J.O.B.
If you’ve wondered where I’ve been this week, the short and simple reason is…
I GOT A JOB!!!
The whole job thing has been interesting for me since we have been here. I was determined to give myself a little break from working to spend time focusing on things I’ve never had the time to really work on before. Like this blog, and working out, having a clean house, looking for writing opportunities, and just enjoying some free time while Husband took over the role of breadwinner for a while.
A couple of things have occurred during that free time.
I worked with a designer to develop a new blog design. In fact, we worked for close to a month and were on the brink of finishing, when she decided to give up blog design completely. So I was back to square one, and have yet to find a designer that will do what she had already done for a price that isn’t double or more what she was going to charge.
I reached a point in decorating the house where I think I will stop for the indefinite future, because in all reality we just won’t be here long enough to warrant much more.
I also reached a point where our laundry was completely done (not even a sock in the hamper), the house was scrubbed from top to bottom, flowers had been planted, blogs had been written, dogs had been bathed, and anything else to do with our house required spending money (buying a bookcase for the office, hangers to organize some clothes, having frames made for Husband’s certificates).
And quite honestly I was fading a little. My productivity level was falling as I kept telling myself “I can do that tomorrow”. Instead of getting 15 things off my to do list in a day, I would get more like 10 done knowing that I had indefinite time left to get them finished. It made me feel lazy and uninspired.
I realized that I needed a little structure in my life, a little pressure (I do well under pressure), and most importantly some purpose.
And I wanted to earn a little play money.
I’ve been casually applying to places and have been on a couple of interviews since we’ve been here, but I never really took much of it seriously. This was in part because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want a 40 hour a week job, because I wanted to be able to still stay on top of keeping the house together so Husband’s free time could be spent relaxing and having fun together, instead of running errands and cleaning house. I also knew I needed something that was going to stimulate my brain, otherwise I know I would grow to hate it, and there was no point in working a job I hate, when I don’t exactly have to work.
I’m want to write another post later about this, but I’m a big believer in the thought that God will give you what you ask for, if you know what you are asking for. You know, the whole, put what you want out in the universe and it will find you? That may not make sense exactly, but I feel like I can pray for something general, like please help me find a job, but in my heart when I was praying those words I didn’t know what I wanted that job to be, and if I didn’t care and want it bad enough to take the time to figure it out, why should God? I needed to take some time to really analyze what I wanted. Then my prayers became more specific. God, please help me find a part time job (preferably 20 hours, three days a week) , that will stimulate me, provide us with the extra money we need (I actually had an amount in my mind), and will still allow me run our house so we can have free time together.
At that point it started to become clearer in my job searches what I was looking for. Another thing I believe, is that while God will provide for you, he won’t do it ALL for you. You have to help yourself whenever possible. So I started cold calling businesses I was interested in working for, and spending time daily searching job sites and applying, then calling to talk to the hiring person about the positions. I even visited some places in person.
When you’ve put your request out there, done all you can do, that’s where God comes in (again this is my belief).
Last Thursday I finally I got a call for an interview.
Last Friday I got a call offering me the job.
This past Monday I started work.
Magically (not magic at all), the position is a Marketing Assistant for the top commercial real estate broker in the area, 20 hours a week (with a three day a week schedule that was approved yesterday), paying the exact amount I had in mind, where I have essentially been given free license to put my creative juices to work to develop strategic marketing plans for the business.
For all intents and purposes it is the perfect job for me.
And my new boss is so similar to one of my previous bosses, a boss that I loved dearly and miss a lot, which makes my heart smile. To me, this was a textbook case of “ask and you shall receive” and I am so grateful.