Riding the Employment Rollercoaster

I have been thinking about this post for over a week now. It is amazing how much things can change in just a week's time. Given the recent changes, this is going to be a long one, so get comfortable.

Originally this post was going to be about my adjustment personally here in Hawaii. Mainly my adjustment to being unemployed. I will start there anyway because I think it might help people understand more about who I am and why staying at my job in Northern California was so important to me. Basically we arrived in Hawaii on January 22nd and I started looking for work as soon as possible. As soon as possible wasn't as soon as I would have liked. In our first hotel here the internet was an extra $15 dollars a day, so I was limited to trips to Starbuck's at first. Which worked out fine because there was not a whole lot of jobs posted. At this point, I had already been unemployed for a month and I was starting to get antsy. My savings was dwindling and I was bored. What complicated the search obviously was the more important task of finding a place to live.

We found our place the first week of February, so I was able to completely focus on finding a job once that was finalized. By this time we were in hotel number 2, which had free internet access. Although that upped the convenience factor, that didn't solve the problem that there was a lack of jobs posted. I cannot tell you how many resumes I sent out, but I was getting discouraged rapidly. I received three rejections before I received any interviews. I was convinced I had a blatant spelling error in my resume and this was causing my failure. I poured over that document again and again and had others edit it too for good measure. No errors could be found. The reality of the economic crisis and high unemployment rate began to seep in. No matter how perfect (or overqualified in many cases) I was for the job, there was someone out there who was a better candidate.

This kind of negative thinking led me to believe that I needed to broaden my search horizons. I told myself once I was licensed here I would have better luck finding work in my field, and until then, I needed to get humble and look at other options. Which led me to apply for the veterinarian clinic. I was hesitant at first to accept the job once it was offered because the pay was literally less than the minimum wage in San Francisco. But I had to try. I knew that if I didn't try and I continued to be unemployed for another month or two that I would be filled with regret. I couldn't face the prospect of continuing to earn nothing rather than earning something, even if that something was below the national poverty line. Okay not really, but accepting a 60% pay cut sure does feel like you are encroaching on the poverty line.

So I went for it and I started at the veterinarian hospital on February 22nd. Our one month anniversary in Hawaii and just over 60 days unemployed. It took me about four hours to regret the decision. I didn't agree with a lot of their practices, including not encouraging spaying and neutering and keeping animals alive that were clearly suffering and should have been euthanized. I also didn't like seeing my name scheduled for every Saturday for two months when I was told working Saturdays was "once in awhile." I also wasn't told that when the hospital had animals boarding, we had to come in and walk them on Saturdays and Sundays. And boarding was fully booked every weekend for the foreseeable future. In a nut shell, I felt bamboozled.

So my plan of action was to continue to job hunt while trying to stick it out. I liked working with the animals and the people seemed nice. Keyword: seemed. By week two it dawned on me that not one of the seven other employees had made any effort to get to know me. They didn't ask me where I was from, what I did for work before, why I had moved to Hawaii, nothing. They talked a whole lot about themselves though. I continued to send out resumes and was finally starting to get some feedback. I scheduled interviews on my weekday off.

Then a job came up with MADD. I was called for an interview and I was told I would know either way by the end of the following week. The interview went really well and I was really sure the job was mine. However, by the end of week two at the veterinary clinic it became clear the job was not mine, and I was devastated. No one asked me what was wrong, which solidified to me that I did not fit in with this group.

So Monday of my third week I walked in to find my time sheet changed without my consent docking me 30 minutes of pay. 30 minutes of which I was there, working. Walking dogs, getting peed on and picking up poop. I would be damned if that was going to fly. I asked the supervisor about it and her response was to take me outside and tell me that the others were complaining about my bad attitude and basically asking me to resign. If I hadn't resigned it was clear that I was now in a hostile working environment, and that wasn't worth nine bucks an hour. So I mustered what dignity I had left and went home.

That was March 8th. I had two more interviews on March 9th, so I was feeling like things were going to be okay. By March 13th I was back to being discouraged. No new job postings, no responses from the interviews and already a failed job under my belt. But this is when things get interesting.

On Sunday Richard and I went with our landlords/neighbors to the Byodo-In Temple. The temple is just up the road from our home and we were planning on checking it out, so we happily joined them. When we arrived they led us to a large bell where you could make an offering and ring the bell and say a prayer. They shared with us what they wanted to pray about and other times in the past that they had come and prayed and their prayers were answered. I left an offering, lit a candle, lit incense and rang the giant bell and prayed to Jesus, Buddah and the universe to give me a job! We then went into the gift shop where they sell lots of touristy trinkets. We came upon some lucky coins that are suppose to bring good fortune. Our guides told us about their own experiences with their lucky coin, including receiving raises and getting free car registration, just to name a few. Richard has one of these coins from his Grandfather from Asia from WWII that we have tied to my own lucky coin and have shared over the last eight years. Usually it has brought us a lot of luck when we wear it around our necks, but she said to put it in my wallet.

On Monday I had some errands to run including a trip to the licensing board and a trip to a different veterinarian, Maggie had hurt her back toe and it became infected. I got home late in the afternoon to find a job posted for a therapist in a dual diagnosis treatment center. They had posted an ad for a house manager which I had applied to the week before so I thought well if they wanted me they would have already contacted me. But I had to try again, it was just to perfect to ignore. I resent my resume that evening. The program director called me at 8am on Tuesday for an interview at 11:30. I made sure to put the lucky coin in my wallet before I went. She offered me the job right then and there pending my background and reference checks. I took care of the background check that afternoon and she talked to my previous supervisor, and I had the job two hours later. They are paying me the same as what I was earning in California and I will receive a raise once I earn my Hawaii license. Needless to say, I am now a firm believer in the power of that coin.

So after a total of three months unemployed, I will once again be gainfully employed, and I am so relieved. Staying at home is wonderful, but it just isn't good for me. I wasn't really able to enjoy it, I just stared at craigslist all day trying to will a job to be posted. Giving up my job in Northern California and moving to Southern California would have resulted in me being filled with regret and resentment if I had remained unemployed for three months or longer. And it isn't just me. Richard isn't keen on working his tail off to give someone else a free ride. So I am eternally grateful that we made the decisions we did make, otherwise it might have cost us a lot more than two years living independently, and I am confident we wouldn't be together in Hawaii right now.

I guess the moral of the story is to trust your gut, don't sell yourself short, and have faith in the power of the universe, it knows what it is doing.