It has been a while since I have written anything. I am currently working up in Indiana. I left the Pennsylvania contract at Christmas time. It was Christmas, I was ready to see my wife and kids and had told myself that I was done traveling. One may wonder how I ended up back on the road. I had 3 months’ worth of bills and expenses saved up. I had told myself that would be plenty of time to find another job closer to home. The first few weeks back, I mainly just relaxed. I worked on things that needed to be fixed around the house and enjoyed spending time with the family. It was not long, and I had to begin job searching. One would think that with my experience and work history and with the amount of job postings, I would not have trouble finding a job. I applied for everything I could find. I drove 5 hours to a job fair for offshore where I was just told to go online and fill out applications. I did finally get an interview for a job on a riverboat. I got the verbal job offer and I accepted. I thought finally! Things were starting to look up. I had to go get an extensive physical since it was with an energy company. They took x-rays of my back and the doctor said that he could not allow me to do the job because he was worried about potential problems on my spine. I walked out of that clinic with defeat. How was I going to tell my wife and kids that I did not pass the physical. A few months went by, and I was running out of time and more importantly, money. I decided to bite the bullet and look around at more local jobs. I knew that the local jobs would not pay a lot, but I was getting desperate. I decided to apply at a company I used to work for and had many connections with. The pay would have been decent, and I knew the work. After filling out an application and talking with the human resources department, I was informed that I was essentially blacklisted. They have a 2 strikes, and you are out rule. That meant you was only allowed to work there twice and after that they would no longer hire you. I remembered I did work for them the first time for 3 months right out of college and then I worked for them the 2^nd time a few years later for 8 years. I understand the reasoning behind why a company might have that rule. It keeps a company from investing time and training into someone who is not going to stick around long term. However, I believe a company that has this rule could be forgetting some possible key importance’s. Yes, it is the same company from the start of its creation to its end. It is the same brand name, most likely the same owners and same philosophy from start to finish. However, the people inside the company change. The circumstances that drive a person to quit changes, including any managers that played a role. A company that uses this 2 strikes rule without first learning why an individual quits is setting themselves up for potential downfalls. After I had received this rejection and what felt like a kick while down, I decided to go talk to another company in a nearby town. I interviewed, took a visual weld test and got offered a position. I decided to decline at the moment because it did not seem enticing. That company offered low pay and did not pay based on experience. They made it seem like their pay was luxurious and mentioned a top out pay that one could eventually receive, but that too was low compared to companies in the area. The pay along with other red flags such as a high turnover rate, I decided I could not invest my time and future into that company. I applied at a few more places and did some interviews but none ever called me back. By this time, I was out of time and out of money. I had no choice but to hit the road again. I was talking with a company that was going to send me to Indiana. It paid well but was lacking a few perks and I had one more interview to finalize things. The day of the final interview I received a phone call at the exact time that I was expecting the interview. It turned out not with the company I was expecting but with my previous employer. They wanted to know if I would go work for a client of theirs in Indiana with same great perks as before. I immediately said yes. My wife and I rejoiced. We did not rejoice because I would have to leave again but rejoiced because I found another great opportunity that God provided. So now that I am in Indiana, I am finding my rhythm again and will be writing more as topics come to me.