The classifieds

I saw my job in the paper yesterday.

I’m not being ambitious in a “that job is perfect for me! I’m going to get that job!” kind of way. It was really my job. The job that—until two weeks ago Wednesday—I got paid to do. (The fact that today would have been payday has not escaped my notice or that of my checking account.) I was just reading through the Hs and highlighting anything that looked interesting in Human Resources, and there it was. 19 lines of insult, injury, and some more insult.

Reading it—c'mon, of course I read it—my hands started to shake with emotion. I hadn’t realized I was still that angry. And I was surprised. My boss had indicated that maybe they wouldn’t fill my position right away, because the Big Boss thought that I wasn’t doing anything and therefore they wouldn’t need to replace me. But apparently it took them less than a week after my departure to realize that, hmm, maybe I had been doing something after all. Which doesn’t really make me feel better.

Unfortunately, they’re taking applications through the end of the month, so every time I read the classifieds I’m going to see their ad again.

But right next to it, one column over, was a job that I applied for this morning. The starting pay is decent and I know someone (okay, it was my sister) who recently temped at that organization and said everyone was very nice. It’s a job I am definitely qualified for, even if it’s not my perfect dream of someone paying me to practice the piano and bake cookies all day. So keep your fingers crossed for me.

If nothing else, even if I don’t get this job or the next one or the one after that, I am proud of myself for applying for something, for crafting the perfect cover letter and sending it off with my resume, for believing that someone will want to hire me because I am a good employee and I am a good person. I refuse to be paralyzed by the events of this year. They may have taken my job, but they won’t get my spirit, too!