday afternoon, which was probably a mistake. I think it might be time to just minimize my visits to Steve. He and his friends do little but get drunk and go woman-hunting. Ten years ago this might have been fine for me, but I guess now I just crave more intelligent conversation. More mature things to do. I don't mean to sound snobbish or heady, but Steve still acts like a college frat boy when he's around his friends. Anymore when I go down there he gives me a hard time for not wanting to go get drunk with him and his not-exactly-motivated friends. But after that we went to Titusville. We had a pretty good time hanging out with the parents, and Dan and his family. I am glad I went. It gave me a chance to see them and bounce my ideas aobut this possible decision I will have to make soon. And of course just hanging aorund with them was fun.

I am still not sure what to make of the situation with Judy. We talk on the phone a LOT. Like at least a couple times a week, and lately more like a couple times a day. Obviously, I really like her company. And as I was driving down to Orlando and called her up to give me some welcome company she finally opened up to me. She told me more about her and Greg. Turns out I'd correctly suspected, from the small bits of info she'd let out before, that she was sort of hanging onto him even though he didn't seem to want to do much to make them an official couple. I'd even guessed that she was clinging to the idea that this would change and that he'd commit to her more. She then told me that on Friday night she just got tired of it and left him a note saying she was tired of their situation and wanted it to be over. She told me how tough it's going to be that they work together and will have to see each other many times every day. I can't say she sounded as resolute as I'm used to her sounding when she's talking to me. Maybe she'll change her mind and go back to him. I wouldn't be too surprised if she did, since I think that's pretty much what's happened before. I told her that she does not need to cling to any such situation and that she has too much to offer to worry about finding someone else. I told her she needs to find someone who treats her the way she deserves. And then was the only time the possibility of us ever hooking up came up. She said "someone like my buddy Ted?" I just said yeah, someone like your buddy Ted. I haven't told her the truth about the email I sent her when she told me I was too old for her. And I see no reason to right now. That would defeat the purpose of having sent her the email I sent in the first place. Maybe I should tell her, but at this time I am not ready to. Either way, she said she was going to need some time to get over this, since she and Greg had been in this whatever-it-is relationship for 4 years now. I'm trying not to push this along too much and am sort of staying in close touch with her and taking a wait and see kinf of approach. I've gotten into the catch-22 situation of liking her as a friend so much that I'm not sure I want to ruin it by going further. But then, I also know how that usually turns out. One of us gets a "significant other" and we grow apart..... But my attraction to her could definitely overcome that. She is one hot girl.

So life is now starting to get really interesting. 6 months ago, it seemed like nobody wanted any part of me except my family and closest friends. Now, that seems to have changed. You hear people who have been through it say getting laid off or fired is often the best thing that could have happened to them, and I would think to myself how bad it would be. Now that it's happened to me, I definitely think it was a good thing for me. Maybe a great thing. Things are good.