Every time I thought my life was about to get calmer in the past year, it instead got more not-calmer. In January 2022 I accepted a job that moved us from Florida to Ohio. In March I moved, and a month later my family moved. (I recommend moving in shifts because it makes everyone speculate that you're separating, and then they go out of their way to be nice to you, and when you finally "reconcile" everyone thinks it's such a happy ending. If you had just all moved at once everyone would be, like, "Fffftht.") The next few months were busy with learning a new job and getting all our stuff sorted. (I have too much stuff, and you have too much stuff; when the Beverly Hillbillies moved they managed to fit all of their possessions AND all the family into one car, but when we move it looks like Napoleon's baggage train.) Right when I was ready to begin my serious blogging about Millennial Social Thought, in September 2022, I was called as a counselor in our bishopric, and right when I was going to start new at the first of the year, I was called as bishop.
I will be the first to tell you that I am the worst bishop in the Church, and most of my ward's members would verify that claim without a moment's hesitation. There are two main reasons for this: one is my being terrible, and the other is my work.
An aside, for comparison's sake: 22 years ago, I interviewed for a job stocking shelves at Staples. In the interview the manager asked about a "hypothetical" situation where someone had smeared feces all over the restroom and asked what I would do. I thought, "That's a really weird hypothetical." Only after I took the job did I learn that it wasn't a hypothetical question AT ALL.
Similarly, when I interviewed for this job I was told that some people dislike the work demands during budget time, and did I have a problem with working extra when required. I've had a few experiences with overtime in my career, and they were fine, so I said I could handle it. Then we got to January 2023 and it turned out that "when required" meant "all the time for six straight months." I told my boss I now run a church congregation that meets on Sundays and she made the helpful suggestion of, "Don't make any plans for the weekends."
Well. The biennial budget cycle ended this weekend. I have a more-reliable computer situation. My Fitbit says I had my best night of sleep ever last night. In short, things are looking up for the first time in over six months. So I am recommitting to this Millennial Social Thought blog project, combined with the stories of my foolishness that the serious student of my blogging has come to expect. (Remember when I just let myself into a high school, changed into my swimming suit in the locker room, and swam laps in the pool until the PE teacher asked what I was doing? Or when I accidentally asked a coworker out on a lunch date? Or when I told my doctor I was a professional hostage negotiator? Or when I had a random pair of underwear fall out the leg of my pants...TWICE?) This is the content my public demands.
