now here’s something interesting and cool, that underscores what i mean when i say ‘all things for a reason’ and ‘all things in their right place’.
this kind of melds what’s happening in the real with what’s happening in the virtual, but since i tend to find that is usually the way of it even when you don’t intend or expect it, that’s no surprise to me. however, i mention it because i generally try to keep this place about ‘the real’… even as i find less and less reason to continue marking the boundaries between them.
anyway… the tale.
one of our newest members, who has been consistently elated at having found us, and who often speaks to me both of how unusual we are as well as how amazing it is that he did find us, sent me a PM today with a link to a fellow who does motivational podcasts.
(a digression here — this person also holds, as i do, the ‘all things for a reason’ mindset and we frequently marvel over how syncronicities, timing, and such, when viewed by hindsight, reveal delicate patterns that shine with purpose not seen in the moments they were experienced.)
i wrote him back and told him i was kind of in a bad space mentally at the moment and, while i appreciated the link, i really didn’t think i’d be able to listen to it just now. he replied to that asking if he could help. thinking to make light of it, i then replied to him and said ‘only if you’re hiring, or you know a mentally stable man who might be interested in having Betty Crocker and Betty Page in the same person.’
his reply to this was to say he was, in fact, hiring, and asking what kind of work i do and where in the world i am located.
at this point, i’m still kind of in that playful ‘sure, whatever’ mode. so i write him back and give him a brief outline of my professional experience and tell him if it’s a stable company, a liveable wage, and offers benefits, i really don’t mind wherever it is and am willing to move to have it.
at that point, the forums/domain hiccups and i decide to join the virtual world.
i get there and he’s there. he immediately sends me a whisper and asks if i might send my resume to him. passes me an email. now i’m kind of in wonderment. i say ‘sure’ and shell out to do so. i decide to send him several of my work samples from the portfolio and slap my resume out the door to him.
he gets it and whispers that he’s reviewing. goes away from the keyboard for about ten minutes. when he returns, he tells me i’m overqualified. well, it isn’t like i’ve not heard that one before. i tell him that’s all i’m hearing lately, and convey to him my frustrations with the agencies who refuse to even TRY to sell me for being overqualified. he asks me how i would sell myself. so i tell him…
‘How would I sell myself? I’d tell the hiring manager that they have a chance to hire someone who is fed up with the consultant’s life, has no intention of returning to the rat race, and who wants nothing more than to settle into a stable, secure company and give them more for their hiring dollars than they ever thought they’d find.’
turns out he’s looking for someone with exactly my skillset to take workload off of him so he can focus on development. he’s interested. interested enough to talk to me about relocation. interested enough to call a few of his friends and inquire about rental properties they have on the market. that didn’t pan out, but it’s also beside the point.
he’s interested. and if he’s willing to hire me, i’m willing to be hired.
he told me near the end of our conversation, ‘i knew there was a reason i came here. and i’ve felt since i’ve been here that there is a reason for me to be here.’ and i laughed… because i’ve always felt the same way, but never suspected it would be so pointedly personal.
it may not pan out. for whatever reason. but then again, it might. i’m cautiously optimistic.
and i always did like florida.