Tag Archives: networking

Still Shifting!

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

To say it’s been a hell of a summer would be an understatement for sure.  I feel like I’m FINALLY beginning to relax and truly savor our glorious weather a little.  Getting abruptly cut from my job back in mid May, the ensuing job search, some drama with my unemployment benefits claim, the trip to Indy which I thought would result in an FTE job at their Seattle branch and getting me off the 8-year contractor merry go round…to now land in a (contract) job which is great on paper, but not where I truly think I should be right now.

I admit I have these thoughts in my head while in meetings and getting to know my new co-workers.  Thoughts like “I’m not supposed to be here!!  I’m supposed to be at [name of company]!!”  I feel like an impostor sometimes.  A poser.  Just going through the motions.  Feeling a little restless, unsettled and off-balance.  And it’s not my co-workers’ faults at ALL.  They’re GREAT.  A very hard working, energetic and somewhat nutty team.  That works for me!   Heck, I don’t even have the same manager after just three weeks.  That’s how fast this group moves.  Oh and if you’re easily offended, stay away from the offices near mine.  That other group drops F bombs like they’re going out of style.  Not in a hostile way though.  Kind of funny.

So I’m trying hard to be positive, get engaged and learn learn learn.  That’s the typical ramping up process when you do short-term consulting engagements.  Find out where you can contribute and add value right away.  Geez, I could write a fucking book about all of this.  Guess those F bomb-dropping neighbors are rubbing off on me.  Actually no…I’ve always had a potty mouth streak.

What’s kept me grounded through my stress this summer?  The Lean Eating for Women program I officially wrapped up in July.  Good nutrition habits.  Good exercise habits. Things we learned gradually over the last 12 months.  I learned that trying to do everything new or different all at once sets us up for failure and getting overwhelmed.  I missed my workout yesterday?  Well fuck it, that means I won’t work out the rest of the week.  Ever have that “all or nothing” mindset?  Yep, me too.  Rather, in Lean Eating we start very small practicing just one habit for a couple of weeks and then add on another.  That’s why the program is a full year in length.  There’s time built in to incorporate all of what we need, when we need it.

I’ve learned about taking action rather than “wondering and worrying”.  Meaning, what can I do RIGHT NOW to set myself up for success, whether that means planning my exercise and food prep for the upcoming week, or doing something about what’s bothering me.  What did I do when I worried about being out of work?  [Believe me, when you’re out of work there’s that terror of wondering how long it’s going to be.  Is my next job offer coming tomorrow?  6 months from now?  A year?]  And that can burn a lot of cycles for sure.  I learned that sometimes all the action I could take was to make sure I had a communications plan in place for the next day, next week, etc.  I’d review my job search log (kept on a spreadsheet) and mark who I needed to contact or email to follow up on a networking call or to follow-up with a recruiter on how a phone screen went a couple of days prior.  And I’d note new contacts to reach out to, or company websites to review for their open job positions.

I “officially” dropped 36 lbs (16.3 kg) in the 12 month PN/LE program timeframe.  But I’m not done yet, my body is telling me.  People often ask me “so now that you’re ‘done,’ what do you do?”  The answer is simple:  the same damn stuff I learned to do in the 12 months prior!  Keep doing the habits, keep practicing the workouts!  I’m still in the gym 5-6 nights a week and practicing good eating and nutrition habits.  My weight has dropped another 6 lbs since, and I’m still noticing shifts in my body and how my clothes fit. So we’re down 42 lbs now (19 kg).  Stuff I bought when the clothes from last year were too loose to be effectively worn anymore are now even getting loose themselves!  WORKOUT gear is getting a little looser too.  Kind of funny to have to pull up your yoga pants between weight lifting sets…anyone handy with sewing so I can put a string tie around my waist?

But it’s not just about the number on the scale.  I haven’t just lost weight.  I’ve gained muscle tone.  I have some biceps emerging now, my lats are getting stronger and my legs are in the best shape of my life.  I can wear shorts and sleeveless tops and feel pretty toned and confident.  I’m 47, not 25, keep in mind, but I do think I’m holding up alright.

And still shifting.

NOW it Feels like Sunday Again…

20 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Wow.  I took the longest blogging break yet here in fivenineteen land.  Enough to where a couple of my followers out there were wondering what was going on!  I was actually flattered by that to be honest.  It IS a nice relaxing ritual to write in here, usually on Sundays…it’s a nice rhythm in my life and has been for nearly 5 years!!

But I guess I needed a break.  I gave myself permission to not force myself to write “just because it’s Sunday.”  Never should feel like an obligation in here.  Rather, it’s a joy.

Since my last post I’ve been heads down in the job hunt.  Being out of work sucks ass but I was fortunate to be a job seeker in a strong economy with TONS of great leads.  Every recruiter and hiring manager I spoke with sounded like they were absolutely buried in work.  And surprised by it too!  I guess we instinctually feel it’s summertime and things should therefore slow down a little bit?  Not so much!

So job hunting was my full-time job since I got abruptly cut from my contracting gig of 14 months back on May 22.  Head down here on the home laptop.  On the phone every day talking my battery down to near zero.  Keeping my job search spreadsheet up to date while claiming unemployment benefits.  The good news is that I have started a new job just recently on 7/17 – another consulting engagement slated to run a year – at a company I’ve consulted with before.  In fact this is Gig Number Five there for me – wow!  So it’s like putting on a somewhat-familiar shoe again.  There’s comfort in that for sure.   Now, I AM taking a slight pay cut compared to my last engagement but hell, it’s a LOT more pay than collecting unemployment!  So I’ll try not to sound ungrateful, but on the other hand the consulting firm is getting somewhat of a bargain with me.

Before accepting this new position I had a wonderful interview experience…traveling out of town!  I interviewed for a full-time, permanent position with a company based out of Indianapolis, but has a small office here in the Seattle area.  I was pretty much treated like royalty door to door, with my plane trip booked, nice hotel to crash in overnight, and car service wherever I needed to go.  A truly outstanding interview experience.

And even preparing for the interview swooshed along like a dream.  I knew I needed something nice to wear for the interview, but after a now FORTY pound weight loss since July last year (YES!) I barely had any clothes that fit, and certainly not anything corporate interview appropriate – where I’ve worked it’s so casual!  So once again the fantastic sales associates at my favorite Nordstrom  came to the rescue and found me a fabulous new black pantsuit and top to wear underneath…and did a rush overnight tailoring job for me as well, no charge.  WOW!!  The pantsuit fit like a dream, and the sales associate about burst into tears when she saw me in it (I had shared my weight loss story with her meanwhile).  And I teared up too.  I felt like a million bucks…and wearing a (US) size 10 made me feel really happy about my accomplishments  (I was around US size 16ish at my heaviest last year).

What a difference on that plane ride too!  I hadn’t flown since last July, before starting the Lean Eating for Women program.  I actually felt somewhat comfortable in those tiny airplane seats!  And I can cross my legs when I’m sitting now too!

The team who interviewed me was great.  Good, positive energy in the building, and frankly I rocked the interview.  Got whisked back to the airport right afterwards and flew home.  Got home, wrote my thank you notes and waited.  But then THUD…after all that wonderful, personalized attention I got a generic “we’re looking at other candidates” follow-up email a couple of days later.

It was a let down.  I won’t kid you there.  Felt like I got kicked in the stomach.  And I cried a little. I gave myself permission to be sad about it, but only for one day.  I was so hopeful that would have been my ticket off the eight-year contractor merry-go-round.  But not this time, nope. Then it was time to move on.  It still was an amazing experience, and who knows down the road where it could lead.

I was grateful to have the other offer still on the table and still available for me to slide into.  I’m trying not to look at it like a second choice or consolation prize…after all I’m in a VERY fast-growing and highly visible area of the company I’m now working at.  And the team is dynamite – very positive and hard-working, but also laid back.

So now…ahhhhh, the ritual of Sunday.  Laundry.  Blogging.  And food prep for the week ahead.  Funny how when I’m not working things like that became a nuisance and drudgery.  Well, not the blogging part of course.  I just needed a short break.

But I’m back now.

How Things Change!

01 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

So much has changed in the last couple weeks since my last post.  Head spinning.  Mind blowing.

Everything changes.  Two words right there pretty much sum up life, right?  Gotta ride things out…embrace it even.  Sometimes you want to jump for joy…sometimes shout FUCK at the top of your lungs.  There, that feels better.

3 days after my 47th birthday I got canned from my job.  Yep, with no warning.  That’s how this company rolls.  Wouldn’t even let me back in the building to pee.  My agency rep had to pack up my desk for me and bring me all of my stuff in a box while I waited outside.  14 months of wonderful work, reduced to a heap of desk knickknacks, a jam-packed Filofax and a laptop soon to be wiped clean.

I drove about a quarter mile in a daze and pulled into a random office parking lot.  And I made a ton of phone calls.  Just feeling numb.  Not knowing why things happened and not really caring.  It’s nothing personal, right?  They say it’s budget cuts but I wonder.   Thankfully I have a few years of this type of work under my belt to know this is NOT typically how consultants wrap up their engagements.  Meaning, most clients will give you a couple of weeks or even a month’s notice that things will be winding down.  That’s the healthy, courteous, normal way to operate.  Yes, italics used intentionally.

This same thing happened to me at this very same company back in 2007.  Yep, it took me all these years to even reconsider going back there.  Things seemed different this most recent time around.  I truly enjoyed my work and I loved my colleagues.  Great personalities and senses of humor.  I received great feedback on my work throughout and will always remember that.  Canning me and treating me like an animal in the process, or so they try?  Nope, it doesn’t shape me and it doesn’t break me.  I know who I am!

So…that means we’re back to the job of finding a job!  Thankfully this is something I’m pretty good at.  I’ve met lots of people who tell me “wow, fivenineteen, I’ve been at the same job for 15 years…I wouldn’t know the first thing about updating my resume or networking like you do.” Well, I didn’t think “wow, when I grow up I want to do short-term consulting engagements!” But that’s how my career path has advanced over the past eight years and it’s truly transformed me into a much more savvy, confident person.

And thankfully it’s not 2009 and 2010 anymore.  The very bottom of the recession, at least from my viewpoint.  In fact, being out of work was what inspired this blog…way back in 2009!  Check the really old dusty archives in here to see the rocks rolling out of my head come to life in my first few posts.

Meanwhile, we’re in the last month – home stretch – of the Lean Eating for Women program I joined last July.  And getting oh so close to FORTY POUNDS (18.1 kg) of weight loss, people!  WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!  Dancing around in the 36-37 lb range this week.  I love seeing the looks on people’s faces when they haven’t seen me in a while!  Even people like my hair colorist and stylist who I see maybe every other month or so.  They are truly stunned at how much I’ve changed!  And I feel GREAT!

So, I documented my weight loss with a 3 hour photoshoot yesterday.  A gloriously sunny day with hardly any wind…so not typical for this time of year in the Seattle area!  The photoshoot is actually part of the Lean Eating process…they recommend booking a professional but it’s not necessary at all.  Yeah, it felt a little (OK a LOT) self-indulgent splurging on a photoshoot being out of work but you know what?  Sometimes self-investment is exactly what we need.  And I have no regrets for sure!

I was really nervous but G did a great job making me feel relaxed and comfortable.  And she showed me a few of the shots from her camera as we went along, so I had an idea how they were turning out.  Not bad!!  Got my hair colored and cut that morning as well, so I felt cleaned up and pretty.  Picked a few outfits that really felt like “me” – jeans, a nice top and really great jewelry.  And we did some shots in workout gear…in one I’m posing with a 35 lb weight plate to symbolize my weight loss.  Holy crap, picking that thing up and carrying it around…it was HEAVY.  And how eerily scary to think that was what I used to carry around me on my body.  Every day.  No more.

What else is new around here?  Oh…the men.  Geez, the men…how tangled the webs we weave or whatever that saying is. There’s been someone sort of in my life since about February or so.  Don’t really want to go into more than that in here.  Had a couple dates with someone else recently, but while it was fun there just wasn’t any spark or glimmer that there might be a spark.  And J, the guy I dated most of last year has suddenly resurfaced, by sending me messages on Facebook and saying he misses me.  What the hell?  He says when he told his best friend that he broke up with me his friend punched him.

I said you know what, I’ve always liked that friend of yours.  Give him a high five from me.

The Next Trapeze Bar

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

And I’m off…flying…with no idea which bar I’ll grab next!  Wow, this is a kooky, exhilarating feeling. 

My work assignment wrapped up on 2/28.  And what an incredible sendoff from my co-workers.  A nice card, cupcakes to share and a very generous gift certificate to Bellevue Square.  I was moved beyond words and got a little choked up reading the card.  Definitely not a typical way to finish up a consultant’s assignment [I’m not an employee of the company where I was working]!  But these past 19 months have been anything BUT typical.  And, at risk of sounding like a broken record, they’ll be a hard act to follow.  Sometimes you strike it lucky and land with a team where everyone resonates…the ensemble sings in harmony.  The chemistry works – the right mix of personality types is there.  People respect each other’s differences, as much as we can drive each other crazy sometimes.  The unexpected bursts of laughter ringing through the common office wall I shared with our Senior Director.  Whenever I felt burdened or stressed at my desk and would hear that infectious laugh I couldn’t help but smile. 

Now I’m in that giddy and sometimes scary limbo-land.  Whatever I land next is going to be completely different – a paradigm shift of culture, energy, expectations and work style.  And this is typical when you do short-term consulting engagements as I have for the past nearly 7 (!) years – mostly.  There are huge shifts to make to zoom into a new environment.  And it requires a strong mix of enthusiasm and self-confidence that comes with experience, and an open mind like a sponge.  The ability to listen and make connections quickly.  To introduce yourself to people on your own if whomever is bringing you onboard doesn’t have the time to do it.

Right now I’m very pleased with the volume of leads out there and the amount of networking and interviewing I’ve squeezed in since January.  And while I don’t like to get into specifics here as many of you know, I feel good that something new is going to materialize soon.  I just don’t know what it is!  But I have faith that whatever it is, it’s the right next thing for me.

And as the calendar flips to Monday tomorrow, I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for a phone call with feedback on my frontrunner job opening…on whether it’s a go or not.  It’s so tempting to just stop and catch my breath and wait, but I know myself too well.  Sitting around waiting for an uber-anticipated email or phone call just makes time grind to a halt!

What to do?  I remember the advice I’ve given to others in this same position – STAY BUSY!  Keep networking!  If you’re in between jobs, keep busy by getting in the gym to blow off stress, get outside for some fresh air, get out of the house and meet colleagues/contacts for lunch and continue to interview elsewhere! 

Nothing is a done deal until it’s a done deal!

Hittin’ the Reset Button

10 Sunday Jul 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

So much has happened in the couple weeks since I last wrote.  I feel like I’ve busted through a wall (in a good way) or have gone through a massive kind of human car wash.  I feel great – refreshed, renewed and happy.  Even lighter too, but I’m not stepping on the scale just yet.

My last day of work was Thursday the 30th.  I knew this day was coming, and it was nice having nearly a full month’s notice that I’d be wrapping up then for sure.  When you do consulting/contract work like I have for nearly five years, you learn quickly how fluid and unpredictable work assignments can be.  You don’t always get as much notice as a month.  Hell, I’ve had two weeks, one week another time…and even another time got a phone call driving home one night that I didn’t need to come back to work the next day.  Never knew why.  It was the end of the quarter and maybe they’d forgotten that they needed to trim their contingent workforce.  Who knows.  

Why do I do this type of work, you may wonder?  Well, I consider it a big advantage, as I get the opportunity to zoom in and out of very disparate work environments and see what’s out there.  I do the work they need me to do and then I move on.  I don’t have to insert myself in politics or bullshit that every work environment has.  I learn different ways of solving problems and can apply them in other work engagements.

The flip side is I’m pretty much networking and job hunting year ’round.  Time goes quickly and most of my engagements are a year or less in length.  This one happened to be just over a year.  Felt like the blink of an eye, really.  So while there’s a part of me that gets a little drained having to keep an eye out for my next job pretty much constantly, the advantage is I’ve built up a much stronger network than I would have if I’d stayed in the same job for years and years.  I know how to rock an interview, network and land a job.  I always land on my feet.  Sure, I feel a little envious when I see people around my age who have been at their same jobs for 10-15 years or longer, but I’ve also heard them tell me things like, “Wow, I haven’t been on an interview in years.  I wouldn’t know how to do what you’re doing, fivenineteen.  I don’t know what I’d do if I ever got laid off.”  Guess the grass is always greener.  I’m happy in my patch ‘o green right now.

The job market has improved immensely out there, at least in my little world of perspective.  Once I updated my resume and started getting the word out, lots of calls and emails came pouring in.  That feels pretty damn good, no doubt there.

I’m starting a new position later this week!  It’s at the same company I was at prior, but in a completely different business unit.  Everything about this has felt good and right from the minute I got called to interview.  Including the speed of business and sense of urgency in getting this all put together (paperwork, etc).  Remember how my start date for the position I just wrapped up got delayed some two or three weeks?  And when I did show up for Day One, my manager was out sick and didn’t tell anyone (so I sat in the lobby for two hours with a peer of mine and a sales rep)?  Yeah, I don’t like to remember that either because it sucked royally.  Glad that is all far, far in the rear view mirror.  And it makes for great storytelling too.

So I have had just about a week of downtime between gigs.  Just enough to really “reset,” but not so long that my brain would start going to mush. 

I had an incredible 4th of July weekend with family. I’ve posted about Ocean Park and the Long Beach Peninsula out on the Washington coast before.  It’s truly magical, beautiful and deeply steeped in family history. And it’s fun seeing my nephews and niece discover it too and get to know their other cousins – on both sides of the family!  We had incredible warm and sunny weather – it’s a crapshoot on the coast even in early summer like now.  Polar fleece?  Shorts?  Yes and yes.

Even the drive there and back is relaxing and cleansing.  Once you get off the main freeways and onto the two-lane highways the scenery is amazing.  I’ve driven that route hundreds of times and I never get tired of it.

Know that feeling when you’re on a roll…things just happen in your favor?  Right down to a rockstar parking spot when you’re running late for an appointment…and parallel park correctly on the first try?  That’s how it’s been lately, and frankly I deserve it.  It’s been a real grinding haul these past 13-14 months.  

Just the other day I got an “escrow overage” check in the mail from my bank.  Wuhh?  $212 – works for me.  And within two days I received two very generous jewelry orders from my side business.  One was a guest who couldn’t make my last hostess’ party and the other was a friend who called me when I posted something on Facebook about the new jewelry that’s coming out later this month for the new season! Earlier this week I looked at my post-coast trip feet.  Yuck…I need a pedicure!  My favorite spa had an opening just two hours later.  I splurged and got the pedi with the extra foot and leg massage time.  Ahhh.  I also met with a couple of recruiters I’d not met with before over lunch.  Like I’ve said, you always keep networking.  They know I’ve got something new lined up already, but time goes quickly.

Now…how can I bottle up this great Feeling of Reset? 

A Chilly Solstice?

19 Sunday Jun 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

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.        

Image

Transition Preparations

12 Sunday Jun 2011

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Last week I wrote about the wave that washed over me, forcing me to sit in my chair here and finish updating my resume.  I’ve learned to not question these super duper strong instincts when they hit – they mean it, dammit!  It meant canceling on my hockey game rather last minute, and I don’t like doing that at ALL, but the wave won out.

Good thing too:  the resume got updated that night.  And distributed.

And just a day or two later, guess what happened? Not one but THREE great job leads appeared from the consulting firm who found my current job.  What a difference a year and a half makes!  The job market is improving, and my phone and email are rumbling even harder back to life.  I’m realizing how much more mentally prepared I will be going into my next job assignment, as it shouldn’t be nearly as long between gigs as last time around…I hope.  Last year I went from mental 0 to 100 literally overnight – an abrupt shock back after feeling like my brain was turning to mush with nothing going on for months and months.  Now, while I feel a bit weary and ready for this current engagement to finish up, I feel more ‘on’.  That’s hard to put into words, but it’s how it came out.

My friend D’s husband also forwarded my resume to a few of his connections, and I’ll be meeting up with a Director at a consulting firm later this week for lunch.  We had a great chat late on Friday afternoon!  I’d prefer to have the firm who I’m currently affiliated with get me reassigned, but I’ve gotta look out for Numero Uno here.  And who knows – new connections made now could sprout even further down the road for me or for another colleague.

In the meantime, I’ve got a job to do through the end of the month, and, well, I’m only human and it would be incredibly easy to flip the mental switch and stop caring.  Sure I take pride in my work and will do whatever it takes for a strong finish.  But for some stuff, frankly, I’ll need to fake it.  Before I knew I would be wrapping up this month, I got assigned some brand new stuff to do – and the milestones were plotted all the way into January.  Why would I get assigned something new if I was going to be cut loose just a few weeks later?  Anyway, the reasons don’t matter, and I’m just chalking it up to even more opportunity to gain more experience in a very short timeframe.  Plus, it’s a small world out there and I might end up back with this team or something similar down the road.  

How you finish is just as important as how you start.  Don’t burn bridges.  Go for the Graceful Exit.

I had lunch with S, a friend I’ve known for years who I met through hockey. She and I really bonded a couple of years ago when I was first getting used to being unemployed.  She has her own business as an aside from her full-time work, and I came with her to several events as a guest to learn more about it.  It was great to get out of the house, meet new people and clean up/dress up on those days I had no interviews when the temptation was to just be a slob and mope.  And I am dumbfounded that all started two years ago.

It was wonderful to reconnect over lunch again – how had it been a year or so since we last met up?

So, I’m just keeping busy and connected while preparing for whatever the next plunge might be.  I’m excited, relieved, nervous, curious…the list goes on.  Notice that ‘angry’ is not in that list of feelings.  ‘Cause I’m not in the slightest.  This gig was designed to be purely consultative, not permanent.  And while I don’t like to call out specific details in here when it comes to jobs and companies, let me just say I’m perfectly happy with that arrangement.  Great experience, but not anywhere to hang my hat right now.

T and I met up for dinner at Palomino last night…she is such an amazing friend.  We’ve each gone through some bumps this year – my very brief relationship, and she and her boyfriend split up a couple of months ago…he had been living with her and so it was a rough ride with all of that and him moving out.  We’re both happy and strong women and always land on our feet, but we also appreciate the friendships and support out there too.  So much to be grateful for.

We split a wonderful bottle of wine (the name escapes me now but trust me, a mighty fine white something), while T chose the Seafood Louie – a beautiful salad – and I the fusilli picatta, a delicious combo of marinated chicken, shallots, capers and a few chili flakes for kick in a white wine sauce.

And when you’re steps away from fabulous shopping at Bellevue Square, of COURSE you gotta hop over there too.  T picked out a gorgeous pair of black Tod’s loafers, and I, knowing I am soon to be on a budget again, merely drooled over shoes.

T and I are brainstorming ideas for a meetup group we’re planning to launch later this summer.  We’re super excited! 

And I think “excited” is the right way to describe things for me right now.  One door is slowly closing, and something new, unknown, magical is going to pop and set me on an entirely new journey this summer and beyond.

Let’s just hope it’s sooner than later!
    

Posted by | Filed under Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment