Okay, the end of the story first. I LANDED A JOB!! clap clap, yay yay! Now a little on how I arrived at this juncture. My girlfriend Melinda Brooke Lightsey graduated with her Master's Degree in Speech and Language Communications in December 2007 and took a job at Manatee County Elementary School in Bradenton, Fl in January 2008. We had been coming to Clearwater and St. Pete Beach for vacation for a couple of years and we really enjoyed the Tampa Bay area, the beaches, the weather, and it is not too far from home. We needed to leave Valdosta, as I believe everyone should leave their home. I have worked in sales for ATT/Cingular since September 2000, a little shy of 8 years. By the time she moved, I still had not found a job, but I did what I would never recommend to anyone and I just up and quit ATT on February 22, 2008and moved to Florida in a dizzying whirlwind of freedom that I had quit a job I was unhappy at, and the apprehension of starting a new career, a new life, with my living girlfriend, away from home.
Well, since about April (I seriously CHILLED for the month of March, and went to the beach, the pool, and fished every day) I have been looking for a job. It is a tremendous self analyzing time in your life, when you are 31, with two degrees, and no CLUE as to what you want to do with your life. I am good at sales, because I have a charismatic and charming personality that is fluid. I tried to get into pharmaceutical sales, HARD, to no avail. With no outside or B2B sales, I was last place. I have been spending about 30 hours a week sitting at my computer, sending out resumés, posting them on job boards, interviewing, reading books, and doing a serious job search. Well, 4 months have passed by and I still had no job. In the meantime, I have really enjoyed Florida, I didn't let my unemployment get in the way of me having fun. I have caught my first snook (a 40 inch monster!), trout, flounder, jack crevalle, sheepshead, and have been to beaches up and down the Sun Coast of Florida. I have been to Rays games, museums, and seen many a beautiful sunset on Anna Maria Island. The nagging feeling of being meaningless, when people would ask me what I did, or what my job was, can get you down sometimes, but I persevered and kept up the search. Well, to wrap up this post, my sister Tanya works at Lee Container in Homerville, GA and she knew some connections in Florida, who needed a sales rep. A couple of phone calls, a meeting or two, and yesterday I landed a sales job with All American Containers in Tampa. I start September 2nd. Now, ain't that somethin?
