Another Path
Damn it. I'm at a crossroads again. Just when the dust began to settle in my life, I receive an invitation from Metro North for an interview and testing session towards a career as a rail traffic controller based in the famous Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
I submitted my resume a few weeks ago to Metro North, not expecting an answer, and here I am today. I have a big decision to make. Do I stay in Albany where I'm minutes away from the things that I love; snowboarding, skydiving, wakeboarding and the outdoors? Do I really want to leave the clean air, the mountains, the trees, the open spaces, the less traffic and new friends?
If I move to the the Big Apple, I'll have to deal with the sea of people, the congestion, the traffic, the skyscrapers, the living expenses for tiny apartments and the time consuming commute. I'll have an increase in pay, but that will be negated by the cost of living in the city or if I move back to New Jersey.
I'm not even at 100 percent pay at my current job working for CSX Transportation as a train dispatcher. I still need a couple of years at CSX to hit the 100 percent rate. If I take the job with Metro North, I'll be starting at 70 percent and I'm not sure how that increases over the years, so that's definitely going to set me back.
Regardless of my worries, I'm going to the interview and testing session next Wednesday to see what Metro North has to offer. I mean, damn!, it's Grand Central Terminal that we're talking about here and I can't allow myself to ignore the opportunity. It might not be as bad as I think. It's worth a shot. Why not? Fuck it. Let's see what happens.