Band-Aid

With that Utah job in hot pursuit of Master, the recruiter thought we pretty much nabbed it, which had out heads whirring.  The relocation bit was the scary part (so much work!!), but permanent work with a raise?  Ooh, yeah.  That was so attractive to us.

Master Pravus got the call yesterday.  No job.  They loved him.  They said he was amazing, and they’d keep him in mind for the future, but that he was too “high level.”  Go figure.  While that sucks a lot because we were both looking so forward to an end to this unemployment nightmare, it wasn’t all of the news that we received yesterday.

Master never puts all his eggs in one basket, and as I said before he was aggressively interviewing.  Nothing is a guarantee in this world, and he was pursuing every possible avenue.  In the morning while we were getting ready to start our day we got another call.  This one was for a job he had only just interviewed for a day before.  Not too shabby.  The recruiter for that job extended us an offer and told us that he had never seen anyone receive an offer (for said nameless company) so quickly.  They were excited to work with him, who (they said) fulfilled every requirement and then some.  The job is for more money than Master Pravus has ever made ever.  The only downside?  Yeah, it’s a contract.

Master Pravus has had contract-to-hire jobs before, though none have worked out yet.  This isn’t like that.  There is zero chance of permanent hire.  This is for a four month contract.  Per the contract rules, the contract may be extended for up to twenty-four months, but the phone interview did not sound like they would need anyone that long.  This is likely just the four months.  After that, he won’t have a job anymore and we’ll kind of be right back where we are now, though hopefully with a bit more money.  The other thing?  There’s no benefits at all.  Sucky.  That’s the worst part about contract work, there are rarely benefits.

While we should both be squeeing over this, we’re not.  It’s the right choice, and it’s a great little Band-Aid, but that’s it.  It doesn’t solve the problem, it only patches it for another few months.

When you don’t have stable employment, it feels like being in jail.  You can’t plan for vacations or trips back home, or even random days at the local fair.  You can’t go out for fun and you can’t be all that social.  You have to stay hidden away until money becomes stable again, and that sucks so fucking hard.

Life isn’t always meant to be easy, but this is one really hard rough patch for us.  By the end of this contract, it’ll be one year and seven months since Master Pravus was initially let go from the first company (which cut 150+ people in one day in a massive downsize).  That’s a long time to have to be “hidden” and “out of the loop.”  It’s so shitty.

I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that Master Pravus is continuing to interview everywhere he can.  I know that we’re surviving and that we’ll be okay.  I just still hope and dream that a permanent full-time gig with benefits comes along soon.  Especially with all of my medical problems, it’s hard to have government insurance.  So few of my doctors and specialists take it, and then it’s such a hunt finding people who do.

We don’t know when the start date is yet.  Master Pravus has to do paperwork, and he has drug testing on Monday (we’re not worried, he doesn’t do any drugs that aren’t prescription), and then we’ll know more soon.  We both think that it’ll probably be either shortly after Xmas or January first.  We’ll see.

This is a good thing even if it’s not the end game.  We’re being patient, but it is so hard.

In some good news, Master Pravus did feel like this deserves a bit of celebration.  After all, this is a very good thing!  So, we went to dinner tonight, and he has plans to take us to the new Star Wars in a couple of days.  We’ve been due for a bit of fun out, and then it’s right back to the grindstone.  That’s a picture of me above out at dinner.

Dear Santa,

Full time permanent employment please!

Mew,

Kitty