Blog Archive

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Screwed and Improved

After being led to believe Kay could collect a decent settlement for all of the physical pain and inconvenience she has endured since her car accident over a year ago, she has since learned the settlement isn't what she expected. In fact, after various companies involved in her treatment are paid off there isn't hardly anything left. The news would have been more crushing had it not been for an unexpected turn in my professional endeavors.

My part-time faculty position has kept me barely above water. However, that said, I am hoping to get assigned again to at least two classes next semester in spite of the newly imposed hiring freeze. Out of the blue last week, an agency called me and asked me to interview for a position at a local law firm working in intellectual property. The hours 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. were okay to me. I went for the interview and later learned I was the only one the three partners and HR person wanted to interview. I was hired two days later at a salary that went above and beyond my dreams and expectations. Even better, the people are genuinely pleasant, congenial folks to work with and everyone gets along. It's a small firm, well-appointed interior design, and located 15 minutes from me. I don't have my own car and currently use one that doesn't have any heat. But, I can't complain. The money I will start earning in December will more than make-up for what was lost in the settlement and finally I can return favors and take care of business for the first time in quite a while.

The firm pays for my parking in the garage and welcomes the fact that I also teach at a local college. The best of both worlds and the work will be interesting.

I'm increasingly glad that I live near my mother. She had a brief, weird spell a few weeks back at work (she is 77 and still works; she loves her job) when her blood pressure bottomed out three times in fifteen minutes to the point where she almost blacked out. A friend drove her to the nearby hospital and after an overnight stay, the doctors were not able to pin-point what caused the sudden drop in blood pressure. A minor stroke? No one is sure. She doesn't have any residual effect from the episode but is leery of driving a car until some answers can be found.

It's been a blessing this unexpected full-time job with benefits. I cannot believe how much money I will be making. I still want to teach. Things are actually starting to improve but after years of bad luck, I can't feel altogether happy thinking the shoe is gonna drop somewhere.

3 comments:

Cheryl said...

What great news, and what timing! I'm so happy for you. Congrats!

Cheryl said...

Tag, you're it!

Irishcoda said...

I'm so happy for you, this is terrific news! Hope things turn out okay with your mom!