I've Found A Decent Job At Last!

               
                            
                            I've Found A Decent Job At Last!

Or so I had somewhat prematurely assumed,  just as I had wrongly and naievely assumed so many, many times before.

When I applied for the Position, I felt that I would be a "Shoo-In. "  After all, I had a Degree in Law.

I even had a pile of rejection letters from my failed attempts at finding employment which told me, over and over, that my resume was impressive, although we regret to inform you..........and good luck in your continued search..........

.............and my parents,  who were there  at  my Law School graduation ceremony, were especially proud of my resume, and my Father even went so far as to tell me repeatedly that my resume was “Fantastic.”

In spite of this, some of my many admirers and even some of my then detractors might have felt  that I was aiming somewhat "Low" in seeking a job as a Commercial Claims Examiner in the regional office of a major insurance company.

But at that point in time, there was very little money coming in, other than my meager wages from work as a House Painter, and my wife's small income; and, if our fledgling marriage and household were to survive, I badly needed to secure some kind of "Real" and stable employment. And job-hunting trial- and-error,  by then,  was starting to show me that aiming "High" with the law degree on my resume only served to increase the height of the current pile of rejection letters.

"God!"  I said to my Wife:  "If I get this job it will change my whole life! Our lives-- I mean. It will mean that for the first time in five years we can start living again. And most of all, you can be proud of me again."

"And don’t worry about the student loans," I continued.  "I know the job doesn't pay that much to start with, but when I get the job I’ll work hard to get established with the Company,  and then work my way up-- and by then ……taking care of the debt will be no problem! You'll see!"

We embraced and I added: "I mean, after all, I have a Law Degree! And for this kind of a job I’m a shoo-in. They've got to want me. I can't lose! And I’ll finally be working in a place where they can appreciate having someone with a Legal Education on board. You know, the problem solving and analytical skills from Law School and all....because.…people.... in Corporations..... appreciate that.  They do!"

"I know, I know," she said. "You don't have to convince me. I'm the one that helped you write the resume, remember?  And I'm Always proud of you, no matter what you do. What do you think I've been telling you all this time?"

"That's true," I agreed. " Oh Honey, it is going to be so great! And how about the benefits package! There’s even dental and optical, and a 401K pension and profit sharing plan. And with a big company like Allstate there is room for growth and we can feel secure finally. You’ll see. It’s all going to finally pay off. Insurance is big business you know! "

“I’m so proud of you, she repeated.  Yes. I know. We’re going to make it."

"We'll do more than just make it" I said.  "And Hey! I’ll be able to get a car loan and get a decent car for a change. And I’ll commute in it….."

She came closer and I put my arms around her waist.

"......and take it to the car wash every Saturday," I continued. "And we can go shopping afterwards and stop by the fish market later and pick up some chopped clams so you can make my favorite clam sauce."

We both started laughing giddily. "And Eggplant Parmisan" I added as we giggled some more. "And homeade sourdough bread fresh from..the....oven." laughing almost too hard to finish the sentence. 

Yes, it seemed like things in life were finally going to work out.

“But don’t you go getting a big head about it.” She cautioned. Just remember, it was me that supported you all this time while you were getting on your feet.

"I won’t. I won’t” I laughed.

“And don’t you go flirting with all those girls in the office either.” She said,  and started to feign a few punches at my face, which caused me to laugh even harder.

“I won’t. I won’t,  Besides, I’ll have the most beautiful woman in the world waiting for me right here at home every night."

And we hugged, and our laughter continued. 

"And Hey! The recruiter from the Chicago Headquarters told me that she is going to call again Next Week!"

Her eyes started to fill with tears.

"What’s the matter? " I asked.

“It’s just ….it’s just that …..it’s been so hard…."  and she looked up at me with a sort of happiness that I hadn’t seen in her face for a long time.

“But from now on it’s going to get better and better” I said. 

I looked around the room.  “But what are we doing hanging around here? Let’s go down to the Elbow Room for some Prime Rib and celebrate!

 

To Be Continued

*Note: This is the first draft of a new story and will undergo a lot of editing by myself. I'm sort of using this post as a scratch pad.

If you have read this far go here for the continuation:

http://esquirepainting.blogspot.com/2011/01/painting-henry-fords-house.html

You will receive more instructions for where to go after that.
Sorry for the disorganization, but I'm sort of writing things as I go, but will this segment of the blog together eventually in one spot.

And if you keep following my road map and read all the stories, it will tell you where I have buried the Gold.