Tuesday night I couldn't sleep. It was a combination of the stress of moving, the long drive to Bloomington from Elkhart the night before, and the Pace Triple Pepper salsa I put on the tortilla I had eaten as a bedtime snack. Probably the last, most of all. So I go to the computer and check out the Amtrak job listings. Here's the essence of what I saw:Job Posting #90102781
Ticket Clerk South Bend, IN
Passenger Services Dept.
Salary: Per Labor Agreement
It took me even longer to get to sleep after that. I was supposed to be notified if a job became available in South Bend. There's some uncertainty about what this job is--it appears it will be a guaranteed extra board job covering South Bend and Indianapolis. I talked to a woman in Human Resources Wednesday afternoon, and she confirmed I should have been offered the position, took the job down from Internet posting, and sent me a letter offering the job.
But, assuming I don't get another surprise, Kathleen and I won't have to move, though we'll have to move some stuff back. We can keep paying down the mortgage and line of credit on the big yellow house in Elkhart (credit Vainateya Deshpande for photo).
I've changed my Facebook hometown to Elkhart, and even joined the Northern Indiana network. Maybe I can write about some of the amazing Elkhartans, such as poet Kenneth Rexroth, cartoonist Ding Darling, and columnist and naturalist Maurice Frink. Maybe I can write an article about the 1969 Special General Convention of the Episcopal Church in South Bend, which displayed both the best and the worst of the 1960s.
I like the job in Normal, and the Bloomington-Normal area. It seems like it's an exciting place to be. But Elkhart has been home for almost twenty years, even though I've worked in other places for more than half of those years. I'm looking forward to living full time in the City With a Heart.
6 comments:
Sounds like some promising things. Luck with everything.
My stomach would have dropped to my feet when I read that!
It's no fun feeling unsettled.
LOL I love the way things work in life. I call it God's quirky sense of humor. Will keep my fingers crossed and believe it when it's confirmed, but this is lovely. Only one household to pay for as well... Won't that be nice. LOL This is great... as long as everything goes accordingly. :-)
Charles--Thank you.
Kellie--Agreed, but I'm glad to have this option, even though I could have saved some moving expenses had I known earlier.
Gerry--You're right about that.
Elaine--the last time I won and lost a job in South Bend, the position I accepted was abolished because Amtrak had put in a self-serve ticketing machine. Now the machine is coming out and the job is coming back. Virtually nobody used the machine. So God's sense of humor sometimes has a point.
There has to be heart in the place you live in.
Shame on you for eating a spicy bedtime snack, is all I have to say. *finger wag*
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