It's official.

Let Friday, July 16, 2010 go down in history as the day that I finally got my Notice of Appointment.  Well, I don't technically have it yet, but it's on its way to the recruiters' office in Canada and will then find its way to my hot little hands, sticky with the heat and humidity of my last DC summer (for a year, anyway).  Thank God that's done.

*****Friday, July 16, 2010*****

Things always go down in history surrounded by asterisks and colored in hot pink.

Shortly after receiving this good news of great joy, I went through the slightly awkward right of passage that is resigning from my job for the first time.  In the past, I've ended my job because (a) it was an internship and it was supposed to end at a certain date, or (b) I got laid off.  We'll address that second one at some point in the future (maybe).  But I'd never actually resigned from a job before.  I was talking with a friend last week and we agreed that people tend to have this instinct for when one of their valued employees is looking to leave.  Bosses and coworkers then begin telling you how great it is to work with you, how much you're appreciated, how they don't know what they'd do without you, etc., etc.  This in turn creates a feeling of dread for the person who will, in fact, very soon, quit his/her job.

So after hearing my Boss tell me how much he appreciates me and mention his abandonment issues more than once, and involuntarily creating my own mental picture of my Coworker having a heart attack/aneurysm/exploding all over the walls when I tell her of my imminent departure, I was pretty freaked out about actually quitting.

To my great surprise and relief, the Boss was very supportive when we had our "I'm leaving you" talk.  He was very pastoral, which I'm sure has something to do with him being a priest, and even the Associate Boss was great about it.  Add to their credit that I really am leaving at a superbly shitty time: only two weeks remain before Boss goes on vacation for a month and Associate Boss runs the place without one of her key staff or with a brand new person on board trying to learn the ropes; I won't be around to train said person when (s)he comes on board; the parish is gearing up for a big capital campaign in the fall; a brand new website is being launched and people who usually do my kind of job are rarely savvy in this area....you get the picture.  We'll see if this general easy-going-ness continues through my last two weeks of work, but I feel blessed to have at least made it through that first Dreaded Conversation in one piece with no tears and no aneurysm of my own.  Speaking of, the Coworker(s) have yet to be told of my departure.  That will happen at staff meeting on Tuesday.  Pray for me (us), if you are so inclined.  Thanks.

Now all I have to do is pass my TEFL exam.  In a week.  Or I don't have the job after all.  Which is now what's causing me no end of strife and consternation.  I'm trying to stay positive and confident - after all, it's an open-book/note test.  How bad can it be?  It will, I'm sure, include sections that require detailed, well-thought-out answers that I, having only ever read about the art that is teaching, will have to hope I can produce with some degree of realism despite my lack of any real experience.  But never fear!  I am a communicator/PR professional, and BS is what I do for a living.  It's also quite handy in navigating the intricacies of Washington, DC, from securing funding for a cause to sneaking into the Capitol/House/Senate office buildings to do something that the Powers That Be don't really want you to do.  Look like you belong there and act like you know what you're doing.  And keep talking until they believe you.  Isn't that how most people pass the tests they have to take?