The New Job

Well, this post is a bit delayed since I am already at the end of my first week at the new job. In the last week of June, I was informed that my position in the last project was being closed due to budget cuts. I was the PM and we were going to move into maintenance mode shortly - it was anticipated that there would not be a lot of dev work and the company's internal PM could pick the slack. I  started applying for jobs from the first week of July and the situation is so bad (at least in a small city like Austin) that it was around 4 weeks later that a position came up which I could even apply to. Luckily, by then, my contract had been extended for a month as there were new enhancements to be delivered. Although I was happy that finally there appeared a few sporadic positions I could apply to, I have still not figured out the complex contracting and sub contracting system in this country, and I was not even sure that my resume was reaching the right people in the recruiting company.

Well, end of August rolled around bringing my last day and loads of farewells and we left to celebrate the long weekend and my birthday with the kids and their parents. My sister planned a trip to PineTop (a hill station kind of thing near Phoenix) and we stayed at an awesome cabin. The whole trip was amazing - the views, the cable car up the mountain and the hike back down. The drive was also good once you learned to ignore the constant questions of "how many more minutes", "are we there yet", "is this pinetop", "when are we gonna reach" and other sundry ways kids use to irritate the adults. Of course, the fact that I did not have a project was ever present at the back of my mind. I was not ready to face the fact that if I lost my job, I would be dependent on my husband financially. Although I must say that my company was very good about the situation and they repeatedly reassured me that there was nothing to worry about. This did not stop me from waking up to job nightmares on my birthday.

And then just the day after my birthday, I got the first interview call. And the rest, as they say, is history. Although, it did not feel like history when I went through the 2 phone interviews, and 7 hours onsite interviews with 7 people. I can never forget my reaction when I first came to this office. It was so impressive and so very formal. I remember going to JP Morgan's business offices and being impressed but I was a visitor then and did not care how I fit in (the technology office was just normal as was Amex's). Here, it mattered to me because I would have to live up to the standard. Well, I had fun shopping, shopping and shopping with my sister in phoenix. The funny fact was that I ended up shopping with my husband's money (he actually transferred it to my account) - and I did not feel bad or awkward but the same thing would have been unacceptable to me if I did not have a job. Well, nobody has ever understood the female psyche and I will not try today.

So, finally I joined this new hi fi place where I am still trying to fit in but having fun doing it! More about the office and the drive later.