Iām bringing this topic back up as itās again relevant to my life.
After months of wandering in the desert, Iāve been gainfully employed again for several months. Quickly - Iām a planning consultant. That means when Towns, Cities, Counties either have no in-house staff or more work that they can handle in-house, they contract out to me. I function more as the Town Administrator/Planner in three really tiny towns, am a contract municipal code writer for a medium sized city and am the expedited land use permit reviewer for a smaller city. Iām also the person the smaller city hired to teach the junior staff how to do their jobs. Smart but inexperienced folks who need my couple of decades of stepping on legal landmines to show them the ropes. Iāve been there a couple of years or so. Iāve also been a land use judge for a long time, working the bench for a variety of municipal clients.
Iāve been happy in my life lately. Enough money not to be afraid, clients that like me and understand my situation, plenty of free time to pursue my hobby of living in doctorās offices, time to garden and preserve it in a million ways, swimming, time to let MAV run itās summer squalls through and still get the work done. Work from my home office with my furry and finned companions and the rotating cast of young adults that live in my home, call me mom and work service industry job hours. Come and go as I please. Really, perfect. I knew it couldnāt last.
The smaller city lost its primary person. Iāve been happily filling in the gap and replenishing my bank account. The City decided to elevate the former position to a department director level and increase the pay but below market still. In the four intervening months, there have been zero applicants. Iāve been conspicuously absent from that discussion - just hiding on the sidelines sucking up all that nice paying contract work and hoping no one would ask me to apply while having a truly pleasant summer.
They forced my hand. Begged. Actually begged me to apply. I was sleeping off a migraine when they called (at 3 pm) and not smart enough to just say no. Well, shit. They caught me off guard. And I knew it was coming.
I walked into the interview on Tuesday with the City Administrator and the Mayor and started by saying I know you want to talk about my qualifications and the position, but letās start with Iāve already had this position and can do it again and Iām the most qualified you were going to get anyway so letās talk about why I never applied. I told them what they donāt know about me is almost as important as what they do. Then I told them about MAV and the four other autoimmune issues that dog my life. I explained I am essentially unemployable and that Cigna has processed 100+ medical claims, not counting pharmaceuticals, and there are a minimum of 20 more to go this calendar year. I asked for insane accommodations from a municipal entity. I want flex time, limited in office time, less hours, the ability to moonlight - all the things cities are designed against. I also talked about lighting and other minor physical accommodations.
They are insanely desperate. Theyāre going to send me an offer letter next week. That folks, is ironic. I started with should I tell them or let them work it out and then fire me and went to canāt beat them off even with the MAV stick.