Pleasant Anticipation

A week ago, a friend invited me to apply to his police department as a patrol officer. As it has been two years since I was on patrol, and my current agency uses me in a jailer capacity, I found the offer most engaging. I’m trained as a cop, and while I can certainly perform the duties of jailer well enough (they’ve had me training), I’m really a much better police officer. So, I put in my big background packet, and waited.

The wait didn’t take long.

In a gratifying display of interest, I was told to report two days later to a board of review, which went well. It went so well, in fact, that I walked away with an offer, which I accepted. We discussed how much notice I would need to give. I went directly to my current agency, and inquired how much notice was necessary. The Professional Standards sergeant sighed and said that 2 weeks was standard, but that he would put “Eligible For Re-Hire” on the file if the supervising sergeant was happy.

That night, I raced to work before shift to present my letter –letters, actually-- of resignation. I’ve been working on TDY in another portion of the jail, so I’ve got two sergeants to account to: a sergeant that I’m generally assigned to, and the sergeant that I’m temporarily working for. For each, I’d prepared 4 different letters of resignation: 15 days’, 14 days’, 8 days’, and 7 days’ notice. The temporary sergeant told me to see the official permanent sergeant, who said that he was fine, and would accept the 7 days’ notice, which I had just turned in before shift. Due to an oddity in the way we count night shifts at the jail, my notice was technically received the day before, and the sergeant’s acceptance of the shortest term meant that notice they had received on a Thursday night made me free on the following Wednesday morning.

Is there anything better than looking forward to your last day at work at the job you’re ready to leave? Add in the fact that you’re going back to work you know, and that you look forward to doing again. Add in higher pay. Add in nifty incentives. Add in that you’ll be working with and for a friend. Add in that the job that you're leaving requires you to daily handle the dregs of society.

It feels like Christmas Eve, just a tad.