Good luck or bad luck?

I owe an update on my never-ending saga of quitting my job and finding a new job. The new client saw my resume and decided they want me real bad. That's really nice, but this isn't as simple as just putting in my 30 day notice and moving over to another client. No, everything in my life this year has to be complicated. It's either that or I don't satisfy the ratio of complications versus piece-of-cake events per year.

The client is a government agency (my favourite type of job-security). Before I start working for a government client there are some basic requirements:

• Fingerprinting
• Security paperwork must be filled in
• Someone must leave or die
• Or alternatively - additional funding is provided from the government to employ more people

Once the above criteria is fullfilled, then I can put in my 30 day notice. At this point, the above criteria stands at 2 weeks + 4 weeks + the period it takes for a friend of mine to find a new job and quit, or the period it takes for someone else to be struck with a heart attack resulting from the stress at work and die + the period it takes for the funding agency to sign the contract with my future employer (this has been known to drag for weeks and months on some contracts).

So some of you would blame me for not starting the process sooner, but that's where you're all wrong. I started the process of trying to quit back in DECEMBER!!! It's just that the current client screwed me over with the sudden development over the bad interview experience.

In the meantime, in some very bizzare turn of events - my immediate boss went on vacation, and his boss decided to change a proposal he was working on while he was on vacation. So his boss put me on a proposal in a dream position (the position I've been begging to be in for 2 years!). That's all wonderful, except that the government client who is in the committee to elect the winning proposals, knows me. Not only does she know me, but she met me at a private party a couple of months ago. Not only has she met me, but she already KNOWS I plan to quit my company. I can't wait to hear the selection results.

So while I wait for the government to process paperwork and money, I may have the great opportunity of actually doing what I wanted to do for the past couple of years.

Meanwhile, the fingerprinting appointment that was scheduled for next week has been moved up. Twice. In another strange turn of events, I'm scheduled on Friday the 13th. Needless to point out that this is a bad omen for some believers. But as my luck would have it, my mom told me that it's a good luck sign for Jews. The question now is whether my beginning of the process of hiring is going to be bad luck for some other non-suspecting Christian in the agency where I'll work?

As luck would have it, Friday the 13th is also the day my boss has decided to introduce me to his boss and bring him over for lunch to my place of work. Somehow, with some major lies I'm supposed to attend the lunch, and then get on the same train with them heading into downtown DC, get off a couple of stations before them, and explain where on earth I'm going mid-day when I should be back at work!

It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow. I can't wait!