2008 Personal Year In Review

As promised:

Dear Family and Friends,

Because you didn't demand here it is: Steve Seelig's 2008 year in review. (What an introduction if I do say so myself.) 2008 was a good year and somewhat eventful for yours truly. To elaborate on said comment the following will include favorite and key highlights from the year of 2008. Have the Kleenex handy and be prepared for some gut splitting belly laughs. Scout's honor that I will do my best to be concise, to the point, with only the occasional rambling thought. Now that we're ready, sit back and here we go.

The year began with a healthy amount of snow and arctic temperatures. After constructing an igloo and training snow dogs, Spring sprang and none to early. A little known fact is that Spring is God's favorite season as he is an avid baseball fan. (I often picture him wearing a baseball cap.) Why else is Spring weather as Goldilocks would say, "Just right!"? Spring brought with it my graduation from the University of Arizona with a Master of Arts in Information Resources and Library Science. I actually only spent one week in Tucson the entire time I attended Arizona. Color me hi-tech as I came to embrace the wonder that is virtual education.

With graduation came the obligatory search for a professional position which is still ongoing. Be it noted that it often takes a librarian up to two years until the individual's first professional placement with the average search being a year. A struggling economy doesn't help much either but, as a silver lining, does increase library usage and college enrollment both of which bode well for me. I have a Director at Western New Mexico University that is quite interested in me is battling, as we speak (or more correctly as I type and you read) with the red tape involved in being able to offer me a position tailor made for my talents and abilities, and that meets my compensation and benefits requirements and expectations. That won't come to fruition until at least March. While I remain hopeful, as a pragmatic individuals I am actively pursing alternative positions that meet my personal criteria. I would prefer to remain in the Mountain West and am open to returning to old haunts such as Las Vegas or Los Angeles. My target areas are: South Eastern Idaho, Northern Utah, Southern Utah, and Denver/ Northern Colorado. I make it matter of prayer and contemplation and as such will go wherever I feel inspired to go regardless of whether or not it fits within the parameters I have set. The position at WNMU has been in the works since September and as such I have learned that the wheels of academia move slowly. In the meantime, I am working with a gentleman with Parkinson's Disease by the name of Ed Bear as a care provider to him. I have been working with Ed since July. I must say that it is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. Over the last six months I have learned a great deal about service and compassion. I will remember this experience and have it influence me long after I move on for the position.

On another note, for the first time in nearly thirteen years I visited Las Vegas/Henderson. I departed the Vegas Valley March 18,1996 with tears in my eyes not to return until October 22, 2008. At the time, it was hard to leave Las Vegas. Having grown up there, I was leaving behind a warehouse full of memories, and friends who were dear to me. Whether it was memories, both good ones, of people I had burned, disappointments I had, mistakes I had made, or my own tendency towards self deprecation and my ambivalence to my own self worth manifesting itself in melo-dramatic moments and bouts of immaturity, it was hard to look back for a number of years. I eventually found myself cutting myself off to a place and people who mean the world to me. I have come to discover that was both a selfish and hurtful choice on my part and one for which I offer my deepest and most sincere apologies.

It was a hard place to leave and I did not take my return lightly. Vegas still holds fond memories and is populated by many individuals that I still hold near and dear to my heart. The return brought with it bygone thoughts of cherished experiences and relationships. I found myself reflecting on the fact that it had been far too long since I had visited those times, both good and band, and that it felt good to return. Reconnecting with a part of myself made me feel complete. We are so much shaped by those who influence our lives by their actions and examples, who stand beside us in struggle and in triumph, and with whom we share the gravity of the world and its whimsy. The epiphany of the experience was the humbling insight that showered upon me that we do not stand alone is the world and are needed as much as we need. The savior stands besides each us and his atonements strengthens and empowers us to do things that we of ourselves could not do, this have always known but at time I forget that the light of the Savior's love is felt greatest and touches our very souls like a white hot flame when we are reaching out to one another, lifting one another, and letting others know we care about them in a very personal and individual way that the worth of each soul is great in the eyes of God. It was with this epiphany that a long scarred part of me began to heal.

On a lighter note, Las Vegas/Henderson have grown TOO BIG for my tastes. That being said, the core of what made it such a great place to grow up in is still there. Regardless, I've grown fond of a simpler, more rural lifestyle and and environment. Nothing better than driving down a farm road and watching the mountains go on forever. It is a place that I can grow a garden. But, I must admit, there are times when the desert calls. To conclude my thought on the trip, it felt good to reconnect with many individuals that have helped to shape me as a person. I have been blessed seven fold to be surround by, become friends and peers with, and be influenced by some of the most wonderful, intelligent, engaged, charismatic, compassionate, inspired, down to earth, fun, playful, spur of the moment, improvisational, down and dirty, cowboy up, beautiful, flirty, sassy, crazy, thoughtful, centered, knowledgeable people of character and integrity this world has to offer. (I wanted to see how many adjectives I could come up with.) My final words on the topic: I hope and plan to make it a regular trip in the future.

With that I will bid all of you adieu, as to not take up any more of your time than is necessary. One of my favorite things to do, as my friend Wendell Snow would call it, is to “break bread” with those who inspire me and which I admire and respect. It is an opportunity to be mentored, inspired,share in good company and take part good conversation whether it be serious, insightful, meaningful, whimsical, or of the everyday, ordinary “how are you? Variety.” I am all about good conversation; delight in it, even crave it if I stretch this statement to hyperbolic levels. I hope I have the opportunity to “break bread” with many of you this coming year. I love each of you and wish all of you the very best in your lives.

Sincerely,

Steve Seelig