Project Find Another Job Update: Take this Job aaaand...

shove it, shove it, shove it up your butt! Yahoo!!

I put in my two weeks notice last Thursday. Oh my god, I can't believe I did it. Finally. Its still taking time to sink in that after next Friday, I will no longer have to return to my personal job from hell. Right now, I'm counting it down by shifts (currently 3 to go) and stitching my pants together everyday, because I absolutely refuse to go out and buy another pair of khaki pants for 3 shifts, and then will never wear ever again. I probably won't believe it until Black Friday is over (for me, 11:00 at night) and get into my car. I will probably clap happily. I might even run over my apron a couple of times in the parking lot and then go screeching off into the night. I have never been so happy about escaping from somewhere before. And yes, this is an escape.

Its an escape from baseball caps, khaki pants that don't ever seem to fit me right, a broken down for the SEVENTH TIME this year espresso machine and from burning my fingers off. Its an escape from feeling and knowing that i'm 27 years old and responsible, yet treated like a 7 year old who doesn't comprehend the meaning of responsibility. From having people roll their eyes at me when i make suggestions for improvement and then being told "That's just not possible." An escape from crappy hours, stinky pay and yet being worked like a farm animal. Mostly, its an escape from a situation that is just not fixable. In three shifts, i get to say "This is not my problem anymore!" I can not wait.

My solution for getting out of the job is not perfect and not without its flaws. But its an improvement. If nothing else, there will be the opportunity for advancement, benefits and the closest to 40 hours that i've seen in the last year and a half, on a consistent basis. Leaving my current job has now given me the opportunity to focus on something I want to focus on...my career. On top of that, I have an interview with a TV station for their sales department. And, i've found two other jobs to apply for that I might actually semi-enjoy. We'll see. I still don't ask for much.

I feel like i've moved forward in the right direction. I feel like my soul died a lot within the last year of having to be at this job and feeling like there was no escape. I guess there always is an escape. Sometimes, you have to step back, ask yourself how much you are willing to take, willing to put up with, before you say "This is just not worth the paycheck." Money is important, especially if you want to live. I've just hit the point where I refuse to stress myself out when I can be somewhere else I am appreciated.

So, i'm still in food service. It won't be fantastic. But it will be better. And I can continue to look for another job in my field, figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life and maybe accomplish some life goals before I die. Unless I give up entirely and just sell my car and move to Tahiti. Tahiti could be good.