Decompression

Wow, where do I start?   I guess I should apologize for not updating for so long.  I know most of you have probably given up on me.  Again, I apologize.

My job at the law firm started getting even more hectic last winter.  They decided we couldn’t have any more overtime, which for me was a big deal, since the previous year I had made $20,000 in overtime alone!  My one coworker that kept me sane put his notice in and left in mid-November.  That left me and the female coworker who was…  shall I say, less than ambitious?  To make matters even worse, she was pregnant and went out on maternity leave about the same time Ken left.  Of course, the law firm decided not to fill Ken’s position.  At least I was fortunate enough that the firm decided to hire a temp to help me out, and he was even more helpful than the one on maternity leave was.  He didn’t even have all the rights and permissions needed to do most of our job!  It was great to have him there, and we got along great.  I was lucky enough to have him there for a full 5 months as she didn’t come back after the 6 weeks she had planned on! 

But, she came back, and we had to let the temp go.  This was in March.  As I said, she wasn’t very ambitious, so I had more and more weight on my shoulders.  I started getting behind in my house payments since I wasn’t making as much money, and the payment went up because of taxes going up in DC, and apparently the city thought my house was appreciating instead of depreciating.  So I was extremely stressed at work, then came home to the stress of worrying about foreclosure.  In June, I had a friend move into my second bedroom.  Having him live here was not easy to get used to at first, but eventually I adjusted.  Work was still very, very stressful.  My boss, who’d been shorted back in December on his Christmas bonus and also on his yearly raise, basically "checked out".  He didn’t seem to give a crap about anything.  He didn’t scold my coworker for not doing her job.  He never said anything to her about never being at work on time.  He never said anything to her when she WROTE AN ENTIRE NOVEL on company time.  (and bragged about it to me)  Yet, all along he said, "I see everything that goes on around here."  BS!!!! 

In July, my boss, {side note here, although I complain about him and his BS this past year, he STILL is my favorite boss of all time, and I would go to work for him again in a heartbeat!} put in his notice and let us know he was moving to Denver.  It wasn’t a shock, as he had been talking about moving to Denver the entire four years I worked with him.  I planned a big going away party for him at the pool hall.  {another side note, I had to quit playing pool on leagues back in the Spring too, so that "release" wasn’t there for me either}  The going away party went really well.  After he left, of course, the law firm decided not to fill his position either, but just have the manager from New York be a Regional IT manager.  Of course, this meant there was nobody to do the managerial duties in DC.  Guess whose shoulders THAT fell on?  You got it!  Dependable, reliable, stupid Sunshineguy!  That made things OH so much better!  Yeah, right.

On my birthday, September 17th, they made the announcement that made the past year make sense.  The 118 year old law firm was closing its doors.  Offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Menlo Park, Madison, Wisconsin, New York, DC, London, Beijing, Hong Kong…  closing!  Over 500 attorneys worked for this law firm, plus all the staff to keep them going.  The scramble was on, find a new job!  Secretaries were, for the most part, fairly safe, because usually their shareholders took them with them as part of a package deal.  IT, however, was left out on their own, to do whatever they could.  My coworker found the perfect job for her.  She is now doing help desk duties at home.  (yeah, sure she’s working)  She had the nerve to ask me if I would want to come work with her, but in a less senior position.  Needless to say, I passed on that one.  I went on three interviews at law firms.  The first two were looking for "super users" of Microsoft Office.  I am not even a "user" of Office on a daily basis, so I definitely didn’t qualify for those positions.  Finally I heard about another position where one of my favorite Partners from my old law firm went.  I contacted him and asked him to put in a good word for me.  I interviewed, and was offered the job a couple weeks later.  In the interim, however, I had been laid off, had a week off to "decompress", and began doing some independent contractor work for another law firm, moving their files from my old law firm to their firm, where a bunch of "my" attorneys had gone.  The contracting work was very lucrative, so in conversations with the new law firm, I actually asked them to push the job start date back a little bit, so I could make more money contracting.  They were kind enough to give me 3 full weeks of contracting.  I am expecting a VERY large check tomorrow or Friday.  😀

After my first week of contracting, two weeks after being laid off, my buddy down in Charlotte, NC called me.  This was right after I found out that I had the job at my new place, where I started on Monday, November 10th.  He informed me that he rode the bus with a lady who worked at a law firm there in Charlotte.  He said she told him they were looking for a good IT person.  I sent him my resume, and they called and set up an interview.  My interview with them was on Friday, November 7th.  It went well, but they aren’t looking to hire anyone until at least December, possibly into the New Year.  So, with that in mind, I am still crossing my fingers hoping I get that position, but at the same time, I started my job here, and am going to act like I am planning on staying here.  It seems nice at this new place, but I don’t feel I’m being used to my full potential here, as I’m really just working on the helpdesk.  I can do so much more than just help desk work.  But, if the job in Charlotte does not work out, I can easily see myself moving into a more challenging position where I am.  I’ve already been "impressing" people with my knowledge and skillsets.  I believe I know more about some things than the people in those positions do, about more than one position.  So I think I can see myself moving up fairly quickly. 

So that brings me up to date.  As much as I loved my old firm, I am now realizing it was not the firm I loved, it was the people, and the building here in DC, and the people I interacted with in New York, Madison, and even some out in California.  The people here are a GREAT bunch of people to work with, and I can only hope to love this new position, or wherever I end up, anywhere near as much as I loved that group of people.  Needless to say, the last month or so, I don’t think a day went by where we didn’t see someone crying in the halls.  It was a very sad time. 

Last week, my roommate closed on his house, so he is moving out slowly.  Sunday was his first day staying at his new house.  Evenings are very quiet around my house now, and I have to say I miss having him around.  He’s been a great roommate.  Now I will get used to living alone again.  I still believe I prefer living alone, but it will take some getting used to again. 

But I am seeing  a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is getting brighter and brigher every single day.  I’m beginning to learn how to smile again, and amazingly enough, I don’t dread going into work anymore.  I believe I’ve come unwound!