Okay, one might think I should be ecstatic that I’ve just been offered a job.  I’m thrilled, yes, but not quite ecstatic.

It’s more than $20,000 less than I’ve been making in the past.  That’s not a major problem, however, since I’ve been making a lot more than I spend for almost two decades.  This cut will keep me afloat and comfortable—just without all the extra legroom I had before.  And anyway, I lost an additional $20,000 in income when the internet bubble burst, so it’s not as though I’m unfamiliar with how to function at a lower income bracket.

I start early next month (in a few weeks).  That’s cutting it close.  It’ll also dig me a deeper hole that I’ll have to work harder to get out of.  I suspected as much and didn’t think it would happen any other way.  Thus is life.  It’ll be important for me to keep track of what I’m behind on, what must be paid, and what can be dropped altogether so I’m ready to give due diligence to paying off those to whom I owe money.

The position is one I can easily do.  There’s a learning curve, sure, but isn’t there always?  Of course!  I’ve been warned that it can get ugly once I learn enough to take over on-call support.  So be it.  I’m a trooper.  Besides, I’ll be content as long as I’m getting paid.

Nevertheless, it looks as though it can be a rather hectic job once it gets cranked up.  What I don’t want is something that will take too much time away from my writing work.  Dreamdarkers has fallen behind due to my job search.  I want desperately to get refocused on it so I can get it out the door in the coming months.  End of the Warm Season will follow closely on the heels of that accomplishment.

The position is in IT.  I wanted desperately to avoid going back to technology work, yet here I am.  Sometimes we have to accept the anguish of what we don’t want to do just so we can survive.  That’s where I am with this offer.  I’ll make do.

What I don’t want to tell them—what I won’t tell them—is that I’m accepting the position on a temporary basis.  I’ve already mentioned I intend to move away from Dallas by the end of this year.  That plan is still in place.  I suspect it will be autumn or winter before that’s possible, so I’ll only work in this job for no more than nine months.  All of that assumes I can find employment and housing in the area where I want to go, mind you, yet I doubt that will be a major problem.

So a tremendous load has been removed from my shoulders with this phone call today.  On the same token, a slew of other considerations has been given life and a litany of other plans has been set in motion.