I’ve been waiting a long time to write this post. That’s mostly because of paperwork taking a lot of time to get processed, but now all the annoying papers have been processed, so I can finally spill the beans of something exciting happening to me on the job front.
As many of you know, I was set to take a position at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base about an hour’s drive from Columbus, where I’d intern in their legal office as an office assistant. This would be through the same program that took me to Germany last year, only it wouldn’t cost me two plane tickets to take the position. I’d even sent in an application for an apartment a literal stone’s throw from the base. Except for getting my license and my car (that’s still a work in progress, unfortunately), things were all squared away.
You’ve probably noticed by now that I’m speaking in the past tense. Meaning that something’s changed. Something’s happened with this particular job. Well, something did happen. Though it’s not as horrible as you’re probably thinking, based on the way I’m talking.
Late last month, I received a phone call out of the blue from someone at the Defense Logistics Agency, which sends supplies to every branch of the American Armed Forces. They have a facility here in Columbus and they were looking for an intern to fill a position in their Equal Employment Opportunity office. The same sort of office I worked in while I was in Germany. And they wanted me to fill the position, even though I was supposed to be working at Wright-Patt in about a month.
Well, after some thought and some advice from my career counselor and a few other people, I decided to take them up on the offer. It’s a great job, it’s local, and there’s a pretty good chance that it could lead to something full-time after the internship is done. And you know what? It feels like a much better fit for me than Wright-Patt did.*
You know, not too long ago I had an epiphany about job searching: it’s a lot like a spider laying eggs. A spider can lay hundreds or even thousands of little spiderlings, but only a small fraction of them will live to maturity. In the same way, someone looking for a job will send out hundreds upon hundreds of resumes and applications and emails, but only a few of them will actually get anywhere if you’re lucky. And the process of getting there can be a twisted and strange journey.
The process of getting to this job has certainly had its shares of twists and turns. But I’m glad I got to this job eventually. I can’t tell you, I’ve been wanting to get to work since I got out of work. It’ll be good to be in a job, making a difference and earning some cash. It’ll feel especially good to move out of my dad’s house and into a space of my own (I love my family, but they drive me crazy sometimes).
So wish me luck as I start this new chapter of my life. We’re still working on a start date, but I’ll be visiting the facility soon for a Holocaust-themed event, and I’ll be meeting my supervisor-to-be there. Hopefully it’ll be the beginning of a very fruitful working relationship.
Also, interesting enough my Tarot cards kind of predicted this. One of the cards said I would get some delayed and/or disappointing news. Well, six months to get the perfect job might be called a delay. And I need to do more Tarot readings.
*Speaking of which, the folks over there took my plans to switch internships very well. They actually kind of hinted that they expected something like this would happen, and wished me the best of luck. I’m just happy they’re not using voodoo dolls to get revenge on me.
Rami Ungar The Writer 