Since that post, I decided that there was no need for such a plan, because "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be".
A few weeks ago, my best mate Rai told me that a big city firm was looking for a junior solicitor. Rai studied law and business at university - we actually met in a property law tutorial. When we graduated, he decided that he didn't want to become a solicitor, and made use of his business degree instead. A wise decision, it appears, since he is now raking in an impressive 6-digit annual salary with top-notch bonuses.
Rai is actually a few years older than me. He is also, surprisingly enough, quite a popular guy. So it didn't come as a surprise when he informed me that his friend, a senior associate at the city firm, was looking for a junior solicitor to help share the burden of work:
"Tia, this is an awesome opportunity. Besides, you need to move back to the city soon, otherwise you'll be a permanent country bumpkin!" was Rai's persuasive comment.
What the hell, why not? I thought.
So I sent Rai my resume, and he forwarded it on to his friend, Delia.
A few days later, Delia e-mailed me and told me that she had forwarded my resume to the HR department of her firm. She apologized for not contacting me sooner but said that she couldn't wait to meet me.
I was actually quite surprised because I didn't think I needed to go through the whole HR process, given that I had been "referred" by Rai.
Oh well, I guess it's better than nothing, I said to myself. At least I've got my foot in the door.. somewhat.
A few days after Delia's initial e-mail to me, the firm's HR representative, Marie, called me. We arranged for a phone interview to be conducted and, a few weeks after that, I was asked to travel to the city for a face-to-face interview with Delia and Marie.
I took a day off work so I could attend the interview.
On the day of the interview, I was a bundle of nerves. I was almost an hour early, so I said a quick prayer at the city cathedral before I made my way to the firm. As I walked in to the reception area of the firm, my mind was screaming - Holy cow! This place looks like a cross between a hospital and a museum!
There were paintings and sculptures everywhere, and the reception area had marble white floors and glass doors. It looked so cool but weird at the same time. I spoke to the receptionist for a few minutes and I was told to sit on a funky-looking white chair until Marie and Delia were ready to interview me.
The intervew went well, I thought. Marie and Delia asked the usual 20 questions, all neatly summarized by the one over-arching (but rarely asked) question - "why would we want to employ you?".
I was offered the job a week or so later.
When I resigned from my job, I cried because I felt so guilty and sad at the same time. No matter what, my bosses had been good to me the whole time I was there.
Time sped quickly by. My file numbers quickly diminished, and I stopped taking instructions to open new files. On my last day at work, I still had about twenty or so unfinished files, but I didn't really think much about it. I handed them over to my good friend and trusted colleague, Kelly.
We all celebrated my last day at work by going to the local pub for lunch. Afterwards, the girls at work organised a little "ceremony" for me, by getting my boss to do a speech (about how great I was, of course!) and giving me two farewell presents.
One present was from the partners of the firm - they gave me a pearl necklace and matching earrings.
The other present was from the rest of the staff. They gave me a solid silver bangle and earrings.
I was so overwhelmed, I started to cry.
My boss then started to tell everyone how I loved shoes, and how every time he saw me, he swore that he couldn't remember me wearing the same pair of shoes twice. He also said that, even though it was a sad time for him to see me leave, he was happy that I would move back to the big city where I could "indulge" in my shoe-loving ways.
Five o'clock came and went. There were many tears, I could tell you. One of my good friends and fellow colleague, Kelly, gave me a photo frame with a picture of both of us inside. She then handed me an envelope, and gave me strict instructions not to open it until I'd left town.
The next day, I finished packing up my things and said goodbye to the small country town that I'd called "home" for the past two years.
The drive back to the city would have been long and boring, if not for my dad who had volunteered to help me move and keep me company on the seven hour drive to the city.
After two hours of driving, dad and I stopped at a service station for a short break. Remembering Kelly's envelope, I grabbed it from my bag and ripped it open. I wish I hadn't. Inside was a card with the following message:
Dear Tia,
You have been such a good friend to me.
You had always told me that you would move back to the city, but I never thought the time would actually arrive when I would have to say goodbye to you.
I will miss our weekend get-togethers, and our 'crying' sessions when our files were too much to handle. I am so lucky to have met you.
I still can't believe how lucky it was that we started work in the same week, and that we ended up living one block away from each other! God surely blessed us by letting us meet each other.
I will always cherish the good times we shared. I'll miss you so much.
Remember to keep in touch.
Lots of hugs (and tears),
Kelly
As dad and I drove away from the service station, I clutched at Kelly's card and shed a few tears. But nothing could contain my excitement at moving back to the city. As hard as it was to say my goodbyes, I knew I would never regret leaving.
