Desperate times call for desperate measures

So I just made a "girls night out" date with a mom from my kids school. This in of itself is no great feat I know. But it sort of is for me...you see this mom wears Micky Mouse Sweatshirts. I've always fancied myself to be a part of the "in" crowd. Keeping up with the Joneses was my national pastime/obsession. The Aquarius in me always marched to the beat of a different drum mind you, but I had no problem driving fancy cars, wearing fancy jeans and dining at fancy restaurants. All of this has changed for me since moving to Massachusetts. People just aren't as nice and inviting as the rest of us Southern folks. It's been 3 solid years here and I have only connected with one other person...but she moved and is now gone. I also maintain that my friendlessness is not from lack of effort. Sure, I'm busy, 2 kids, hubby, house, full time job, I don't have much time and if I do make time, I want to pee or something equally as pampering....but if someone wanted to be my friend, I would be sure to also fit that in to my day. Which brings me to my own mommy play date. This woman wants to be my friend. I can just tell. She's showed up to any event I've invited her to, sometimes the only person to show up in the case of my art show a few months ago, and the other night, in the middle of the early childhood education pot luck dinner she saw me and lit up like a Christmas tree. She gave me a big hug and said how much she missed seeing me around. (minor point I left out of the story is that our kids were in the same class last year and over the summer but have since been separated.) I have sort of been unconsciencly keeping her at arms length I think because I still battle my shallow demons. But it felt good to have someone seek me out, genuinely care about how I'm doing and where I've been, and sincerely express an interest in getting together and then following up on it. So universe, listen up...I'm no longer too cool for school...I want to be friends with good people who care about me and my family...Micky Mouse sweatshirts notwithstanding. Now, don't get me wrong, I will not be busting out any pumpkin and scarecrow printed turtlenecks to strut around town in...but I will no longer hold it against you if you do.

Same but Different

So I am not totally surprised at the fact that I have once again fallen off the face of the blogging earth. Life has been dealing it's usual crazy hand to me and I've been winning! While I realize that "Global Corporate Recruiter" was not on my prior post's top ten jobs list, I found myself eagerly flying to Charlotte, NC earlier this week to interview. A major bank wants to beef up their Talent Acquisition group. The experience in of itself was amazing, a hotel room, a good dinner at a smoky bar, a relaxing piece of cheesecake in bed while simultaneously watching Something's Gotta Give, The Secret, and The Red Sox...bath's, more room service in the morning, nobody needing anything...the list goes on and on. There is a part of me that doesn't even care if I get the job..,just to have pampered myself for one night was enough to renew and sustain me.

However, I must be sending some pretty hefty vibes out into the universe (yes, some of this is based on me watching The Secret)...because when I arrived back home there was another company waiting in my voicemail that is also looking for a cool mix of recruiting and HR...what gives? I've been spinning in this vortex of "I want to..." insert change, be, become and suddenly all in one week 2 pretty sexy jobs appear out of nowhere. Basically dropped on my lap, beat me over the head and say...see...you can have it all.

So now I wait...hopefully I'll get 2 incredible offers to choose from and I'll be on my merry way.

Back to the interview in Charlotte for just a moment...the great Blogging Critic of the world, my husband...doesn't believe I am funny enough in my posts. Each day he returns home from work to either inform me that I have not written a blog today (duh) or that I am too doom in gloom. "you are funny" he says...so here goes, an attempt to tell a funny story in written words. I fancy myself as more as the Thespian type...I like to act things out to convey the true color of the event...but hubby seems to think I can pull this off. My favorite game is charades. Ok, enough stalling.

So I am in Charlotte right, and I am walking from the hotel to the interview and it's about 8:30 am and already 100% humidity (didn't think about that when I straightened my super curly hair) and probably 89 degrees. I hustle to the interview because I spotted a jewelerly cart on the street and wasted too much time going ga ga over her pieces, anyway...I run into the building where I am met by the biggest, baddest security lady I have ever seen. She tells me to line myself up with her camera so that she can take my picture. I am distracted because we are standing right in front of 4 sets of elevators and the morning robots are trying to get to their desks. People are whizzing by me and I kept turning to check people out. I am also trying to put my ID back in my bag and next thing I know, the bid bad security lady hands me my badge. I said, wait, don't you need to take my picture? She says, I did. I look at my photo and I literally look like I am from a family of praying mantises. My hand is crooked back like my thumb is tied to my wrist, my suit coat is all pulled open, my hair is frizzified and my head is turned gawking at the people on the elevators. Great. So I brush it off, step on to the elevator and proceed to the 3rd floor. There i am met by a set of 2 double glass doors. I'm thinking, come on, is this Fort Knox? Anyway, I forget the instructions I was given....I think it was supposed to wave down the receptionist who will buzz me in...so I start with a friendly, tap tap on the glass. She rolls her eyes at me and the buzzer goes off. I pull the door...my arm almost falls out of it's socket. I'm thinking..pretty tough door...I pull and pull and pull. I look at the door again and realize it says push...I push the door...but I also didn't realize that grumpy receptionist needs to buzz me again...that thrilled her...so she buzzes and I push the door and am met by my next opponent, the second glass door. It occurs to me that is probably a test and part of the interview.... so I start panicking. I push the second glass door...I go flying into it like a bug on a windshield on a summer night....smash! The door does not open. I stop, look a the door, and see that it says "pull." Ahh, such trickery to enter the golden temple of banking. Super pissed receptionist has to buzz me yet again and I enter the promise land. I am sweating bullets my this point. Not only am I 30 seconds behind schedule, but the weather, badge picture, and door test have proved to be worthy advisories. I am nervous about the actual questions and I have 8 people yet to meet. I'm escorted to the conference room where it must be 2000 degrees with blaring over head lighting. I'm thinking that I may faint. A friend, and reason for this interview, pokes his head in to check on me and also notes the volcano like heat. He shared with me that it was hot on his interview here and that he believes the AC is motion activated. Of course...why didn't I think of that?

So I start flapping my arms like a damn crazy chicken, begging the heat gods to have mercy on me. Sweat is forming on my newly waxed lip and I am beyond nervous.

Sure enough though....my friend was right, the AC kicked in, my interviews started sweat free and the rest of the day was great.

So there baby, no more doom and gloom...are you happy? I am.

Totally Distracted

I am back from a wonderful (and illness free-yeah!) vacation. It's been a rough transition back. I had the kids all to myself the week before vacation (to insure my sick free stay) and then the whole week on vacation. I have a sort of kid hangover I suppose. It doesn't help that I am met with "the whole school has been sick" the first day back and that the client I support got bought out....but even still I am having a hard time getting all the synapses to fire. I wish there was a job out there that paid me to decorate, be with the kids, cook for my family and read blogs all day. I really need to try to refocus on the good old career search but my energy has been sucked into the cold and flu anxiety ridden season vortex instead. Ugg, I frustrate myself with this obsessive compulsive thinking. Why can't I obsess over watching reruns of Melrose Place or running or something as equally arbitrary as sickness. I would love to explore all of this in a past life hypnoses...I bet ya something horrific happened to me as a kid...or maybe it's the fact that I have yet to deal with my current life's tragedies. I've looked at six ways to Sunday and just can't seem to figure out why I get so tripped up. Is it the IUD? Is it the shift in hormones after back to back pregnancy and breastfeeding both for well over a year? I could go on for years...

Well anyway, I just started reading Eat, Pray, Love and I'm finding all sorts of passages to highlight. My favorite right now is " I will not harbour negative thoughts" ...that's it! I just came up with my new full time job, "I will not harbour negative thoughts." I wonder how much I'll earn? Seriously though, here is a list of the things I would like to do next-keep in mind that I am an IT recruiter with an English degree and need to pull my weight financially in our family, it's no wonder I am in a conundrum:)

1. Work on a horse farm
2. Be a postpartum Douala
3. Yoga instructor for kids
4. Writer
5. Decorator
6. Own my own errand running business
7. Live music coffee house owner
8. Wine and Cheese shop owner
9. Nursery designer
10. Photographer

Anyone else out there make a huge leap of faith? If so, would love to hear from you! My synapse's need a jump start!