"because life is everything but work..."

“Hello?” I picked up the receiver, slightly confused. It was happenstance I was in New Jersey; I haven’t lived in that house for four months now. Who could be calling?

Turns out it was my boss. He needed me to come into work the next day- which I was supposed to have off. Then as an afterthought he added in that I’d been approved for full-time status, benefits, and I’d be getting a raise.

How are you supposed to react when everything you were hoping for falls into place with perfect timing? My heart didn’t pound. There were no butterflies in my stomach- just a grin stretching from ear to ear. Health insurance. Education compensation. 401K. Life insurance. Paid vacation. Sick days. Holiday pay. Overtime. One step closer to sanity. Stress level- zero. Euphoric shock.

So, that’s me- as of Monday, June 14, 2010. The best part of finding out, was seeing how excited and happy everyone else at work was for me. Everyone from my immediate co-workers up through the Big Boss Lady who’d left me her umbrella when it rained one day. Everyone was just happy to have me on board- more officially- more permanently.

Of course, this means I am now tied down to the city of brotherly love for another couple of years. But it feels right. My intuition is usually the best thing to go by when it comes to these types of decisions. After all, it was my gut that told me to turn down three other jobs before I even accepted “the job previously known as Job 1".

So now I don’t have to worry about..anything really. I will have days off to live life. I’ll be making more than enough to pay my bills, save, and splurge. I’ve been getting back into good habits. I’ve reunited with some friends that had gone long overdue for a visits... and I look forward to whatever adventures happen next.

On that note, I also had some time at work last night, and came up with an ACTUAL list of things to do before I die..in no discernable order:
-write a book
-go sailing
-snowboard
-compete in a race
-learn to read/write/speak Japanese
-learn to read/write/speak German
-walk down the red carpet with some gorgeous guy
-give $1000 to someone who needs it
-fall in love
-give someone else a tattoo
-go skinny-dipping
-get into a fight
-meet someone that genuinely makes me feel like a moronic idiot
-have a dress custom made
-learn to play the cello
-attend a professional football game
-sing kareoke
-teach a class
-tag some amazing art onto a building...

It’s a work in progress.. which probably is all the same to any of you, as if I didn’t have a list- but I figure I might as well have some lingering un-career-oriented goals. I think everyone should. Haha. Because, “life is everything but work,”...right?