Boarding Will Begin in Approximately 24 Hours

Well, this is it.  As with any new endeavor, I have these feelings of nervousness, excitement, and curiosity.  In reality, I'm scared. Change always brings out these same emotions in me, and generally speaking, I'll feel this way for the next couple of weeks.  Finding solace in places that are familiar to me has always been beneficial to me when I make a change like this.  So, what exactly am I doing? Good question, but first, some back story.

For the past five years, I've been a baker at a local restaurant here in town while I finished my college degree, (I'm the short, bald guy).

For all intents and purposes, I loved my restaurant life.  I know this may cause some questions concerning my present mental state, and well, you are probably right to question.  The restaurant world is a brutal place that relentlessly consumes the best of you during the day.  To live this life and enjoy it probably indicates more than mental illness, perhaps some sort of genetic mutation equipping you to deal with and enjoy a life like this.  Had circumstances been different, I would be there, now, sweating it out over a 550 degree oven, perhaps even writing a baker's blog instead of this one for the railroad.

Life has a funny way getting us to change direction as we get moving.  Over the past 6 months, we have been working on opening a new restaurant.  The restaurant where I work was seeking a way to reinvent itself, allowing it to compete more effectively in a very competitive market place.

This required a lot of extra work and a little faith in the system, faith which ultimately didn't come through for me.  I got nervous over the new concept, and all the delays associated with the opening (almost 3 months worth).  In a fit of depression over the way things were going with the  new restaurant, I applied everywhere I could.  I applied to other restaurants, to accounting jobs (which is what my degree is), jobs with local banks, everything I could think of applying for, I did.  Enter CSX. 

One Saturday, I was looking through a list of local jobs on indeed.com.  I saw post for Norfolk Southern, one of the Big Four railroads here in the US.  I began reading the job description for Conductor and thought, "hey, what the hell."  I applied.  I went to two out of the other three railroads (CSX and BNSF) and applied for conductor jobs as well.  I didn't really think I'd hear anything back from them and went about my normal day to day life as though nothing had really changed. 

A couple of weeks later, I got a letter from CSX, inviting me to a job interview within the next week, for a rail yard about two hours away. Knowing now that the prospect of getting a job on the railroad was a real possibility, I called my uncle who had spent 35 years with the railroad and picked his brain.  I must have called 15 times over the next few days, getting advice on the interview, asking him about the conductor life, etc.  His advice was invaluable, and am truly grateful for it. 

I arrived at the interview as prepared as I could be.  I went in expecting a large mass of people and an event that would take all day.  I got there, and only fifteen people had been emailed to interview.  I suddenly felt a little more confident at my chances of success.  After completing the interview, I headed home and waited for the phone call. 

Our interview had been on a Friday.  They told us that we would hear something later that evening, or by Monday morning at the latest.  By Monday evening, I resigned myself to the fact that I didn't get the job.  Tuesday, everything changed.

I got the call early in the afternoon, a conditional offer of employment pending medical and physical fitness passes.  I was elated! I scheduled everything as quickly as I could, completed all the required paperwork and bam, here I am sitting at the Port Columbus Terminal waiting on a plane to Atlanta for training. 

So, what started off as an application for a job I didn't really think I was going to get, ended up budding here into a promising career, a way out of my perceived fears associated with my restaurant.  I intend to make this a journey for everyone interested in what it's like to live a life on the rails from the initial stages on up through.  I know things may not always be the way I tell it for everyone, but they will be this way for me.  Tomorrow, the boarding begins, and I think it's going to be an exciting ride!