The difference between a job and a career is the difference between forty and sixty hours a week. ~Robert Frost

So I have a job. Yes that’s right – a job, not a career. You know, I’m sort of excited about it. I've been working as “the boss” for so long the idea of not being one is kind of nice. When I went in to this move I figured that I would continue to do what I had been doing, just in a different part of the country. Go figure this move that has changed so much in my life has changed that as well.

I am going to do a job that I will only commit 40 hours a week to. A huge change from my last job, where I worked an average of 60 hours a week. It also looks like if I do well at this job I could end up making more than I was! Delightful I tell you.

Things may be looking up. Of course life and Murphy’s Law know that now that I am working, I will spend the next month or two fielding calls for OTHER jobs that have been hiding from me like a dog that has stolen your favourite socks. So who knows what I’ll be doing or where I will be working in the coming months – but for right now – I have a job. Cue the happy music!

Can't Lose for Winning

You know how some days you can’t win for losing? It appears that on other days you can’t lose for the winning. Who knew?

Now as this blog has proven, I have been surprised by the blindness of this place in the back of beyond in failing to see what they have right in front of them – that would be me. The experienced, hard-working retail manager with a perfectionist bent that just wants a bloody job!

Well so far there are no manager jobs on the horizon (there is one that I’m fairly hopeful about) but at long last there are other jobs that seem to be coming out of the woodwork looking for me. You know I am no longer all that picky – funny how unemployment will do that to you. I figure any job will do at this point and I’ll worry about “career” jobs later.

All the little green gods being willing I will hopefully have a job by the end of the week.

Crossed fingers would be appreciated but are not mandatory.

Rant of Worthiness

This not finding a job thing is really starting to get ridiculous. I am a professional PEOPLE!!! You WANT me....you REALLY do!

Moving...and a few other ways I decided to screw up my life

So, I decided to change my life. Little did I know how completely I was going to end up doing exactly that.

Two months ago I was a successful middle manager in retail, making good money with a roof over my head, a dog at my feet a decent car in the driveway and absolutely no time to take advantage of anything. All I did was work, walk the dog, eat and sleep. I had been thinking for the last half year or so that maybe it was time to move closer to family. I had stopped taking advantage of the big city that I professed to love. I had become so isolated with my job that my friendships were already playing out like they were long distance. Mainly Facebook updates and messages with the odd phone call thrown in so I could remember what they sounded like.

I had gone so far as to decide where I would be willing to live, how big it would need to be for me not to feel suffocated and yet close enough to family to make the move worthwhile. Since I professed that being closer to family was the reason for this drastic change it did mean I would have to go much smaller than I truly wanted. It so happened that I already had a member of my family living in this city (totally a fluke...why would I choose to move to a place where I could take advantage of the bonds of family?) and that would give me a certain built in support network. Which became very important in the long run, but I'll get to that later.

With this decision made I was left to decide on when. Those who know me well will tell you that when it comes to making personal decisions involving change I could seriously challenge for a gold medal in the procrastinators Olympics. Truly I think if left to my own devices I would still be in the big city years from now blathering on about how I'm going to move...next year. I allowed this decision to be taken out of my hands by agreeing with a friend of mine that THIS year was the time to move and as she was intending to go to the same place as I was it only made sense that we would do the move together. We set a plan that we would be in our new city by no later than October and I settled in to ignore the decision as it brought about a horrible sense of foreboding whenever I caught myself thinking about it.

Then June came and she had the opportunity to transfer to our chosen city with her company. They offered to pay a flat fee for the move and that was that. She said yes. I managed to convince myself that it made complete sense to move with her, taking advantage of having the majority of the move being paid for. In my most optimistic moments I figured how hard could it be. Sure I didn't have a job yet but I could stay with family until I did have one. If it was at all like where I was moving away from I would have my choice of offers. I allowed everyone and my own self to convince me that it would all be okay.

I was wrong...or is it I was right. At least the doom and gloom part of me was right. Here I sit 2 months after an excruciating move (that will probably end up being a post of its own one day) unemployed, dead broke and taking advantage of family. I have a dog at my feet, a decent car parked on the street and nothing but time to worry about what I've done.

Deciding to change my life has been...interesting.