I had the interview on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday, when I was at Duncan’s vet’s office, I got the call offering me the job. I announced to a waiting room full of strangers “I got the job!” and they all cheered.
It’s not just any job, either – it’s a good job! It’s with a non-profit organization that is aligned with my personal and political values, and I like the people I’ve met who work there. I’m going to be doing community development work with transgender people and women with HIV/AIDS, so the work itself will be interesting. For the first time in three and a half years, I’m going to have health and dental benefits, which I am very happy about. And the dress code is casual, which is a major perk for me.
I always liked the location of my last permanent job, the one I worked at for 18 years. It was about an hour’s walk from home and it was downtown so there was interesting stuff to do at lunchtime. My new job is not only downtown, it’s on the same street, in the same building, in the exact same office as my old job! This organization just moved into that space a few months ago.
I have to admit, I was getting pretty demoralized about the job search. Not being bilingual is a huge impediment to getting hired in Ottawa, and not being young doesn’t help, nor does being a generalist in an increasingly specialized world. If giving up had been an option, I’d have given up by now. But the mortgage won’t pay itself, so I kept looking.
Here’s an interesting thing. My friend Donna is a Buddhist, and about a month ago, over breakfast, she suggested that I make a list of everything I wanted in a job, set a deadline, and start chanting every day for it to happen. So I figured okay, it might not work but it couldn’t hurt. I made my list, set a deadline of November 1st, and everyday I chanted “Nam myoho renge kyo” for 20 or 30 minutes while thinking about the job I wanted. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but this job has everything that was on my list, and it came in almost exactly on schedule.
I start on Tuesday.
Congratulations! It sounds like it will be a very rewarding job — in the spiritual sense — as well. Sometimes it helps to give karma a list ;).
Thanks May – I think you’re right on both counts!
Congratulations! No one deserves it more!
Thank you Valerie – I don’t know if no-one deserves it more, but no-one could possibly appreciate this job more than me!
I don’t care if the chanting worked or not. A positive outlook and keeping at the problem is the solution to about 90% of what we need. Congratulations and I hope the job turm=ns out to be all you expect.
Thanks Dave!
Great! Congratulations! With all your life experience, this sounds like it will be the perfect job for you.
Thank you Lucy. I expect I’ll learn a lot from it too!
Woo Hoo and Congratulations Zoom!
I’m glad you found a great job that you are so excited about and starting this week!
I hope everything goes well at your new office!
Thanks Mo – I really am excited about this one.
Congrats!!! Maybe I’ll start chanting so I can retire early. 😉
Ha ha! Try it, it might just work. Nam myoho renge kyo.
Excellent news! Can you take Oboe to work with you? LOL
I wish! I should have put that on my list. (It’ll be good to get a break from Simon though. Man, he’s such a brat these days.)
Heartfelt congratulations – not only a job but a job doing something you believe in – it doesn’t get much better than that on the employment front.
I know! If I’m going to put my shoulder to the wheel, I like to believe the cart is pointing in the right direction. And with all the funding cuts to non-profits in recent years, there aren’t that many carts left that are pointing in the right direction. I feel very fortunate.
So nanorimo or no nanorimo?
No Nano this year, Grace. I’m going to keep working on Chameleon in my spare time.
Congratulations!!!! I’m SO happy for you!
Thank you Kate!
Awesome news to come home to
Thanks Reb. I’m very happy.
YAYYYYY!
YAYYYYYY!!!
Great news, I’m happy for you. Finally got to watch your “info-mercial” — I have one of those gadgets, don’t use it much, but you should know that apple juice is rather corrosive to the metal. Tell GC to rinse his nifty kitchen tool immediately after use, to maintain the finish on the metal. Good luck on the new job!
Not only did I rinse it but I took a toothpick and cleaned out all the nooks and crannies. I’m just a little bit obsessed about cleaning our kitchen gadgets!
Thanks Celtchick. (And you should see GC’s mandolin – I think that’s how you spell it – the meat-slicer thingy – after every use, he thoroughly cleans it and then repacks it in the original packaging – it’s in mint condition – you can’t BUY them any cleaner than that.)
Congratulations!! And downtown is fun
Thanks Mika Art. Unfortunately I only get half an hour for lunch, so I don’t spend much time enjoying downtown. But still, it’s nice to know it’s out there.
Wonderful! I am very happy for you.
Thanks Mikatana!
Yay!-worthy!
YAY!
That is AWESOME!!! I startled the dog with a little cheer when I read your post. SO thrilled for you – it sounds perfect. Huzzah!!!
Thanks for the cheer, Roro – I’ve been reading all week, and it’s fascinating subject matter. My head’s so full now.
I’m so happy for you!! What a strange coincidence, it’s in the exact same office as the last one… so strange. And our upstairs neighbours are Jewish but practice some intense yoga and chanting, and they swear by it… who knows? Maybe Buddhism will end up being your bag.
Anyway, congrats again
Stay in touch!
-JM
Thanks JM. If you’re around downtown at lunchtime one day, give me a call – we can grab a coffee and catch up.
Congrats to getting a job!
I was unemployed for 5 months (and I’m bilingual LOL)!
Tough market out here right now!
Enjoy!
Yeah, but are you OLD?
I only hope that “Nam myoho renge kyo” doesn’t mean, “I will gladly trade my soul for this list of desires”…
I think it means something like “The universe will give me what I need, if I ask nicely.”
I looked it up. It means “I devote myself to the Lotus Sutra.” Sounds to me like you’ve sold your soul. But all in all, I think it was worth it, don’t you?
Congrats! I completely believe in karma – it sure sounds like all your kindnesses to other people (and animals) are paying off. Hope you had a good first week!
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