Dancing through life...

I am waiting for a Phone Call. A Really Awesome Job (TM) has been checking my references, and they said they wanted to have a decision made today. My references are, of course, 100% glowing, so I'm feeling pretty confident about this, but there's always the possibility...

Either way, today will be my last day working for the Dumbass. He hired my replacement, and she started on Tuesday. Being that this job could be done by a reasonably intelligent primate, it didn't take her very long to get up to speed on the systems and procedures. He told me yesterday that after today my services will no longer be required.

This morning he mentioned that he might like to keep me on as a "consultant" if I'm not working. Uh, no. Not going to happen, particularly since he's not likely to be willing to pay me very well. Additionally, he's had the same amount of time to learn the system inside out as I have, and has made no discernible effort to do so. Sorry, buddy, you're on your own.

The Potential New Job seems like it would be a really good fit for me. The work is a combination of stuff I'm already really good at and stuff I could potentially be really good at. The people all seem nice, they've stated that they are NOT micromanagers, and the commute is absolutely ideal. (I could ride my bike in the spring!)

Now I just have to wait for the phone to ring!

I am looking for a job. Again. Shocking, I know.

I've been at this job for two and a half months. During the interview process, it was indicated to me that the temp side of this position would be short: one month or less. When the position was offered to me at a substantial pay cut, I accepted under the assumption that the decrease in pay would be brief, followed by a potential increase.

Now, two and a half months later, I'm still a temp. My first day on the job happened to be the same day my boss signed the papers to finalize his divorce; his wife just happens to be my predecessor in this position.

The company is very small: myself (Office manager), the boss/president/owner, and the bookkeeper who comes in once weekly. In my opinion, my position really could be handled on a part time basis as well. I spend the majority of my time sitting around and mucking about on the internet, which is not an ideal situation for me.

Fortunately, I have learned some things while I've been here, the primary thing being that I do not want to work for small businesses any more. If the company does not have an HR department, I am not interested. If I am not provided with a written job description, I am not interested. It has been my experience that these small organizations don't tend to have clear expectations for their employees, and are unable to give meaningful feedback on job performance. Some people may be able to handle that; I am not one of them.

So, I am applying for jobs at larger companies. I've updated my cover letter and resume, and am only applying to positions that strongly interest me. Hopefully it won't be long before I can tell my boss to take this job and shove it.

~I GOT A PERMANENT JOB HOORAY HOORAY!!!! I will be an Administrative Assistant to a Wealth Management Advisor at Northwestern Mutual. It's a very exciting opportunity, with decent pay and benefits. I start on the fifth, and my goal for 2012 is to have ONE W2. That hasn't been the case for me since 2008, believe it or not. I've actually been very fortunate this year; I managed to swing into a temp position that started the day after B&F closed. It was only supposed to be three weeks, but it's now three months later and I haven't have to collect a single penny of unemployment. Perhaps my luck has turned?

~Things around the house are progressing! I accepted the new job on Friday, so Rich and I went out and spent some money this weekend. We got a couple of pieces of furniture we needed for the living room, and a reel lawn mower. I've never had to mow the lawn once in my life, but I kind of love doing it with our new mower. Our yard got WAY out of control, so it's going to be a little while before it's *perfect*, but it's getting there. We still have a bunch of other stuff on our to-do list, but now that I have a definite source of income we can get moving, finally. Next on the list is to pick out and purchase flooring for the dining room and library, which I fear will be more difficult than I first thought. I was originally thinking a light colored bamboo, but it turns out bamboo isn't good for high traffic areas, and darker colored floors can help lower your heating costs in winter. I think we'll be shopping this weekend.

~I don't know if I've mentioned this here, but my Aunt Patti and Uncle Harold are moving down to South Carolina this week. It's...weird. My mom's side of the family has always been pretty close, both geographically and emotionally. Thanksgiving was always at our place, Christmas always at Aunt Patti's, with various other barbecues and celebrations split up between. SC should be good for them, so that makes me happy, but I'll miss having them so close. They've given Rich and I two pieces of antique family heirloom furniture already, and my parents will be dropping off their fire table and lawn chairs this evening, so that's pretty exciting.

~Speaking of things around the house, this weekend our resident whistle pig, Buster, got a GIRLFRIEND! We noticed them both on the deck on Saturday. I think I managed to snap a couple of photos, but I haven't put them on the computer yet. We have dubbed our new yard-resident TheMissus. As long as they don't destroy our deck, I'm perfectly content with them living in our yard.

~This past Saturday, Rich and I went with my parents to the Wolf Conservation Center to see their new Ambassador Pups. THEY ARE SO ADORABLE I COULD NOT HANDLE THE CUTE. There are pictures up on my FaceBook.

~That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll think of something I missed later.

This is going to be a fast and furious summary of the past month and a half or so, so hang on tight!

-The New Job from the beginning of August...did not work out. It turned out to be a good thing that it didn't, but for a while there I was really, really not well. Fortunately, I have an excellent support system. I will be forever grateful to the people who held me up through that difficult period. You know who you are. <3

-Thanks to our respective mothers, Rich and I were still able to close on our house. His mother found someone who could help us, since our original mortgage broker was unable to do so due to her being scheduled to go on vacation for the entire month of September. My mother actually co-signed our mortgage.

-We closed on September 15th. I had no job (other than rose selling, that becomes important later,) at the time. I was overjoyed and terrified all at once.

-The day after we closed, I had a really amazing interview at a really amazing textile company in North White Plains. Again, this becomes important later.

-The Big Move was scheduled for September 23rd. We rented a truck from Budget, and quite a few people, most importantly my dad, helped us schlep stuff. I drove the truck! No one died! No property was damaged!

-On September 22nd, I got an offer of employment from the company I had interviewed with the previous week. I went and peed in a cup, told them I accepted, and waited for my start date.

-We slept in our new home on the evening of September 23rd. On September 24th, whilst rivendellelf was helping me move yet more boxes, I got the phone call that they wanted me to start work on September 27th, the day after closing day of the Renaissance Faire. I asked them if it would be all right if I started on Tuesday, as I had to finish up my move, and they were perfectly fine with that. I had a new job!

-On September 26th, closing day of NYRF 2010, I sold 215 roses. My goal that morning had been to sell 160. I am still in a little bit of shock regarding that fact. It seemed that my life had made a sudden and drastic turn around.

In the three and a half weeks since then...

We've gotten partially unpacked; spent lots of money at various household-supply stores; sanded, wiped down, and primed the dining room walls; planted two blueberry bushes and a butterfly bush; discovered that our house, which came with a washing machine, HAD NO DRYER HOOKUP; got a dryer hookup installed; got new laundry machines from my parents; and scads of other things I'm probably forgetting due to the glass of wine I'm enjoying, the bottle of which came from a store less than a block from my new house.

There is much yet to do. We still have to get the hot tub looked at. The electrician who installed our dryer plug has to come back to fix the wire that's running through mid-air in our bathroom. (We found THAT when Dad tore out the hideous drop ceiling they had in there.) Mr. Electrician also has to suss out the situation with the ceiling fixtures in the bedrooms, and install a bathroom fan.

We have to finish painting, get Empire in here to replace most of the awful, awful carpeting we've got up in here, replace the cook top, and get a dishwasher installed.

So, so much to do!

My new job is also very busy. I'm the Sample Production Assistant, and it seems there was quite a while where my position was un-staffed. There's a bit of a mess as a result, and I'm the one who's supposed to clean it up. I love it.

My boss, D, is really super sweet, the rules (no cell phones during work hours, no personal use of computer,) are somewhat strict but clear, and the benefits are fantastic. D tells me every day what a great job I'm doing and how happy she is to have me there. It's wonderful to be appreciated!

So. That's why I haven't been around much. Bit busy, yeah? I miss you all, and I hope to be able to start having people over for foodses and hot tubbing soon!

I have applied for unemployment, contacted the DoL again, and will be talking to a friend's mother who works in HR this afternoon to see if she recommends contacting a lawyer. At this point, I'm really just concerned with being able to collect unemployment.

A few months back, I sent my resume in response to an ad that said, "Must love dogs. No really, MUST LOVE DOGS." I got a phone call, and went on an interview.

The interview went really well. However, the woman interviewing me said that I probably wouldn't be happy in the position, for the same reasons I was unhappy at WEN. She gave me her cell phone number, and told me that she was going to a company called Melissa & Doug. She said to give her a call if I needed anything.

I sent my resume over yesterday, and I got through to her today. She said she's going to make sure my resume gets to the right people and tell them that I'm worth talking to.

How perfect would that place be for me?? A TOY company!

In the interest of positivity, I will not say that I really hope I get this job. I'm going to say that I WILL get this job, and it will be awesome, because I am awesome and I deserve awesome things.