No one should remember the tantrum—only that word, TANTRUM, something very childish, to describe it—that I threw on August 14, 2015… I think only the post itself will make clear the twist that will happen throughout this account:
I, then 42 years old, was so accustomed to the country's relative financial stability that I was counting on the dollar's value to close a multi-million dollar deal and become the commercial director of a company that supplied power generation equipment to other (large) companies. But, just a few days later, the nation began to sense that something bad was about to happen, and the dollar, the basis for calculating my plans, simply… skyrocketed!
This interrupted all the negotiations that had been going well… in fact, it was a real bucket of cold water and destroyed my rural aspirations of moving with my family to a farm with a spring and satellite internet in Cachoeiras do Macacu (…that's because I hadn't even visited Campos do Jordão yet)!
May I offer a biblical quote before proceeding?
A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)
Not only were my expectations of financial security dashed, but the succession of events revealed that the corrupt actions of the misgovernment led the entire nation to a critical situation, marked by restraint in business spending (including in the events sector) and an alarming increase in unemployment.
I don't mean to belittle the 20 years I spent in the Brazilian Air Force, because everything I have—good and bad—is a consequence of that relationship, and in a desperate situation, at least my meager retirement pay can cover some bills. But I leave no doubt that the world of events is an extremely convenient "lifesaver" and, why not say it, provides me with a level of fulfillment and personal satisfaction that I could never experience as a soldier... if I didn't need the money so badly, I think I would even do events for free!
But, going back to the difficulties of life being amplified by the widespread rot of red ideologies, there has been an unusual scarcity of events since the last quarter of 2015 that even led me to plan leaving the country to become a pool cleaner or airport baggage handler… and this beginning of 2016 was even darker: not even half a dozen scheduled events and the need to take out personal loans made my insides burn with so much anxiety and my sleep, once peaceful, disappeared!
I started sending out resumes online, but without much hope, because despite standing out for my technical and practical training, the lack of certifications proved to be a barrier to higher aspirations, and the equation was difficult to solve: freelancing worked, but registering to work for an intermediate salary would ultimately mean, due to a higher tax bracket, practically the same as paying to work…
The Revolution
It happened on March 16th, through a phone call I made while working at Galeão Airport: someone saw part — pay attention to the detail: PART! — of my resume and thought I would be qualified for an interview for an "assistant" position (I confess: I didn't even pay attention at the time) and they wanted to know what salary I wanted to earn… WHAT?!?!?
Well, being a freelancer for over five years, I had absolutely no idea what salary to ask for, nor did I know how much to charge for a full month of uninterrupted work as an event coordinator, but… I knew more or less how much a non-commissioned officer in the Brazilian Air Force earns, and that's what I aimed for, thinking they would find it exorbitant. Do you know what happened?
They thought it was fair and invited me for the interview!
Then I realized the second problem: starting the next day (and for the next 3 days) I would be working at the World Congress of Aesthetic Surgery and there was no way I could leave the Windsor Barra to do an interview in downtown Rio de Janeiro… doing that would mean missing the entire event, in other words, losing more than 600 reais just to risk something that I didn't even know if it would be worth it.
I decided to be honest and tell them about my commitment, and the response was: we'll interview you via Skype!
The next day, at the agreed time, there I was on the bridge connecting the Windsor Barra to the Windsor Oceânico — and for that I owe thanks to the kindness of Hind Gazale, my coordinator at that event — to receive the call and discover that they didn't even know I had coordinated the reception for the bishops at World Youth Day, much less suspect that I was the producer and transportation coordinator at the 1st Franco-Brazilian Medical Forum of the Fondation L'Académie de Médecine… there was so much information that they asked me not only to resend my resume, but also to add descriptive details of some of these events to my “online profile,” which I did that very night…
Finally, they asked me to wait and arrange for the…
Work Permit
I confess that it hadn't yet sunk in how frantically everything was happening, but the job offer required me to be working by April 11th, and that would be impossible without the CTPS (Brazilian Work and Social Security Card), especially since I'm still not convinced of the validity of contributions to INSS (Brazilian Social Security Institute) and unions, but... even so, I tried to schedule an appointment to begin the process of obtaining the document: there were no appointments available anywhere in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, and the only one available was in Nova Friburgo, on April 5th!!
I was about to resign myself to missing the opportunity, but then something happened that really moved me, that sparked my interest... that made me willing to go to the Ministry of Labor with the appointment confirmation in hand and ask for some kind of assistance or a waiver of protocol. See the image.
I told the receptionist about the situation knowing that the "no" was already mine anyway... anything different would be a bonus!
She told me to sit and wait, and I confess I was ready to spend a couple of hours there, just languishing… but in less than ten minutes she came back, called me over, and told me to go there the next day, Wednesday, the day before Good Friday, at 4:30 pm, to resolve the issue!
The next day, I went with my wife and daughter in tow, and I was delighted to find the city somewhat deserted, with plenty of parking spaces in front of the Ministry, oops… Air Force Command: it was a strange feeling, because it seemed like everything was there just waiting for me, it was so perfect!
I took the paperwork for verification (and the clerk even discovered that a stamp had fallen off my marriage certificate—damn old dried-out glue—and warned me to fix it, but ended up "not seeing" it because my wife was outside!) and they took my picture… and on the way out I went to make sure:
Now we just have to wait for it to be ready, right? Five business days?
No! You can come by and pick it up on Monday!
And in this way, the Ministry of Labor shattered my hopes of ever saying anything negative about its organization and operation.
Anyway…
Despite the real and widespread crisis and unemployment in this country, I was hired almost by accident, with a salary even slightly higher than I asked for due to benefits, and a temporary contract valid until the end of August…
This is surreal, this is impossible… this, my dear ones, is the work of God: only He has the power to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants… however He wants: to reverse the flow of the tides, to walk on water… to provide resources during a crisis!
He didn't want me as a multinational director, but he gave me a management position in cultural events at the Olympic Committee… and now it's up to me to honor the grace I received, to study, learn, and perform the role—which I still don't quite understand—with enthusiasm, professionalism, and the utmost competence possible, because if it's been this way so far, I have to trust that He is already taking care of everything. everything else that comes next!
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
(Romans 8:28)
those who are called according to his purpose.
If you don't love... that's your problem, and you can be sure I'm not going to fill your head trying to convince you of my faith!
I'm going to sleep now, I have class early tomorrow: thank you for your patience in reading all of this!!
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