I cannot believe another year has gone by.  I can remember exactly what was happening last year at this time.  There was so much uncertainty about employment, housing and plans for the future.

I looked back at my blog post and this is what it said:

As I write this I am lying in bed on New Years Day at 1:07am. As the busy day is finally over, it is time to reflect on 2010 and the good and the bad that has happened. We tend not to want to think about the bad, but without the bad, there would be no good.

2010 was truly a roller coaster in our lives. There were so many ups and downs we cannot even begin to count them. But, as I look back, I can see God at work and I also see how we have received so many blessings. It is amazing that even after receiving countless blessings and have been brought through so many challenges, we still have doubts as we face each new challenge. We seem to forget every time that God will carry us through whatever challenges we may face.

Now, as I look ahead at 2011, we are already facing new challenges. We also know that we will have many ups and downs throughout this next year. What I need to remember is that God is not a spectator. He is not watching us from a far as we ride the roller coaster of life……he is sitting right next to us, with his arms in the air, sharing in our sorrows and our joys.

Recently, I come to a realization.  This will continue until the day I die.  There will always be periods of uncertainties, unknowns and difficult choices to be made.  These events no longer surprise.  The moment I think that everything is good and I cam content at where I am, something will change.  What I need to do is embrace that change and know that we have an will be taken care of.

Above is a picture from last night.  It is a sign company removing the letters from our building.  This makes me sad.

I know people complain about their jobs sometimes and it is sometimes a pain to have to go to work but this was truly a family.  A lot of employees here have been together since the opening about 4 years ago.   I have only been here since April of this year but it feels like much longer.

About a month ago I had the opportunity to go to the Elgin, IL store and help them for a few weeks close that store.  This was also a family.  I was an outsider but I could see the bond that everyone had with one another.  This was truly evident on the last day that they would be together.

The store was mostly empty and of merchandise, signage and displays.  The American flag was still hanging, just like it does at every Lowe’s store up by the checkout.  They had everyone come to the front for the removal of the flag (many of these people were there when it went up).  They played taps and then took them flag down, and then folded it.  It was a very emotional experience for them and many were crying and hugging each other.  It was a very moving experience to watch.

It is going to feel weird not being able to go to our store anymore.  I know it may sound dumb and that this was just a part-time retail job but I had to opportunity to work with an amazing group of people.  And even as I type this I am getting a little teary-eyed.  Last night I was numb.  I knew what was coming and just wanted to go and get it over with.  I did not want to see people I cared about cry.  I did not want to see the look of defeat in people’s eyes.  And I did not want to face the fact that it was over.

My family and I have been through a lot these past couple years.  We have been blessed and will continue to be blessed in the future.  What does the future hold?  We don’t know but we have learned to take it one day at a time and be thankful for what we have.

To my former co-workers:

Thank you.  

Thank you for welcoming me in .

Thank you for putting up with my sarcasm.

Thank you for the laughs.

Thank you.

Good luck to all of you and I pray that you will other opportunities and a new family to share your days with.

Kevin

As you probably all know, I have started at Chase Bank as a loan processor.  It its going very well and I am loving it.  Wish I did not have to work both jobs right now but it its allright because both jobs are completely different.

It feels good to be back in the mortgage field.  I am suprised how much I remember but also surprised at how much I forgot.

The environment is just like E*Trade so I know I will excel.

I will have more to share after training is over.

I think this might be the first Easter day I will not spend in church…..in my life. Easter is always a time of renewal and celebration. This year it still will be.

Eventhough we are having 5 Easter services, I will be working during all of them. This would normally be a negative but I am looking at it as a positive.

I am very thankful to not only have one job, but two of them. They have been an answer to many prayers. I, of course, was not praying for these two retail jobs but our prayers are not always answered exactly how we want them to be.

As far as Easter goes, I am positive that working on Easter is allowing another co-worker to attend Easter services that really needs to be there. I also know that God will use me at work to touch someone’s life somehow.

No matter what happens in life, always remember………it is all in how you look at it………

I have been looking for a job for quite some time.  As things at the church quickly came to an end, I stepped up my search and reached out to many people with any sort of connections in banking, finance, or mortgages as that is my background and education.  Getting no response, I quickly started lowering my standards in the type of jobs I was applying for.  My bubble was finally burst when I received a generic email from a bank telling me they would be looking for someone more suited and qualified for the position.  That position was bank teller.

This job market is not friendly to career changers such as myself.  Having only received about 3 weeks notice from the church, and realizing my income would be $0, I knew I needed to just get something to bring some money in.

My next step was to apply for anything and everything (within reason of course) so that I could quickly secure employment.  Ideally two jobs.

So I just started Saturday at Lowe’s in Oswego, just a few minutes from my house.  I have been very impressed with the orientation and training so far.  Also the store is full of great employees and everyone speaks very highly of management.  I also learned that the front end in this store (customer service and check out….where I am starting) was recently rated #1 out of 1700 stores in the U.S.  The entire store received a 100% on their recent secret shopper evaluations.  I really could see myself moving up here into management and making a career out of it.  We will see.

I am also waiting to hear from two other companies about part-time work so I should hear something this week on those.  I may have to choose between those two to see which one will be a better fit.

This is a new chapter I am embarking on and just it as another way God is providing for myself and my family.

What’s in a name?  Plenty.  I was sick of seeing my blog name as “Kevin Hoogeveen’s Blog”.  It was very elementary and lame.

So, tonight, in honor of the tornado watch and the severe weather on the way, I changed the blog name to “Weather You Like It Or Not”.  I figured it was appropriate since I talk about the weather A LOT!!

Good Night

This week we are hoping for some good things to happen.  I am waiting to hear on one job and have an interview for a second job tomorrow.

Pamela also starts her new job tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also my first official weekday of unemployment….again….but I am confident that we will receive some good news this week.

On a side note….I had posted some weather related tweets about our approaching storm and got a few replies from @ginger_zee who is one of the on-air meteorologists at NBC Chicago.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Maybe she will help promote my website when it is finished???

How enjoyable would it be to read a book with only one chapter? Or watch a movie with only one scene. I think it would seem very long and boring. There would be no transitions and the story would not seem to go anywhere. That is why there are chapters. Transitions from one story line to another. And such is life.

We have experienced many different chapters…and that is just in the last couple years. From job gains and losses to moving to all the little struggles that show up everyday. I am starting to discover it is all in how you look at it.

I can view these surprises not as annoyances, but as transitions to something new.  Now new doesn’t always mean better.  Sometimes that new thing puts us in a worse position.  When that happens I just have to work through it and look forward to the next chapter.

As I type this I am looking outside at the grays skies and the huge wind gusts that are blowing.  There is lots of weather that I just love.  I love the wind…..I love the rain….I love the snow….and I love the warm days (sometimes).  I also love the change.  Even though I love the rain, I also the day after when it is breezy and warm.  I would not want it to snow everyday or rain everyday.  We need some variety.  It is all about taking the good with the bad.  I enjoy a hot, sunny day a lot more knowing that a huge thunderstorm will be rolling in later that day (For most people, it would be the opposite but God made me this way so there!!).

Right now our family is going through a transition.  The page to the next chapter is turning but we still can’t see the other side to know how this chapter will begin.

All we know is that with each new chapter comes new ways for God to bless us.

What is a Storm Spotter?
Storm spotters are volunteers who help their community and NOAA’s National Weather Service by keeping an “eye on the sky” during severe weather.  Spotters contact the NWS via phone, amateur radio, or the internet, keeping our forecast staff updated with the latest weather information from their location.

So most of you know I am fascinated with weather. I can’t sit in the house and just listen to it….I have to go to a window or go outside to see it.  I can watch it forever.  So naturally, when I hear about storm spotters, I became instantly interested and could not wait to get the proper so I could call myself a storm spotter.

There really isn’t much involved in becoming a storm spotter.  A lot of storm spotters are professional first responders such as police, fireman, emergency response teams, etc.  On the other side are amateur  storm spotters, like me.  We are the ones that can’t get enough of weather and want to be in the middle of it.

There are two types of spotters.  There are those that actually chase storms so they can report on it from the scene. Then there are those that simply spot storms from there house or wherever they might be when the storm hits.

A lot of you may not realize that a lot of the information that the National Weather Service receives comes from spotters.  They can tell a lot about a storm from radar but they rely on spotters to actually know what the storms are doing on the ground.  You will hear weather reports a lot of times here that they mention observations from trained weather spotters.

So next week I go to the actual training.  I went to a severe weather seminar a few weeks ago that is actually supposed to be taken after your actual training but the timing just worked this way for me.

So you local people may see some weather reports for me this storm season (or from my alias @foxvalleywx).  One of my goals is to see an actual tornado.  Not some wimpy one but an F-2 or F-3.  I will be doing storm spotting from my home but I also may venture out west to report on approaching storms (if my schedule allows)

For those of you that missed it, here is a video I did of our last big storm click here

I would love to hear your comments and find out how many of you think I am crazy.