Work-Life Balance Not Exactly Ideal

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So the balancing act between my work and life probably could not be any worse.  At the moment my goal of waking up early just isn't going to happen because my biorhythm is not well supported by my work schedule.  Due to short staffing and payroll cut backs I can't be full time.  Being part time has immense drawbacks since I get left with all the hours that no one else wants.  Essentially I work afternoon and evenings half the week followed immediately by morning and daytime shifts.  This pretty much leaves me exhausted and unable to function day to day by the end of the week.  Every precious minute I get to sleep, is welcomed with no protest!

From another point of view I wonder what the chaotic schedule is doing to the relationship I have with my wife and daughter.  I'm away from home at odd times and there's no consistency.  At times I'm unable to remember the last time I had a chance to actually have a good conversation with my wife that didn't revolve around finances, benefits, or how much my next pay check is going to be.  At the same time my work schedule and every day agenda at work is also partially dictated by whatever mood my boss happens to be in.  Such inconsistency causes great mental stress and anxiety about even going into work.

To summarize: I need a new job.

I have been out on the job market actually since March of last year, and so far with no success.  My wonderful wife has helped my compile a list of applications when I've been at work and I've received tips of who's looking to hire.  (As an added bonus: jobs that would give me the work/life balance I desperately need!)  Unfortunately, the story is the same after every interview.  I've got potential, but this other person has more experience.  Sure I make it into the final batch of qualified candidates, however, this does not help my need to provide, support, and be there for my family.

To say it's been rough would be a great understatement!

But this has got me thinking about where I want to go in life and what I need.  I don't need another job.  And even a retail job that's full time won't cut it.  I need a job that I can retire from in 30 years.  A job that utilizes my natural talents, nourishes and expands my potential, and develops my existing skill set.  Such a job - I realize - would likely be related to computer science or IT.  It's almost ecstasy to think that I could find a job where my day to day forced interaction with the general public would be drastically reduced or very limited.  I think that's what I really want though.  I'm just done with only retailers willing to hire me, and then force me into a position where I can't grow in my job.

An INTJ Overview

Sort of related to my post on life as an INTJ:  Here's an overview of the INTJ personality from a very well done video.  Of the many videos on my personality type, this one is a fantastic beginning to understand one of the most misunderstood personality types.

My Life As An INTJ

So, I'm pretty big on personality theory.  It's one of several things that still makes a lot of sense to me ever since I took the required, and very cerebral and fascinating, Introduction to Psychology course during my time spent in college.

Although we only received a short lesson - as part of our section on Karl Jung - the ideas on personality theory stuck around, like glue, to the neural pathways of my brain.  I discovered after taking a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment[1] (hereafter MBTI) that I scored as INTJ.  After learning what those four letters meant (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging), and reading a description of that personality type, I discovered that there's a clear and concise logic to how I think and perceive the world. In a way I became a sort of convert to studying personality theory in my spare time - enough that I've been able to get scary close to figuring out someone's personality.

So, what does this have to do with my life?

Everything!

Run a Google search for "INTJ personality"[2] and you'll find a plethora of search results and information to look at.  As an INTJ I tend to be enthusiastic about a massive amount of information, because that is what I need for decision making and to make sense of what is going on.  Don't worry if you're not big on a lot of information to sift through though.  However, I would definitely ask that for the sake of INTJs all over the world (estimated ~2.5%) to read up on what makes us tick (and why do we always seem have a death stare going on?).

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[1]  The MBTI assessment I took three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) over a period of four weeks and scored INTJ.  I only had to take it once for class, the rest of the attempts were entirely of my own initiative (I just had to eliminate any subjective bias).

[2]  Went ahead and did the search for you so all you have to do is click on the link to the search results.  You're welcome!

XKCD Accurately Describes My Life

This is pretty much my life at the moment!

Source: https://www.xkcd.com/844/

Solar Eclipse 2012

On May 20 I got off work and couldn't have been more excited.  Why?  Cause there was a SOLAR ECLIPSE!!!  I admit I do get a little psyched up over stuff that most people probably don't pay attention to, but I did manage to snag a photo of the solar eclipse as the sun set.  So anyway, here's the solar eclipse...