Oh my goodness! I have been wanting to blog about this for a month now, but I needed to make sure all of my husband’s current employers (etc) had been informed before I went public with the news. So, here is the full scoop:
Lonnie submitted his resume and an online application to the MGM Mirage company last winter (February, I believe) for a job at the new CityCenter project on the Las Vegas strip. We heard nothing…for months. In June, they called out of the blue and asked him to come and interview. We were very excited and scraped together some money to send him out there. That was Father’s day weekend. The interview went well, as far as Lonnie was concerned, and they told him all the decisions would be made by September, and that they would likely do a phone interview later in the summer.
Well, summer came and went, and so did the month of September. We were really bummed out. Not only did he not get the job (we thought), but we had shelled out a pretty penny to get him there.
Then, in the middle October, Lonnie gets a call from the Aria Resort & Casino (part of the CityCenter). The young lady asked him if he was still interested in the position, and then asked for his address. That was it. Very cryptic, but we were encouraged. The next day they called and asked him to please go to a local lab that they worked with here in DC, and get drug tested. At this point, we became pretty excited. Most companies don’t ask you to do a drug test unless they want to hire you, right?
We also started to pray, a lot! In the meantime, Lonnie had also interviewed with Howard University. They were also interested in him and moving him through further HR processes. We wanted to be very sure about what God wanted for our family, so we were asking for the right doors to stay open and for the wrong doors to close. Friends and family were praying too. We were encouraged.
Lonnie went to do the drug test and then we waited. A week went by and we didn’t hear anything. Then another day, and another. Finally, we were sitting on the couch on a very average Wednesday night when the phone rang with “Aria Resort” on the caller ID. I snatched the phone and handed it to Lonnie. It was an offer. A really, really good offer.
I am pretty sure I had the calculator handy to add and multiply in all the right places, and Lonnie accepted immediately. It was too good to pass up. The call was over quickly and the official offer letter was in his email box right away. He signed it and had it sent off before bed that night.
Howard called two days later with a much lower offer, and that only confirmed that we had made the right decision. We’ve been in a state of mild shock and euphoria ever since. Lonnie turned in his notice at work and that all went very smoothly, which surprised us a little bit. But he has been an excellent worker and manager for them, so I shouldn’t be surprised. The kids and I are excited to move and get a fresh start, and since I am from the Phoenix metro area, living in the desert will not be much of an adjustment for me. The kids are another matter, but there is a large homeschooling community there, and several excellent churches, so I am sure we will be making friends and building community ties in no time!
Lonnie leaves on Saturday the 21st, which is just one week away. We honestly haven’t ever spent more than a week apart before, and to have it be this time of year makes it even harder. The kids and I will be heading out later in the winter, probably late January to early February. We want to make sure the job is really secure and find out what areas in Las Vegas are good to live in. Plus, there is a LOT of work to be done at this house to before I can go. It also gives us more time to say goodbye to friends and family.
So, I am sad to say goodbye to my hubby for a few months, and definitely to my friends and family for even longer, but I am SO excited about the future. :-)
Here are a couple photos of where he will be working -
The CityCenter Complex
And the Aria Resort & Casino:
