I'm Ready! Promotion!

Despite my best efforts to find a video clip, or even a sound bite, of SpongeBob SquarePants repeating the phrase “I’m ready, promotion!” I have been unsuccessful. It’s probably just as well; at my age I should probably not be using cartoon characters to make my point, but whatever, I like to live young. Anyhoodle, my reason for searching for said clip is because…I got the internal position I applied for! I’m a little bit surprised to be honest and had sort of forgotten about it. It has been over a week since my interview (which is a long time to wait for results when all three members of the interview panel sit within four desks of you) and since it has been quite busy, it wasn’t really at the forefront of my mind. I think I was also purposely not getting my hopes up, mainly because of past experiences in this place, but also because I knew it wouldn’t help my current state of mind to suffer a big disappointment.

The head of that section (who was head of my section until BlankFace took over our line-management), called me into the meeting room unexpectedly and told me the good news. I probably came across as being simple/ungrateful/confused/doped with my rather reserved reaction (partly shock, partly tiredness, partly because I had been feeling really quite low that day), but it was too late, he’d made the offer, he couldn’t retract it now! He did mention that my time off sick was still a concern and that they would keep it under review, which I wasn’t surprised about. It’s probably good that I have to be conscious of that; it gives an extra element to motivate me to go in when I am having a low day.

After I spoke to him, Double G sent me a covert email asking me to meet him in the meeting room. We sat down and he said, “I believe congratulations are in order? I told you it would be worth it!” Earlier in the year, I had applied for a role which would have been working as his assistant, but they had decided to postpone recruitment. Because of that, he had subsequently let me know about an internal position in another department that was for a similar role. Then, when I missed the original deadline for the role I have just received by a few hours, he was extremely apologetic that he couldn’t include my application because he had already sent the other applications to the short-listers. He apologised in person (another covert invitation to meet in the meeting room) and said that he knew I was working above my salary level (something I wish higher management had recognised sooner and then I might have been paid better these past fifteen months). I get the feeling that he might have made mention of my intention to apply to the powers that be, seeing as they inexplicably opened the applications process up again for an additional two weeks.

Double G explained that he would start arranging my new contract, but would need to get a reference from Boss Lady (hopefully she won’t be too hard on me – eek), then they can sort things out so that I would be being paid on my new pay scale from November 1st. Woo hooski! I was rather dazed when I went back to my desk and then suddenly wanted to burst into tears. It was a feeling of relief more than anything. The salary is higher, not by a ridiculous amount, but enough to actually make a significant impact on my monthly pay packet. That morning, I had been calculating my outgoings for the month and was already sighing with disdain at how little would be left after the deductions from a paycheque I am yet to even receive. Knowing that I will have even a little bit of leeway with that is such a relief. God is good. Knowing what I know now, I realise that they probably only require a reference from Boss Lady because they will have my previous references already on file. If I had been successful in an external position, they would have requested a reference from my previous boss where I used to work with Lolly, and since I left a few loose ends when I left there, I had a horrible feeling that she might be stingy with her reference-giving generosity.

This is probably the best way things could have worked out and I know that even when I don’t understand why things aren’t going the way I had wanted, God can always see the bigger picture. He has worked things out for me many times in the past, for reasons that weren’t apparent at the time, but which I later came to grasp with the benefit of hindsight. I am really grateful to have a new opportunity, which will hopefully renew my enthusiasm and give me new challenges and responsibilities. I had been feeling that things were starting to stagnate and this is probably just what I needed. The financial aspect is of course very much needed and I am extremely thankful to God for that.

When I found out the news, I emailed Mum and Big Sis and got lovely and rather amusing emails (especially from Mum) in reply. I emailed Lolly, as that morning I had emailed her to say I was feeling down and just needed someone to perk me up and bolster my mood, which she did (of course). She sent a lovely email back with hearty congratulations. I was starting to feel a little bit emotional after feeling rather low all morning and wishing I could go home. The news was so unexpected that it didn’t really sink in straight away. I emailed Boss Lady to keep her informed, partly because I knew they would be requesting a reference from her and I wanted to tell her before they did. On the way home, I texted The Mrs and she called me when I got in to say “Well done, you lucky bitch!” She asked if my increased salary will mean I can now support her. I can barely support myself, but it may mean I get to buy her a nicer Christmas present than the one I did for her birthday (a tenner tucked into her birthday card).

Big Sis gave me a big hug when I got home, knowing how much the additional money will help and that I have been wanting a change in my work life for a while. We had a chat while I dined on a really unhealthy dinner (that involved crisps – I’ll say no more) and watched some telly. I was feeling absolutely shattered, as I have been for the past week or two on my way to work and on the way home. I had a long soak in the bath later on (am still aching from the stretches I did on Sunday) and was ready for bed at 10.30pm. Things are finally looking up. I am still going to look for a Christmas job just in case. If I can find something that fits comfortably around my full-time hours then I may as well do it, so that I can put aside some extra cash for a few essentials and perhaps even a treat.

I slept quite well, but was woken at 4.30am to the horrendous sound of a fox having either a life-threatening experience or an orgy (they sound quite similar) outside my window. Once I eventually got back to sleep, I had the same sort of bizarre dreams that are a regular occurrence lately. Part of them had me involved romantically/sexually with Double G and him calling me covertly into his office for a rendezvous (a horribly realistic reference to him calling me into the meeting room). It was extremely bizarre and a little disturbing as I don’t see him in that way and it meant that I was almost too embarrassed to even look at him in real life at the office today (although he’d have no way of knowing why). There were other snippets, involving two huge houses on the road next to the train station being knocked through and joined together to make one enormous house, that some newly-weds arrived to move into, driving up in a tiny car that was a cross between a old vintage wedding car and a Smart car, but was unrealistically small, with pink and white ribbons tied to the back and similar ribbons tied to the doors on the double-fronted house. I then found out that my Mum had unexpectedly moved in next door and decided to show some friends round her new house (as well as me). The house was big, but with oddly-shaped rooms and the hall space leading through to the staircase had a wall of photos of the family, many of which were of me, many of which were embarrassing, many of which seemed to be of me lying face-down on the floor in some sort of inebriated state. Hmm.

When my alarm went off, I woke with difficulty, cursing myself for buying a mattress that is way too comfortable, curtains that are too dark and for generally making my room so relaxing I am reluctant to leave it. I eventually got up and ready, lamenting the fact that because I went to sleep with it a little too damp, my hair was apparently pretending to be some sort of plant form, reaching for the sky at random angles and seeking out sunlight. I then had to pass the same houses on the way to the train station that it felt like I had only just dreamt about, before getting the train and fighting to stay awake during the journey. I wasn’t skipping to work, but I was feeling a little more optimistic than earlier in the week. The countdown to the new job begins.