Interview

So. My interview last week. I spent two hours talking with one of the doctors and the practice manager over lunch. They were very laid back, extremely friendly and I immediately liked them. Their practice is limited to cats only, which is one of the things that peaked my interest. Aside from my obvious rapport with cats, it is a lot less physically demanding. Not to mention quieter!
The thing that impressed me the most was their high standard of care, and the intelligence demanded of the employees. Continuing education is required of all employees, paid for by the clinic. In addition, they conduct their own weekly staff training, after which employees are required to take a test. They offer incentives for scoring high on these exams; their goal is to have very few, very intelligent, well-trained employees. After hearing about that, I felt that the job would be right up my ally. I love to learn, I love continuing education meetings and... I am kind of a snob about where I work. I have to work with intelligent people, in a high-quality environment. I've heard horror stories about other veterinary clinics, where animals were not cared for properly, surgeries were not sterile, the clinic was unclean or people just plain old didn't care about the animals. And I can't work like that, I just can't. I have more respect for myself and the patients than that, and it sounds like this clinic feels the same way. Hearing about their practice made me so excited that it took me forever to even register the fact that they offer a nice salary, really nice hours and excellent benefits. All of that would be the icing on the cake!
At the end of our meeting, they let me know that they really felt like I would do well there, but that there were some things that they needed to sort out first. They promised to call me within a week to let me know. Which means that for the past 6 days, I have been on pins and needles, wondering if I would get the job, checking my cell phone obsessively for missed calls and re-hashing the interview in my mind- did I say anything stupid? (Besides saying that I liked to be "mentally challenged" at work. In answer to their laughter, I said, "Oh! I mean challenged mentally! I mean, I like to use my brain! There, that's what I am trying to say!" Damn you, post-op pain medication!)
Well, apparently, I didn't come off entirely stupid, because I got The Call this morning! I accepted the job, of course which means that I will not only have a job that will be challenging and fulfilling, I will also be able to pay for the luxuries in life: you know, electricity, groceries, water...