68 Days earlier

It was a Saturday when I logged in to Monster.com to see if there were any jobs in Juneau, Alaska.  A large company was looking for a Service Tech for their building automation systems division.  Since jobs in a city the size of Juneau are few in my skill set, I thought what the heck, just apply. Automation is automation, right? It was Monday when a call came from them - would I like to do a phone interview the next day?  I was a little surprised to hear from them so soon, to say the least. Tuesday came with a phone interview that seemed to go quite well, but I was still unsure. Later that week I received another call, asking if I would fly up to Anchorage for an in-person interview. It would be the week of spring break so timing was perfect. I left early the next week, arriving in Anchorage on Monday afternoon with an interview scheduled for the next day at 7:30 a.m. in their office. I was early to the interview which amounted to 8 hours with 5 different people. It was unlike any process I had ever been through, but since they paid all my expenses, I am sure they wanted to be sure I was the right guy. One week later they offered me the job and asked if I be able to start on April 25th. Timing is everything but being a teacher does limit your options as to when you quit a job. Our contract requires signing 30 days prior to April 15th prior to the start of the next school year.  I had hoped I could resign before having signed the contract and this time frame fit this scenario exactly!  I accepted the new job with the stipulation that I would be able to complete my semester ending May 13th with a start date of May 16th. They agreed and Alaska was to become a reality.  Live from Anchorage (for now), this is Bill signing off!