Dilly: Part Two

Last we left our intrepid heroine, she'd been enticed to drive an hour and twenty minutes away to meet with Dave and others.

This I did last Wednesday. We won't discuss my freaking out at one point and thinking I'd gone past the exit (a call to Mr. B calmed me down and assured me that I had not). Heck, I HATE to be late and late I was because we'd underestimated the time it would take me to get there. Fortunately, Dave's a laid-back sort of guy and I was able to contact and tell him I was running late.

Ok, anyway.

I get to the company (the building(s) are still under construction, including the lobby area, so they have a temporary lobby set up on the side). Sitting inside the door to welcome me was a security guard. He took my license, asked who I was seeing, asked when my "interview" was (it was originally at 10 but it was now 10:30) so I said, "10:30!" to which he replied, "Well, good, you're right on time! They are sticklers for that around here!"

GRRREEEAAATTTT.

But, like I said, I was meeting Dave to catch-up and discuss this as a possibility; it's not like my career was hanging in the balance here!

So, Dave comes and gets me (it's been 18 years since last I saw him; suffice it to say, we both look a bit different but still recognizable to one another!) He takes me up to his office area (essentially a huge bull pen set up). I meet a few folks and some of them went into a conference room with me and Dave to chat.

The bottom line is, this is a start-up type situation, there is TONS to do in the HR area, and they need help. I was initially concerned about one guy who came in to talk to me because he seemed so hyper (I refer to him as "Hyper Dude") and seemed to think my butt was going to be in a chair at the facility full time starting yesterday. Obviously, this is NOT what I am interested in at all! I am interested in doing some of the projects but I want to know WHICH ones (not the long laundry list of what they would like to have done) and then see how it goes.

Anyway, Dave and the recruiter and I went to lunch. Dave told me not to worry about Hyper Dude; he'd only been there three weeks and was, in general, in severe freak out mode at the moment. We chatted more about what needed to be done, the sort of arrangements we could work within, etc.

I left and drove home, thinking all the way that this "could" work; if only I could get a few things nailed down (not the least being an agreement that I could limit the amount of time I have to drive down there; a 3 hour round trip commute is not the best use of my time OR their money).

Mr. B and I have discussed this at length over the past few days. We agreed I'd contact Dave with some observations and then my requirements (for, after all, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by being up front and honest). I did this yesterday, and, in essence, he's agreed to my requirements. The only thing that's left to be done is a) set up our business (which Mr. B is doing) and b) finalize payments terms.

Assuming this all pans out, I'll be starting my new consulting job the week of August 11th; the deal is I'll go down to their facility one day a week. I'll work on projects there and also at home as needed. Thank God for all of the technological advancements (and I just may have to go out and reinvest in a Crack-Berry; oh, how I've missed my little friend!)

Dave continues to tell me they'll be real flexible and work within my schedule/how much I want to do, so, this isn't going to be a full time gig by any stretch of the imagination.

So, I'm excited! Mr. B and I had been talking about the fact that, perhaps I needed to do "something"; not really for the money (but, boy howdy, that'll be nice) but, well, just to stay involved, be active; give me something to do other than push a vacuum, wipe out my sink and walk Lucy. How lucky am I that it is turning out to be something I really enjoy doing, have experience in, and know where to get resources? And, to do it (for the most part) at home on my own terms?

Not to mention (and this is very important), this time around, I have the encouragement and support of a loving spouse (who will also be a Partner in our business). Not only has he helped me to see that, yes, I CAN do this, he knows a lot about the ins and outs of the business side AND I know will be patient as we both adapt to some pretty big changes in our home environment/life style. As he pointed out to me, this WON'T be like when I was single working 12+ hours per day and then having to do "everything" else at home myself NOR will it be like when I was married to The Rat Bastard who was so jealous of my career that he belittled me ("You're job is so easy, anyone could do it, don't think so highly of yourself, etc.") at every juncture that he could.

Yeah, I've also (recently) signed on to be on the Board of Directors for the Durham Symphony and this, too, will take up some of my time.

But, I suppose 5 years is long enough to sit around "processing" my life and "cooking".

Stick a fork in me; I'm done with that and ready for what's next!

Mrs. B

A Dilly of a Dilemma: Rejoin the Rat Race?

Well, life just keeps on happening. As I alleged to in one of my entries last week, somewhat out of the blue, I've received a proposition to do consulting work and it's been a dilly of a dilemma opening my mind up to it. No, not because it's awful, simply because I've been "retired" for almost five years (come 1 August) and the thought of jumping back into the rat race, even a subdued version of one, is cause for extreme and thoughtful consideration. The things this has brought up are enough to keep me busy blogging on for days. Except, of course, if I do this, I won't likely have much time to blog anymore!

So, a few details. A quick summary; hopefully (NOT!) A few years ago, I gave my resume to a guy I was playing softball with who worked at the company my brother works at. He was trying to convince me to do some stuff for him, but, it was too soon; I'd just arrived in Durham, was in the process of adjusting to my new life, and wasn't interested in adding confusion to it. Not to mention, I'd just met Mr. B and things were going wonderfully in that department (obviously). About six months later, a guy who used to work at the company I worked at for 17 years (but I'd never met him because he'd left the company early into my stint there) calls me. Turns out he was doing work with the guy from my brother's company and ended up with my resume; saw my name (he knew my Father) and the fact I'd worked in HR at that company for 17 years. He's a recruiter, and recruiters are ALWAYS working their networks. Well, there wasn't much then I was interested in since Mr. B and I were leaving to go get married in a week plus I had so much going on that summer with our wedding celebration, our honeymoon, etc. Who wanted to think about work? Not me.

A year after that, he calls me again, this time with an offer to help out the AICPA (who was relocating their headquarters from NJ to NC). This time I was intrigued enough to go chat with their HR head; a very nice woman. However, despite what I thought was a great interview and a good connection with her, she never called me again. So much for that, said my ego.

Then, we had this house built, moved, and so on and so forth.

So, here we are, June of 2008. Guess who calls? Yep, our friendly recruiter. Now he's working for a company (as a contractor) about an hour and twenty minutes from my house. He wanted to know if I was interested in jumping in with both feet, ramping up quickly (even the lingo makes me dizzy) and doing some recruiting. I told him politely, in two words, "Hell no". Recruiting? Yuck. That's right up there with writing AAP plans, in my book, or Six Sigma. Blech.

He says, "Well, do you remember so and so? He's now the HR guy here and I'll float your name past him and see if there might be some project work available in the areas you're interested in". Ok, fine; being that I was off to Puerto Vallarta the following week, I figured this would go the way of the other "opportunities".

Last week, I opened up my email to find an email from "So and So"; okay, I'll call him by his real first name, Dave. When I joined the company that I worked at for 17 years (damn, it's hard to be cagey on Blogs; but, the "innocent" must be protected), he was fairly high up in the HR organization; he may have been an HRD. Anyway, not too long after I was hired, he left. Throughout the course of one job I held not too much later, he came back and helped us with outplacement activities. BTW, for those of you who have benefited from my resume writing expertise and know of my belief that resumes should be as short as possible, you have Dave to thank for that!

Anyway, his email was interesting; he told me about all sorts of project work at his new company, that they could use me in a consultant role and be very flexible, etc., etc. And, better yet, the majority of what they require now is in the compensation area! My own particular favorite HR speciality. And, project work? Whee! I love projects!

So, I was enticed enough to go down and meet with him last Wednesday.

And, this is getting way too long so I'll finish it up tomorrow (or soon).

Mrs. B