Just What You Needed. Career Advice From a SAHM Complete With Off-Season Baseball References

Last week, when I (heavy sigh, dramatic pause) told my expat friends that I may be leaving London sooner than we had hoped, all of them marveled at how I could just stand there and calmly explain everything to them.

To tell you the truth, I marveled too.

It's one thing to live in uncertainty. It's quite another to tell people about it-- hearing my voice form each word and having the same questions that keep me up at night echoed back...

It simply makes it all too real.

I even hesitated to post about it, but your hugs and well wishes, much like theirs, have been a tremendous source of support the last few days. Thank you! Thank you!

My husband, just as resourceful as ever, has been tapping into his contacts, which isn't that hard since he just did it... oh, six...seven months ago, so we ARE hoping for the best... even if it means moving... UH-gain. Bah!

There's one "big name" studio that's been very interested, or so we thought until he interviewed...

Without giving anything too much away, it turned out to be a total joke. While I didn't get that far in my career, there's a certain point when your resume speaks for itself and BS questions like...

"If you lived on an island inhabited by dinosaurs that ate sheep, what's your favorite color and why?"

...are a total waste of your time and theirs.

(Okay, so that wasn't the exact question, but it's very similar and just as pertinent to his field, which is computer graphics, not zoo keeper at Jurassic Park.)

STRIKE ONE.

To prove my point, a few nights later, a follow-up call came from them APOLOGIZING for the last interview being so insipid.

Whichever color my husband chose, it was the right one, because they were also calling to ask if he would consider talking to them again--a "real" interview this time...with knowledgeable members of the team offering serious questions and meaningful dialogue.

Imagine that?!

They went on to implore that Hubby really, really consider them because...

"It's a really great company to work for..."

(Yeah, they really seem to have their act together...)

"We offer breakfast and lunch to our employees..."

(I may not have worked for very long, but I did work long enough to know that this is code for "you will live at the office")

"We really promote work-life balance, very family-friendly. We offer "movie nights" once a week and lots of family events throughout the year..."

(Great, but will that be the ONLY time he will see his family?)

(Furthermore, if you have to use mythical words like "work-life balance", you probably aren't...)

The hilarity is there hasn't been any talk of salary or benefits at this point...

No discussion of the team he'll be working with, or the projects...

Definitely no relocation package to consider...

As far as everyone's concerned, there hasn't even been an interview yet and they are already peeing all over themselves trying to convince my husband (and me) that it's even worth talking to them...

Yeah. Steeee- rike TWO!

Plus the studio is located in our least favorite place to live, but it's not entirely out of the question. Nothing is, at the moment.

Eagerly waiting for the next pitch...