News: I am once again EMPLOYED!!!

I received so much great advice, words of wisdom, and positive support from so many of you here that I had to share my good news and let you know the latest.

I just finished one of the most intensive and grueling interviewing processes that I have ever been through. It consisted of phone interviews followed by a trip to Arizona, and then another trip and weeklong session in Ohio. I am happy to say that it ended happily and I just accepted their offer to join the team in Tucson, Arizona! I must be out there ready for my first day of work on June 22nd.

The offer was a fantastic one. The company is a very good one that specializes in the manufacturing of all kinds of medical devices and surgical kits and instruments. It will be a great challenge but one I am more than ready to accept.

My wife will be staying in Texas, hopefully not too long, while we sell our house, then she will join me. I am extremely happy about this turn of events and I am looking forward to the start of a new chapter in our lives. I wanted to share with you this good news and thank you all for your caring and support. It was a very trying time but some good words and advice helped me get through it.

I am also looking forward to a new photographic adventure out there in the desert as well. No more swampland and alligators for me. I will be trading those in for rattlesnakes, scorpions, gila monsters, and cactus. I cannot wait.

James Newman

Congratulations James. You're a lucky fellow! That furlough amounted to little more than a vacation, albeit a nervous one. Bravo!

Hi, James,

That's great news. And the Tucson area is fascinating.

I know this new chapter of your lives will be a rich one.

Thanks for staying in touch.

YAY! Congrats!

James,

I too am thrilled to hear the news! This will could very well turn out to be a great change for the better for you and your wife, after all. You have been in the wilderness, now you are coming back a little wiser. It's tough going through the move. Be good to yourself in this period!

Are there any words of wisdom to those who were let go and are still looking? Did you gain personally in any way from the time at home?

Asher

Great news!

Hi James,

I am truly happy to hear this great news. Make the best of this new opportunity, I am sure you'll do so. I wish you a lot of luck and happiness in your new job and life in Arizona.

Cheers,

Congratulations!

Tuscon is a great place to live. Hot as heck in the summer time but that is why there is Air Conditioning and Swimming Pools (except during lightening storms). Lots of beauty to point your lenses toward.

Looking to hearing about your new adventures.

Delighted for you!

What a fabulous way to start the day, I've kept thinking, hoping and wishing a job your way, I'm so happy for you.....

Hi James,

That's great news, thanks for sharing. I hope it will turn out to be an improvement in many ways. You also will get new venues to photograph, which can also be inspiring.

I hope you'll soon get settled in your new home, and that selling the current house doesn't take too long so your wife can join you.

Congrats, and good luck.

Bart

James, excellent news. may you and your loved ones find the fulfillment you search for. prayers,patience,and striving does pay dividends.

best.

Hi James,
I wish you a heartfelt "Congratulations"!
I cannot image the turmoil and anxiety you've experienced these past months.
You have my admiriation for your perseverance and positive spirit.

^5 James and God Speed

Gary

Thank you all very much for your well wishes. I am so thankful that things are working out the way they are. Personally, they could not have worked out any better. The company is a great one, old and family owned, with values that you don't find that often, especially in the corporate world that I am accustomed to. The offer I received and everything in it is more than I could have ever dreamed of. They are taking extremely good care of me and my wife before, during, and after the transition. In my field of expertise and industry, these kinds of perks are no longer even talked about much less given. I am in awe.

On top of everything else, I have one sibling, a sister, that I have not seen very much at all in the past 30 years. I saw her 2 years ago at our mother's funeral but that was a bad situation and was not a good visit for us . She lives in Gilbert, AZ, near Phoenix, but owns a second home in Tucson, and she has generously made it available to me and my wife for as long as we need it. Unbelievably good fortune for us right now. I will finally be getting back in touch with my only remaining relative. She and I both are very happy about that and have already talked more in the past week than we have in years and years.

Did I learn anything from the past 5 months? I learned a lot about myself and what I was capable of. I have always had a problem with very low self-esteem, even though I have pretty much succeeded at everything I attempted. It was just something deep inside that has always plagued me, making me feel not quite as good about myself or my accomplishments as I should. This whole interviewing process and the responses I received from everyone in this new company on what they thought has given me a big boost that will hopefully enable me to accept the good things that are coming without questioning them so much or wondering why they are happening to someone like me. Silly I am sure to many of you but it has been a lifelong struggle for me to accept good things.

Do I have any words of wisdom for anyone else who may still be searching for something new in their lives? Only what I was told and what I really tried to do. I tried very hard to remain positive and think good things were around the corner. Saying that and doing that are two totally different things. Having been told that however, and actually trying to put it to practice, helped me immensely during this time. There were times where I felt completely lost and had nothing but negative, terrible thoughts about our future. Not many but some. Then I realized even being unemployed, I was still in a much easier position than many other much less fortunate people in the world and it made a difference. I really had no right to whine or complain or feel sorry for myself. I could have been in a much, much worse condition than just needing a new job. For that I am very thankful and know how lucky we really are. All I can think to say is the same things I was told. Hang in there. Keep looking forward. Make a daily routine for yourself and keep busy. Keep looking and keep working. Good things are around the corner. At least in our case that seems to be the truth and the way it is working out.

I have not felt this good in ages and I am chomping at the bit just to get this thing started. Thanks to you all just for listening and putting up with what I know was some pretty negative input on my part. Hopefully that is all a thing of the past and I will be posting up some desert landscapes in the not too distant future.

James Newman

James Newman said:

... Hopefully that is all a thing of the past and I will be posting up some desert landscapes in the not too distant future.

Click to expand...

Hi James,

I am looking forward to it. And what a great thing to have this reunion with your sister!

Cheers,

James, congratulations. I hope and trust that your new chapter will be a good move and that you will all be joined together again soon.

Mike

Go get 'em and more importantly, keep telling yourself that no matter what the circumstances, you are good enough - even when you make mistakes (but it sounds like you don't make very many!).

Congratulations, Ed.

Hi James
I m discovering this pretty fabulous news on my iphone as i m shooting on location in Marseille islands (Frioul)

I am so glad four you!!!

Kudos, bravos !!!!!!!!!