Delaware

Everything was going according to plan. I had the new job upstairs, and I was already winding down my work. Everyone was told that I was leaving, and everyone seemed happy and/or jealous. Then my boss comes up to me.

"I hear you'll be leaving us."

"Yes, I will."

"And I hear you'll get a nice trip to Delaware. That will be fun."

Oh crap. Delaware.

I'd completely forgotten about it. And this wasn't a shock to me because I had been told about it. As soon as I heard about the job, I was told that it required training in Delaware. There was no tricking involved whatsoever - I'd just forgotten.

The job requires four weeks of training in Delaware. I would start the job around October 7, and training in Delaware would begin October 12. So, in less than a month, I'm going to have to be in Delaware.

The problem? I have a lot of things that I have to do here. TCU will play two home games during the four weeks I'm supposed to be gone - against BYU and Air Force - the two biggest in-conference home games...and it isn't even close.

The Stars, of which I'm also a season ticket holder, will have played four home games during the time I'm gone - including their home opener against Mike Modano and the Red Wings.

And last but certainly not least, I'm taking biology at Brookhaven right now, and I'd have to miss three or four weeks of school. Enough that I'd have to seriously consider dropping the class.

My heart literally fell of my chest. This job movement was something I was excited about, as I illustrated last blog. It was something I'd wanted and hoped for. And I'd completely forgotten about this particular catch.

Because I don't necessarily have a problem with a trip to Delaware. Sure, it's in the middle of nowhere, but I'd be living 8-year-old Drew's fantasy of living out of a hotel. I'd get out to meet new people, and I'd be a short train ride away from Philadelphia. I also called our friend Shep about potentially meeting up in Baltimore, which is also only about 70 miles away. I might even get to go to New York City, which is only about 120 miles away.

But there's so much to do here. I don't want to miss BYU or Air Force. I don't want to miss seeing Mike Modano show back up in Dallas in the hated sweater of the Red Wings.

But mostly, I don't want to have to drop this class. I was originally set to take two classes this semester - Biology and Chemistry II. My chemistry class was cancelled because not enough people signed up. I was a little worried about falling behind because I'd only be taking one. This would be even worse.

Because the goal is to get these classes done as soon as possible and get into a master's program. I don't want to waste time, and this would be wasted time, for sure.

So the plan is to go and talk to the new boss tomorrow night and see what can be done. I'm going to lay it all out and see if he can help me out. If it can be avoided entirely, that's the goal. If not, then I'd look to be there the minimum amount of time. He told me that it'd be three or four weeks. If I can negotiate down to two, that might be okay.

Either way, step two would be to talk to my biology professor. See if there's anything he can do to help me. I don't know if there's makeup labs that I can do or extra credit I can try and get. I'm willing to read the book while I'm gone so I don't fall behind, and I'm willing to do whatever I can before and after to make sure that I get full credit for the class.

But if it's four weeks, that's going to be hard to do. That's four weeks where I'd miss labs, lecture, quizzes, lab practicals, and exams. It's almost more trouble to make it up than to just retake the class. Two weeks would be better but maybe even impossible there.

So we'll see. If I have to go, I have to go. Whether I like it or not, this job has to be my main priority. It funds my life and pays for all of the stuff I'm doing right now, including class. They're taking a risk on me, and I have to make good on it. It's both the right and the responsible thing to do. And sometimes, you just can't have your cake and eat it too.

And I can make it work. Maybe I can travel a bit on the weekends. Maybe I'll meet some cool people and shake myself out of the routine we all get in. Maybe I can fly back to catch one of the games as a treat to myself for going. And maybe I can get a slingbox hooked up so I can watch anything important on my laptop at the hotel.

So I can make it work. But if I can have my cake and eat it too, I'd like to do that.