Just when I thought it was over . . . . . .

NO! The mighty and powerful hand of GOD (or another high-level manager) has reached down and pointed his bony finger at me and said:

"I have plans for you, my emotionally spent and fragile son. You will receive three offers of employment in one day, the last day possible to consider these offers before you start the job you already accepted two days ago.

"The first offer will be for that job you liked so much in Santa Fe, but at a lower salary than you expected.

"The second offer will be from the language school that so unceremoniously dumped you and now regret their short-sightedness.

"But the third offer . . . the third offer! It will glow like the sun in the sky, it will shimmer like the stars at night, it will fill you like a bottomless urn of nectar, it will caress you like a Babylonian whore. And you, my son, will know that the decision is clear - although three doors have been opened and sentinels beckon you, only one door is bathed in the glowing golden light of probable satisfaction, genuine fulfillment, and all that is great and good in this world.

"So choose, damnit! Choose!"

Yes, yes, I had an interview yesterday with the Children's Hospital Development Department. They've had over 200 applicants over the last three months (holy shit). They conducted something like 40 telephone interviews (I had one last Friday). They had only one in-person interview. That was me. It lasted two hours. The entire staff was present. Here's what I learned: the job is phenomenal (helping to raise money to purchase diagnostic and treatment equipment for the leading public children's hospital in a three-state area). The pay is above-satisfactory. The people are some of the most genuinely kind and intelligent I've ever met. The bennies are so damned fine that I'll be playing catch-up with my physician, endodontist, acupuncturist, psychologist, surgeon and pharmacist for at least a year. The location is very pleasant, in a new building next to a shady park adjacent to the hospital. The opportunity for advancement is tremendous. The office decor is soothing (plum and eggplant with touches of nectarine and a plethora of art created by kids). The boss is dynamic and smart and athletic (she's an ex-basketball coach) and very very sweet.

I left the interview thinking, "Crap! Another great job that I won't get." I slept fitfully.

This morning I received calls and emails from about seven ex-supervisors, some going back to 1980, if you can stand that! Evidently, the prospective boss called each of them and asked for a candid, off-the-record appraisal of me. They all claim to have raved about me, which I find quite surreal, but it must be so, because . . . . . .

Just a half hour ago, the fickle finger of fate pointed at me and I was offered the position!

I have to go pee in a cup, get a couple of shots (because I'll be working in a hospital), and swear my allegience to helping sick kids get the best treatment possible. Think I can do that.

Woo hoo! Hooray for me!

P.S. A great big THANK YOU to all the people who wrote supportive comments to me on this blog - I couldn't have made it through without you! Sheila and Alex and Beth and Tracey and Jackie and Sybil - you're in my thoughts and in my heart. Mwah!