yesterday, continued, and continued to today

So when we last left off, our heroine was lying in a dentist's chair, giggling like a maniac. But there was more to the story.

I've been looking for a job lately. I've had a few abbreviated interactions with a tiny handful of companies. But last week, I had an in-person interview. I made the connection because I recently helped the doc manager hire another person for an opening that was not a good fit for me. And then a junior writing position opened up and I proposed a tradeoff of a more senior writer (moi) working part-time. We emailed back and forth a bit. We had a phone interview.

And then last week, I went in to meet people. The interview went on for a while (hours, actually), but I didn't get a chance to ask many questions. Monday, the in-house recruiter asked my permission to contact my references (and I was going to say No???). This was a good sign.

Yesterday, while I was having lunch with a friend, the recruiter called to say that an offer was in the works (couldn't have been my interview -- must have been the references that tipped the scales). Good news, but I still hadn't asked my questions. The recruiter suggested I come by around 4pm.

So, after my long dental sojourn, with a face so numb that I felt there was stuff on it, I went back to the company, having warned them ahead of time so they didn't think I'd been celebrating prematurely. I spent an hour with the manager, and she graciously answered my questions until there were no more.

Then we found the recruiter and, together, they offered me the job. It was a very generous offer. I signed on the spot.

I'll be working part-time still, but 30 hours a week instead of 24. Given that on bad days, I'll be commuting 15 minutes each way instead of my current hour-each-way-on-a-good-day, the time spent getting to and staying at work will be about the same. Hiring a part-time worker was a huge leap for the company and I am grateful to them for taking this risk.


This morning, I went to see my current manager so I could resign. She was wonderful. We laughed a lot and she hugged me at the end. I told her that I think she's wonderful and I would work for her again; she said the feeling is mutual and we'll need to stay in touch.

I think the thing I'll miss most about my current job is the amazing group of people I've worked with. Our team members are bright, funny, energized, competent, and a lot of fun to hang out with. And it is so frustrating that we couldn't get traction. I hope they're able to make progress soon. I will be cheering them on.

I'm both wistful about leaving the current gig and very excited and happy about the new one. I might also add here that between us, Robert and I have had four new jobs in a year's time. I'm hoping these two latest ones stick for a while.