The Back Story

The summer after graduation started off really great. For a few months leading up to it, I was buggin out because despite applying to >200 jobs, NOTHING was coming through for me. So I had lined up a job working at the Camp I'd been employed at the previous summer. However, my family had different ideas. Don't do something you'll like, do something that will look good on your resume. So my amazing brother worked his magic and landed me a job at NASA. Now, for those of you who have never had the 'privilege' of working for NASA before, let me just tell you that it leads to a lot of impressed comments and raised eyebrows. Wow, you work at NASA? Are you an astronaut? Or, Ooooo NASA?? What was your major?

People who really know me quickly caught on to what a JOKE that all was, because I often discussed the endless days of doing absolutely nothing that my job at NASA embodied. I mean, let me tell you, I became an EXPERT on free online games (check out Digitz for a real treat). And those who hung out with me on the reg definitely realized it because of the late, late, late nights (I'm a night owl, no doubt about it) and copious, copious, copious amounts of alcohol I'd consume during them. Toward the end of every night, I'd drunkenly get a countdown going. "Guys, seriously, I can't drink that. I have to go to work in 4 hours." "Guys... stop. No beer bongs. I have work in three hours." Take it from one who knows, the only thing worse than hours of counting down the minutes til you can leave is doing it with a rip roaring hang over.

But still, in the back of many minds, I think a pervasive idea was, "She works at NASA, she has to have some semblance of her shit together." Ohhhh how quickly things change. Three months later, horrible economy + space exploration + brand new employee = hello layoff!! Sure, they tried to work something out for me. They got my hopes up so damn high that I told many of my friends that I'd landed a new gig, no harm no foul. I was introduced to my 'new boss,' who showed me around my 'new office,' introduced me to all my 'new co-workers.' She gave me the insurance packets and told me to pick one. She told me who I'd report to on certain issues and who I couldn't talk to about other things. She literally said to me, "WORST CASE SCENARIO, we won't be able to offer you quite as much as you'd be making if this other company had hired you, but it's unlikely." Just take two weeks off and come in on Monday to sign the contract while we get the paper work moving through.

Well, apparently someone needs to explain to this lady that to most people, getting less money than requested is NOT a worse case than not getting a job at all.