HappyHappyJoyJoy. 08/30/03
Got a new job today.
Yes! Yes! YES! Wheeeeeee!!!
And now we do the dance of joy.
Oh, how very very sweet it is. To never have to go back to the photo lab. To work in a lovely little office that has WINDOWS and a courtyard with tropical plants and huge skylights. To actually do lots of Graphic Design work! To earn more than I ever did before, and it's only a starting wage. To never have to go back to the photo lab.
AAack! I can hardly believe it.
I went in for a interview on Wednesday, and thought it went very well at that point. But then I often do feel hopeful after an interview, as if I made a good impression and it seems really likely that I could get hired. And the potential employers I've interviewed with often say, "We'll call you back for a second interview", but they never do. I was beginning to think that phrase actually meant, "Please go away. We don't want you."
But then I got a call Thursday for my very first "second interview". I was so excited I started cleaning out my folders at work and composing a letter of resignation. Knowing not to get my hopes up. Knowing not to trust having a "good feeling" about this.
But as I was finishing up some work on Friday evening at the lab, thinking "This could be the last time I ever have to unjam this fucking printer", this song by the Eagles came on the Radio:
"Me, I'm al-ready gone. And I'm feel, feel-in' strong. I will si-innng, this vict'ry song. 'Cause I'm all, al-ready gone..."
So today, Saturday, was my second interview, and I impressed them greatly. They said, "If you think you would be okay with taking this job, let us know." And I thought: Okay?!? OKAY??? Hell, yes! Please, please, please let me work here!!! I tried not to look too jubilant as I replied, "I would love to start working here as soon as possible."
So it is a small local newspaper, and I will be doing layout design, ad creation, Photoshop work, proofreading and editing, maybe even a bit of writing. The stuff I never got to enough of at the photo lab, the things I went to school to learn how to do, my chosen line of work. And I started learning the job today. It seems they have a high estimation of how much I can learn about this particular job, and how quickly. They really challenged my knowledge-absorption and note-taking skills. 6 pages of notes, on the first day of training. Yikes. And the management plans to leave the country for a vacation in 2 weeks, with me handling all the page layout and advertising design. Holy shit. But I think I am up to the challenge. There has rarely been an employee more determined than me, to learn and do and create.
Tuesday I go in to the photo lab to collect my stuff and hand in my resignation. Oh, how I have daydreamed of that moment. The bluntly honest jaw-droppingly disrespectful things I could say... but won't. I will be businesslike, explain my reason for leaving, not tell them where I am going, then say goodbye to the few cool people still stuck working there... and maybe flip off the computer one last time as I go.
