2015: A Soul-Searching Odyssey, Part 5 -- The Rest of the Story

You may remember when we left off I had just accepted a job with Company B. I found a nice, quiet place in the small town of Douglas, (near where I'd be training) with nice roommates who didn't care whether Tom Brady was named MVP of the Super Bowl. It looked as if this little mini-ordeal was over.


And now, here's the twist:


You may also remember that in Part 3  of this serial I alluded to sending my resume off to Company B and Company C. Company C contacted me the same day to set up a phone interview. The phone interview happened. I got an email a couple of days later telling me to expect to be contacted shortly for an in-person interview.


I waited. Six weeks went by and I was never contacted. Clearly they're not that interested in me.


Except....


....I'm about to start at Company B and I get a call. It's Company C. They want me to come in for an in-person interview. Of course. Timing is everything in life. I just accepted another job.


But one of my life mantras has become "never decline a job interview". So I go on the interview. Two days later, I'm invited into a second interview. The interview lasts about an hour. There's ample opportunity for me to ask questions. There's a lot of discussion about the benefits of working for Company C.


I've been on a lot of job interviews in my life, enough to know what's about to happen.


Three days later I get an email. I have to go piss into a cup and submit to a background check. The background check, I'm told, will take between two and three weeks. They weren't kidding. I got a copy of the background check the other day. It was 12 pages long (of course, as you can tell the past few months have been chaotic enough to warrant a three-week background check by themselves). Three weeks later, I get the official offer. A significant raise over what Company B was offering me, which is significantly more than what Company A was paying me.


Now I have to go tell Company B that, sorry, there's been a new development. I've been in this situation before, and as you can imagine it's awkward. But this is the only life I get. I have to do what's best for me. Here I am with Company C, who is training me, ironically, right up the street from where I used to live.


And so this crazy saga that is the past few months of my life ends, exactly one-half mile from where it began six months ago. Life has literally come full circle. I have no idea what's in store for me next. But I've learned a lot abut perseverance, about making the most of the opportunity that's in front of you, even if you're not 100% thrilled about it, because everything happens for a reason even if you don't understand why just yet. My salary has increased about 40% from what it was last Halloween. I'm happier. And for the first time in awhile, I feel like I can focus on something other than mere survival.


Fingers crossed that this feeling will last for awhile.