I've decided that I will not grow older gracefully... I will be dragged kicking and screaming expletives the whole way!
To backtrack a bit, I have never held a job, in one place, for more than 4 years. (Okay, so I taught for 10 years but it was at 5 different schools. We'll say my average is 2.) Change is a neccessity, routine is boring as hell. I've been "trapped" in education for over a decade (I was an admin assistant and substitute before committing to the classroom) and decided enough was enough. In college, I changed majors at least six times, I've had more than one husband, and always had a boy toy when I wasn't in a serious relationship. Committment is not one of my strengths. (In my defense, I will be celebrating my 4th anniversary on the 27th. I am very happy and lucky to have someone like my hubby! God bless America!!)
As I've mentioned in previous post, I'm satisfied with my new job. There are few things that I would change but not anything worth losing sleep over. The only problem is that I am "term of project" and production is slowing down. So in anticipation of a possible pink slip in the near future, I decided to update my resume and see if I could get a few bites. (In part, I also wanted to see if I was still marketable.)
So, in the last week I've had one job offer and four requests for interviews. (One company actually sent a message with their salary range and asked if I would come in if their offer was agreeable.) I did a lot of research on resume writing and made sure to avoid some of the usual pitfalls. My feeling now is that if or when that shoe drops, I can get back into the marketplace pretty quickly, thank God!
Of course, I have a way of complicating EVERYTHING! After I got the call with the offer (pretty much what I'm earning now plus bonuses) I decided to look over the contract with my current employer. It was one of those intuition things. When in doubt, my gut feeling has more times than not saved my arse. And there it was... the "clause". Basically, I'm forbidden to work for a competitor for at least a year after termination of contract. Ironically, I was at our company's winter conference that morning. The number one tenet pointed out by the president as to the reason for our company's success? Doing the right thing every day. (This is paraphrased due to my need for secrecy.) In the realm of morality, I would be a "traitor" if I took the offer. It bothered me that anyone would think of me in that way. Then the self-serving monster reared its fugly head. If I were to take the offer, I would lose out on my 2005 bonus to be distributed at the beginning of March. Ironically, it was announced at this particular meeting that we met our expectations and would all qualify for 18.9%... of our salary. I would be an idiot to leave before that was doled out!
(BTW, why is every other airing of Jimmy Kimmel a freakin' rerun. It's not like he's a Carson or Letterman.)
I have always had the stong belief that everything happens for a reason. In the last few days that I have been dreading #39, I have made a few decisions:
1. I will stick it out where I am now. I'm not desperate for a new job.
2. I will not compromise my reputation in reaction to my insecurities. My flakiness is bad enough.
3. Most important, even if the Steelers lose on my birthday, I will live to see another birthday. As a matter of fact, I want to be a female pirate by this time next year. I'll have to go easy on the wine and cake if I want to get into those leather pants and bustier.
Argh,
Mon:-)
aka Bloody Morgan
