Honestly, I had decided to myself that this day would never come. Not that I would dare admit that to anyone...but there are only so many times that you can be told 'not possible' before you begin to believe it.
I began my job search about ten months before I moved up to TN, thinking that that would be plenty of time, considering that I didn't want to apply for something too early when I wasn't ready to move. Nine months later, and one month before my self-imposed deadline, I was still jobless. In desperation, I made my rounds to all the temp services in town, and was rewarded with my first ever temporary assignment. It looked promising, as it was slated to go permanent, and it gave me the much-needed boost to make that life-changing move to the Ridge.
Alas....how could I have foreseen that the plant I had planned on making my home would pull up stakes in the Tri-Cities, a mere three months after I arrived? Fortunately, they made the announcement a year and a half before their intended shut-down date, so the entire plant had time to pound the pavement before we got kicked to the curb. I wound up staying there a year, (job-hunting the entire time, to no avail) before being called to the HR manager's office and given a lead on a position with a company in Bristol, in which a former employee now worked as CFO. It would be temp to perm, as this one had been...without the shut-down factor. I was on the road again, a mere six months before the axe fell.
Unfortunately, I was there no time before that CFO started throwing a lot of work my way that I had no business doing, in the position I held there. He lied about hiring me permanently after my initial 3 months, and I soon realized that the work he was giving me was setting me up to take a HUGE fall in the event it was found out that he was embezzling from the company. I wanted out in a hurry. (He actually did get caught and fired..but it was after I left.)
In desperation, I began posting my resume on the internet, even though I never expected much that way, but once again....just in time, I was rescued by a phone call out of the blue one morning when I'd literally reached the end of my rope. A guy in Illinois had seen my resume posted on Monster, and thought I'd be perfect for a job he was trying to staff. There were only two catches: 1) it was only...ONLY...a 3-month gig, with ZERO chance of permanency, and 2) they needed someone IMMEDIATELY. I would have no chance to work a notice at my current job.
Now, I will say that I do NOT like the idea of leaving a job without working a notice....it totally goes against my personal work ethic. In fact, more often than not, I have worked way over the standard two weeks, just so I could bridge the gap and train my replacement. But I will tell you that I was so desperate to distance myself from this scarily unhealthy environment that I did not bat an eye when I told the guy he'd found his girl. It didn't hurt that the pay was more than I'd ever made in my life, up to that point. I figured that even if the job was only 3 months, it would carry me 3 months further down the job-search road.
As it turned out, though, even though that job WAS a 3-month gig, it was extended to a year. And then they added another year. And another one. In total, I have now been here at the VA as a contract employee for 3 years...a far cry from the 3 months I was told up front.
During that time, I have not stopped looking for a job, but positions this lucrative are scarce as hens' teeth in these parts....I mean, this ain't Atlanta, y'know? Not that I want it to be....but I digress. I've applied for numerous jobs here on station, so that I could stay at the VA (which I love), but there is a hiring freeze on, and the only way they fill positions right now, is either from the inside...or by a Veteran....and that last is not me....much as I wish it was.
Enter my miracle.
Turns out I have a disability. I will spare you the gory details, but back in '97, I had a bad ear infection which culminated in a ruptured ear drum. Since then, my hearing has deteriorated at such a slow rate that I hadn't even realized how bad it had gotten. When we realized that our program was not going to be refunded for a fourth year, some good friends on the inside got busy and put their ears to the ground for me(I will forever be grateful to them....they literally threw this job into my lap with the proviso that I had a disability). It actually took me a few minutes to even remember that I had the problem...but I went to the doctor for a hearing exam, and tested out zero in my left ear. Armed with documentation to that effect, I was able to land my dream job. Who would have ever thought a blown eardrum would be a blessing??
Today, I found out that I will be a permanent Government employee, with all the rights and benefits thereof. And I will be doing a job that I love: payroll.
God is so good.
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