My timing is always bad

For the record, I really hate sand traps. I hate them with a passion.

Today was a beautiful day and so the S.O. and I went to play golf. This may be the last time we get to play this year. But we picked a GREAT day to play. The sun was out, the leaves are in their full color now and it made for really nice walk through 6300 meters of pristine German golf course land.

As for my score-well the less said about that the better. Had some good shots-and some not so good shots. I was able to keep my driver under control today, thus giving me some nice starts on each hole.

Then along came those damn sand traps.

Regardless, I am not going to let it spoil my mood for the weekend. Especially when there are plenty of "life sand traps" that are waiting to suck me in.

Because right after the Shutdown vote was complete-this happened:

Wait a minute! I already went through this drama two years ago. Taking this job was supposed to be a way to ensure I did not have to go through that personal torture again.

And while two years ago it cost me my job, this time its only going to cost me my self respect.

You see, the organization I work for and with is being "merged" into another organization. The entire proposal is poorly thought out, not a good idea, in that commonest of military situations, its an idea that has been tried before. It failed miserably then-and it will fail again.

Its kind of a personal tragedy for a whole lot of people. For my co-workers all of whom I really like. For our current boss,  who is a gifted officer and an outstanding person. The kind the military produces far too infrequently .Someone we work with- not so much as for-and has been really good at shaping our little group into an effective team.

The place we are merging into? Not so much. Its run by a guy who to put it bluntly-only knows of loyalty as only a one way street. Having decided that the DOPMA imposed restrictions that forced him to retire were not for him, created his current position and then hired himself to fill it. Then as he created his organization-he adopted a deliberate hiring strategy of hiring folks with much less experience than he has, or had, so that he can be the visible face of experience to the chain of command above him. All of my co-workers are aware of this-because all of us civilians were not hired by him when the hiring was going on. We all have as much or more experience and seasoning than this guy who is going to be "our boss". He did not want to hire "old guys"-and that is pretty evident when you look at the makeup of his organization.

Then there is the idea behind the merger. It was the desire of a guy who wanted it when he was on active duty. Our current group told him to take his idea and stick it where the sun does not shine. Now,  as a well paid contractor, he returns routinely to Germany and has been conducting a whispering campaign to get it accomplished. He too, failed to realize his proper role as a retired officer. I've always hated guys who don't understand that the proper role of us retired guys is to be an adviser and keeper of a experience for the current group of military who are having their turn in the sun. I had mine, I quite fine with playing that role of adviser and coach now. As I have noted before-while I treasure my time in the Navy, that box is sealed now. And I am just fine with that.

Some guys are not. And so he got his buddy who now has his old job to ram it down all of our throats.

Whether I will be doing the same things I am doing now-that is still to be seen. I hope so, I like it and I have become good at it. It will be wretched to go from actually liking my job to going back to treating it as just something to be tolerated-in order to keep the bills paid.

So all of us have pretty much come to the same conclusion. Its time to find a new job. So I am back in full job hunting mode again. Its not something I relish, but some things are just unacceptable.

At least I have a job, for now. As the budget dramas play out we will have to see if that remains a true statement.

And that will probably drag me back to the United States, a painful prospect to be sure, but one that may be simply unavoidable. Hopefully it won't be back to Alabama-but that too remains a distinct possibility.

Damn.

I am slowly coming to the realization that I probably will never get back to my beloved Asia, except for occasional "me" trips, of which I plan to avail myself of the opportunity in the coming year. But finding a full time gig there? Its a candle flame that is slowly, and painfully, dying. When I came here I had real hope that I could use my time here in Germany as a springboard to getting back to paradise. Of course, I was not counting on the government going completely and totally insane. Unfortunately it did-and the window of opportunities drastically narrowed.

Double damn.

But I am determined not to let it spoil my good mood. I have time and I have worked for psychopaths before. I can do it again, if need be, till I can hit the EJECT handle. One of my co-workers is still in the Navy reserves-he's already looking into getting called up to active duty till the dust settles. The other folks have no such luxury. We have to search for our own exit ramps.

And today was a beautiful day.

A bad day at the golf course always beats a good day at work. And the prosepct of good days at work has gotten much narrower. It is what it is. You deal with that stuff and you find a way to be happy regardless.

And so I shall.