I am cautiously optimistic......

I took the path to where I am now in a non traditional way:

I was burned out on retail, so after discussing career opportunities with some people I knew at the time; property management was suggested as a field with a lot of similar skills that I could continue to use effectively.

So, rather than seek out leasing jobs with no direct experience; I found a couple of temporary services agencies in my area (both of whom were customers of mine at my last retail position which was a nationally known office supply chain) that would allow me to 'earn while learning'. The problem was that many of the firms I was sent to help on an 'on call' basis did not offer temp-to-perm positions and I needed to be careful about where I applied for full time work to document that I did not hear about the position while on assignment with them. Otherwise this was a good experience as I had the opportunity to learn from a variety of perspectives without the luxury of becoming complacent in my skills. This was similar to what my (now) exwife was doing as a substitute teacher while waiting for full time positions to become available.

A couple of years later, I relocated (as a side benefit of divorce) to another market area to be closer to my family. Since the agencies I initially worked for (I have heard that they have both closed for business since then) had no presence in my new area, I found another agency in the new market so I could 'learn the market'. This agency was able to place me full time at a property where I completed the lease up; but when the lease up was completed, they no longer needed me. Subsequent to that, I found another position at a property in distress; which I was able to solve all their problems before leaving as the result of a family medical emergency (my grandmother fell and it was serious enough to require hip surgery and rehab; so my parents, sister, and I were handling different issues related to getting her back into her home without assistance).

Now that this issue has improved and I am not needed as much, I found another position at a property near where she lives with a target demographic identical to my last property (low income seniors), with a company ironically enough that I was sent to properties for with the original staffing agencies that did not have presence where I relocated. This company is taking over the property next week and the current staff is not staying at the property.

I am cautiously optimistic in that this company would not be spending the money to conduct my background check and complete a drug screening. I went yesterday to submit my 'sample', but of all the samples I have given in the past (my best guess is that I have given over 100 samples for drug screening either for pre-employment or while assigned to a nuclear missile unit with a missile related specialty in the Army). This was a HAIR sample, and not the urine sample I was used to giving. Had I known I was going to be giving a HAIR sample, I would have waited a few days to get my haircut. The closest I have EVER come to a positive result on a drug screening was when we caught guys on steroids while I was in the Army; so I am not worried of any findings.

Any thoughts?