The Flip Side

I finally broached the possibility of working part time with Human Resources here at Expedia. I was really nervous about it, because I like it here so much. It's bizarre. Five years ago the center of my life, what there was of it, was work. Now that is not the case, and I've progressed from calling it a day job as a joke, to where that is they way I really think of it. A lovely coincidence. This is unquestionably the best place I have worked. Having morphed into an artist was a surprise which spawned other surprises, such as increased effectiveness and enjoyment in my day job. I hate the idea of going back to contracting, even if it does pay better, because I am very happy here.

The Human Resources person called me. Why yes, part time positions are possible, just not common or advertised for the tech folks, and they'd need about two weeks to set it up after I worked it out with my manager. Assuming he supports it and my performance justifies it. She even suggested a trial period for a couple weeks to be sure it would work. Wow, I didn't think it was possible, nor did I think it could be set up so quickly. I'd even maintain basic benefits for a 32 hour schedule. I wouldn't even have to go through them for a flexible schedule.

I had my weekly meeting with my manager later in the day, and told him what I'd found out. He said he'd work with me to find the best solution too. I'm waiting for my alarm clock to break up everything. If ETI goes this year, and if I'm accepted I could realistically try working Monday-Thursday and Saturday to see if I can handle working 40 hours on a flexible schedule, and if it is too much for me to handle, we can then work on converting to part time for the rest of the academic year. It'll be incredibly busy, but if it is not overly so I should thrive.

I was worried that posing the question would mark me as an undesirable, even though I've never had any indication that would be the case. As long as the environment remains so damn good I'll work to hold on to my job. If I do get into an MFA program at some point I'll have to move on, but until then I'll try to live in both worlds. Especially since I'll need to augment my savings before becoming a full time student again.

I'm still thinking about my desire to start a theatre company every day. It is on hold until I'm done with ETI, either because I don't make the cut this year or a year from now when it concludes. I want the experience of working on another new theatre company, and one that is formed with the goal of extending the work I've been doing and getting time on the boards to solidify and enrich it. I want someplace to work with people with similar experience and training, or the same ethic. I have lots more thoughts on this, for another day.