Summer of Change

This will undoubtedly be a summer of change among carpool members. All of us have taken stock of our current professional situations and wondered if the grass might be greener somewhere else. Chesty has commented for years that the best time to find a job is when you already have one. What I believe he means is that when there is no pressure to find a job, you can be more selective. Set your compensation requirements high and see if you can find an opportunity that can meet them. The art of this approach is to periodically search the opportunity market for the right job. Besides job search engines, expanding your social and professional network can prove to be invaluable to this approach. I would call this a passive job search technique. Your resume is updated, but you are not forwarding it to headhunters and not posting it on on-line job search engines. But what if you don't have the luxury of time...i.e. you are so upset at your current situation, you absolutely want out, but you want to make sure you don't jeopardize your current income by tipping off your employer of your pending departure. If this is the case, there are a few options. First, you can pick up the intensity of the passive job search, lowering your requirements from desired to acceptable. You can also forward your updated resume to trusted agents (friends, carpool members, former employers) and see if they know of any potential opportunities. Finally, there is the "anonymous resume" approach, where you post your resume under a pseudonym or without a name completely. This way, your identity may be kept secret from your current employer, but you are still aggressively job hunting. It may be best to provide any inquiries with your correct information, in order to maintain a perception of full disclosure. Of course, if you are out of work or have given notice...only one rule applies...get a job!

Here goes the "Holy War" [sic]

Editor's Note: Received email(+/-) below from a "former brother" [sic]. Not ready... Date: Jun 6, 2007 6:47 PM Subject: Six Issues About the Messiah? Six issues: 1) I am switching this email thread to my aol account, b/c I think it more personal than professional. 2) I am only emailing you and not the "carjacking club" [sic] you are in. If you wish to include them, that is up to you. 3) Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled ALL of the over 300 prophecies of our Old Testament (your Torah). For example, how can you deny that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, born of the line of Judah, and killed exactly like it was described in Isaiah's Chapter 53? Our New Testament is VERY much supported by archaeological evidence, historical evidence, and circumstantial evidence. 4) The first followers of Christ were Jews. They were devout and practicing Jews, then turned there backs on that and were killed for expressing their belief that Jesus rose from the dead for the sins of all mankind. 5) This whole thing about the Messiah comes down to either you are right or we followers of Christ are right. It is exclusive, b/c we believe what Jesus said, "No one gets to the Father (Yahweh, the Name, the Creator, etc) except through me." I am paraphrasing, but without a repentant belief in Jesus as our own personal Lord and Savior, then we will not experience Heaven. 8) I hope these rantings do not irritate you and that you check out what I have referred to. There are many Jews who investigated the correlation between OT (Torah) prophecies about the Messiah and Jesus. Many are now what we call Messianic Jews (believe in Jesus as the Messiah and that he indeed died for our sins... the last Lamb sacrificed for our transgressions). 9) I pray you investigate also. I do not believe our reconnection via email (then phone) then email again, was a coincidence. I believe I may be the one who was to witness to you about the Truth with a capital "T". 10) I prayed for you back at 3); such that my rantings might find a receptive heart beating in your huge, manly chest. 6) I cannot count too well. Hugs again,

Expanded Family

Continued discussion wrt la familia: from Father Abraham to Couzin [sic] Joshua to the Band of Brothers and beyond.

Welcome to the Carpool Club

Welcome all! This is the initial posting to the Carpool Club Blog -- a site dedicated to the daily discussion topics of Chesty, Juicy, and Dash during their daily commute between Bridgewater and Eatontown, New Jersey. On a regular basis (hopefully daily), the three charter members of the Club will take turns posting the day's discussion thread. We encourage any intelligent and tasteful comments back from the community. We take the carpool seriously...it is often the part of the day that keeps us sane. Chesty even views us as family (Dash would be the red-headed stepchild). With that said...let me explain the Carpool Club Rules:

• All topics (except Juicy in a bathtub) are on limits.
• We respect differences in life as the way the world was created...we intend no ill will (unless specified).
• Each rider must provide one positive and negative event from the day (1-up and 1-down).
• In the style of "Who's Line...?" points can be awarded (or taken away) for comments or actions.

We hope you enjoy this blog and maybe even "live the dream" [SIC].

-- Dash