Another fork in the road-another decision to make. I hope writing about it will help me decide.
I recieved a nice little gift this week at work-a Tiffany pen. I didn't realize it, but when someone works at my company for 10 years, they give you a pen and a nice letter thanking you for your service. Now my 10th anniversary was actually back in August-I started there about 6 months after I graduated from Stockton in January 1998 (yes I was 37 years old-but that's another story).
At this point I must mention, for the benefit of those who might not have read some of my older blogs (for example-A blog called Escape that I wrote this summer,) that I get bored VERY EASILY! The fact that I have been at the same company for 10 years is a record, even though I haven't been doing the same job for all that time. I went out on the road after my dad died in 2001, so that's been almost 8 years, which is also a record. Before I went back to school my normal time was about two years; after that the boredom would set in and life become miserable until I figured out what was next.
So the idea of a crossroads with a life and life-style changing decision is really nothing new and doesn't scare or upset me-I'm all about change and anti-boredom. One of the reasons my present job still holds me is that there are many opportunities to do other things; in 2007 I spend 3 months in DC on a temporary assignment, and last year a couple months in Chicago. I also get the chance to teach, which I enjoy very much. I also enjoy being on the road on a day-to-day basis. It keeps me from getting too upset about the old house we live in and all its problems, and I get to interact with a lot of different people in the course of the year.
So enough exposition, you say, what is this crossroad? Ok, well, I went to work in DC helping someone out for a couple days (I met her while working there in 2007), and she made a point of letting me know that there was a position open there if I was interested in applying for it. The job is basically what I was doing when I was there temporarily, although of course on a more permanent basis. She also suggested to me that they were open to a telecommuter-that is-I could work from the same place in Philly that I'm headquartered now, and just go to DC on a regular basis. Now she didn't have to tell me about this posting, and I never would have known, so I'm sure that if I threw my hat into the ring I would be given favorable consideration (after all I am a known quantity having worked with these people before.)
At the time of the 'offer', I thought about it and talked to this woman about it, but ultimately rejected the idea, thinking that 1)I wasn't ready to sit in an office, and 2)I still enjoyed my work.
Tha Tiffany pen got me thinking though, because this past week I've been working on a report and having a VERY TOUGH time getting through it. There's no rocket science about it-I could do it in my sleep, but I was doing everything (including messing around on Myspace on the work computer, which is never a good idea) in order to avoid working on the report.
All of a sudden it dawned on me-MAYBE I'M BORED! Maybe my problems concentrating are not just a result of my borderline ADD personality-maybe I'm just bored silly and am not recognizing it.
At this point I began to think twice about my decision not to go for this other job, and just for shits and giggles I checked to see if the posting was still there. I discovered to my surprise that the door is still open-the posting doesn't close until December 31! So I now have this decision to make.
Of course I talked about it with Mark, and he is a treasure. He's amenable to whatever I want/need to do to advance my career, but of course we both know that we can not move at this point. We are definitely stuck in this house right now, although I'm not worried about it because it's waterfront and will always be worth something, and although our long term plans involve a move further south eventually, I think we'd both like to keep this place if we can. The fact that the job would not require a move right away is very important because there wouldn't be enough of a raise to pay for an apartment there.
Is this job my dream job, you ask? Well no, it's not. Actually my dream job is more like what I do now, HOWEVER, the substance of my work is increasingly at odds with my political beliefs, and this new job would get me away from that aspect of it. It would also broaden my experience in my field, and make me more valuable as an employee, which of course I'm always striving for. And I must tell you that I would be at the center of it all in a way and who knows what opportunities could come my way once I am there? (Mark is somewhat open to the idea of moving down there at some point, although that's not in the cards right now, as I said before.)
So-the next crossroad in my life. I've reinvented myself many times before-it seems to be my real calling in life, so should I do it again?
PS Yes I know all this is a bit self-indulgent considering many of my friends are experiencing the shitty economy first hand; however remember that Mark is a cabinetmaker whose fortunes rise and fall with the economy too. I'm just lucky to work for an 'industry' that will not be cutting back.
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