Dance, Baby, Dance!

I got home late last night after doing a radio show and had a pair of happy surprises awaiting me- first, I found a package of CDs that Whim had made especially for me- which made me giddy in itself- next, I checked my answering machine, which has been silent since the election ended, and found two messages from the Gubbermint, asking me to call them...being the loyal citizen that I am, I returned the call this morning.

It was a phone interview for a job- my old job that I lost in 2000- naturally I aced the interview, having done the job before- I start training next week and was told that I would probably be employed through September of 2010. This changes a lot of things, and it all looks like upside to me:

- I'll be starting near the bottom of the office hierarchy, just as I did in 1999. By the time we got canned at the end of 2000, I was the office's night supervisor, so I'm hoping for a similar fast-track promotion. My new boss told me that she was very excited to have someone with my experience on her team and I couldn't help but share that feeling.

-Even at the bottom, I'll be making $7,000 more per year than I am now. I cannot overstate how much this means - I can live like a human being again! One of the first things I will buy will be a bed and a futon or sofa; feline illness and general attrition have left me with almost no furniture- the few visitors I do have usually ask me if I'm moving because it doesn't look like anyone lives in my apartment. Sheesh. I need to fix that.

-My new job will mean something. We'll be opening the local [Censored] office in two weeks, and I'll be there from Day One, helping to establish workflow and procedure for the office...I'll be busy and I'll be needed. As a temp, I've been totally expendable...when I told my current boss of my news, he congratulated me and told me my timing was good, because the Company has been looking to eliminate my job. Most days, I do nothing here all day except blog and listen to music and that might sound like a good job, but trust me, it's not. The days get very long, I get very lonely and I rarely get to be useful. Plus, the pay here sucks.

- In 2000, the operations reports that I filed were collected, added to those from offices in the other 49 states (and territories) and delivered to the desk of President Clinton, who sent all of the [Censored] managers a very nice , albeit form, letter of appreciation- the 2000 [Censored] was the most accurate and efficient one ever and I was proud of my service. This year, I am honored to be working for President Obama and I truly hope that I earn a letter from him.

When I called TempCo to let them know I was leaving, they were not quite as excited as I was...Madame TempCo reminded me of the time, money and energy that TempCo expends in finding placement for their staffers- while I was getting lectured on loyalty,I had a dreadfully vivid flashback of my harrowing experience working at NASCAR and of the months that went by without any work at all- Madame T's words rolled off my guilt-free back. Still, there's no reason to burn any bridges, so I did agree to work Monday and Tuesday next week, but that's it.

(Update: When I got home, there was a pleasant and sincere-sounding "thank you" from Madame T on my voice mail. Now I feel rotten about the bitter tone of the preceding paragraph.)

Wednesday will be a day of rest and self-indulgent celebration. On Thursday I begin training, on Saturday there will be music and dancing, dancing to a new and different beat.

An upbeat.