Survived!

Well, I survived my journey to the neighboring city in pursuit of a position at the packaging facility! The 6:00 a.m. news reported that there were already people in line, so I was afraid I'd be standing in a miles-long line for hours... in the rain. I arrived at 7:45 a.m. for the 9:00 a.m. "casting call." The line was long and the rain was steady.

A local news crew arrived and a reporter asked me if I was there for a specific job. I informed her that I was there for one of the ten positions and had been there Wednesday. She was shocked when I told her I had been job searching for seven months.

Thankfully the line moved along quite well. When I approached the door, the reporter asked if she could interview me. I said "Sure! As long as I don't have to leave the line." And just as the camera guy was approaching, I was shuffled in the door. I would have loved the chance to tell my story, which happens to be the same story as the thousands of people out of work in this state. But, getting a job took precedence over my "15 minutes."

I turned in my yellow pass, the Golden Ticket; filled out the application, and approached the application-collector-guy. As I was walking up, I heard him say that you could put your resume inside the application. Excellent! I had my cover letter and resume (on the expensive fancy paper) I had printed on Tuesday night with me... so I slipped it inside the application. Nice to see my expensive copies put to good use.

As I exited the building, I heard a tumbling and shuffling of the rocks near the doorway. A man had fallen. A worker nearby asked if he was okay. He immediately stood up and moaned. "Ohhh. That can't be good for my back. Ohhh... my back." Is this guy injured, or guaranteeing that he'll get money either from a job or a lawsuit? In this economy, I wouldn't be surprised if someone would resort to such a thing! He didn't seem to CPR, so I continued to my vehicle.

As I was getting in the car, I noticed some antique windows propped up against a fence. A contractor was in the doorway of the house. "Are these free?" I asked. "For a pretty lady, sure! Doesn't it say they are free?" I hadn't noticed the writing on the cardboard sign, as the rain had washed it away. I had been wanting some old windows to hang in the house, and these were even painted in the right colors! SCORE!

As I drove off, I wondered if I should have seized the opportunity to publicly plea for a job on the news. The "what ifs" and "should I's" started running around in my mind. I was miles away along the wet highway, and still wondering. I just have to believe that my miracle, a job, is on its way.

Now, all I can do is... pray. Hard.