Ok. I had a good first interview for a city in the Panhandle today.

I don't want to screw it up by posting too much about it, but I could use your thoughts and prayers. This would be a great position for me to transition into City Management and set up a good career path. The pay is still up in the air...but it seems to have gotten closer to my needs than it was last week.

Anyway...just need some good thoughts. Help me get out of California and back home! I can't raise my 4 kids here any longer.

G-2 & K-2 '98

Good news, hope it works out for you.

Spent my 5 yrs in Calif. (Fresno). Loved the Ag and the research challenges, but I couldn't wait until a good job opened for me in Texas. I have several friends & classmates (Spider D; my youngest was in D-2 '01) from Panhandle (still lives there) and Spearman. I have no complaints about raising my family in Amarillo. I can't imagine Panhandle being that different except a smaller town (~size I grew up in). Good luck and I hope things work out for you.

Oh, did you know Steve Walkup '98 in A-2, I think. He was a zip when my youngest was a fish. He's from Amarillo, too, and a long time family friend.

Spider, he said a city in the Panhandle, not the city of Panhandle.

Facebook me the details

Yeah, I knew Steve Walkup. Good guy.

Not the city of Panhandle... a city in the Panhandle.

California has its benefits - the beach, Disneyland, etc. But, they are far outweighed by the negatives.

My wife has asked me not to whine about it, but if I don't have a new job by November 1, we're moving anyway.

Tony, I sent you the details...did you get the message?

G-2 & K-2 '98

sounds like you married good

Fingers too big for keypad

But Panhandle is in the Panhandle, so I just thought I might have made an error, almost my first one for Wednesday


[This message has been edited by Spider69 (edited 3/20/2012 11:51p).]

Sorry Jonesy, miss read your post about 'Panhandle.' Not my first or last mistake. But good luck escaping from California. The Panhandle always needs good Ags.

Main problem I had in California (not too different than many parts of Texas) was too many people.

Liked being able to be snow skiing in an hour or on the beach in two hours to escape the 100-110F in Fresno. But the Tulee fog could get bad. Laughed the first time I heard a school delay for fog. Of course sitting through my first earthquake wasn't cool. At least with tornados or hail you might get a weather warning alert.

[This message has been edited by Spider69 (edited 3/21/2012 12:03a).]

I think the number of people is the biggest issue for me. And, not to sound racist, but the fact that 85% of the people here speak Spanish and most of them as a primary language. I can't tell you how frustrated my son is when his soccer coach is yelling at him in Spanish! Or when I go to the grocery store and have to ask someone for help ordering at the butcher or deli counter.

I am ready to return to polite people that say Thank You and You're Welcome. Where if I hold the door for a woman, I don't get the stink-eye. Where morals are still important things and my insistence on Church attendance on Sunday morning doesn't limit my kid's future in sports.

G-2 & K-2 '98

Well, the job was not offered to me. So, I am still on the hunt for a job in the Panhandle. I would like to come home and build a career. If anybody is looking for a well qualified Construction Manager with a ton of Municipal, k-12 and Higher Ed experience and a degree in Architecture...let me know. I am also a CCM through the CMAA and I'm pursuing my Masters in Public Administration.

G-2 & K-2 '98

Are you looking to work on the construction side or the owner side? Western Builders in Amarillo is a good outfit. There is Lee Lewis Construction in Lubbock that might could use some help (they recently lost a VP). There are a couple of other firms in the area. You might could check with FP&C (Tech) or one of the hospitals. The City of Lubbock could use someone with your qualifications. Of course, I don't know if any of these is hiring; I'm just throwing stuff out there.

I have been checking each of these and they don't seem to be hiring. I am considering moving back to Amarillo and setting up my own firm. I've had enough of working for other people... Not to say I wouldn't take a job with a government agency, they just don't seem to be hiring.

by the way, the job in Plainview didn't work out. No explanation or professionalism...just 'Not selected'. Amazing.

Sorry about Plainview. But Plainview really seems to be in decline, not sure you've missed anything. And as far as the 85% speak Spanish....yeah, you didn't miss out by not getting Plainview.

Canyon and I both grew up near Plainview.

It has really gone downhill over the past several years. Sorry if I offend any Big Red fans. I am from Hart, so I cannot really be throwing stones.