Flashbacks

Today my office mate dialed in to a sales demonstration put on by a small software company that I used to work for. She had the volume up high, and it was impossible for me to tune it out. My former boss was running the demo, and his voice brought back some really bad memories.

I left that company on bad terms, something I have never done in my life. Usually when I quit a job, I try to leave on a positive note. But my boss had done something to me that I just could not tolerate (berated me unreasonably in the presence of a customer) and I left the company in anger and humiliation. I actually told him exactly why I was leaving - something I have never had the courage to do before.

It's sad for me because I really loved the work that I was doing. My co-workers were awesome. I was working from a home office. I thought that it was my dream job. It's tragic how one person or personality can ruin a really good thing in your life.

But there is a bright side to this experience. I went back to my old job, and was welcomed back like the prodigal son (or daughter, in this case). I just recently renewed my contract with them and received an extremely significant pay increase. It is not my dream job, but it's steady work, a really good paycheck, and an 8-hour day. And when I go home, my work does not go home with me. I could say that life is good and everything is fine.

But I still have flashbacks to that software company. Good things that might have been. On the other hand, there were red flags that I should have seen sooner. The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.