Everybody loves to see their name in print.

Recently Brian and I were at a fundraising thing for this nonprofit he volunteers with, and we spent the whole time chatting with the college student interns.  They were so adorable and in the middle of college excitement, getting all concerned with future plans, grad school, jobs.  When I told them what I did and mentioned that I didn't know how much longer I would work there before moving on to some other unknown job, they expressed extreme surprise that "someone in their mid-twenties can STILL not really know what they want to do!"  

HA!  I feel like none of my friends is certain about what they want to do!  But I totally understand the interns' viewpoint: once you get in a career, usually you stay there, right?  That's what I always thought too.  

I've had lots of other stuff occupying my mind lately, so I haven't given much thought to changing jobs in a little while.  For a long time, there I was searching all kinds of possibilities, memorizing the weekly job posting days and times for certain sites, looking into programs I'd previously never considered, etc.  I've felt that there isn't a huge amount of growth possible for me where I currently am, though it is fulfilling and often fun work, and I really truly use both my abilities and my education daily.  And my schedule is really flexible, which can't be discounted as a perk.

Things got sort of fun lately at work, basically because one of the events I had done went really well and got me lots of compliments from my boss and confidence from those I supervise.  At the beginning of the school year (I work in education at a non-profit), I felt a little lost, having been thrown into a role I never had ("YOU asked for more responsibility!" my boss snarked, even though I know they just put me in the role cause they desperately needed someone).   I got some exciting program ideas, and also decided just to get started on the current spring and summer stuff and scale back a little, not think about work too much at all and focus on the wedding, the weather, and all the other fun stuff I've got going on.

So imagine my surprise when I got to work this morning and discovered a box of business cards on my desk, with MY name on them.  Hilarious, since I've worked here for three years and filled out the form for the cards about a year and a half ago.  What was this, some sort of reminder that I'm still attached and committed to this place?  "Psst! We heard you were thinking about leaving, but look at these pretty cards! Whhoooooooo....pretty caaaaaaards..." 

Sadly, that kind of worked for a second, too.  I mean I wouldn't hesitate to leave if I found something else, but having a box full of my official deets on a cheaply printed card with colorful logo was kind of exciting.  Too bad I didn't have it at the conference I went to two weeks ago. Sigh!