The middle of August proved to be the most encouraging. I finally had interviews scheduled! They were with local businesses and not in Texas. Both companies are very popular in the area and I had peers at both locations.
One of the interviews was very vanilla, literally reading from a list of standard questions. It wasn't very personable and was a little discouraging. The other interview was very engaging and I felt very good about it.
I didn't hear anything back from the first company's interview, but the second one resulted in a second interview with the entire team. That second interview was even better and I felt very good about it after all was said and done.
As I waited, I prepped for my son going back to school. It was still up in the air if it was going to be remote or not and if he was going to ride a bus. He ended up becoming a bus rider and would be attending on site.
The Friday before my son started school again, I got a job offer from the second company and I accepted it. A huge weight off my shoulders knowing that as soon as my severance was over, I'd be working again.
Knowing that, another dumpster was rented and another cleanup surge was done, this time getting rid of furniture and cleaning out my storage unit. I also finally got everything gathered for a yard sale over Labor Day weekend.
The first day of the sale went really well, getting rid a lot of the bigger items, but it fizzled out the rest of the weekend. What didn't sell, I packed up and donated.
Around this time, my nephew-in-law approached me about doing some work around the house as his hours had been cut. He had handyman skills and there was plenty to do, so I agreed to put him to work.
We started with the yard and trimming down some tree branches from over the roof and a couple of branches that didn't look very stable should a big storm come around. We put my burn barrel to work and got all of the yard waste burned off.
Then came the odd jobs around the house. I had new ceiling fans that I'd never put up and he took care of that for me. Our front porch had a few posts rotting out and we ordered new ones. This led to painting, which is still in progress.
As for me, I continue to re-organize the garage and kitchen. My sofa from storage came into the house and we needed a coffee table and ottoman to go with it. The storage cabinets in the mud room had gone with the yard sale, which opened up the mud room a great deal. I decided on a wall cabinet and will be moving the cat food and litter box there once everything is sorted.
I started work right after labor day and like most companies, we are still remote, so not being able to meet my new team in person and see the corporate office has been a bit weird. But, technology makes so much possible. I'm using virtual machines until my hardware that was ordered comes in. Lots and lots of Team meetings already and I've met almost all of the team.
I was put to work right away to save me from boredom and I'm loving being back to work again. The environment is better in some ways and needs improvement in others. Every company is difference and I'm adapting well. I'm hoping my presence will help bring some change in some practices as well as learning new technologies and a new industry. I've already learned new things about Teams and Sharepoint that I didn't know were possible and I'm highly encouraged by this.
So, for anyone that has lost work because of the pandemic, do not lose hope. There's another job out there. I was extremely fortunate to have a severance package and finding something new as soon as the severance ran out. I know for many, the circumstances are much more dire. Don't give up, don't lose hope! The world will never be the same, but it's adapting and a new "normal" will emerge as a result. Be resilient!