Get A Move On!

So I'm still not 100%, but maybe 90%, I guess it's just SO SCARY. Picking up and moving from somewhere I love is hard to do. I know that a new and wonderful life is waiting for me in another city. I know that there is someone there I'd rather be with than without, no matter even if it were Arkansas! (well........... maybe not). I know that the job market - for me - is a lot better there, and that rent will be $500-600 less per month. Yes, I'll have to get a car, but I think I have that part worked out.

Like I always say, "NO RISK, NO REWARD".

I had a great talk with a career coach last week who REALLY helped me put my job search in perspective. She gave me some priceless tips that I applied to the job I interviewed for on Tuesday. I guess it worked, because the interview went remarkably well. So much so, that they asked me if I was interested at the end of the meeting and asked if I was available to meet for the final interview next week. YES!! This job would put me back in-home, where I really flourish and do my best work. Of course, I'm not going to count my chickens before they've hatched, but I feel really confident right now. I'm really starting to get more and more excited for this new beginning.

After the interview, the man and I went to look at a few apartments and some cars. He's been so amazing through all of this. Could it be that things might finally be coming together for me professionally AND personally?

These past 9 months have taught me so much. I really have been able to put so much in perspective. My level of compassion has risen beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. Another thing I'm really excited for about DC, is that I'll be able to volunteer for the causes that I feel so strongly about, like Women for Women International (if you remember, I did a 5k for them last October and raised over $2000 for the women who are casualties of the war in Congo. I raised one of the highest amounts for a registered individual!) and Polaris Project, which is a cause that is SO IMPORTANT to me. I want to get INVOLVED.

I'm starting to get really excited about the next stage of life. As terrifying as it is, it's LIFE, and I want to LIVE it to the fullest.

Ciao for now!!

Monumental Month

Okay, August is an awesome month. No, I'm still not working (at a real job), but I'm so happy that ONCE IN A WHILE I actually forget about the open mouth chewing, gum popping and constant screaming and cursing that is my "day job"! How you may ask???

Yep! THE MAN.

On Tuesday I got a mysterious call about a job from an area code I didn't recognize. I guess my resume had been passed onto someone in DC without my knowledge. Fate you say??? ME TOO! I figured out a way to sneak out of work for Thursday/Friday and hopped a bus down to DC. What? R lives in DC? YOU REMEMBERED!

He picked me up from the bus station and I've never been so elated. I'm seriously so happy it should be a crime. To be in a brand new city with someone you truly care about is an awesome thing. We drove around through Georgetown, walked around and had dinner on the Potomac River. From there we went to his club where Ludacris happened to be performing. From there it was time to SLEEP. I had to be at an interview at 9am!

After meeting the headhunter I was off to my 3 hour interview at said company. I really rocked it. I seriously gave great interviews. I really thought I had this cinched. Afterward I walked over to McCormick & Schmick's (R and I actually MET at the McCormick's in Irvine in around 1993/1994) and had a Stoli/soda to relax my mental state.

The next night we visited the monuments in DC, pretty cool... It was insanely hot and humid and it felt like we were walking in the Bayou, but still incredibly cool.

Nighttime pix of the monuments didn't work out as well as planned, but I got a few good shots. Unbelievably, no shots of me and the man. I don't know how that happened. :-( Next weekend for sure!

Anyway, at work this morning I got a call about the DC job. They passed. I was too high level for the position they said. It seems I'm overqualified for every job on the Eastern seaboard in 2009. Keep on hitting right? Eventually I'll get a knockout.

WHAT A DREAMY WEEK!!!

WHOA, the past 7 days have been INSANE! I'll start at the beginning. A few weeks ago, Andreen sent me a job description from an L.A. recruiter. It was for a position in NYC and it looked pretty huge. I didn't think much about it and sent over my resume letting them know that I had been referred. About a week later, a girl that I had met through another L.A. headhunter emailed me about the job as well, and had personally referred me. I then re-emailed the recruiter and let her know that I had 2 referrals about the position now. 2 days later she finally called me back. She proceeded to tell me all about the job. 6 days a week, long hours, 20% travel or so. PA/house manager job, yadda yadda yadda. I was a bit hesitant, and then she told me who it was working for. When I say A-List Celeb, I MEAN IT. I've never been interested in working for celebs. Too much drama, too little pay. But this... THIS, THISSSSS I will do. I won't get any updates for a while, the job would begin in September, hopefully I'll find out if I get an interview in the next week or so, and will OF COURSE update you :-)

WAIT!! The awesome week doesn't end THERE!!

*Disclaimer: As much as I want to, I just can't say the name of the celeb right now, so this means I have to alter this next bit a little as well.

The call about this particular celeb/interview made me think of my ex from Orange County whom I was head over heels for in my younger years. 19-23 years old to be exact. It was off and on, and well, you know, we were young and stupid (he was more stupid than me *wink*) and just couldn't get it to work out. He worked for the record label of my potential interview/job.

For kicks I searched him out on Facebook, AGAIN. Mind you, over the past 5-6 years, I have always looked for him. Myspace, Facebook, Google, wherever. Even when I searched this time, I thought NO WAY would he be listed. After 5-6 years of searching??

HE WAS.

I also saw his brother. I added both of them. His brother added me back, and I quickly emailed him to see about "R". By the next morning, he had called me. My heart was in my stomach. It was just like my 19 year-old self reappeared, only more self aware and confident, smarter and more savvy, yet terrified as a mouse.

On his Facebook he's listed his network as Orange County, CA. So of course I figure he still lives there. That's fine, I'm glad he's well. I'm glad to even have the chance to say hello again. Happy and excited to be able to hear about his life the past 11 years.

This is how the phone call goes down (with some artistic license):
R: I was just out there visiting. I can't believe I missed you by 2 weeks.
Me: Out where, you were in New York?
R: No, I was in Orange County. I could've seen you
Me: Ummm, I don't live in Orange County anymore, I live in New York. Where do YOU live?
R: DC

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? 3 hours away? Not possible!

Long story semi-short, he drove up the next day for the weekend and it's ALL GOOD. When you see someone after 11 years it's really an amazing thing to see how you two have grown and the people you've become. It's a beautiful thing.

Today between smiles I received a phone call about ANOTHER job, my interview is tomorrow and I was told the principal will make a decision pretty much on the spot. PRAY FOR ME MY FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I get the job, I'll be taking a little road trip on Wednesday. Perhaps I'll get to see where Mr. Obama lives.

Happy Birthday to my Baby Girl!!

Tomorrow is my little Chhaya's birthday. Chhaya means "a shadow" in Hindi. She's always been my little shadow since she came home in 2000. It's crazy, because she still acts as if she's a baby. Running around the apartment playing and happy. Anyway, I just wanted to give her a little shout out on my blog since every single day she makes me smile even when all I want to do is cry.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHHAYA!

Nouveau Espérance

If you didn't immediately notice, I've decided that my poor Plain Jane blog deserved a makeover. You like??

Yesterday was so nice in NY. A little humid, but doable. Today, STEAMBATH. Why has it been so rainy this year?

I'm afraid to say that there's not much new going on. Still sending out resumes, still making calls, still searching. It's harder now, since I work all the way down on Wall Street. It's almost impossible to sneak out to an interview since they're almost exclusively in Midtown. I can no longer come in late because of a "doctor appointment". Even if I work a full 8 hours, unless I am there at 8:30am, I wont be paid for a full day. Seriously. All that said, with this rebirth of my blog, tomorrow is yet another rebirth of ME. I look at this hardship in my life as showing me what I'm really made of. It's challenging me to look within myself and become more spiritual.

I've been downloading and listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer on my iPod during my commute in the last week. He is really inspirational and motivational, and has a lot of really important things to say. I'm going to try and see him in New York City on September 30th.

I've also now moved to where Miss Staten Island sits directly behind me. If you don't feel my pain, check this out... and she DOES call EVERYONE "sweetheart". LOL!! All you have to do is imagine it 10 x's louder while popping gum.

*CLICK HERE!!*

CLICK HERE for another explanation

Umm, ya.

Anyway, I've begun my new eating journey and I'm already feeling a little better after only a few days. My goal is to get my 'unemployment weight' off. My goal is get down one full size at least by Labor Day weekend, and to get the rest off (I'm not giving you a # because I'm assuming you can do math!!) by October 1st. The Union Square farmer's market is so awesome. Tonight for dinner was a golden beet and mustard green salad with brown rice with some black beans.

Brunching, Sharpton, Punching

The last few days have been interesting to say the least. I started Friday off by going to sleep early. It was needed. Saturday was a semi relaxing day, errands and the normal weekend stuff. Saturday night Moira texted me about hanging out on Sunday.

Our initial thought was going to the beach, but I decided I could just do brunch because I needed to get home and do laundry before Paris arrives Wednesday. (Yes, the same laundry from last weekend, now doubled). We met on the Lower East Side and had a yummy brunch at Belcourt. Afterward we just walked around and window shopped, stopping for the occasional mimosa.

About 2:30pm, she decides she wants to take me to Brooklyn to her normal afternoon hangout. I said no at first, then due to the powers of Moira's persuasion, I finally caved.

We got to Habana Outpost around 3:30pm and sat down for some frozen mojitos. A few minutes later, there are big burly men, flash photography and limos. None other than Al Sharpton decided to pay a visit. He was campaigning for Brooklyn mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. Needless to say, it was interesting! I needed proof, so I quickly snapped a pic with my Blackberry.

As 8pm rolled around, I got a call from a comedian friend of mine who wanted me to go see a quick set of his at NY Comedy club. I jetted over there on the way home and had a blast. Wil Sylvince is hilarious!

This brings me to Monday morning, yes, good ole Monday. I'm at work, and in addition to all the glitz and glamour that is my "day job", I'm now told I will be needing to "punch in and out", ya, like a TIMESHEET.

Whaaaaaaaaatttttttt????????? Seriously. I mean, have I not been humbled enough by making 1/3 of my regular salary with no health benefits? Am I not allowed to keep even a shred of my pride? Maybe to those of you reading, this seems like an insignificant piece of information. I can understand that. But to me it's a huge blow. I haven't punched a time clock since I was 18 years old. It just makes me want to work even harder to get a "real" full time job that I can be proud of. After that, there is NO doubt in my mind what I'll be doing.


School.

Inspiration

I love this list. I've posted it to Facebook before, but I still like reading it over and over. I hope you enjoy and can take something from this to add to your life.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day, and while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. MEDITATE about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ’My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________ ’.

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least THREE people smile each day.

7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life is not fair, but it is still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it will not spoil the present.

14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ’In five years, will this matter?’

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD (depending on your beliefs) heals everything - but you have to ask your higher power (translate to your religion).

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night, before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You will be smiling before you know it.

Burning the Candle

A few people have noticed lately that I'm burning the candle at both ends. I won't disagree. I'm so tired that I'm a little wired. I've done a ton of travel arrangements this week, but after today, I think it'll calm down for a few days.

On to a lighter subject... When I was 20 I worked for a company called PI. We did door to door sales of entertainment tickets (I still can't believe I did that...) ANYWAY, if any of you have worked in sales, normally the office is pretty fun. A lot of us hung out outside of work, partied a lot. We had "party Fridays" where we came back to the office to basically a full bar and pizza! I wish that was the case now. But I digress. We had a pretty tight crew and some have even gone off to get married! One of the managers messaged me on Facebook a few days ago, and from that, I think I've friended 5 people. Two of whom live in New York! One of whom I'm meeting tonight for dinner and, more importantly, cocktails!

Thank you to those who said your prayers! Chrissy left the hospital yesterday and is still sick, but doing okay.

I still can't believe Paris will be here next week! It's been way too long. So excited!!!

2.5 more hours, then...
Aaaahhhhhhhh!

Basura!

Well, THAT was a waste of time! I went to a job interview Monday morning before work. My appointment was at 8:30am. I was on time. The person I was meeting wasn't. Remember, I have a day job on Wall Street that starts at 8:30am. At 9am, the woman decides to show up, only to tell me the job is TEMP. Temp for a month to "see how it goes". Seriously? I called my headhunter and let him know I was not pleased. He said he thought I knew it was temp. Riiiiiiiiight. I'm not about to give up a day job, underwhelming as it is, for an unsure thing. Needless to say I was 1 1/2 hours late for work, and they noticed. I'm on the roster for 2 more (GOOD) interviews, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get to them.

I feel like I'm trapped in a box. Trying so hard to get out, clawing the doors, digging under the walls, but getting nowhere. Maybe running in place is a better analogy. I know that I have to keep going, keep running until I reach my destination. Gotta admit I'm exhausted. I've been hearing and reading about some people who have been unemployed or underemployed for 1-2 years. That CAN'T happen to me, right? NO WAY. Some people have even stopped looking. Well I'm not 'some people'. I'm not giving up until I get what I'm worth.

I've also been speaking with my best friend from High School. I'm going to meet up with her in the next month to go wine tasting. She lives in Boston, so I'll take the bus to her and maybe we'll head someplace beautiful like Vermont. SO excited for that. In addition, I'm going to head up to Toronto in a few weeks and we'll see what happens there. ;-) Thanks for that little push, Andreen. ALSO, I have a great friend coming out next week from L.A. to visit for a bit. SO excited. Paris to NYC. :-)

Now, if I could just get all that laundry done...

Not sure about the Grandma front. She's hanging in there. I'm going to give her a call this week.

Also, if you're feeling spiritual, send out a prayer, chant, good thought, silent moment for my friend Chrissy. She has a blood clot in her lung and she's in the hospital. Chrissy rocks. Let's pray for her to get back on her feet again quickly so she can get back into the haute couture. (Ya, she's a model). To help you with your prayers, here's a pic of her. HOT right??

Life - Part II

So now it's mid-July and I'll let you in on what's happened in the past few weeks. For one thing, the weather has sucked. On another note, I've been interviewing for a position for a family and got through 2 interviews. The woman, from now on we'll call her FRAN, wanted me to come work one night after work and 1 full day so I agreed. Since I'm freelancing, I have a LITTLE freedom. I worked a full 9 hour day down on Wall Street, then shot up to Midtown and worked an additional 3 hours. The next day was 9:15am-8:30pm. I thought everything went well, and I was a little excited about getting an offer. That night walking home, I just started crying. I miss having a job in my normal profession. It had felt so good to work those few days and I realized how unhappy I was with my day job. (Or it could've been hormones).

The next day I got an email about various "concerns" that Fran had. From my experience, "concerns" are really nothing to be concerned about. They are voiced when the potential employer decides they aren't sure what they really want or need. For instance, one of my items in feedback was that I was "such a pleasure in the home, but so lovely, in fact, that I'm not sure how she'd be managing the staff". Okay, let's get something straight here, I've been managing staff for, hmmm, 12 years give or take?! I've never had one issue or problem with it, in fact I've always had pretty great experiences with staff. They call on me to this day for referrals. I let it irritate me for a moment, then after various other questions, I decided that I was no longer even going to hope for the job. If they're picking it apart with ridiculous issues, then I don't even care anymore.

Once I said, thank you for the interview, and wished them good luck with the hiring process, they called me back asking if I'd work for her part time for the summer. See, there's construction going on in their apartment, so they're moving out to LI for the summer. In my excitement for adding income and potentially setting myself up for a full time job with them come September, I agreed. When I got home, I started to have second thoughts. Can I really commute 45 mins each way for a 9 hour job 5 days a week, then work an additional 16-24 hours on top of it? In the light of day, it doesn't seem super realistic.

So this all happened last Thursday. It's Sunday now, and my cleaning lady is here doing a complete overhaul of my apartment. It feels GREAT. I've done 2 loads of laundry already and my apartment is getting SO CLEAN. The only thing I have to work on is my desk and finishing laundry. YUCK. I'm going to make an attempt to do the things Fran gave me to do, and see how it goes, but if I start getting too overwhelmed, then I'm going to have to just call it a day and let fate take me where I'm supposed to go. I do have an interview tomorrow morning before work, and I'm in line for another position as well. we'll see if either of those pan out.

I'll end this on a high note. I'm still optimistic, I still have faith that all will REALLY work out in the end for me. My cleaning lady just finished, my apartment is sparkling and I'm going to go get ready to meet Chris and a bunch of other people to go see BRUNO at Kip's Bay.

Que Belle Journee!

Life - Part I

I I think I've been putting off blogging for a little while because I've been too overwhelmed. Then so many things happened that I didn't even know if I could blog about that much. So I decided to blog in a few parts. This, clearly, is Part I.

After I was hired by the tech firm, I took a quick break and went to Las Vegas to see Alecia, get some sun and let off some steam.

I arrived on Saturday evening on time and was ready to get the evening started. We went over to Diablo's for margaritas and Mexican food. We sat at the bar and ordered a pitcher, and a (very) drunk guy was sitting at the end of the bar. He proceeded to try and chat up Alecia, and next thing we knew, our pitchers, dinners, everything was paid for. The manager must've seen that he was pretty inebriated and came over to make sure the drunk wasn't bothering us too much. When I looked up at the exchange, I realized the manager was a friend of mine I haven't seen, and rarely spoken to, since I moved from L.A. to NYC! It was soooooooooo cool to see him. He got us a great table and after we were done, we headed off to finish an evening of drinking.

We had some great sushi, relaxed by some pools and saw the Criss Angel show "Believe" at the Luxor. Then I was ready to get back to New York and start on my new path.

After about a week of working I realized that maybe this wasn't the position I had hoped it would be. Sure it was a possible new path for me and I'm open to that, but I guess working for 30% of the salary I made last year was a bit of a blow to the ego. Of course, the possibility lies within me to raise my income through the sales, but I'm not sure if this is the type of work I'm supposed to be doing. I have kept sending out resumes since I began there, and I guess you'll read how that's going in the next 'part'. The great thing about at least making a little more $ than when on unemployment, is I have a little more freedom to socialize. For example, Julie and I got GREAT tickets to see Britney Spears in August. SO EXCITED for that! I know, do I think I'm 12 years old?? LOL.

When It Rains It Pours

Wow, what a day!! I just got back from Wall Street, where I had an interview earlier this afternoon. Originally it was for a part time assistant role to the owner of a technology company. By the time I left, it had become a p/t sales, p/t network marketing coordinator, p/t project manager, p/t PA position, which equals 1 full time job. The money on the outset isn't fantastic, but what attracted me was the opportunity. The base salary itself won't be the bulk of my pay after 3-4 months. I'll be making residual income on my sales which will eventually put me above what I was making at my last full time position where I put in a minimum of 50 hours per week. The partners I met were awesome, and I'm really looking forward to learning a lot. I start next Thursday!

I was online yesterday and put an airline ticket (using my miles) to Vegas on hold. I had it in my head that I was getting this job, no matter what. I did! So today I paid the fees on it and I head out on Saturday, FIRST CLASS! I'll be staying with Alecia, so basically my airline ticket and place to stay total $100!! I'm REALLY looking forward to recharging and letting off some steam and soaking up some sun before heading back to full time work. All of this is so exciting!! On top of that, my Scottish girls are in Vegas right now too!!!

Everything always works out in the end, I had faith that I just had to keep pressing on and the right opportunity would find me. What's funny, is that during my interview today, I received 7, yes SEVEN voicemails regarding other jobs. I thought about it for a minute, and decided to decline them. I like the people at this job and it seems like a great opportunity to make something really big happen. If I threw that out the window for a "possibility", I'd never recover.

SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!

See you Saturday Alecia!!