* * *

I still have to talk to my counselor, John, but it looks like I am going to get my first "summer vacation" since graduating High School in 1980, I think -- come to think of it, I had a summer job cleaning the school that year. I'm not used to not working.

I've got one more week of school and no idea what to do after that. I suppose I'll have to give John a call next week to see if he has any ideas. I was hoping to have heard from that company I mentioned a couple of weeks ago but haven't, so I'll give them a call next week, too. There hasn't been any more activity from their domain in the logs either so I don't think I'm still being considered but I'd much rather work this summer than loaf. I'm just glad that I'm not dealing with the same problems as I was last year.

Last week, I stated that I would be featuring a guest columnist. Sue has followed through -- beautifully -- writing her story just as she told it to Julie and me , and she emailed it to me early this week. I requested from Sue some additional information and plan to publish her tribute to Ray Nitschke next week -- Memorial Day weekend. That means that I get to take a week off from writing and concentrate on drinking beer.

And yes, Sue, Kevin really *did* get a job! He'll be heading south to Illinois on Memorial Day (May 25) to begin his new job June 1. No more summer vacations for you, Kevin. He's been a student for so long that it's hard to think of him as anything *but* a student -- and now he's not even going to be a "Cheesehead" anymore.

Since I've been unable to find work these past few months, it looks like I'm going to have to figure out what skills I need to get back into the work-force and then get enrolled in those classes as soon as possible. Kevin's strategy has always been: if you can't find a job, go back to school. And it finally paid off for him. Hopefully I can forego the summer vacation (I've already had a sabbatical), and go to summer school instead. Although I will need to learn some new skills to secure suitable long-term employment, I still hope to find a part-time job as well. I've always managed to find something and I'm sure that something will come along this time, too.

In any case, though, I've got next weekend off and this week to figure out what to do after that. And I think I'll start the week by calling John.