So, I got a promotion yesterday at work. Eight months in and I’ve been promoted to a higher level admin. The promotion also comes with a nearly 20% raise. Yee haw! It’s also DOUBLE what I was making this time last year at the newspaper.

As my boss was explaining to me the motivation for the promotion, all I could think of was, “If only that m-f-er at the paper could hear this, too.” I’m not stupid! Ya hear that! They like me! They really like me!!! I guess I’m not a sorry, stupid baby after all.

My dad thinks I need to let it go – being pissed about all the crap I dealt with at the paper, that is. I’m sure he’s right but at the same time, all that anger is what fuels me to be the best at my job now. Maybe I should be thankful that my last boss is such a weenie. Maybe not.

Work has gotten substantially more busy in 2010, but I already knew that was coming. From what I hear, most of our employees vacation in the summer, spend all fall traveling to conferences and stuff, and hold off on projects until after the holidays. So, once January rolls around, it’s pedal-to-the-metal.

I’ve also taken on the gargantuan task of assisting our academic affairs department (it’s actually just one woman) with her massive faculty search. This isn’t like hiring some schmuck for some run-of-the-mill job. This is a HUGE opportunity for a scientist – a faculty position at a very prestigious university as well as a full lab and a leadership role at our place. Candidates aren’t just talking to an HR rep and a hiring manager. These folks have TWO FULL 9-to-6 DAYS (!!!) of interviews with some of the top scientific leaders in the country. My role is to help schedule all the madness. And let me tell you, I’ve never before felt so fulfilled by merely booking hotel rooms.

And if that wasn’t enough, this week I was also permanently assigned to a group of scientists that I had been assisting for a couple months now. (They like me, they really like me!) I couldn’t even begin to tell you what they do or study. I’m about two PhD’s short of understanding any of it. But if they have a receipt that needs to be paid or an airplane ticket to purchase, gosh darn it, I’m there!

It’s all a far cry from last year at this time when I had to forcefully keep myself from driving off a cliff every morning. It’s a good feeling when you don’t find yourself hysterically crying for your entire commute, fully knowing the misery that awaits. In other words, seven months in and I still love my job.

Hi, website! I missed you!

I’ve been preoccupied with my amazing new job that I almost forgot this was still here! Almost.

And I just realized I have never discussed my new job! Oh, and when I say it’s awesome, I mean it! I’m working as an administrative assistant at a hybrid biotech/pharma/non-profit/academic institution. I’ve never felt so lucky to be employed before. I’m working for literal geniuses, people so amazing and influential, it blows my mind. Sometimes I get starstruck in the elevator. And even though these people could easily get away with calling you stupid because in their realm, you are, they never do. That’s a breath of fresh air.

Incredible things are being discovered in there and although I’m not making scientific breakthroughs, I know that I am indirectly playing some part in these things and that makes my mostly clerical position feel rewarding.

It’s a lot different than when I started working at the newspaper. I went in thinking, “Wow, we can make a difference here!” I would assume many kids fresh out of J school would feel that way. That QUICKLY dissolved when I realized most of the newspaper industry is all about profits and advertising revenue. They’d intentionally fail to report on huge stories if it meant losing a couple hundred bucks in advertising. They’d blow up minor stories if it meant defaming a non-advertiser. It was soulless, uninspiring work.

Now, I work in a place that really does make a difference.

AND BEST OF ALL… my boss is AWESOME! She’s the POLAR OPPOSITE of Mean Boss! She’s such an amazing person and I want to work hard to make her happy! I’m so lucky, it’s almost scary!

Let’s run this down: I’m making more money, I’m happier, I get benefits like lunch breaks and overtime, I have co-workers, my boss doesn’t call me stupid, the bathroom floor isn’t covered in piss (yeah)…

If all the suffering I endured at the paper meant that I earned my position at this amazing place, I’d do it all over again. I now look like one of those freaky weirdos that walks around with a smile on his/her face. You know those people, you look at them and think, “what are they so fucking happy about?!” Yep, that’s me!

On the downside, without a job to endlessly complain about, it’s a lot harder find something to write about. I think I’ll deal.

Today is my first day at the new job and I’m starting to freak out. I realize I will be spending much of the day in orientation but that doesn’t seem to make me feel any better.

But, today is also the day I unofficially quit my job. Yep, I’m torching the bridge and with good reason, too. I want to ensure that I will never, ever, EVER go back there again for any reason even when sentimental nostalgia kicks in and I forget how bad it really is/was. Maybe, if Mean Boss didn’t berate me last week for no reason I would have thought twice about giving some notice. Though, I am certain that if I had given notice, knowing him, the bridge would still have been burned.

I just have to remember to keep my phone in vibrate all day because the last thing I need is for Mean Boss to call me and have his special ringtone (Denis Leary’s “Asshole Song”) blare through orientation. That would make for an awkward first day.

ADDENDUM: Here’s the mp3 file I made for my FORMER boss’s ringtone. Feel free to grab it if you have a mean boss too! I sure don’t need it anymore.