Life's mysterious way of working out

Lately, I have been hearing a commercial for a new home liquidation sale in which 160 new homes constructed by 3 area home builders are being sold. Whenever I hear this commercial I can't help but think about the way things tend to work out in the end and how the disappointments lead to something better.

When we moved back to Washington in October 2005, James asked me to take at least a month off before I even started to look for a job. I was burnt out and one of us needed to be here to wait for the phone guy, the cable guy, and all the other various guys that are required upon moving in. As an added bonus, I could actually unpack and get us moved in in a timely fashion, which had not been the case when we moved from our apartment in Arizona to our house.

I started sending out resumes at the end of November and in December got interviews with the local newspaper and a small publishing company. I didn't have experience in either of these fields, but as an accountant that didn't matter as much as my grasp of basic accounting principles. After my interviews, I really, really wanted the job at the newspaper, but deep-down knew I was going to get the job at the publishing company. In the end, I did not get the job at the newspaper, and accepted the job at the publishing company. It is the only job I have taken that I wasn't excited about but I was starting to get a little too comfortable staying at home.

I started working there in January 2006. By March, I was incredibly bored and spent most of my time e-mailing my friends since I had nothing to do. I would ask for more work, but was only given menial tasks that didn't take very long and the promise I would be taking over more of the workload "soon." In April, the company filed for bankruptcy, which was great for me because with all the paperwork that was required, I was suddenly swamped. And then in June, when that died down, a new controller was hired so the CFO could focus solely on the bankruptcy and I knew all this work I was promised just was not going to materialize with a 3rd body. So, I was back to about an hour or so of work each day, if that, and decided I needed to look elsewhere. I know people think I left because of the bankruptcy but the truth is I left to go to a company where I actually had work to do. Novel concept, I know.

I met with a recruiter who put me in touch with an area home builder located less than a mile from my house. That was definitely a perk. Taking a $5,000 year pay cut for a salaried position that had a minimum requirement of 45 hours a week was ultimately not worth it. I had spent so long focusing on my job and career advancement and I had gotten to the point where I wanted a position where James and the dogs could be my focus-as they should have been all along.

While interviewing with the home builder, I also interviewed with a company that was preparing to open a new bowling alley and fun center and had expansion plans including a couple of hotels. I was so excited about this job and I am sure I would have loved it, but it was only part time. We sat down and crunched the numbers. We would have been able to cover all our bills, but I would have had to cut out all my "extracurricular" activities. There was talk the position could possibly grow into a full-time position at some point down the road, but I needed a sure thing so I sadly turned down the job.

I was getting tired of all the interviewing and was starting to think that I was destined to stay at the publishing company. Then an auditor friend of mine told me one of her clients was looking for an assistant controller. Two months later, I started my current job.

Two and a half years later, I am still at that job and happy to be there. I work with a great group of people, who have been so incredibly wonderful since James died. The emotional support they give me is invaluable. Given that we are a manufacturer of discretionary audio equipment, we have been hit by the economic downturn, but we are still trucking along. The local newspaper filed for bankruptcy. They built a new building that now sits empty and I read a significant portion of their staff has been laid off. The home builder is one of the 3 companies participating in the liquidation sale (36% of the houses belong to them) and they too have filed bankruptcy and have let go most of their staff. The bowling alley is doing fine, but after losing James' income, there is no way I could survive on a part-time paycheck. Had I taken a different path, I would most likely be unemployed or looking for a second job to make ends meet. Things really do have a way of working out for the best and right now, on the job front, I am incredibly grateful.