While all my friends are away….(Career Change Guide Part Cuatro)

I am writing this while lounging in bed (because of some post work, pre run laziness) with two adorable furry creatures by my side. When I say by my side, I actually mean taking up all of the room on the bed leaving barely a sliver for me to squeeze myself into. It’s been a while since I last wrote so I figured it was time. I don’t have a whole heck of a lot of updates, sadly. But, nothing bad to write about either so that’s a positive. The car is now running smoothly, almost like new! (for all of those interested!)

I can’t believe we are in late September, it has flown by. This month I have spent a lot of my free time caring for the pets of friends while they take amazing European vacations. Two went to Portugal for a 17 day excursion and one is celebrating a big birthday for her mother in Greece. Another, non pet owning, friend is also in Greece for, as he says “a well deserved vacation” even though it’s his third since June 🙂   Let me tell you…after seeing the pictures, Greece has moved it’s way right up to the top of my list of future destinations! The WhatsApp pictures I received today while I was working away in my office are breathtaking.

The other part of my spare time has been spent talking about and thinking about my potential next career. I know I have teased at this a few time and I hate to break it to you, but I’m going to keep teasing for a bit. The guy I have been working with and I are still really ironing out the details and before I give too many, I want to make sure I’m giving you all the facts. We met last week and almost completely changed what our original plan was…so as you can see it’s a work in progress. Despite the change in plan, I think each of us is even more excited than we had been previously.

As part of our meetings and initial stages of developing a business together we are really working on figuring out exactly how we want that business structured. Do we want to give up all of our weekends? Do we want to work crazy hours in tough conditions? Do we want to work in an office? Do we want flexible hours? Do we want to be able to have an office dog? You get the idea, but basically we have challenged each other to come up with our ideal work situation. We’ve decided it is best to lay it all out on the table now before we have anything settled so that we each know what the other is looking for and what we know we do or don’t want to get ourselves in to. And here’s the big reveal…Career Change Guide Part Cuatro: map out your ideal working situation in your head (what do you want your day to look like, what do you want a week to look like, a month, a year; do you want to work in a loose environment or a conservative one). This will help you narrow things down a little bit and definitely help in your job search. If you know this information you can keep it in the back, or front, of your mind as you’re searching.

Now, all of my thinking about an ideal working situation has lead me to the conclusion that no matter what I do, I want to be able to travel…and not only do I want to travel, but I want to write about it (and take pictures of it) and I would LOVE if someone paid me for that (if you have ideas on how to accomplish this, feel free to share)! I am toying with the idea of using my upcoming trip to Argentina and Chile as my first foray into the travel blogging arena. So we shall see how that goes. Who knows, maybe I’ll start and realize that I just want to travel for travel’s sake and not share all of my experiences with the world, though something tells me that won’t be the case!

As part of the process of deterring what I really want out of a job and my new career, I’ve come up with a few things:

• I want a job with flexibility (don’t get me wrong, I still want to work and accomplish things, I would just like to do it on my own time)
• I want a job  that will afford me the lifestyle I have now
• I want a job where I get to experience something different every day (I don’t have the patience and am too inquisitive to have a job where I perform the same functions on the reg)
• I want a job where I can be creative
• I want a job where not only do I interact with people, but I also build relationships and ideally where I can see how what I have done has positively impacted their lives

Now, I won’t bore you with my entire list, but as you embark on making your list here are a few ideas to inspire you. Everyone has different things that fulfill them, mine may not match up exactly with yours and that’s totally fine. You may even look at mine and say “that’s absolutely ridiculous, why would you want to interact with people?” and that’s the beauty in this exercise; you get to see where your strengths, purpose and desires lie compared to those you work with, are friends with, are enemies with (?) or may not even know. I would love it if you could share some of your ideas with me, so feel free to comment away!

Until the next time!

~besos

 

Universal language…

Today my car broke down, or died, that is yet to be determined. I’m hoping its the former….I’m diligent about oil changes and upkeep, I feel like that has to count for something, right? Of course, the second something goes wrong with the car my brain instantly shuts off, especially when my usual go to, shutting the car engine off, has already happened; and not voluntarily I might add. I turned the key about five times and finally, miraculously the engine begins to hum (with a slight rattle, she’s old, what can I say?). Then the next thing I do, is call one of my best guy friends. He is inside the office I’m trying to flee and he knows how to deal with me during minor attacks of nervousness. We decided I should pass go, not collect my two hundred dollars and head directly to my regular auto garage. On the way there everything seemed to be fine; please note, I had not yet made it out of the street of the office park. I was sitting at the light waiting to turn and then sputter, sputter, quiet. She’s gone and died again. So much so that I couldn’t even put my flashers on. A few calls later, I managed to sweet talk a tow truck driver into coming to get me. For all of you wondering, I will be getting AAA tomorrow!

I am not the kind of person who worries about normal stuff, like the fact that I’m probably going to have to dole out a boatload of cash and I’m inconvenienced by the fact that I don’t have a car…no, I worry about the fact that people are trying to leave work and my car is stuck in a lane hindering their progress. I get stressed out thinking that I might be causing someone else stress because they may have to wait through one extra light.

Thankfully, my new hero arrived about 20 minutes after I called. He looked a little rough around the edges, had glorious locks far curlier, thicker and longer than mine, and was clearly adept at his job, within minutes we were riding along Briarcliff in his tow truck. He spoke Spanish, allowed me to eavesdrop (one of my favorite hobbies) and dished out fatherly wisdom; it was a lovely ride. And then, my day got even luckier than the speedy pick up he had already given me. He forgot to tell me it was a cash only business so he was going to give me a discount to pay with a card at the garage, who would in turn give him his money. BUT, and here’s the lucky part, my friend (see above) who came to pick me up happened to have cash on him and I was able to pay Victor, the tow truck driver, in cash. He took $5 less than he initially quoted me, probably because it was easier for him to take the cash and run. During the transaction he said “that’s fine, there’s no sense in being greedy…it never gets you anywhere.” And that really made me think. He’s so right..in the long run is that $5 going to make or break his day? Most likely it won’t. But, that man got to go home with more money than he expected to make today, made the situation far less stressful for me and left me feeling like there really are some decent people out there (because I wonder about that a lot).

In addition to his comment about greediness never getting you anywhere, tonight on social media someone posted that the universe only gives you as much as you can handle. These two comments seemed to sum up my day today. The latter is something I always believe to be true. I believe that we are given what we have the strength to handle and also that somehow, someway, the things we are most in need of make their way into our lives. They may not always be in the quantity we want or be right in front of our faces but if you start paying attention to this more closely, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Now that I’ve been introduced to this new thought about greediness, I’m really excited to put this sentiment into practice. I totally agree with him and am shocked that I haven’t considered this before. Once again, the universe is providing advice in the strangest of ways as I continue my journey to finding my purpose.

There’s some hump day wisdom for you…maybe you’ve had a rough week and now can look around for little signs that will make it better. I assure you that once you start doing it, the most amazing things will happen!

Until the next time!

~besos

Talk nerdy to me (Career Change Guide Part Tres)

August is already starting off better than July. I decided to try this eating program called Whole30, to reboot my career change search, really trying to work out more and best of all I am currently on a staycation!! Basically, I’m trying to get myself to the best “me” possible while on my journey to my purpose. If I’m going to get where I need and want to be, I might as well look good and feel good along the way. Woot woot!!

As part of rebooting my career change search, I reached out to an old friend who always seems to have fun and interesting jobs. We touched base on Thursday, as I was sitting poolside while on my staycation (sorry, I had to!). She gave me some great insight and told me about different places to look for opportunities, different tactics she’s used and even told me that she would go through her “mental rolodex” to see who she could put me in contact with. One of the things she and I talked about is that fact that when you’re going through this process, it is really important to talk to anyone you can think of and even try to figure out new people to talk to. Though, as I mentioned in a previous post, it can be overwhelming because basically everyone you talk to wants to help or give advice, it’s really important to cast your search net wide. So, here’s your Career Change Advice Part Tres: Talk to anyone and everyone you can about your desire to change careers. You really just never know who may have advice or who someone may know. So that said, it’s August and I’m back on the hunt again….my career search has been officially rebooted!

Now, for some other fun stuff. I am doing the Whole30 for 30 days in August to reboot my system. I’ve felt kind of sluggish in the afternoons at work, which could be due to many things (boredom, the heat, a general lack of desire to be there) and I wanted to figure out something to combat that. I’ve had some friends do Whole30 and decided I would give it a shot. Additional benefits are said to include clearer skin, better sleep, a clearer mind and weight loss…and who couldn’t use any of that!? So, on Monday August 1, I commenced a 30 day adventure into clean, whole food eating. From what I’ve heard it’s best to do this with a support system, so I recruited a friend and then another joined…and it has been really nice to have others who are doing it. And, I’ve made some food from the book and I have to say everything I have made has been amazing; the other night I cooked Thai Coconut Curry Chicken!! So hold tight, you’ll likely get updates as the month goes on!

I started this post on Friday and had some technical difficulties….so here’s a bit more for you. As part of my desire to get back into fitness, I used my staycation to try a few new fitness classes. I did a Barre class at Pink Barre on Friday and an Abs and Arms class at Fit2Be on Saturday…and I LOVED both. Doing them actually has me thinking about getting Class Pass so that I can continue with my kick ass fit fam at Vesta Movement, but also shake it up a bit with some other exercises that will help elongate and loosen me up!

And now I’m off to a walk in the park with some friends! Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Until next time!

~besos

Take Me (out of) Funktown

Greetings friends! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for so long….quite honestly, I haven’t really known what to write. I’ve been in a bit of a funk. It’s been a pretty disappointing, boring month. I came in to it with high hopes; I was participating in my all time favorite race, The Peachtree Road Race and then hosting a 4th of July party, I was waiting to hear back from someone about an exciting, prospective career opportunity, I was hoping to plan some travel, among other things. None of it really worked out the way I had planned or thought it would. And the disappointment, mixed in with the general state of “full moon-ness” that seems to be running rampant these days bought me a ticket on the express to Funktown.

Don’t get me wrong it hasn’t been awful, just not really what I was hoping for. I’ve also done some really awesome stuff….like The Peachtree Road Race with a great friend and running buddy, spending time with a friend wandering the neighborhood watching fireworks, wine night with my wine group gals, kayaking the Broad River with my wine group gals, a house concert, a fancy pants dinner at a newish restaurant with a friend. Basically, I have nothing to complain about, because the good clearly outweighs the bad, but in my current situation in Funktown, sometimes it’s hard to remember that. Deep down, I know that I have it pretty good….what I’m dealing with are totally what people call “first world problems” but they are the problems I know at the moment.

I think putting things out to the universe works, so I’ve been trying to do that…I would like to get out of the city for a bit and may actually have an opportunity to do so this weekend; and the other things I’ve put out there like figuring out what to do with my life, my career change, meeting a nice guy, those will all come. I’m happy with baby steps right now and getting away with some friends who I always have lots of laughs and good times with is a start. (fingers crossed it happens!) And, although it sounds weird, the disappointments I’ve been dealing with this this past month, have really taught me a lot about myself and others; and also about what I need to work on to take ownership of my feelings and the way I handle things.

In other news, I’m jumping back on the career search wagon. I have a good lead and am really hoping something comes of it. If it comes to fruition it would be an awesome opportunity for me that will utilize a lot of my skills. In the meantime, the thought of it and the excitement of it is really helping me get through my current workdays. I’m still working with my coach and trying to figure things out so that I don’t “put all of my eggs in one basket” so to speak.

So that’s it for now….onward and upward and trying to exit Funktown! Until next time!

~besos

Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em (Career Change Guide Part Dos)

Sorry it’s been awhile, I was on vacation and then trying to get acclimated back to the working world… and I was at a bit of a loss with what to write. Trust me, spending days at the beach and nights at the decks is definitely something I could get used to, like right now. But, alas those days will have to be saved for summer vacations in the 603. And the real world is upon me. I’ve decided to use this post as Career Change Guide Part Dos. Mainly because, although its a bit stream of consciousness (more than normal), I think it has an important message.

I’ve been overwhelmed lately. I guess it wouldn’t be fair to invite you into my world and my journey if I don’t plan to be entirely honest, so there it is. Figuring life out is overwhelming. Especially, when you’re trying to be (selectively) open about it and have a lot of people in your life who look out for you and love you and want to give advice. Advice that you have solicited. So although I came back from vacation feeling refreshed; I also came back a bit homesick, feeling a little lonely and feeling a lot overwhelmed with trying to figure out my life and career. I had a meeting with my coach on Tuesday and I was totally unprepared. When I took a vacation, I basically took a vacation from everything. And that included a “break” from my journey. I use quotes because although I didn’t complete any of my assignments including all the research I was supposed to do, I did talk to people about my future and solicited their thoughts. Now, it’s time to start trying to process all of the awesome information and great advice I have received.

After having a few pity parties for myself and feeling blah and overwhelmed, I was not looking forward to my call on Tuesday. And we talked about my least favorite subject, dating. It was totally my choice and at the moment it felt like the lesser of two evils. Dating or Career. So we talked about dating, had some laughs, and then I told her stories about some random dudes I’ve met; like the TreeHouse Masters guys I started chatting with at a Braves game a few weeks ago. After they told me what they did (worked on the TreeHouse Masters TV show), I awkwardly let them know I don’t have cable and have never seen it, oh but wait, I have seen a commercial. Yep, and we wonder why I’m still single! 🙂 One of these TreeHouse Masters dudes, upon hearing where I am from, immediately lifted up his shirt to show me his State of Massachusetts, “Live Free or Die” and State of New Hampshire tattoos, which may actually have trumped my previous awkward comment. So despite my reticence to talk to my coach on Tuesday, it ended up being a rather humorous conversation.  All of this to say  (after my sidebar) that although I still got overwhelmed, I trusted my gut and took a step back. And that act was then confirmed by a professional….it’s kind of nice when you make a wise move, isn’t it!?

So, if you’re in my position, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and give yourself a break, like I said above “know when to fold ’em” (I think that means, know when to take a break-not really up on the poker terms here). You’re not quitting, you’re putting yourself on the bench for a breather. Cut yourself some slack. You’re already making it through life and you know what, that’s a pretty awesome feat. And every once in a while you deserve a break. So there ya go, part dos. Part Dos: KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM (aka, know when to give yourself a break).

~Besos

 

PS-I promise my nest post will be far better organized! Thanks for your patience with my being overwhelmed!

 

 

You’re the meaning in my life, you’re the inspiration

Ok, so that title maaaay be a bit dramatic, but stick with me here! Since March I have been working with a career coach (and an all-around kick ass woman!) who has been stretching me way farther than I’ve been stretched before. She gives me assignments and makes me think harder and more seriously than I’ve done in a long time-which is likely the reason I’ve reverted back to my go to rom-coms and chick-lit for relaxation time! Although it is a lot of work and introspection, it is also totally awesome and amazing and exciting to learn all of these cool aspects about myself that I didn’t recognize or know I had! It turns out, quirkiness is A-OK! Victory!

As I continue to work with my coach and tell people about this journey I’m on, those lyrics have been floating through my head a lot. The majority of people I’ve told my story to have told me that at one point or another and even currently, in some situations, they too have been on this same journey. It is so comforting to know that others are in the same boat! I know a lot of people and it turns out a lot of people I know had to do a little (ok, most likely a lot) work to figure out their purpose in life. So, while I won’t bore you (right now) with the details of my journey, I will ask you some questions that I have been asking myself a lot lately….why do people not seem to talk about this? Is it that I’m not asking the right questions? Are people embarrassed that they are in their mid-30s, 40s or wherever they may be and don’t know what they want to do when they grow up? Should I be embarrassed that I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up? 

I’ll continue to ponder those questions and if you think of answers, please let me know! But, in the meantime thank you to all of you out there who have shared your stories with me, who have given me advice, who have let me vent and especially to all of you who were so kind to let me know how much you loved (yay!!) my first post and who will continue to read into the future. You’ve truly been an inspiration and you’ve made my heart happy with all of your kind words! Happy reading and until next time! -xoxo