Woo hoo!

I've been grinning so hard the last couple of days, it's a wonder that my face hasn't frozen in that position! Yes, it's true, the final (almost) hurdle has been overcome. I heard from the recruiter yesterday morning that I am officially "validated" to work as a psychologist in Ireland. As Michele says, Woo hoo!! Nothing can stop me now, well except for waiting for the work permit (Green Card) to come through. But, that's basically a formality in the process. My big worry had been that somehow, Ireland's psychologists would say that my training was somehow lacking (that's crazy talk!) and tell me I needed to have some extra training/classes/ whatever. Silly worries, I know. I'm a highly trained and very experienced professional after all, if I do say so myself. But I've heard of crazier things happening and, this is me after all, not heretofore the luckiest person in the world. But, things are looking up!

So, what this means in the immediate future is that I can FINALLY give in my notice at the job from hell. [pause to allow me to do the crazy, happy jig dance] And, uh oh, there goes that darn grin again! My plan, unless someone I trust talks me out of it in the next couple of days, is to give in my notice when I go back to work on Tuesday, then work out the rest of the month. That would give me 3 weeks or so to pack up and close up the house, start showing it to potential renters, and do all the other tiny, little leaving-the-country tasks, before flying out. I'm estimating I would be leaving here around the 3rd or 4th week of June, unless the work permit takes an overly long time to come through. Worst case scenario, I'm left waiting around an extra couple of weeks with nothing to do and no salary. Again, the lack of control issue rears it's ugly head - I have no way of knowing how long it takes to get the Green Card. It's such a new scheme (i.e. "program" for you other non-Irish readers) that it's not clear how long it takes. I've read of some people getting it in 3 weeks, while others say 8! But, I'm determined to think positively. After all, I have been lucky in some things so far, even if the validation did seem to take forever.

All in all, I'm still doing a little jig in my heart :-)