Lake Tahoe? (edited)

Well, I received my first official written offer. I had seven interviews and I felt really good about six of them. The one that went bad...Walgreens. That was surprising and disappointing because I have been counting on an offer from Walgreens in Wenatchee for the last couple years. Also, it was my first interview so my internal dialog went right down the crapper. But the interviews kept getting progressively better and by my last interview things were looking up. I expected someone to set the hook, but not within a couple of days.

My first official offer is from a highly reputable national chain in Carson City, NV. Carson City is the closest (big) city to Lake Tahoe and the Desolation Wilderness. My commute limit is 20 minutes. That means a 30 minute drive to Heavenly and 15 minutes to the lake. I have to admit that Carson City was not my first choice, but not because it isn't awesome. Mostly because there never seems to be openings close to Tahoe, so I never really looked into it. What are the high points? Besides being minutes from an outdoor mecca, it is only about 4 hours from San Fran or San Jose and about 2.5 hours from Sacramento. Yosemite is as close as Glacier is to me right now. Provo is about 9.5 hours away, about 30 minutes longer than we are right now, so pretty much a wash. Oh, I guess Reno is like 20 minutes away but Reno is icky. Reno is Las Vegas's retarded little step brother.

So how did they find out about me in Carson City? Well, it reminds me of a story about me and my Dad. One year he asked me what I wanted for my birthday. This was when I was an adult. It might have even been when we lived in Mesa. As I thought about things I wanted and was giving Dad the list, the word "binoculars" came out. I don't know why. I never really wanted a pair of binoculars. There was fifty things about the same price I could have used more. But I knew, I mean KNEW, as soon as the word came out of my mouth, I was getting a pair of binoculars. Well... same thing here. When Ed asked me where I wanted to practice pharmacy (standard question in every interview) for some reason Lake Tahoe came out. I don't know why. I do check the job boards for Reno/Carson City every day because Lake Tahoe is beautiful, but have never really considered it. But I saw it in his eyes. As soon as the "oh" of Lake Tahoe rolled off my tongue I knew that if I got an offer from that highly reputable national chain, it would be for that area. At this point the choice is easy, Lake Tahoe here we come. It is only after the 2nd offer comes my way that the choice gets hard. One thing I won't do is accept with one company and then keep looking to improve my prospects. I don't think that is right and I wouldn't want someone to to it to me. I would probably make one exception, and that is for an ownership opportunity, which I wouldn't begrudge anyone for taking. The recruiters all have told me written offers will come out in December, but if something is going to come my way, I'll get a phone call earlier. My next big day is November 18th. That is the day that another reputable national chain will officially open a position that I would like and that I think I've got a good shot at.

AND, here is a picture. I is an old one that I reworked in LAB color. A pretty amazing process. I like to think of it like the changing of the autumn leaves. Did you know that all that color in maples is there all year, but the chlorophyl production from photosynthesis during the summer overpowers the carotenoids and anthocyanins that produce the reds, yellows, and purples. Well, as the sunlight diminishes in fall, the chlorophyl disappears and the magic is let loose. The same is true in LAB. I just take away the crap, and let the color shine through. Did I overdo it? Maybe, but this is how my organic memory bank registered the scene. I have a job. Enjoy.