Good News!

That's right. Finally the moment has arrived that I can say: "I got a new JOOOB!"

After this weekend I'll start working as an executive assistant, at a regional education centre, which includes 20 schools that provide Preparatory and Secondary Vocational Education and Training. (For my Dutch readers: it's an ROC).
The jobdescription is just my cup of tea. I already met a few people and I am really looking forward to working with them. There's another executive assistant I will be working with closely (we share an office) and I have a feeling we will be getting along just fine.
It's only 25 kilometers from my house and the building is just beautiful.
I hope this will turn out to be a long-term job. But these days, who can tell. I'll start fulltime (40hrs) but there is a chance that some hours will be eliminated after a certain period. Ah well, I just can't worry about that right now. At this point, I only want to count my blessings.

It was my 90th job-application since February 2014, that got me here. I guess I am lucky. Being 49, it gets harder to find a new decent job these days. At least that's what everyone says and after a while I started to believe this. It is súper-important to keep believing in a positive outcome, but at the same time it's the hardest thing to do.

Before I lost my last long-term job (due to the economical crisis) I had never been out of work since I left school at 19. Not a day! Needless to say that last year I entered a world I didn't know anything about. I was lucky to find a temporary job at an elementary school for 5 months (sep/jan) but after that it was back to searching for that job that didn't seem to exist. There were times I almost felt sick and very, very angry with the whole situation.
Until 2 weeks ago...when I got the invitation for that job-interview. And then the second one. And then, the long-awaited: welcome!
I must admit it took me a few days to let it all sink in. I still feel like it can be taken away from me any moment. Silly maybe, but I guess that's what being unemployed does to you. And learning the hard way that there are no guarantees in life.

Was it all bad? No. Having to deal with the lows in your life means 'growth'. I definitely have grown as a person. I've tackled little and not so little hickups. I had to dig deep in myself to move on. Every time after a sort-of depression I had to pick myself up. And I did. At a certain point I realised that every new day meant new chances. Often I felt beaten and down, like I was trying to move a dead elephant. But I knew that the next day could be different and it often was. Being single, I had to be véry grown-up about things and about how to solve my problems. (Geezz...I sound like a 20-year old now haha...) I learned to economize and be wise about money. (Never was a big spender, but when you asked me outside of the supermarket what I had just payed for my groceries, I didn't have a clue. Money had just never been an issue.) I started volunteering in different fields and met some lovely people. And maybe most importantly, I have become more appreciative about the people around me that were there to listen patiently to my repeated stories about unsuccessful job-applications. Family, friends, and those that turned out very valuable networkconnections.... I'll never take them for granted again.

So. Fulltime working. It's gonna take some time-management. Like, how am I gonna find time to sew? But don't worry, I'll find a way.
Now I feel the urge returning to sew something, in the same way you get hungry afther the fever's gone. Sewing with a happy (nót a heavy) heart. Enjoying it again. I've missed it só much!

Talk to you soon
Lilian