In 3 months and 6 days, I will be living the blissful life of an unemployed citizen. In September 2008, we were told that our positions with the company would no longer be needed after October 1, 2009. During the time in between we would need to help transition our duties over to the new company. Oh, perhaps I should back up. Last summer, a competitor took over our company. They are a much larger operation with headquarters out of state. Ok, so back to the story...so, from September 2008 until now we have been helping merge the 2 catalog departments. And by merge, of course, I mean just letting the other company do everything and realizing that everything we had worked to build here meant absolutely nothing. That might sound like I am a little bitter over the situation, but the reality is that getting laid off is quite possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me - work or money wise.
I was jumping for joy (on the inside) when they told me that I no longer needed work here after Oct. 1st. The deal is that they continue paying my salary up until Oct 1st, give me a retention bonus for staying that long and then pay me severance for several weeks after I'm done. They are quite literally paying me to leave! And who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even though I was so happy at the idea that I wanted to kiss that gift horse right on the mouth. Ew..ok...anyway...
Oh and did I mention that the past 9 months have been some of the easiest months ever? We have no work of our own anymore, so the other company has to give us stuff to do and well, they are less than attentive. We maybe get one, small project a week that is supposed to keep a team of 8 busy for 5 days. That project usually takes 1 person 3 hours to complete. Needless to say, we have A LOT of downtime on our hands. We've tried to fill it responsibly by holding professional development training sessions, playing around with different software, cleaning up data that no one will ever use and for some, attending a myriad of job search training classes. However, after months of this activity, it has grown stale and now we have become experts at filling 8 hours a day with mindless crap. It's wonderful. I go to work and get so much done for other aspects of my life - like theatre work and fun design stuff. I've also become the master at several online games...but I digress.
The underlying reason why I am so happy to be jobless in the future isn't the money for doing nothing (although that sure is nice!), it is the freedom and the sign that I needed to tell me it was time to move on. Time to do what I really want to do and follow the dreams that I've always wanted to follow. Being the uber practical person that I am, I have always struggled to find a balance between what I want most in life and being able to pay the bills. The thought of just quitting a job and running off to do something crazy was nearly impossible for me to fathom. Well, now that choice has been made for me and my life has never been so clearly laid out. You see, I am taking this opportunity to actually live the life I dreamt as a child. I would be lying if I was saying that I'm not completely and totally terrified at the idea, but the time has come and I'm ready to take that next step. I only hope that I don't fail miserably, but if I do, at least I can say that I tried to follow my dreams.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
So, I Went to France
We were in Paris for the last week or so. We saw all the important sites plus some really beautiful country villages. It was a great vacation and I'm glad I got to experience it, especially with my lovely husband. It was hella expensive, but it's a place that people should go to at least once in their life. I have to admit though, I didn't fall in love with Paris. All the great tourist sites (Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Champs Elysees) were so packed with tourists, they were almost not enjoyable. We could barely move at all (except for the sudden shoves by hoards of people trying to push through) at Versailles and it made me resent the tour instead of enjoying the beautiful palace.
The local Parisians hardly smiled and seemed as though they didn't much enjoy life. Eating seemed to always be a hassle whether it was getting a table, getting waiting on, getting correct food, getting the bill or simply eating food that wasn't quite what I was expecting for Paris. I spoke ok French, but found that although I could speak and read it, I couldn't understand it for crap. They would talk so fast, that I simply couldn't keep up. There was 1 waiter that we had that only spoke to us in short simple French and I understood every word - god bless him.
What I did love about Paris was that every building, everywhere you went was carefully and meticulously crafted. Beautiful architecture surrounds you everywhere you go. And since we went in May, the gardens were in full bloom. I adore flowers and it was wondrous to always be around gorgeous flowers. I also loved the countryside. The villages are far more charming than Paris. Not only do they have a much slower pace, but they are quaint and far more beautiful. I also really enjoyed going to the French Open. I had never been to a tennis match before and to attend one of the Grand Slam tournaments was awesome. Although I was freezing the entire time, I think I found a new love for tennis!
What I have always known about me, was confirmed on this trip: I'm not a good traveler. I do just fine for a few days, but then it starts to wear on me. I lose interest in doing things and would much rather just hang out in the hotel room all day until we go home. I also find that instead of relaxing and enjoying myself, I get even more stressed. Stressed about money, stressed about transportation, stressed that I'm going to do something wrong and offend someone or get lost, stressed that I have to be responsible for planning things, stressed about returning to a mountain of work...ugh, just stressed in general! And it's especially worse when I travel to large cities. I long for suburbia - and yes, I know how crazy that sounds, but I really do. If I could vacation in a Target or a Chili's I'd probably be just fine. I do know that the next vacation we take will be to an all inclusive resort that picks us up from the airport, feeds us and just lets us lay on a beach all day. A vacation of mindless nothing-ness - sounds good to me.
The local Parisians hardly smiled and seemed as though they didn't much enjoy life. Eating seemed to always be a hassle whether it was getting a table, getting waiting on, getting correct food, getting the bill or simply eating food that wasn't quite what I was expecting for Paris. I spoke ok French, but found that although I could speak and read it, I couldn't understand it for crap. They would talk so fast, that I simply couldn't keep up. There was 1 waiter that we had that only spoke to us in short simple French and I understood every word - god bless him.
What I did love about Paris was that every building, everywhere you went was carefully and meticulously crafted. Beautiful architecture surrounds you everywhere you go. And since we went in May, the gardens were in full bloom. I adore flowers and it was wondrous to always be around gorgeous flowers. I also loved the countryside. The villages are far more charming than Paris. Not only do they have a much slower pace, but they are quaint and far more beautiful. I also really enjoyed going to the French Open. I had never been to a tennis match before and to attend one of the Grand Slam tournaments was awesome. Although I was freezing the entire time, I think I found a new love for tennis!
What I have always known about me, was confirmed on this trip: I'm not a good traveler. I do just fine for a few days, but then it starts to wear on me. I lose interest in doing things and would much rather just hang out in the hotel room all day until we go home. I also find that instead of relaxing and enjoying myself, I get even more stressed. Stressed about money, stressed about transportation, stressed that I'm going to do something wrong and offend someone or get lost, stressed that I have to be responsible for planning things, stressed about returning to a mountain of work...ugh, just stressed in general! And it's especially worse when I travel to large cities. I long for suburbia - and yes, I know how crazy that sounds, but I really do. If I could vacation in a Target or a Chili's I'd probably be just fine. I do know that the next vacation we take will be to an all inclusive resort that picks us up from the airport, feeds us and just lets us lay on a beach all day. A vacation of mindless nothing-ness - sounds good to me.
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