I’ve come full circle in a way.
For two and a half traumatizing years, a mini-prison sentence of sorts and in what can clearly be described as the lowest ebb of my ever-in-flux career, I worked in a dark corner of Rembrandt Square as a Call Center employee. It was for one of the more famous companies in the country, so famous it was known all over the continent and even in the U.S. It occupied all five floors of the building I was in and had people from all over Europe including a handful of us strays from the States. When the point came for them to decide whether to give me a permanent contract, after almost three years they decided we weren’t a good fit and called it quits. Can’t say I was shattered but I was admittedly disappointed – despite the daily anxiety I went through and the constant thought that I was wasting my mind away, I felt they could have been a little less commerce and more community. Fast forward to another three years and I’m back where it all began. In an odd twist of fate, the company I work for now has taken over the building I called my own way back when and made it quirky – with animal sculptures on every floor – and amazingly better – with pricy furniture and so much personal space. The only thing that’s the same is the beautiful view out the window.
As for my previous company, which last I heard is still in the business of route planning and personal navigation, it’s pretty clear they’ve downsized from their envious locale and moved on. It’s anybody’s guess now what direction they’ve taken for themselves.