Strange week

So... it looks like I won't be doing the technology refresh in Evansville after all. You see, my drug test was fine, of course, but the background check was delayed... and then delayed some more... and then some more. For some reason, they couldn't get all the information they needed, and kept putting off my start date.

So then, Thursday of this week, I get a call out of the blue from a recruiter that has a job opening right here in Mount Vernon for the largest employer in town. It's for a PC break fix technician. The pay is only a bit less than the technology refresh, but it's a 3-month-to-direct-hire position as opposed to a temp position. It's also maybe ten minutes from my house. AND after 3 months, there's a full benefits package.

So, no brainer... I said sure, I'll interview. The company called me up that afternoon, very interested, and gave me a phone interview. I talked to the recruiter about an hour later, and was offered the job. I'd still heard nothing back about my background check at the other place, so I only had to think about it for a few minutes... I said absolutely, I'll take it.

Well, Friday I got a call from the other company. My background check was complete, and they were ready for me to start on Monday. I gave the recruiter the bad news, that I had accepted a position with another company, and explained why it was a better opportunity.

And he was TICKED. Big time. He told me I should have informed him that I was interviewing for other positions, and that it was unprofessional. He told me that they'd put a lot into getting me that position, and that I shouldn't have told him I'd take it if I were considering other offers. Basically, he tried to bully me into changing my mind and working with them.

At that point, I stopped the guy and explained to him that I had NOT been interviewing with other companies at the time I'd accepted the job. In fact, if I'd been able to start on the day I was supposed to... 4 days before... then it wouldn't have been an issue. I explained that it was a very sudden thing, that I'd gotten the call about the job and gotten the job offer in the space of two hours, and that I would probably not have taken it if I'd already been working for them. (That wasn't necessarily true... it's a GOOD opportunity.) Regardless, I told him that there was nothing underhanded going on, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

Well, he calmed down a little bit at that point, but he was still pretty ticked off. He made it clear to me that his company, and the company he represented, would not work with me in the future if I happened to be looking for a job again.

So I'm a little upset about the whole deal. Here I am, out of work, out of money, and I'm supposed to wait indefinitely while they keep pushing back my start date even if a better offer comes along? I think not! But it bothers me a lot that I've now got the label of "undependable", at least with one contract company out there. That's a bad thing, since the kind of work I do is almost always handled by contractors these days.

But what was I supposed to do? This new offer was from a place where I've been trying to get on for years. It's hard to get your foot in the door out there, and I couldn't pass up this chance now. This is the kind of company that people retire from, not the kind where they work for a few years and then move on.

Ah, well. Hard choice to have to live with, but an easy one to make, I suppose.

OK, rant over. Now let's talk about writing.

I've been scripting and synopsizing like mad for the Comic Book Challenge. I never did find an artist for the second pitch I had in mind, which is too bad, because it would have been a good one. But the artist I'm working with on the fantasy pitch is very talented, and he's got a great feel for where I'm going with the story. I'm really looking forward to working with him. So far, I've sent him two script pages, one from early on in the story and another from the climactic moment. I've also scripted out about ten other pages, working in order from the beginning. The story is coming along nicely, and I think it's something that will appeal to a lot of readers. So wish us luck! And stay tuned... if we make it to the finals, we're going to need all of your votes!