My second act

photo credit: @MauiMinnie702/Maria Hannon

Well, I have big news. Huge news. Good news. After about 8 1/2 months of sending out resumes, going to interviews (some good, some worthy of the book I'm going to write), and being rejected more times than I care to remember...I am ecstatic to announce that I HAVE A NEW JOB!

Yep.
That's right.
Stop the presses.
I. Have. A. New. Job.

And I have to say...I'm very excited about this new gig. I'll be working from home. I'm an independent contractor. And I'll be working with a social media marketing firm. So, let's recap - working from home means NO daycare. Independent contractor means....NO green polyester trolls as my boss. And social media...well we all know that makes me happy.

So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is a win-win-win for me.

And damn I feel good.

I told a friend of mine a few weeks ago that I'm looking at this new job as my "second act" - a new beginning for me, my professional life, and a new definition for me as a "working mom." I've done the part-time office job and I've done the 40 hour a week office job from hell. And now? Well now I'm setting my own hours. I'm making my own schedule and I'm going to be doing something I love.

This is my new beginning.
I can finally shut the cover on that last chapter.
That story is finished. Over. Completed.
Now, a new chapter begins.
A new story starts today.
And I think it's going to be a good one.

One door closes, another door opens....and I could not be happier

So, today was my last day of work at The Job.

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am.

Yesterday, I received a job offer for a new gig - and I accepted. This new job is EXACTLY what I've been looking for and it's with a local office of a national organization (no, I'm not naming them here) and I am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED about it.

Today I gave my two week notice.
My now ex-boss was not pleased with the news.
It was a very unpleasant two minute conversation.

Yeah. That's right. Two minutes. Tops.
There was no 'well, what can we do to keep you here?' (um, nothing!) or 'sorry to see you go'.
It was just "Oh. OK. That's a shame. Go tell HR."

Whatever.
I even offered to stay 'on' until next Wednesday (because it was the RIGHT thing to do!) but I was told that today was my last day.

So, at 1 p.m. this afternoon I walked out into the hot, humid sunshine a "free" woman.
And it felt so good.

There have been so many things wrong with The Job since the day I started - lack of communication, promises broken, blah blah blah. It was a bad deal from the get-go and I'm happy to be moving on.

I am very excited about this next chapter and what it will mean to me professionally.
I feel good about this job.
Really good.

I just want to be happy doing something I love.
This new gig is quite possibly what I want to be when I grow up.
:)

Doing a happy dance

This morning I was stressing ... I had this odd feeling that I was going to get some news today about the job. And being the cynic that I am, I just KNEW it would be bad news.

I was wrong.

I was offered the job today.
And, of course, I accepted.

And so, on May 4th I will once again be gainfully employed.

I cannot tell you how happy I am about this.
I can just feel the stress of the last 10 months disappearing as I type this.

Unless you've actually experienced it, I don't think I could make you understand what it feels like to be unemployed. It's a hard pill to swallow. When you WANT to work and there isn't any work and you just keep getting rejected over and over again....it really takes a toll.

But now, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

And I am so thankful for that.