Werkin' for a livin'

Am getting lots of (lovely and sweet) questions along the lines of - What the hell is going on with you, where are you living, what are you doing, are you working, what in the world??? I'm not at all able to answer most of those questions but, here's a quick recap for those who aren't quite keeping up --

Have been a'job hunting for about a year now since leaving my increasingly frustrating (and once beloved!) event production gig in NYC in April 2008. The thinking was to take all that logistic-y-ness and apply it to some sort of disaster relief/humanitarian aid work. Right?

To be fair, I seriously let the search slip - a product of things falling miraculously into place. Freelance here, contract gig there, take time to visit and play with otherwise neglected friends and fam that I love and miss, blow it all off and go to Costa Rica, skip winter by hiding out in LA for a stretch... you get the idea. I managed to piece together work, travel and a roof over my head (by swapping my apartment) so wasn't incredibly motivated to get down to the business of looking for work.

And then...

Turns out, that "plan" ain't gonna last forever. Boo. So I got serious about the search, dolled up the resume, crafted clever cover letters, and have been applying for things right and left, far and wide - 57 submissions in 3 months (yes, I'm keeping track; yes, there's a spreadsheet). Rumor has it that there are 8 million-ish other people also looking for jobs these days. Thanks W! No one has ever accused me of good timing.

So I sucked it up and applied for an AmeriCorps VISTA posting in Denver. Aaaaaand - last Monday I was hired to spend the next year creating a disaster preparedness training curriculum for non-profits across Denver, so that they can keep their doors open in the event that one of those recent tornadoes really does touch down. Whoop!

* Good experience - check.
* In Denver (where I'd rather be, sorry Lis) - check.
* Fantastic contacts for the next phase (ie: a real job in disaster relief) - check.
* Don't have to start 'til July 21st so still have a smidge of play-time left this summer - check please!

And the best part?! I'll make a whopping $936/month for all that hard work. Wait, what? Yeah yeah, some of you just lost all confidence in my sanity, I know. Did you read the part about the 57 jobs I've already applied for? $11,232 a year is $11,232 more than I was headed towards anyway... plus, it's all about the SERVICE people, the service... is no one else listening to Prez Obama??

OK - this quick recap is taking too long, but here's where it gets good & confusing.

I accepted the VISTA gig on Monday June 8th and packed my bags for a quick visit home(?) to New York (more on that later). On Tuesday, June 9th all bets were off. On Tuesday I got a call from NYC's Office of Emergency Management for an interview (that's the Holy Grail peeps, or at least a close runner up the the actual Holy Grail... FEMA). An Interview! Well, this changes everything... clearly.

What are the odds?
* I've been away from New York for more than a year and would only be back in town for a few days, the perfect window for when they were interviewing,
* I've been applying for jobs at OEM for-EV-er but applied for this opening just two days before they called,
* I'd *just* accepted another gig...

I'm not gonna believe in fate again, am I? Sooooooooo, the interview was a couple days ago. I have absolutely nothing to report from it 'cause it was the. strangest. interview. ever. So -- now we wait. The plan is for all decisions to be made and all staff hired by June 26th. Check back for more updates, I'll be sure to keep the weirdness and the coincidences coming.