BIG NEWS FROM MY BROTHER!!!

Below is the most recent post from my brother, Dustin. I am so, so excited for him and his new career opportunities! You probably saw on 1 of Laura's comments that they have to take their laundry to her parents' house every week and they work opposite shifts, etc. This new job and money will be a whole new family life for them and I am thrilled to death! God is good if only we'll be patient and wait on HIS timing!!!

Well...My big news has finally arrived and it ended up being even bigger and better than I ever imagined. But let's start at the begining.----------------------------A couple of weeks ago, I got an email at work that talked about one of the managers being promoted. I got excited and thought I wonder if my boss will move me to that position. That would be cool. It is a high-profile money machine, and it would be an honor to be the manager there.A couple of days later my boss came to me with exactly that proposal. He wanted to interview me for the position. I was very happy and agreed to the interview. I have high ambitions, and didn't intend to stay at a small site forever. I didn't think I would be moved so soon, but it could have happened.Well, during that same week, an employee of the Oregon State Bar came to me with a proposal. Keep in mind that I work at the Bar, but not for the Bar. I'm on-site, but I work for a different company. This employee knew that I have a Journalism degree and that I wanted to work as a writer/editor. They brought me news of an internal job opening at the Bar and suggested I pursue it.I was a bit nervous about doing this because I'm a pretty loyal person. I didn't want my current boss to think I was going behind his back trying to find a new job. At the same time, though, I was honored. This Bar employee thought highly enough of me to recommend me for a permanent position there. The position had absolutely nothing to do with my current job, so there was no conflict of interest involved - to put it another way, they weren't recommending me for a similar job to the one I already have.So I went to the manager who needed an employee and talked to her. I asked her if it was worth my time interviewing for this position, and she said "Sure. I encourage you to apply. You told me about your background once and you have the skills. And even if you don't get it, at least you got practice in a professional interview setting."So I gave them my resume' and waited...In the meantime, word came from my boss that there might be a second opening within my current company and he was considering me for both spots. We had a good long chat about it and did an unofficial interview. I left feeling like my future with my company was bright. I was about to be promoted again! And I'd make around $2,500 more per year, which isn't shabby.When I came to work on Monday and interviewed for the Bar position, I had low expectations. I haven't been able to find a Journalism job since we moved to Oregon, and I knew the job was going to go to an internal candidate, so the odds were against me. Still, I was excited and I breezed through the interview and the exercise they had set up to test our skills.I spent the next two days with a constant stomach ache. On the one hand, I expected to get a new job from either my current employer or from the Bar. Either way, I'd make more money. But I was afraid that one of the companies would offer me a job and I would turn it down, only to miss out on the other job. I was nervous, tense, and in a bad mood at work. For those of you who work with me: I apologize.Anyway, this is too long so I'll cut to it: the Bar decided to hire me. I am their new Marketing Specialist and instead of making $2,500 more per year, I'll make closer to $12,000 more.!!!Not only does the job pay well, and not only is it in the field I want to be in, but I get my own office, business cards (a first for me!), an awesome benefits package, etc. This is a real, true career and I feel like my degree is helping me for the first time in 7 years!I'm going to work on newsletters, magazines, brochures, websites, and even a cable-access television show. Plus, my boss said she might send me to class to learn web programming, which would be awesome.------------Telling my boss that I was putting in my two-weeks notice was not easy. He's a great guy and I was happy working for him. I never intended to find this job - it just fell in my lap - but I'd be an idiot if I turned it down.Isn't God amazing?The jobs with my current company got put on hold for a few days, which let me relax a bit.