'Dear..., Please hire me to work with you.'

That wasn't the opening line to the first e-mail inquiry letter I sent out today, but that was the general feel of what I wanted.

The time has come after 18 months of school to think about re-entering the job world. I am casting a wide net that reaches across North America and everything in the middle. Imagine me hugging a gigantic map.

I promised myself this, 'Dear self, Please send out inquiry e-mails and resumes after the first draft of your synthesis is completed.' And I did just that today to a university in California. This inquiry letter will be followed up with a MAJOR revision of my resume. The resumes that I have been sending out since oh...1997 were all tailored to journalism. Now, I'm sending one out for ministry where my boss may not care so much that I love writing about NASCAR (yes, really). Or that I once wrote about a school bus driver whose route is down to Big Sur on Highway 1. Or perhaps even that the issues of No Child Left Behind in the Salinas Valley are very near and dear to my heart.

But seriously, I will play up my ministry skills and desire to educate students. I will polish my nails on my shirt thinking, 'Yes, I got this.' Oh, and don't forget the head nod.