Picking up Steam

Ok people here’s the deal. I have been through both a first round and second round interview for a new job. I have been asked to provide references. I have been treated very well by these people. This would be a position with a multi-national, publicly traded company that is huge (and I mean really huge), but probably one you’ve barely heard of, if at all, because it does most of its work providing services behind the scene for other really big companies as well as some smaller ones.

One guy who interviewed me tried to downplay my chances – interviewing several, looking for the right fit, not everyone suited to this job and this environment, yada, yada, yada. Another guy who interviewed me indicated that I’m definitely in serious consideration. Now certainly these two statements are not mutually exclusive. I’m sure I am under serious consideration and that there are other well qualified candidates too.

So now we sit. . . on pins and needles. . . waiting to hear something. . . it might be as long as two to three weeks before a decision is made says one guy. Great. Take your time. These pins and needles are just soft as eider down. (Sarcasm you say? What sarcasm? Oh, well maybe a bit. I am a wiseass after all. At least I didn’t say it out loud. And yes, I know that for the candidate a couple of weeks seems like forever, but to the company looking it seems like the blink of an eye. I know. I’ve been on both sides of the table.) The good news though is that after the first interview I was told it might be a week to ten days before I heard back from them yet I received the request for the second round interview within 24 hours so maybe it won’t be so long or so bad after all.

And precious readers, this job sounds good to me, not great but definitely good. If I get an offer I will have to seriously consider it, weigh all the pros and cons of staying at the current job vs. those of taking the new job before making the decision to leap.

Oh and BTW, my therapist says he sees a world of difference in my attitude and outlook and demeanor from a year ago to now. I am much more upbeat, engaged, and invested in life. I feel it too. I just didn’t know it showed through so much to other people. Finally, I feel like after years of trying to get there, we’ve got the depression under control with the right combination of meds and therapy. Finally I’m coming back out into the world as the real me, my TRUE SELF, and enjoying it so even if I don’t get an offer for this job I know there will be other opportunities for other jobs as well as the ability to work toward making this job a better one.

Whew! I’m so glad to be back on track after derailing for a few really hard years.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 395

Still lacking time. However, the quickie update is this: second round interview this week for new job; loving the choir I just joined; Boss and Betty are going to drive me batty yet; got another cold call from a recruiter this a.m. for a job that sounds right up my alley, but is located in Cedar Rapids, hmmm. . . I wasn't really wanting to move, but. . . ; given that I haven't been looking for these positions I'm thinking God is trying to tell me it is time to move on from this workplace; participated in Gay Pride fest recently and think that when I mentioned it to some of my coworkers they are now wondering (but afraid to ask) if I'm a lesbian; I'm enjoying the ambiguity, maybe because sometimes I feel like being bisexual is all about ambiguity; in that same vein, I may have a budding same sex romance but it's too early to tell.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Leads :: follows or gets out of the way
2. Concierge :: hotel
3. Thousand :: tongues
4. Engines :: motorcycles
5. Argument :: disagreement
6. 2006 :: I got nothin'
7. Knot :: tie
8. Fuck :: you!
9. Handsome :: bastard
10. Ridge :: Ruffles

Really Quick Update apropos Nothing at All

This is a scatter shot post – just things that I must say but without the time to really talk about them to the extent I’d like.

Item #1
I auditioned for and was accepted into a local women’s choir. This is not just a cutesy little community group either. This is a group that has four CDs published and has won a national award or two. To say I’m ecstatic would be an understatement.

Item #2
N and I went on vacation last week. It was the hottest week of the summer, and we spent it at a theme park, water park, and attending a major league baseball game. I may never be hydrated enough ever again.

Item #3
W is absolutely driving me crazy. Thank goodness I had vacation last week without him. (Actually I invited him to come with us but he declined. In this case, he was smarter than I.)

Item #4
A little more than a week ago I had a first round HR only interview for a local job at a global company. I am supposed to hear this week if I get asked back for an interview with the hiring manager. Keep your fingers crossed ‘cause this sounds like a good job.

Item #5
My hair is longer now than it has been since I was in college, and I’m actually enjoying it. I always thought old ladies weren’t allowed to wear their hair long, but I’ve always liked my hair best that way. Wanna know why I let it grow? J asked me to back when we first got together again. Go figure. . .

Item #6
There is no sex in my life right now. M moved late in the spring, and of course W and I have nothing at all physical between us other than the occasional hand extended to help each other get up out of a low chair. I miss sex.

That’s it for now.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 394

No new substantive post yet. Aack! My life is way too busy which I hate, because I really, really, really have a lot to say. Soon folks, soon. . .

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Rhythm :: and Blues
2. Baby :: Blues
3. Sanctimonious :: Bastard
4. I like :: Rock ‘n’ Roll
5. Constipated :: Bloated
6. Sleep late :: Luxury
7. Over easy :: Eggs
8. Erratic :: Me!
9. Umbrella :: Necessity
10. You don’t :: mean it

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 393

Once again you bear witness to my weird wacky mind while waiting for the real post on which I am currently working having to do with my dreams, therapy, and dreams about therapy. I am soon leaving for my therapy appointment so who knows where that post will go once I’ve talked to Freud for an hour.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Coma :: Very deep sleep
2. Aristotle :: Onasis
3. Pink eye :: Miserable
4. Expensive :: Unnecessary
5. Dancer :: Prancer and Vixen
6. Lipstick :: Waxy nasty stuff
7. Buffer :: Go Between
8. Stilettos :: Really High Heels
9. Booming :: Loud
10. Rap :: Hip hop

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 391

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Sexting :: Gross
2. Corrected :: Fixed
3. Rewind :: Be kind
4. Heard :: Listened
5. Amazon :: Books
6. Running :: from the law
7. Illegal :: Bad
8. Tracked :: Stalked
9. Generate :: Make
10. Towel :: Absorbant

Don’t know what you might make of my answers up there. I wondered after I typed “Books” for Amazon how many people think of the river or tall strong women as opposed to the website. Also, I found it interesting that I typed “from the law” for running before I (consciously?) saw that the next word was Illegal. Of course, “Be kind” for Rewind is a throwback to the days when I used to rent videotapes by the boatload.

They Always Leave

As I started writing this it was a dead heat between family revelations and work shit so I started with work shit only to have family revelations win the poll by a narrow margin. Luckily for my reading public this one was practically finished already so I’m putting in the hopper to post on Monday. Wow. Two posts within one week’s time. Totally radical, dude.

One day last week just as soon as I came into work, before I even had a chance to get coffee, the newest coworker (been here just since spring) in my department shared with me that she has given notice and will be leaving to return to a former employer. I was sorry to hear of that because she’s a good worker, catches on quickly, and is pleasant to be around. She is also vastly over-qualified for the position she has here and even though I genuinely believe she did not intend to do so she parlayed this situation into a much better job at the old employer. So I congratulated her, and sighed knowing that we may not be so lucky to get someone as good as she is when they hire her replacement. Oh well, life goes on.

Then, not a half hour later D asks me to go on a break with her. It isn’t at all unusual for us to go on breaks together. However, usually we do so in the afternoon rather than the morning. She clearly had something on her mind that she wanted to discuss with me. We went to one of our quiet places near work and sat down. Then she dropped the bombshell. On top of our new coworker leaving, D is also going to be leaving and moving one state away for personal reasons. The only difference is that D is uncertain of her timing. She has no new job to go to yet although she is actively looking. Once she finds something she will be out of here with no regrets about leaving.

D shared with me why she is moving to another state. I won’t share it here as that is her story not mine. I will share here that I think it is a lame reason that she is moving, a reason that makes little sense to me yet it isn’t my business so I said nothing critical to her about the move. Certainly she shouldn’t stay here just because I finally have a friend near by, something that has been few and far between in my life.

I’ve known for a long time, practically since she started last fall, that D is unhappy at work. The job is not a good fit for her, and she has as much or more difficulty getting along with Boss and Betty (a new name for the sidebar, given due to her annoying Betty Rubble laugh; this is a coworker who thinks she is God and has convinced many of the superiors around here of this which makes life more difficult for the rest of us mere mortals who can never live up to her perfection in every way) than I do. While I’m the live and let live type who tries to do just roll with the flow, D is the type who wants things the way she wants things and fights for it. She has bumped heads with Boss many times. Betty intimidates D (as she does me also) so that D is incredibly uncomfortable with Betty. D won’t fight Betty, and it drives D crazy because she doesn’t handle being the underdog well. I can’t fight Betty, and I just ignore Betty as much as possible and do my own thing as I’m used to being the underdog in most situations. All of this to say that as unhappy as D is here in this job it would be ridiculous for me to try to persuade her to stay.

So I’m screwed. No, I don’t think I’ll lose my job anytime soon particularly since I’m sure I’ll have extra duties at least for a while, but life at work is going to get a whole lot less pleasant unless at least one of my new coworkers just happens to click with me like D did.

Word to the wise: if your department has a lot of turnover, like a revolving door kind of turnover, you may want to look at the cause. You may want to see if there is something you or others in your department are doing to make newcomers feel unwelcome. I’ve worked in two places like this now in the last few years, and in both cases I can identify significant flaws in how the department is managed that contribute significantly to the high turnover rate.

And, well, life goes on. . .