A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103k)

My question didn’t get answered and the first words I heard were the same ones that he’d asked at the beginning of the conversation... “When can you start?” Now it seemed like it was a game. He wasn’t answering my question about medical coverage and I wasn’t answering his question about a starting date. I was the one to “blink” and told Mr B I’d have to work it out with my present bank. He encouraged me to get back to him as soon as possible. I was tempted to ask about the medical again but chickened out.

In leaving Monte’s office I looked for him but didn’t see him. I headed back to my work area and found a message waiting for me. It was from Elle telling me to call the car dealership ASAP. Here I was trying to work out the details on a new job and now what had been so eagerly anticipated was now becoming a distraction. Before doing anything I sat down to think about how I wanted to handle my resignation. I knew that at the end of the next week I would complete six months service and my probationary period would be over. Prior to the new job offer the one thing I’d been anxiously anticipating was to be able to use my earned vacation time. I’d earned five days in the six months but wasn’t allowed to use them until my probationary period was over. While sitting there I came up with the idea of giving one weeks notice and then asking to be paid for my earned vacation. At that point I went looking for Monte in earnest.

When I finally tracked him down I was excited about my plan. It didn’t last for long. He seemed happy for me but explained that the bank had a policy not to pay employees for unused vacation. So, my immediate thought was that I’d give two weeks notice and still start at the other bank after the one week. It was almost like Monte knew what I was thinking because he called me out on it with a warning. Because the new bank I was going to be working at was the same type as Monte’s bank all the benefits were administered by the same organization. I couldn’t work for two of them at the same time. If I wanted to start at the new bank on the first of March I’d have to forego my vacation pay. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy, at all, so I told him I’d get back to him.

I decided that I needed to change the subject so called the car dealership. The new wagon was in but it wouldn’t be ready for delivery to me until Monday. It was just more aggravation. After that I don’t remember what I did until lunch time. I sat in my car trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do.

OK... I’m going to backtrack a bit here. During the Christmas season Elle received a card from her childhood friend Nan, the girl who had lived with her and her family during her senior year in high school. With all the moving we did when I was training the race horses they’d lost track of each other. Nan took the initiative and sent a card to Elle addressed to her parents and it was passed on. In the card she let Elle know she was married and had two kids. She’d just moved into a new house just outside Washington DC and wanted Elle to come visit. When Elle asked me if we could do it I told her that maybe during the Spring when we didn’t have to worry about snow. Once we signed the order for the new wagon she started pressuring me about doing it.

So, after going over my options I decided that I’d give two weeks notice and take the second week as vacation. Now, with a week off and a new vehicle it actually would be a good time to go visit Nan. In the very back of my mind I had, from time to time, thought about some of my old horse training friends in North Carolina. I wondered if I might be able to go down there as well since DC was about half way. By the time I went back inside I was actually quite excited about the vacation. However, I still had to call Mr B and tell him when I could start.

Monte was very accepting to my plan. When I called Mr B he wasn’t all that happy but told me that he’d be looking for me on the second Monday of March. I chose not to bring up the subject of the medical coverage thinking I would do it after actually starting the job. By the time I got all that worked out it was almost time to go home. I told Alvin that I’d be leaving and he actually surprised me by telling me that he thought I’d be successful in my new job. He went on to say that he felt I would’ve been severely underutilized if I stayed. It was nice to hear.

Monday was a bank holiday (Presidents Day) and Elle and I went to pick up the new station wagon. Since she was going to be the one to drive it most of the time I told her to drive it home. She did and when we got there she was already complaining. It was "too big". There was no doubt that it was longer and wider. Parked in the space where we kept the old wagon it was quite obvious. I told her it was too late to change our minds about it. Later, I drove over to show it to my grandfather since he was the one who had co-signed the loan that allowed us to buy it. Elle was right...compared to our old one this one was a "boat". I knew, in time, we'd both get used to it and we would make good use of the extra space inside.

My last week went by without incident other than the knowledge that Stasia was leaving. I let Judith know of my plans and she wished me the best of luck. She also told me that her dream of opening a ladies clothing store right next to the drug store  was going to come to fruition sometime in May. I told her I'd call from time to time to get the latest on Stasia and when I did she could let me know about the date of the grand opening. On my very last day only a few people made an effort to say good bye. One was Artie, the mortgage officer, and he told me that if and when I bought a house that I should come see him and that he'd give me a "break" on the interest rate. I truly did appreciate the offer.

To be continued...