35-40 hours per week….

This could very well be one of my most favorite blog pictures I’ve used to start the beginning of a blog post in a long time. The last week or so has been a beautiful chaotic mess whirlwind of last minute road trips, crossing the border, sitting in offices waiting for my very own social insurance number and combing different job announcements.

I didn’t waste anytime.

When you have days, weeks, months, over a year of time on your hands you get to think about what you might want to do once you are able to hit “submit” on the electronic resume you’ve been writing and rewriting. By trade I’m an ASL interpreter. A very good one (to toot my own horn) and there was some assumption that this is the direction in which I would head once I was able to join the world of the employed.

But instead I’ve decided to go off the well worn path and do something completely different. I’m returning to the food industry after a long long absent….15 years in fact. There is an amazing specialty food market in the heart of Halifax that I’ve loved since almost the day I landed and this coming Wednesday, I’m joining the ranks of their full-time staff working on the Deli line. When I sat down for the interview last Tuesday I was asked the question “Why would you want to work here”….

My honest answer: Who wouldn’t want to work here?

Yes, it’s a  major pay cut. Yes I have to go back to working weekends and evenings. Yes I have to go back to wearing a uniform with my name embroider on the chef’s jacket (I wonder if they’ll let me get “T-Rex”?) but all those things don’t even phase me. First off I’m so freaking exciting to just be getting and going to work. Secondly this specialty market reminds me of one of my most favorite places back in Tacoma. Thirdly, the deli line is a focal point so we’re talking busy busy busy and engaging, engaging, engaging. And maybe the most important reason I’m really excited about working there is I’ve never had a bad experience there as a customer. I mean never and I go there a lot. People there just look like they enjoy working there and when you’re returning to the work force after a long hiatus you want to enjoy where you are.

(it also helps that it’s less than 2 blocks from where Red works)

The interview happened Wednesday and when I sat down I had one intention: Convince them they wanted me as much as I wanted them. I felt really good about how it went but the interviewers said it would be the following Monday when they would be officially offering the position. Interviews were to finish up Friday and then a few days to decide on the candidate.

Sit back and relax.

Send out another handful of resumes.

Because no matter how hard you try to move time, Monday will not come any faster.

Less than 24 hours after the interview I was offered the position.

There literally is no time to think about how this is all going to affect the very things I’ve become accustom too over the last 18 months.   All will be figured out as I go along. The time with Meegan, the training of Half Ironman, the blogging (both here and over at theHDD) and just getting used to working 40 hours a week are worrisome but if there is one thing I know about this long journey of life changes it’s this: I always keep moving forward no matter  how small the steps may feel.

The next couple of weeks things might get real quiet here as I figure out how this new schedule of mine can include all the things I love to do (spending time with Red, training hard, writing). I’ve decided to add my social media apps back onto my phone since there will a strict “no phone” policy in place while I’m working…

OMG DID YOU JUST READ WHAT I WROTE….

“while I’m working”

And all is right in my world.