Suddenly Me

Today's quote: We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?

Alright. After enduring the little trial period in the a/p department, I was extended an offer of permanent employment as an account analyst. But guess how much it was for! A stinking, miserly, bloody $12/hr. I tried negotiating for something more reasonable, but the hiring manager wasn't having any of it. She refused to budge. I even tried to appeal to common sense: how can anyone living in Seattle be expected to survive on less than $25,000 a year before taxes?! Nope, zip, zilch, nada.

In utter despair, after having felt like I'd wasted almost a month of my life to no avail, I decided to call one of the people who'd asked if I was still interested in a job as an office engineer. They scheduled me for an interview for Friday morning, and voila! They offered me the job. The whole thing happened so quickly that it took my breath away.

The only thing is...I know nothing about construction. I don't care about gravel and silt and pipes and rocks. I am amazed that I am here trying to figure out state codes approving or defining what exactly is meant by a "large rock." Do I really need to know what the specifications are for "large woody debris"?

In the last job, I had friendly people I could talk to, a comfortable atmosphere, and free tea and water and hot cocoa. The breakroom has a pinball machine, ping pong table, foozball, and an air hockey table downstairs. The things it lacked: decent hourly pay, and no excuses for being late. In general, the time policy is rather anal-retentive there.

In my job now, I'm salaried at a very decent rate. They don't count every minute (although conversely I don't get paid overtime if I work late), I get free water, tea and pop. I'm higher on the totem pole than I've ever been before. Despite all this, I'm still not happy. What's wrong with me?

Is it better to be a big fish in a small ill-fitting pond, or a small fish in a huge non-caring lake?