Truth be told, the past weeks have been filled with a fair amount of stress. Not JUST the stuff at work (I remain not-laid-off for now), but finances as well. Having just done my taxes I've come to the grim realization that this new job, while fun, has not been anywhere near as lucrative as I had hoped: I've made only 2/3 as much in 2008 as in 2007 AND 2006... but somehow didn't ratchet down the expenses, so I'm in a bit of a hole. And if you haven't noticed, 2009 isn't looking like a banner year for people doing sales work. If I keep my job, I'll still not be able to make as much as I did the previous years. The dream just isn't panning out as I had hoped.
But I'm going to work my way out of this pit, one way or another. I have always kept as an ace in the hole my ability to DO work rather than just SELL work, and I see enough stuff out there to know that a Jimmy could definitely step out and be employed. Things are certainly not bad enough for me to "jump from" here - but there's not a compelling "jump to" option in place. Plus I have some bonuses due in May, so there's no incentive to leave before then. Add to this that my potential severance is several MONTHS, there's little incentive to leave without being PUSHED.
So my challenge is to settle into my level... make due with the income I DO have, work with what I can do in this job for a few months... Come to peace with the situation much as I had to come to peace with coming BACK to this company a year ago, after having quit them. All the while feathering my nest preparing for the next great idea/option. You hear me universe? I'm listening.
I can leave this stress a the door, not bring it home, and seize the opportunities. Give them 100% while there, and 0% while home. Write some music. Steal some time when on business trips to visit the Muir Woods. Eat some food. Practice my workouts. Play with my kids and have some laughs.
Speaking of the kids: Tonight it was revealed that at Bella's school they sometimes play Dance Dance Revolution during Gym class. Naturally I got out our dance mats and Bella and I cut a rug to "Butterfly"... With my training, she'll be the best DDR mover in her class. If we can get Isaac from dancing in circles around us.
For the non-Facebookers, there's a great meme going around:
CREATE YOUR BAND NAME & ALBUM COVER:
To Do This
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
Here is my masterpiece:
2 comments:
Ah! We were talking - after our show last night - about the brutal realities of the world that the Church dealt with: you could believe that your suffering counted for something if you were building another, less cruel life for you and your family on a spiritual level. So many people were dirt poor. And Lent came at a perfect time: it was the time when the families ran out of food entirely. The stores from winter were gone, the animals needed to be fed first, nothing was growing - yet. So it made sense to turn it into a ritual of fasting. The book "The Survivor's Club" is really interesting - worth checking out of the library.
I believe that your children and Carrie's will have a better world because of what we are going through now...... But we can only make this happen if we face what is happening. This ain't no party, this ain't no foolin' around.
Conversation last night: did you know that this time is being referred to as "the gig economy"?
Well, as long as I don't have to dress up in a Barney suit....
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