It's Official

I finally received my official offer letter today. The big boss had been out of town due to a death in the family, and the paperwork had to wait for her return. She was so cute hand-delivering it to my far-away location with a big you-know-what-eating grin on her face. Imagine my shock when I read the letter and saw that my salary offer is 10% more than what I'm making now through the agency, which was already pretty darn good (not bragging, just so happy I lucked into this whole thing). I couldn't sign that sucka fast enough. lol

My official start date on the firm's payroll is Monday. I have an appointment with HR that morning, which I'll have to squeeze into the middle of our big event preparation chaos, during which I'll sign the gazillion policy and benefit papers presented in this neat binder (ironically parts of which I actually helped design. lol). The benefits are more than very generous, and they begin immediately — no waiting period at all. Health, dental, vision, life, disability, 401k with matching funds, Flexible Spending Account, 18 days PTO for the first 2 years (then more) plus 10 holidays plus 1 floater, a year-end bonus, free financial planner advice, free mental health and other counseling if wanted, and probably other stuff I'm not remembering due to the haze of legalese on a gazillion papers. Woot!! Ya gotta love the big law firms!! So, not only did my actual expected salary go up 10% but if you add in the value of the benefits … well, let's just say I'm never quitting this job. Ever. (And if some years down the road I grumble about going to work, refer me to this post, please.)

A nice touch to all the paperwork was this little card, which says it all, plus inside, "We're so glad to have you here."

Today was another party day, even though we have SO MUCH work to get done by next Thursday. We had a catered lunch/meeting/goodbye-predecessor/welcome-me from 12:00-1:00 PM and at 4:00 PM, we pretty much shut down for a cocktail & goodies party to send off my predecessor, who looked like she was having second thoughts — I know I would be. lol

As I was leaving for the evening, my computer was being transferred to my new/old spot back in Marketing. I'll be working tomorrow and Sunday, and the first thing I'll do is move all my piles of projects to my new/old desk and get myself re-situated. I can't wait! And, it will be good practice for when I'm moving out of my current house and into a new place. ;-)