good news!

Well, after all that waiting I finally got a phone call this afternoon... offering me a job! Gosh, I was SO excited, and surprised, I'd almost convinced myself I hadn't got it, but in fact, the woman was worried I would I already been offered something else and would turn it down.

So here we are at the start of another new phase of life. The job will be starting on 1st June, and is the first job I've had that will actually use the qualifications I've spent the last, er, ten? twelve? years acquiring. It feels scary to be pushed almost to the edge of my comfort zone, but I just have to keep telling myself this is something I'm capable of, it's something I've trained for, it's something I've worked towards for many years, it is, after all, something I wanted very much!

It's funny how things all end up linking together too. This is a research job, but the content has nothing to do with all the research I've been doing for years. Strangely enough, the content of the research project is closely linked to my part time job, which I took as a temporary stop gap a couple of years ago, and which I never thought would lead to anything at all. Even my voluntary work played a part in getting me this job. So all those times I worried I was taking too much on, or wasn't doing 'relevant' things, or the 'right' things, wasn't filling the gaps on my CV (whatever that means), it turns out it was all linking together, just through the fact that it was me that was doing it all...

So now there's a bit of planning to do. A lot of planning to do. I've got to hand in my notice. I've got to sit down with the budget and make sure I don't leave myself short in the 6 weeks between pay cheques. I'll have to work out a new budget, with more money, but also more travel expenses. And it might just be an excuse for some new clothes too.

(Also, it'd be so lovely to get the PhD finally finished before the job started - but that's only 11 weeks, and I'm not sure it's possible. Nice thing to aim for though!)

Anyway, I thought I'd share the mother's day card I posted to my mum, who is currently at the seaside, eating ice cream and making me quite jealous and longing to be at the seaside myself. Might have to make sure I squeeze in a quick holiday between jobs...