I’m sitting here surrounded by flat, grey silence.  And I’ve written about this before…how different Sunday mornings feel.  Quiet with hardly any cars on the road.  Thick clouds and drizzle today.  Yes, this is our typical mid June-ish weather…we joke that summer officially starts after the 4th of July.  We’ve had a couple of recent, sunny teaser days but of course during the workweek.  Yes, a chilly Summer Solstice it may be!

Workweek.  Hmmmm…in 10 days THAT will vanish from my personal rhythms.  How the hell did 13 months go by in the blink of an eye?  What’s next for me?  I feel free and yet a little terrified too.  I remember this roller coaster ride.  And I hope this ride is far shorter than the last one.

Connections, connections.  Networknetworknetwork.  One of my favorite learnings from my side jewelry business is “the fortune is in the follow up.”  I love this and embrace it.  Whenever I feel I might be too pushy calling or emailing someone back about a job opening, for general networking or just asking for help, I whisper this to myself before I pick up the phone or fire up the keyboard.  And it works!

I love Six Degrees connections.  And I made a new one Friday over a fabulous Thai food lunch over in Seattle.  The Lower Queen Anne neighborhood is amazing, and you can’t walk 20 feet without running into a Thai restaurant.  Ahhh. Remember that group of women I meet up with a few times a year for dinner…friends who go clear back to the elementary school years?  Well, the husband of one of them forwarded my resume to a colleague of his, and a couple hops later, whammo, I met P.  Things always work out as they’re supposed to…I was a little worried lunch plus a long drive into the city and back would make me late for an afternoon meeting, but turns out it got rescheduled.  Phew.  So this was a nice excuse to get a little more cleaned up and polished, rather than that uber-casual I’ve been immersed in in my current job.

The universe smiled down on me in so many ways, for the bridge I planned to take over the lake into Seattle was to be closed all weekend, but not till later in the evening.  And the tolls have not started either (reminding myself to purchase a Pass soon!).  And did I mention the rockstar (free) street parking I found right near the Seattle Center?  Yep, I’ve still got mad parallel parking skillz.  Which I hardly get to use in the suburbs.  Nailed it.  

I walked a few blocks up 5th Avenue North to meet P at Crow up on Aloha Street.  A nice handshake and smile.  But whoops!  They’re not open for lunch.  So the easy Plan B was a couple blocks back downhill…to Bahn Thai.  We’re not sure this position he’s trying to fill is the best fit for my experience, but he will follow up and keep an eye out for something else.  

And in the meantime, my current firm found a few leads as well.  Staffing and recruiting is SO incredibly fluid and fickle.  Things change all the time.  Job postings close for no clear reason.  I’m glad for a brief work engagement in that industry for it just underscores for me that how that’s how it is and it’s nothing personal.  My current firm does a wonderful gathering for all its consultants once a month.  Third Thursday.  Food, drinks and unwinding conversation and lots of laughs.  Always a fantastic event to look forward to!

Kinda funny or weird how I do all this ‘work’ to find work…and yet I also firmly believe that what’s supposed to happen will happen. But I can’t just sit idle and wait around meanwhile, however.  Fuck, what an emotional tangle this could be.  I remind myself to breathe, relax…they did me a favor wrapping up my engagement this month.  Nowhere I’d want to put down roots permanently anyway.  

Yes, it’s the Solstice on Tuesday.  A deep rhythm in our seasons outside and internal ones too.  And it’s Father’s Day today.  I smile and know my Dad is my biggest career cheerleader out there.  

I’ve got tons of support…I know this and am beyond grateful.