Gone In Guam...

It has come time to announce my news to the world.

I am gearing up to change the name of my blog again. It will soon be known as “Gone In Guam.” Nice name, huh?

I was thinking of making it a contest like I did the last time, but I had such a sad turnout for my cell phone greeting contest that I decided against it. The winner will be announced soon, by the way.

So, by now many of you might be wondering why I’m changing it to “Gone In Guam.” Simply put, that’s where I’m going.

I was offered a nice job in my home town of Phoenix with Kim Komando. I was tempted, but it was something I knew I could do and I felt that I could spread my talents further and make more money.

I also got a job offer from a web hosting place called GoDaddy.com. They are great for domain name registration and web hosting. But the job I applied for ended up being a telephone based tech support position. Ya, I can do better than that.

Then one day, a student of mine came up to me and asked me if I was applying for the job in Guam. I had no idea what he was talking about. He gave me the flier. Then weeks later when the interviews came, I had almost forgot about it. I ran into another student of mine walking around the halls. He said that I should make sure not to miss the interview. As it turns out, that student was the son of the guy conducting the interviews. I think he put in a good word for me. On the way, we also ran into Darren Jaggi, a good friend of mine graduating with me. He decided to interview as well.

The job is for the position of the IT Tech for The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. The position is based in Guam, but covers all of the church’s technical equipment for Micronesia – an area that spans as far wide as the continental United States!

The opening came down to two applicants; Jaggi and yours truly. Being good friends, it was fitting that we were pitted against each other. We both felt confident that we would get it. After personal interviews, phone interviews, and weeks of waiting, I was informed that I got the job.

Next week I will be going for a few days for pre-training and to look for housing. Then I come back to finish up my classes and graduate. I walk on June 24th. My family is coming to Hawaii for the event (and for an excuse to come to Hawaii). That same day I have to catch a flight to Sydney, Australia. I will be attending a regional conference for a week.

Following that I come back to Hawaii to join my family on the vacation. Only days later, I’m flying to Phoenix to drop off and pick up. Then, right back to Guam. I am pretty sure that I will be racking up some nice frequent flyer miles in no time.

So, away I go, to live on an even smaller island even further away. I’m excited. The pay is thousands more than any other job offer. The benefits are great. The travel is fun. The experience with both computers and cultures can not be beat.

I used to say that I’d like to work for the government. I figured that it’s one company that will never go out of business. Come to think of, my new employer, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, will REALLY never go out of business. I might even get to have the same job for the same company in Millennium!

I wonder if I’ll have to take a pay cut then…?