Unless you've had your head in the clouds for the last few weeks, you've probably heard about the crisis on Wall St. The market's hitting rock bottom, companies are going bankrupt, protests are now a common part of the daily landscape, and bomb sniffing dogs are crawling the streets. I visited Wall St. a few years ago when I was in New York, and the air is definitely different when I walk the streets now.
For the last two weeks, I have been staying with a girlfriend who lives at 45 Wall St. It's a beautiful new building with an expansive rooftop view, three wonderful (and helpful) doormen, and even a gym overlooking the city. Needless to say, not a bad place to start my journey.
So about 3 days after I arrived in New York, I was headed back to my temporary home after an interview...all dolled up in my new Ann Taylor suit (probably the last thing I'd EVER choose to put on if I had the choice). The train was basically empty and I could have chosen to sit anywhere, but I just plopped down in the first seat I saw, next to this older gentleman. I noticed that he had a suit on and was headed to the Wall St. stop, so I could only assume he worked in that area. Next thing I know he strikes up a conversation with me about some kids 'rough housing' on the train. I told him my brother was an Ultimate Fighter, and I'm pretty sure I could 'protect' us. All jokes aside, I explained to him that I had just moved and was interviewing for jobs. It just so happened that I was speaking to the President of a company at 48 Wall St. (a company which has been around for 28 years and has huge clients such as ESPN, JP Morgan, the City of New York, Accenture, etc.). In the five minutes that we spent together on the train, he invited me in for an interview with his company, saying that he was impressed by me and would like me to at least come in for an exploratory interview.
So I went in (amongst a million other interviews that week), and spent 2 hours interviewing with him and his right-hand man. When I left, I told them I needed to complete my other interviews and would be in touch.
Then yesterday, he calls me up and asks me if he could meet with me again. We have a wonderful meeting, and he raises his offer by $10,000 dollars!!!
I couldn't turn it down...and I start Tuesday.
The moral of the story is: If you close yourself off to others, you close yourself off to opportunity. New Yorkers seem to be scared to talk to each other. Living here, you have a million opportunities a day to meet someone new, and people are just too scared, too tired, or too 'good' to share a minute of their time with another person. I don't quite understand it. If I hadn't taken the time to share an exchange with this man on the subway, I would still be out there pounding the pavement in a stuffy old suit.
My whole life perspective revolves around the idea that we are ALL God's children and we ALL have something to learn from each other. Think about all the people you may be passing by in your daily routine, and maybe next time, take a moment to notice (or speak) to them. You never know who you'll find. :)
Thank you all for your prayers and support through this. I definitely feel like God has been laying out the steps for me...and His timing has been impeccable. I'm extremely nervous about starting the job, but I'm excited about the possibilities!
Now on to the apartment hunt...
Love you all,
LAUREN
P.S. Since I now have a job, I will NOT be eating any more Ramen noodles (good news)...but I do need lots of furniture (bad news). So feel free to ship me that extra dining room set or California king you've got lying around.
No comments:
Post a Comment