. Shortly before Christmas, I finished up that contract job for the small publisher. I returned their Mac computer right after New Year's, and while I was writing a little "thanks for the work, please think of me next year" note to the woman who trained me, another gal who was there said, oh, don't bother, she's left the company.
This came as a surprise to me since the woman who'd left had been hired full-time only this past summer. She held the f/t job I'd originally applied for before they gave me the contract work.
So instantly I thought, I'd love to take her place. With that in mind, I left an extra nice note for the editor in chief.
This morning I get an email from the editor in chief, explaining that the trainer (and another woman) had left the company. She may not have known that I already knew. Anyway, she said they'd been planning on changing the way they updated their two annual directories. Instead of hiring freelance writers like me to update it each year, they were thinking of making the 2 people who left project managers in charge of each directory. Now, of course, they'd need to find someone to replace them and she was putting out feelers to see if I'd be interested in the job, which would be full-time, in office. And I presume WITH THE ALL-IMPORTANT BENEFITS.
So of course I said yes, yes and yes. She said she needs to work out a few details on it yet and will be in touch with me next week so I can come in to discuss it further with her.
Just think....a full-time job.
I am so excited, even though I know that this job will pay very low. If it paid in the $50s, I'd think that was great, even though that's still very low compared to what i made in the past. But over 2 years of unemployment has a way of redefining your expectations.
As long as I could pay my bills and have health insurance, I'd be thrilled. My COBRA alone is $469 a month, which is a huge cost to me, $5628 a year,and this will most surely go up in June when the plan turns over for another year.
The great thing is that I have not lost sight of one of big money goals, which has been paying off the mortgage. Once my mortgage is gone (and I have just $9,000 more to go), it should make living on whatever lowly salary they might pay at this place even more doable.
I would still hope I could save a modest amount for retirement, have my health insurance premiums cut in half and then just coast toward retirement.
Getting this job could end a lot of pain for me. I would bring my lunch to work every day to avoid costs there.
I'm not sure how interesting the work would be if it's basically doing what I did when I did the contract work, but I Am Not Complaining. Plus I have a concern about how easy the editor in chief is to work with, and the offices there seem very dreary and depressing to me. We all know that publishing is a dying field,and this place, as mentioned before, has offices decorated circa 1950s with ripped carpets, dingy walls, and lots of old file cabinets from the Eisenhower administration. But it would still be a lifesaver for me.
In other news, I interviewed today for a freelance job writing property descriptions for multi-million homes. It seemed like a perfunctory interview; no idea whether she liked me or not. This is a subsidiary office of my oldest client, but they run their own shop. Everyone who works there looks like a model. It's a little intimidating. I have long thought that the most attractive women gravitate toward real estate.
I'd have to go down and view the property when the photographer went to take pix, so as to minimize inconvenience to the homeowner. it would be a bit of a schelp, about 45 minutes, to this area. It's a very ritzy area, CT's "gold coast," as they call it. I'd also have to dress up just to look presentable since i'd be meeting with the homeowner.
This could be the big break i've been waiting for...
January 10th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
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I hope this is the one! It couldn't happen to a more deserving person.
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January 14th, 2012 at 07:47 pm 1326570437
(And income is all relative. I'm damn happy with my 40K plus benefits. It's not the current amount, it's getting out of the unemployment mindset and to a place where growth is possible that counts...even if this isn't your long-term ideal, it will put you on better footing for when a better job possibility comes along.)
January 14th, 2012 at 08:44 pm 1326573872
and you're right, Dido and Ceejay. The degree of happiness I feel proportionate to income is, I think, something that fluctuates depending on your circumstances. $40K with benefits DOES sound great. Back to the world of the working. So true!