I just realized it’s been nearly 2 weeks since I’ve written in my blog. I want to say that I’ve been crazy busy and haven’t had time to write, because that’s certainly how it feels. I kept thinking about updating it, but something always got in the way and I could never find the time. However when I try and think back to what occupied my time, I can’t come up with anything of great significance.
One thing that does amaze me though, is that now that I’m off work, some people assume that I’m sitting around doing nothing all day, and that I have all this leisure time on my hands. I’ve even had people ask me “so what do you do all day, aren’t you bored?”. My god no !! These must be those same nutty people that win the lottery and still go back to work for fear of being bored … you know those freaks. I’m actually amazed at how quickly my day fills up, and I wonder how on earth I got it all accomplished when I had a full time job. There still is never enough time in the day to get it all done.
Unfortunately nothing to report on the house sale; I had several showings the first few days, a very unproductive open house over the weekend, and no action since then. However I did have an agent inspection today and now another showing tomorrow, which I suspect is the same agent, so that’s a good sign. I suppose I’m looking for miracles thinking I should have all these offers pouring in after less than 2 weeks on the market; we’ll call it being anxious rather than impatient ;-)
More good news though … I did get to cross off another big item on my to-do list, creating my functional resume, and that task was a lot harder than I anticipated. I had done my regular, chronological resume shortly after I lost my job; but applying for jobs in the health and fitness industry require me to submit a functional resume, slightly different from the version we’re used to seeing.
So the goods news is not only that I got this task completed, but that I had to as I applied for my first job geared towards my new career !! It seems my blog has turned out to be useful, as a former coworker and friend that reads it regularly got wind of an opportunity and passed it on to me … thanks Linda !!!
To say I’m excited about this job is an understatement. I wanted to tell them in my cover letter that this was my dream job, but I didn’t. Enthusiasm is one thing, that statement may have been going a bit overboard. The job is for a large insurance company that has their own gym in their workplace for their employees – the title is Health and Wellness Coordinator. This is really everything I could possibly want in a job in this field. And while I’m excited about this opportunity in particular, I’m trying not to get overly excited about it. My chances are slim to say the least; I don’t have … well, any of the qualifications they requested in the job posting. Okay that’s not entirely true, but I don’t have the major qualifications. I still applied of course, because as they say in the New York Lotto commercials … hey, you never know.
As the title of my blog today states however, I have been presented with some obstacles of sorts that are trying to sway my psyche by tempting me with other more traditional, stable opportunities. A couple of weeks ago, another friend presented me with a job opportunity where she works. This company is a major player in the Accounting Auditor field, and the job was for an Accounting Manager. I don’t know why, but I sent in my resume, then did a brief phone interview, and then they asked me in for another in-person interview. I agreed at first, then after some major decision making in my head, I called and cancelled the appointment.
I mentioned this to another friend at lunch one day last week, and she told me I was crazy :( She said I was nuts to pass up a good opportunity that I likely had a very good chance of getting, especially when jobs are so hard to come by these days, and especially to give it up for something that is very risky and likely very hard to make a decent living at … damn her for putting those thoughts in my head !! Am I crazy? Was I a fool to pass up this opportunity ?? I dunno. All I know was that if I went to the interview and they offered me the job I’d be tempted, and if I took the job, I would never realize my dream. People have told me that perhaps I need to do that just to tide me over until I complete my courses, then perhaps I can start by doing some of the fitness stuff part-time, but personally I think that’s just a cop out. I know deep down inside of me that if I do that, I’ll get in that comfort zone again, and I’ll never complete these courses and will just live out the rest of my days in a job that I hate, just because it’s there and it’s easy and it’s comfortable. I’ve been avoiding even looking for jobs like that for this exact reason.
I think I just need to avoid these negative people. No offence to my friends that are telling me this, I know their intentions are good, but I think some people are just risk takers and some are not. Those non-risk takers think much like my father and the advice he repeated to me and my siblings since we were kids. You finish high school, you get a job, and you stay there forever. Although I decided on my own and went anyways, post-secondary education was not expected of me. Being happy, enjoying your work, or feeling fulfilled are all just pipe dreams and inconsequential. If you find a stable job that pays half decent, stay there forever until you die. I think I've been fighting this theory unconsciously my whole life. With the exception of my last job that I held for 11 years, my resume is thickly padded with my previous jobs, as there were many and I changed them often. I left those jobs for various reasons, but it always boiled down to me not being happy or fulfilled. I don’t blame dad, he’s just a victim of a time when this was the norm, so I tried, in vain, to explain to him that these days we don’t have to settle, we have options, and being happy is one of them !!
Then just this week I got another message from a friend and reader of my blog, offering another job opportunity as a Controller. This one however, I may consider, because it’s temporary. The job is actually replacing her, as she is on leave right now, so they are looking to hire a temp until she returns to work. I corresponded with the owner of the company via email yesterday, and will be calling him and possibly meeting to discuss the opportunity further. He is aware that I’m not really looking for an Accounting job and of my intentions to change careers, so it won’t hurt to discuss things, and maybe even arrange some part-time work ?? We’ll see I guess.
I suppose under normal circumstances I’d be thrilled that these job opportunities are coming my way without any real effort on my part, but right now they are just blurring my vision and messing with my head. I need to look past these obstacles, be strong and keep my eye on the prize !!
Stay Strong Cuz!
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