Hurry Up and Wait

Police Application update: I turned in my high school transcripts which took nearly 5-6 weeks to be mailed to me. Thanks Baltimore County Public Schools for making me hurry up and wait. After turning in the transcript yesterday afternoon the female Dallas Police Officer promptly told me that there are about 80 to 100 applicants in front of me. Crazy. Doubt things will move fast enough to get into the Academy anytime soon. It's a hurry up and wait situation as they say in the military.

I think the conversation went something like this yesterday:

Lebowski: "Are you employed, sir?"

Dude: "Employed?"

Lebowski:
"You don't go out and make a living dressed like that in the
middle of a
weekday."

Dude: "Is this a--what day is this?"

Lebowski: "But I
do work, so if you don't mind--"

Dude: "No, look. I do mind. The Dude
minds. This will not stand, ya know, this will not stand, man."

...

The Dude is heading for the door.

Lebowski: "Your 'revolution'
is over, Mr. Lebowski!
Condolences! The bums lost!"

As the Dude
opens the door.

Lebowksi: "...My advice is, do what your parents did!
Get a job,
sir! The bums will always lose-- do you hear me, Lebowski? THE
BUMS
WILL ALWAYS--"

The Dude shuts the door on the old man's
bellowing to find himself in a
high coffered hallway.

I do "mind" in the sense that I have to wonder if most applicants are probably just trying to get a job in an economic downturn. I'm in it for a career change. It also bothers me because it means I need to continue at my current job... which pretty much isn't a career.

On the other hand, it gives me more time to determine if I really do want to become a Police Officer. I don't mind reevaluating my choice and maybe coming up with a different answer. It is hard however.

On the baby front it too is a hurry up and wait situation. Victoria is off from work, which is nice because she can get a break before her next "job." She and the baby seem to be doing well although more uncomfortable than previous periods in the pregnancy.

Hurry up and wait sounds impatient. I'm not the one who usually has to work on patience. I'm sure fatherhood will show me how dismal I am at it. But when it comes to my career it is kind of difficult to conceive of continuing to wait. For guys their employment matters a lot to them. For ladies, it is generally their relationships that take priority. We're just built different proverbially. There are always exceptions to the norm. So please don't take this the wrong way. Nor do I advocate men only in the workplace. I'm not a caveman in the 21st century.

However, "hurry up and wait" came to mind yesterday in my reading. There was a pretty famous guy who freed a bunch of slaves in 1446 BCE and he had to hurry up and wait too. He tried to do something about that slavery issue when he was 40 years old and he failed miserably at it. So he left. 40 years later he got invited to try again... this time with some major help. He finally succeeded but it took another 40 years of wandering with these freed slaves before they finally got to where they were supposed to be. The trip should have taken no more than a few months for this group, but it did because the people weren't so cooperative. It took a hurry up and wait pro to handle that kind of plan for his life... and it had its rewards.