Another unintentional hiatus

Cue terrible Britney Spears song:      Oops, I did it again ...

I honestly have no idea how an entire month just flew by without me getting any time to write. If nothing else, this should prove how dedicated I became to finding a new job. I literally spent any free moment I had scouring the interwebs for gainful employment.

In summary, I sent out more than 40 emails, copies of my resume, and cover letters between July 2nd and July 22nd. I went on an interview. I got called for two other interviews that turned out not to be quite what they had advertised it would be. I was about to come out of my skin with frustration. What then happened, as I felt I was losing grip on the end of my proverbial rope? I got an email.

The morning of July 22, I was feeling the aftershocks of spending so much time looking for a new job. I was becoming bitter and frustrated, and just didn't understand what it was going to take to get someone out there to believe I was worth more than $11.00/hour. Something made me wonder if I should recheck the previous weeks worth of job postings on Craigslist, just in case I had missed something, though I was pretty sure I had applied for every thing I saw on there that paid somewhat close to what I was currently making. I started to dig through the days leading up to July 22, and a few minutes later, saw an ad that caught my eye from July 10. How did I miss this one before?

It was for a small commercial management office in Westlake, looking for an office manager. Ok, I could do that. Their hours are 7:00am - 3:00pm. Seriously? Those are the hours I need to keep Z out of after-school care. They asked that you send over a copy of your resume and your salary requirements. I can totally do that, and then some. I quickly put an email together with my resume, my salary requirements, and asked if the position had been filled already (since the ad was so old). If it had not, I said I would love the opportunity to speak to them more about this position. I sent it off into the black hole of the internet, just like I had so many times before, hoping this one wouldn't turn out to be a dud like most of the others. Much to surprise, she wrote me back only 3 hours later, saying the position had not yet been filled, and would I be willing to come in for an interview on July 24. I almost peed my pants.

I don't know how to explain it, but something just told me, as soon as I received her email, that this was going to be the one. I never had that weird, nagging, hopeful-that-I-would-do-ok feeling like I had with all the others that showed interest. Strangely, if felt like I was going home. Something felt so familiar about this place, I didn't even get the nervous tummy about the interview itself until about 15 minutes before it took place. It just seemed like a good fit, though I have no concrete reason as to why. Apparently, she felt the same or my instinct was right, because she told me she thought I would be a perfect fit and offered me the position on the spot. Same hours, same pay, less responsibility. (#duh  #nobrainer)  After very little deliberation in my mind and heart, I accepted it. Then, after almost 10 years at my current job, I turned in my resignation the next day. Just like that. Like all of this was happening this way because it was supposed to be. No drama, no conflict, no wondering what I should or shouldn't do. Just time to move on. Now, I was ready.

Long story short, I start my new job tomorrow morning at 7:00am. I left my old job on Friday at 3:00pm and never looked back. It took me a week to clean out my office and tie up loose ends, but it all went by very quickly. It made me uneasy when coworkers would act sad about me leaving, only because I couldn't reciprocate. Something in me was so ready for this change. I've been talking about it for a few months now, and I truly am very excited about the new change of scenery, new coworkers, NEW BOSS ... new everything. I guess I outgrew my last position. Aaron said I stayed about 4 years too long, in his opinion. I see now why he thought that, but I just had to get there at my own pace.

How happy and peaceful I am in this moment. Aside from the teensy bit of new-job-scary that is beginning to creep in to my head as I get closer to bedtime, I am just super relaxed and very much welcoming this change. It will be odd driving a new route to work in the morning, but even that thought is a little exciting. Starting someplace new still seems a little surreal, despite having accepted the position over a week ago, but I guess that is to be expected when you've been doing the same thing every Monday through Friday for the past decade.

Though there is more to update on, aside from the successful job hunt, I don't want to write too much in this one post. I'll save those things to inspire myself to post more this upcoming week. I hope everyone has been well since I wrote last. The past few months have been a struggle for me, but thank goodness for happy endings!

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