View of our new courtyardI hang up the phone in awe of the conversation I just completed with a nurse manager. "Am I blessed or what?" I ask myself, but I am starting in the middle of the story, allow me to get back to the beginning.
As I have mentioned in a couple of previous postings, the economy has not sparred nurses, particularly travel nursing.
"Not many positions available", is what I kept hearing from nurse recruiters, as well as sage advice along with hiring tips. Every recruiter I spoke with had the same story, without exception of how difficult the hiring environment is. For every job posted there is like fifty to a hundred applicants and the ball is in the nurse manager's court.
Mary and I decided to return home for Missouri and take care of some business there as well as clean more stuff out of the house. We will wait out for our next position there, we planned. At least spring is on the way and nice weather would still be in our future, not to mention getting to spend some grandbaby time with Lydia.
I conveyed our general plan to recruiters. It's San Diego or we go home, were my words for every recruiter, as I batted away offers for Reno, Florida, and some forgotten named town near the Baja Desert. Mary and I were not in a position to have to take an offer just to keep a paycheck going so I stood my ground.
"Besides"; I thought "this past assignment didn't come in till just the week before I was ready to leave, and that was during a much better employment time than the current one."
Rumors got back to me from a couple of recruiters that positions in San Diego might be opening up and I was agreeable to the possibility but still remained on course to return home. Then a call came asking to schedule a phone interview; I wasn't even sure which recruiter to thank!
The interview went well and I was offered a day position for six months, so now I am back to where I began…about me being in awe.
I worked out an agreeable stipend with the travel company and Mary and I just returned from San Diego after a housing search, which is worthy of mentioning that housing is very expensive in San Diego.
We leased a very cute two bedroom duplex in South Park right in the middle of restaurants, boutiques, bistros and a coffee shop directly behind us. A big plus for me! The houses are quite old but community is very young; rarely did I see anyone over forty, making me the "old guy" of the neighborhood.
The "feel" of the area is very low key and comfortable, as well as safe, the hospital is only a fifteen minute drive and the San Diego Zoo is a ten minute bike ride. Mary and I are going to like it a lot.
So how did I manage to pull off San Diego? I honestly don't know at this point and the weeks have been flying by so fast I haven't had opportunity to break it down yet.
The job, the housing; I am still in awe.
