An interesting turn of events

It wasn't so long ago that I was unemployed and living with my parents. In fact, it was a mere two years ago and I had just finished college. I sent my resume off to dozens of different places, and no one even bothered to give me a "thanks but no thanks" email. I'd probably still be living with my parents, working at Subway or some equally hideous place, if it weren't for the fact that I was fortunate enough to stumble into a job (by pure, dumb luck) working at a weekly newspaper in one of the most backward, conservative, inbred small towns I've ever encountered.

While there, I questioned my calling in life. I had several people tell me I suck at layout, reporting, design, etc. People ranging from the mayor of Inbredville to the bitch who (mis)handled company computer problems to the jackass who replaced me as editor told me that I had no skills. Luckily, I had just enough skills to trick another newspaper into hiring me -- my current employer, the Globe. No one at the Globe has ever indicated that I suck in any way, but I always secretly wondered, Do I have what it takes? Am I good enough to work at a real newspaper that is not located in a crappy small town?

I recently found out the answer to that question is a resounding "yes." One of the largest newspapers in this region recently called me because they wanted to set up an interview. So I went through four grueling hours of talking to editors, taking copy-editing tests and designing mock pages yesterday. And today, I got a call from one of the paper's editors telling me that not only did he want to hire me, but also that I got the highest scores he's ever seen on the tests they threw at me.

Add that to the fact that I also had an interview at another large, metro newspaper last week, and they called me up less than 24 hours later and practically begged me to come and work for them.

That's right -- I don't just have a job offer. I have multiple job offers. I am going to have to call one of these newspapers up and tell them, "thanks but no thanks." The tables have turned in two short years, and it feels damn good.

And to everyone in Inbredville -- thanks for launching my career. Now go f*** yourselves.