Tuesday, February 05, 2008

things are looking up

Recently an article appeared that caught my Jason's attention. It basically said that pharmacy technicians are in such high demand in this area that they can basically get anything they want jobwise. This set me a'thinkin. I used to be a pharm tech. It was good steady work and the pay wasn't too bad. It sucked getting yelled at by people that didn't feel well, but it was nice to actually help people. And it never hurt to have an official job title and skill to have at the ready when breached with that horrible question What do you do? (In CA, you even had to be licensed by the state.)


So all of the factors pointed to me heading back to the pharm. There are multiple drug stores right around here, and since I worked in a drug store for 5+ years, I started applying. The weather wasn't exactly favorable today so I checked out if any of the locals had online applications. One of them did, so I filled it out. Not 5 minutes later, I got a phone call asking for an interview on Saturday. Now, I've gotten interview / job offers the next day, but never same day. Definitely never same hour. And definitely definitely not while I was still on the company's website.

The only downside to the interview is that it is not in one of the stores which I selected, nearest to my house. It's not far, about 8 miles away, but des has no car. And des 1) can't afford a car and 2) doesn't even want a car. des is used to walking everywhere, but 8 miles each way is a bit far. So des is looking into bikes, which are available aplenty via craig*slist. Yay cheap!

As always, I will let the internets know how things are going. And if I get this job, you can bet I'll have plenty of blog fodder.



ps - that reminds me of my new life's slogan: The internets are gonna hear about this! (said with a flourish and a snap). I need it on a tshirt.

pps - in case you don't know, "internets" is my term for the people who read my work here on the internet. By reading this sentence, you are one of the internets. Congratulations to you.

8 comments:

LittlePea said...

Bikes! But 8 miles? Will you be ok going that far? Does the road have a bike lane? Will you wear a helmet? And is it safe enough to bike at night if need be? A girl can't be too careful.

Have you found a place with free wifi yet?

Good luck with your interview.

flutter said...

Oh hey now! this is awesome news des!

super des said...

Pea, so many questions. there are no bike lanes, but the roads are super wide. I will wear a helmet. Jason can drive me if it's at night. I haven't found any place with free wifi, that is except the office of the apartment complex (right across the street) which luckily leads into my living room. That's what we've been using.

and thanks flutter! I think so too!

Alex Elliot said...

That's great! Sounds like a good fit for you. I was telling Suzanne that a friend of my boyfriend in college sat down and calculated the cost of owning a car with insurance, gas and maintenance and the cost of just taking a cab whenever she needed it. The cab was much much cheaper.

Suzanne said...

Yea! Congratulations!!!

super des said...

Thanks guys!

Alex, that cab plan is reasonable too, especially since I'm still astonished at the cheapness of non-NY taxis.

might I add...? said...

It really sounds like the pharmtechs are in high demand...which means you might be able to leverage several job offers, if you know what I mean.

Before you accept the position, apply to the other places closer to you, see what each of them are offering. You might be able to choose amongst several offers to get something close to home with higher pay, better benefits, and maybe even choice of hours?

Not that I'm any good at haggling. In fact, I suck at it. I hate having to do it, but you can often get more this way.

Someone told me recently that his wife didn't need health insurance from her company (because she gets it through her husband), and could she get a higher salary in place of the health benefit? They told her "sure." Whoa, who knew it was so easy? But the company definitely saves a lot of money this way, especially with the way that health insurance costs are skyrocketing.

Hey, good luck! and congratulations! It sounds like a good start.

PS That guy at the bank sounds like a real ass. I would have walked out.

super des said...

I am planning on telling them that I will be needing lots of time off. I never call in sick, and I'm on time, etc. I do need insurance, however, but that's a good idea too.

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