Almost Over

Almost Over, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

For over two years now, I have been without employment.

Sure, sure, I left work for a good reason: to finish my degree. I tried doing the school-and-work thing for three semesters, but I couldn't handle both of them at full-time capacity. I applied for a few positions while I was a student, but none of them worked out.

Well, I graduated in May (huzzah!) and, two and a half months later, I have great news: I will be re-entering the workforce!

I was offered a full time position at a local company. The position has everything that I've been looking for (and some things I didn't really realize I wanted). It has a more professional dresscode than any position I've previously held. (Funny how offices encourage business casual!) It comes complete with benefits (401k, health, vision, dental, PTO, etc). And, when I went in for my pre-employment test / interview, I had to check in with security. (I'll get my own photo ID on my first day!)

This new job feels like a right fit for me; I've always wanted an office-oriented job.

There is only one bad side to accepting this position: the facility I will be working at is a 24/7 facility, and I am not guaranteed to have weekends off. Those two things mean that my photo availability will be diminished.
I will still be doing photography, both for myself and for others, though.
I hope that the photographer I have been second-shooting for will give me the dates of upcoming weddings with enough advance that I can sufficiently request time off in order to attend them with her.
(So far, so good: none of the already-scheduled weddings fall in my first 45 days, when attendance is mandatory!)

One plus side? I can buy myself some new photography equipment. My bag has been pretty much untouched for over two years. (Mama's in need of at least one new lens and a flash or two!)
There are other things that I need to invest my money on, too, like student loans, savings, and transportation.

Which is one reason why the lyrics I chose for the photo --from The Eagles' "Waiting In the Weeds"-- is appropriate. It says, "I've been waiting in the weeds / waiting for my time to come around again" and I believe that my time has come again.

The first four weeks are nights, from 3-11:30pm. The next two weeks are "nesting" weeks, and after that, I will be able to put a bid in for my desired schedule, so I retain hope that I will still be able to offer some tempting photo times for clients.

But yay! Work! Income! Health plan! Moving forward! Goal achievement! These are all things I am looking forward to. =)