the searbys

I'm sitting in the Jacksonville Public Library in, of course, Jacksonville, FL. It is a beautiful new building with an amazing array of things to offer. I'm here for two workshops on election law in the State of Florida. We have about two hours in between the two so I grabbed some lunch and now I'm catching up on some e-mail, doing some work, etc. I sat for a while on the city plaza which is directly outside. It reminded me a lot of our time in Santiago, Chile, sitting in the Plaza de Armas sipping coffee and watching people go by. It's a beautiful day here in Florida, the kind that reminds me why it's so great.
Well, just wanted to share that little moment.
-joel

Life has been very busy for the Searbys these days. But it is an exciting time. Jen is still plugging away at the Hilton and still enjoying it. She's been doing a great job heading up our breakfasts at church on Sunday mornings. She's also becoming quite the little travel agent since all our friends and family want to stay at Hiltons when they travel!
I have started in full swing at Data Targeting. I am really loving it. If I could explain all that I do, I would, but it really is quite a complex job. In addition to that, much of what we do is confidential as it relates to politics so as much as I'd love to tell you all about the people we represent, I really can't. Basically, though, my role is going to be marketing and business management. We are opening a new office in Gainesville and I will be overseeing that office. Data Targeting is a political consulting firm but work also with another company, of which we are part. That company, SGS works closely with the governmental affairs departments (lobbying and political advocacy) of associations to advise them them on issues and candidates. That is the company that I will be leading, essentially. I'm sure you're more confused now than you were when you started reading but at least I tried! I hope you are all doing well and look forward to hearing from you!
-joel

Well I've made it through my first two days of work. There is so much to learn when you start a new job. I would multiply that by ten for this particular job. It involves so much responsiblity and I am really humbled by the opportunity.

I am really enjoying the subject matter and researching, learning about and analyzing the issues. I can foresee becoming very involved and dedicated to this career. After all, that is what this is meant to be both from my perspective and my boss'. He wants me to be around for a while and right now I'd say that is very exciting to me.

I'll be traveling a lot for this job, more than ever before. Once things are in full swing I'll likely be on the road (more like in the air since many of our clients are out-of-state) once a week or so. It will mean some adjustments for us but ones that we are willing to make.

Thanks for all your support. I look forward to hearing from many of you!
-joel

Woo-Hoo! My husband has a job! What in the heck is it? I'm not quite sure....you should ask him. All I know is that he's working for a man that goes to our church. We have a TON of respect for this guy and his family. He owns his own business and Joel is going to be doing a ton of writing, public speaking, and research related to politics. I'll just keep you in suspense and you can talk to Joel about the details.

With this new job comes some challenges. Joel's current office is outside of Gainesville so he can't get there on the scooter. The office will be moving in town soon but for the next 6-8 weeks we're going to have to share our one car and depend on friends for rides. He's going to be working some super-long hours to begin with so he can have the proper training. That will be an adjustment for me too, doing a lot more on my own and spending more time with my friends. He'll be travelling quite a bit andI think he is excited about that. Maybe with Joel gone more I'll pick up my scrapbooking hobby once again :)

Today is a warm rainy day in Gainesville. I'm sitting at the coffee shop enjoying the quiet morning and getting some work done online. Joel is at a conference here in town as part of his first assignment.

Thank you for reading and being involved in our lives.
-Jen

I feel like I need to post a blog but I'm not sure what I should write about! We've been so bad about posting lately. Our lives are really exciting right now, we just haven't had a chance to share it with everyone.

Tonight I was feeling SO blessed by the "winter weather." People around here get all worked up when the temperature gets below 50. A lady I work with felt bad this morning because she had forgotten to put the sweaters on the dogs before she came to work. They may freeze out there :) She also makes her horses warm mush on cool mornings. It really makes me laugh! I think I love Florida. Well, I think I've known that all along. We'll blame it on my parents. They brought me here for the first time when I was only 6 weeks old. (I guess they'll correct me if I'm wrong about the timing.) Then visiting my grandparents at their winter home in Englewood, FL was always something to look forward to! Now, I'm just waiting for all my friends and family to plan their vacations to come and visit us. (Hint, Hint)

In the meantime, I'm working at the Hilton and Joel has a new and exciting opportunity ahead of him! You can tune back in to our blog after Thursday to hear more about it.
-Jen