05.06.11 - 8:50 am

IM IN. ALL IN.

i accepted the job. behold! the genesis of my career.

this will be my first high responsibility job. everything ive done leading up to this has been ridiculously juvenile. at petco, i ate sundaes while scooping out goldfish for people. at upscales, ashton and i will have light saber battles with lengths of pvc pipe. i rolled into work at noon at waves. the movie theater was a complete joke.

now this all changes.

i met with one of the vice presidents of the company yesterday. i let him do most of the talking. he was so passionate and excited about where his company was going. i was nervous. in my head i was repeating a "dont say anything stupid" mantra. i counted how many times i used "certainly" and "absolutely". way too many times. but the whole interview, he used my name, spoke of me like i already worked at the company and was already making him proud. sitting next to me was the architect of this experience: my old boss, joel.

joel had posted the position as available on our local club forum on the 22nd of april. by the 29th he was whispering in my ear his surprise that i hadnt expressed interest. i suggested the distance was a problem, but would consider it. on the 2nd of may he texted me, "i take it youre not interested in the position?"

i had been stewing. going over what the change would mean for me.

oh god, it would change everything.

i calculated out hours i work. the money i make. the flexibility of my schedule. how it allows time with ashton. the laziness it fosters. the me-time i enjoy. the change would also mean the end of any fantasies about initiating a business and attempting to grow it. currently im working an average of 30 hours a week. calculated out, im running about 20 to 30 dollars an hour...roughly. but im uninsured. im not saving anything. and i have no retirement plan in place. the only way i would accept this new job in spite of the one way 40 minute driving distance would be if i was paid at least $18 an hour. this is when i had to look someone in the eye, tell them what i thought i was worth and hope they didnt respond by letting me know that they thought i was an arrogant prick who deserved less. i was so unsure of myself, that i was certain i would have accepted 6 dollars an hour if that had been their counter offer. but they had a different offer for me, something they had only proposed to one other person in the company: joel.

essentially the position i was interviewing for was a customer service and data entry job. no one else who does this makes more than $14 an hour within the company. but then again, for the new division of the company i would be working in, they needed my extensive experience and knowledge. they wanted more than just data entry. they wanted someone with ideas and motivation to grow the division. grow the company. they wanted to set me up on a commission based pay scale, so that on paper it would say i was making $14, but at the end of the day it would balance out closer to my desired wage of $18. and not commission based on just my sales, but the profit income of the entire division. ugh, i thought. thats only two dollars more an hour than what im making at upscales�.and ill be driving nearly an hour and a half every day. and i was confused about the whole commission business, it sounded too much like an old bait and switch tactic. not too excited about this. i hesitated. i stammered. the VP looked at me and said he would do some calculations and i would be pleased with the results. to trust him. joel shared his confidence. they both enthusiastically encouraged me to take the job. their formal offer would be available later that day.

and so it came that evening, joel texted me that i was going to like what i was to see.