A little going away gift from one of my co-workers on my last day
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Jump!
for the past 2+ years i have been very honest (and vocal) about how burned out i am in my current job. i absolutely loathe working in IT. and i am not alone i'm finding out. i reached my peak about a year and a half ago when something happened at work that really sent me over the edge - i posted about it & retracted it because there was nothing constructive in it...at least i didn't think so then.
i realized much later that it was the push i needed to start finding my way out of my current job. a year later, i was still struggling, but i was trying. it took a while, but i realized i was asking myself the wrong question for the longest time: what is it you really want to do? that just added another layer of frustration because now i was not only unhappy in my job, but i couldn't not answer this question that i thought would make it all better. somewhere along the way, i realized the question really was "what do you like?" never mind the "to do", just what do you like. that changed everything.
2 things happened: i changed my approach to searching for the next job and Cookie was diagnosed with brain cancer. i won't rehash the brain cancer stuff because it's all out there already, but it did really make me sit down & think about how much i like animals, dogs in particular. i started googling "careers working with dogs". aside from joining the circus (which i'm pretty sure i already live in), certain options kept presenting themselves: vet, vet tech, groomer, trainer, dog sitter. so i started researching those.
meanwhile, back at the farm, i began what i like to call my "man on the street career research project". i would ask anyone & everyone about their jobs. the Culligan guy? yep! the girls at my vet? check! the ladies at the nursing home? check! random people in check out lines! really, i did! and if i heard about a job someone did & couldn't ask them? i googled it! my philosophy was that old standby: throw enough darts, you're bound to hit something. i had some weird epiphany last March. sitting in my cube at work, i broke. i said out loud to all my co-workers "i'm done! i will not spend the rest of my life staring at the corner of a cubicle!" and i meant it.
i believe in signs too! always have. weird things happen for a weird reasons. i remember my graduate adviser was soooo disappointed in me when i mentioned this in front of her years ago. "How can you study what you study & believe in signs, fate, etc." my answer: i just do! and this year has been just that. my favorite, our trip to Jackson Hole, WY and my dog sledding tour. our guide Courtney and i had a conversation about how she made the leap, leaving her job in healthcare to be a guide. i was captivated. i so admire people that can take a leap of faith to get out of the normal routine & make their own path. i told her at the end of our tour that this was the year i was going to take that leap of faith. i was going to jump.
and jump i did! i gave notice almost 2 weeks ago. Wed will be my last day working in a corp environment. and what am i leaving for? dog groomer! that's right! i'm gonna go work for the 4-legged variety. and i could not be happier right now. i've worked in a local shop the last 2 Fri & Sat's & have enjoyed it. it will be challenging, but i'm not scared at all. and that people is a very big deal for me. but i get it now. every person i have ever talked to that has done something like this said the same thing: you just reach critical mass. a point where you know if you don't jump off that cliff, you never will. and i could literally feel each of those moments when i took that one step closer & the final one when i jumped. and it felt great!
will i make a lot of money? probably not! will i make any money? i sure hope so! but am i scared? not a bit! i don't know when i've been so excited to embark on something. i have certainly had better, more lucrative offers in the last year+, but none of them felt right in my gut. this did the entire time. so, like a marriage, for better or worse, here goes!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Survivor
This here is a Crepe Myrtle. They are a quintessential symbol of my growing up in the South. I bought it from a nursery here in the Midwest about 5 years ago. They assured me it was cold hardy for zone 5. I don't believe I've ever let it sit through a flood - I think I pulled & potted it during the 2009 flood. But here she is sprouting leaves after 2+ weeks under 6+ foot of water. I'm gonna take this as a sign of a good summer to come!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Happy Mom's Day
I don't really talk much about my family. Here or there in generalities. Yes there are the outrageous tales of me & my siblings. And the constant references to my "diddy". But I hardly ever talk about my mom. Just never really have.
My mom passed away 7 years ago this August. She was way too young to die as far as I've ever been concerned. My relationship with her was cliche complicated. We had a very typical push pull relationship - she would always try to pull me closer & I would always push her away. I'm like my Daddy's family that way. But it never meant I didn't love her. I'm just extremely hard to love..much like my Daddy's family.
But I am the walking talking embodiment of my mother. I have all her physical features. Crazy multi-personality hair, long fingers & no fingernails, thin lips & baggy eyes. I even have the same freckel on my thigh that she had. I also have her same mental/emotional struggles. I suffer from the same self doubt & criticism that she did. At times I suffer from the same depression that she did, just not to the same depths. But I also have her tenacity.
Since her passing I've tried to come home each year for Mother's Day & hang with my family. I find it reassuring, recharging & sometimes frustrating, but always a blast! This trip I stopped in to visit with my mom's best friend, Miss Nancy. Sidenote: In the South all women are referred to as Miss & their first name. I love Miss Nancy like a mother. There are things about Miss Nancy that I wished my mom had possessed but since she didn't so it would be pointless to mention here. As Miss Nancy & I were catching up, I recounted a particularly difficult circumstance I'd had to navigate in the last couple of years. Something where I'd really had to stand on my own & defend myself. I'd never second guessed what I'd done or how I'd handled it, but when I told Miss Nancy the specific ferocity with which I'd done so she said "That right there was Sandra & she would have been so proud!" Well it may not have come from my own mother's mouth, but it was just as good.
Happy Mother's Day mom & guess what, I was always proud of you too!
My mom passed away 7 years ago this August. She was way too young to die as far as I've ever been concerned. My relationship with her was cliche complicated. We had a very typical push pull relationship - she would always try to pull me closer & I would always push her away. I'm like my Daddy's family that way. But it never meant I didn't love her. I'm just extremely hard to love..much like my Daddy's family.
But I am the walking talking embodiment of my mother. I have all her physical features. Crazy multi-personality hair, long fingers & no fingernails, thin lips & baggy eyes. I even have the same freckel on my thigh that she had. I also have her same mental/emotional struggles. I suffer from the same self doubt & criticism that she did. At times I suffer from the same depression that she did, just not to the same depths. But I also have her tenacity.
Since her passing I've tried to come home each year for Mother's Day & hang with my family. I find it reassuring, recharging & sometimes frustrating, but always a blast! This trip I stopped in to visit with my mom's best friend, Miss Nancy. Sidenote: In the South all women are referred to as Miss & their first name. I love Miss Nancy like a mother. There are things about Miss Nancy that I wished my mom had possessed but since she didn't so it would be pointless to mention here. As Miss Nancy & I were catching up, I recounted a particularly difficult circumstance I'd had to navigate in the last couple of years. Something where I'd really had to stand on my own & defend myself. I'd never second guessed what I'd done or how I'd handled it, but when I told Miss Nancy the specific ferocity with which I'd done so she said "That right there was Sandra & she would have been so proud!" Well it may not have come from my own mother's mouth, but it was just as good.
Happy Mother's Day mom & guess what, I was always proud of you too!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
This is the way we go to work
go to work
go to work
this is the way we go to work until the flood recedes! EVERYBODY SING!
Monday, May 6, 2013
these boots were made for wadin'
one of the most popular question we get during any flood is "So are you able to live in your house?" yes we do/can. that is usually followed by the "how". doesn't take much to describe to people the kayaking or john boating in and out. yes it is a pain, especially when it floods in Feb & there is ice to consider, but hey, i'd rather sleep in my own bed.
what is hard to explain to people is the equipment & logistics. it is imperative, no matter how high or low the water, that you have a pair of these
these are chest waders. neoprene to be exact. they are essential & you must keep them with you at all times! they are also apparently the perfect Christmas gift from your hubs!
so i get up & do the usual get ready morning routine. one exception: do not put your shoes on! at least i don't because i cannot wear my waders with shoes. so get all dressed up like normal, except for shoes, and squeeze into your waders. i now know exactly what a brat feels like!
put all your ancillary stuff in a dry bag (or garbage bag if you forgot to get the dry bag down before the flood uhg!). do not forget your shoes unless you want to wear the aforementioned waders into work!
and for good measure, maybe wrap that in an rain jacket & cram it in the back of your kayak for the paddle out/in. have some rope handy (preferably attached to your kayak in the event you need to tie off somewhere & you will!
lastly, lock up said kayak when you get to shore. you can never be too careful!
it just so happens that we got these cable locks 11 years ago from my work. they are just simple computer cable locks - remember back when companies used to literally lock their computers down? turns out the cable is the exact size to fit through that hole in our kayaks. not all kayaks have that but ours do.
oh, and be sure to take your paddle with you. this year's saving grace for me is my paddle comes apart so it's super easy to store in car. and be prepared to keep a very dirty vehicle over the next few weeks, especially if you let your hubs use your car cuz he will be oblivious to the mud mess he creates in your vehicle.
on the other hand, buy more garbage bags! wash, rinse, & repeat 3 times a day for at least 2 weeks & you've got it made!
what is hard to explain to people is the equipment & logistics. it is imperative, no matter how high or low the water, that you have a pair of these
so i get up & do the usual get ready morning routine. one exception: do not put your shoes on! at least i don't because i cannot wear my waders with shoes. so get all dressed up like normal, except for shoes, and squeeze into your waders. i now know exactly what a brat feels like!
put all your ancillary stuff in a dry bag (or garbage bag if you forgot to get the dry bag down before the flood uhg!). do not forget your shoes unless you want to wear the aforementioned waders into work!
oh, and be sure to take your paddle with you. this year's saving grace for me is my paddle comes apart so it's super easy to store in car. and be prepared to keep a very dirty vehicle over the next few weeks, especially if you let your hubs use your car cuz he will be oblivious to the mud mess he creates in your vehicle.
on the other hand, buy more garbage bags! wash, rinse, & repeat 3 times a day for at least 2 weeks & you've got it made!
Winners
in the midst of all this flood tragedy, remember, There Will Be Hockey.
Nacho's hockey team had their annual cookout on Sat. this year, due to the flooding, we held it at Moushon Manor! mad props to Angie & Scott for putting up with hosting us all!
it was the usual awesome fair of ribs, chicken, pork, and this year's newcomer shrimp boil! two words: yum & E!
and of course there was a trophy ceremony!
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| Yes Moser that is the traveling trophy! |
the important thing to remember people is.....B2B
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