So much to tell so little time. Okay not really. So I did the business thing for a while. Some aspects were great, but it’s way too much for one person to handle. Mostly the money was not coming in quick enough…or enough of it. So had to start working a steady job again. Now not to say that I’m giving up on the idea at all.
Having said that I did a lot of soul searching for the 9 months I was off. And came up with the idea that if I can do a job that I got to do all the things I love for 40 hours a week M-F it would be perfect. Now the question was…does this job exist. I didn’t think so. You are always having to give up something. Well then this opportunity came up. I’ve been there a month and am just starting to understand the reports and the business overall. And I have gotten to plan some events too. So it’s good all around.

Now what the heck did I do in the 9 months I was taking my mini retirement. As I posted a few months ago, my wonderful cousin Dan and I went down to Miami and Key west for a week to visit his awesome mom (my awesome Aunt). We then took a road trip east of the Mississippi to Kentucky for Christmas with the family. (Even went to the Oz museum in Kansas!)

Started the job hunt in January which produced many lessons on the state of the human race. Then March hit. Got to go on yet another trip, this time back to New Jersey for my Grandmother’s funeral. I might add that it was also the 1 year anniversary of my Dad’s death. I’m going to start on the book here shortly…DRAMA! At this same time my Aunt in Minnesota took a turn for the worse and we said our good-byes the day of my grandmothers funeral. It was a totally stressful and emotional month.

Came back and this job pretty much just fell in my lap. I was going through a series of interviews for what I would have considered my dream job (that turned out to be a total psycho deal). But then I got my current job. Now a few weeks into this job my Aunt up in Minnesota passed away. Thankfully I was able to take off from work to go up there.

And here we are! What I’ve realized is that life is too short to be unhappy with something you spend most of your week doing. The money may be good, but if your miserable, is it worth it? If it’s affecting your health, is it worth it? I don’t think so. So over the 9 month hiatus…I chose happiness.

So I talked before about this Event Business and what I was going to do with that.  Well, I still am not sure.  I mean I got a few leads which ended up going nowhere.  I get asked about venues but people don’t want to actually pay. 

I was on line and found a freelancing site that listed all types of jobs.  So I started playing with that, again no serious leads.  I did get a job training someone on WebEx.  But that was about it.  Not too much out there for wedding planning and parties.  So as I’m looking through the site, I’m noticing all these jobs for something called a Virtual Assistant.  Hmmmm.  So I decide to change it up a bit.  I create VIP Virtual Solutions.  I would incorporate not only Administrative jobs, but Webinars, Social Media and Event Planning.  Sort of covers everything.  I was going to keep Merry We Meet but it didn’t seem to fit if I was going to be doing some of this administrative stuff.

Again had a few leads, did a few odd jobs here and there.  Then between the November trip and Christmas, I didn’t take any jobs.  So January came around and I’m caught between looking for a full time job to go to and taking a virtual job.  The thing I struggle with is the virtual jobs aren’t guaranteed.  They typically don’t pay all that well.  So it’s not real stable.  So at this point everything is sort of on hold until I see if I get a few jobs I’ve interviewed for.  If nothing happens by March 1st then I’m going to press on with the virtual job direction.  Everything happens for a reason, so we’ll see what the powers that be have in store for me!

So what the heck have I been doing since October?  My wonderful cousin and I went down to Miami Beach and Key West (to visit his mom, my aunt) in November.  I have to say it was one of the best times ever.  I just always have so much fun with him!

We went to visit family in Kentucky in December.  Had a super good time there as well.  Always seem to have a good time around the family.  I have to say from being an only child and marrying into a big family it is just a whole lot of fun.  I just wish we lived closer.  I would love to hang out with my sister in laws and nieces and nephews a lot more!

So I was sick from Christmas until about 2 days ago.  Still not 100% but I did go to the gym yesterday and today.  So slowly getting my butt back in gear.  Since I left my job in August I am down 26 pounds.  Not as much as I would like, but it’s better than nothing.  They say slow and steady stays off longer.  And boy has it been slow!  Now that the holidays and all my introspective drama is over, maybe I can get that to move a little faster.

Speaking of introspective drama.  It may seem like I’ve been sitting around doing nothing for 6 months.  But besides the few odd jobs last year and “the Job hunt” this year so far…I’ve actually spent a lot of time figuring out myself.  I had a bit of a breakdown…I turned 43 in December….First birthday with no parents….OMG I’m middle aged and just not anywhere where I think I should be.  (Not that I knew where I wanted to be at this point in my life)  You know I never really had a plan.  Maybe that’s part of the problem.  I just always kind of just floated and went where ever what I was thinking at the moment brought me.  Not saying that it hasn’t worked, but what do you expect when you aren’t focused at all in life.  I still haven’t figured out if that’s a bad thing or not.  So I’m trying to figure out a plan now.  What do I want, where do I want to go, what do I want to do.  So far I’ve come up with:  I want to be happy.  So.  that narrows it down right? 

Well I can’t very well just start where I am.  Like any good story, I have to give a little bit of history to how I got to where I am! Now I’m not going to go back to the very beginning…that would just be completely dull and boring!  So lets just go back about 6 years or so.

I had been doing administrative work.  Always seemed to have had the role of Office Manager, Executive Assistant, and the one in charge of all company events.  Well not to say that I didn’t love what I did.  I mean there is something about being in charge and running the office and some upper manager’s desk and life.  But because I’m the way  I am I figured I should do more.  This also stems from the fact that I get bored very easily, which I think is why I did so well in this role as everything always changes!  After many conversations with my mom, she kept bringing up this Wedding Planner idea.  Now mind you she has been pushing and trying to sell this to me for years.  I always kind of dismissed her or humored her and would talk for hours about “the plan.”

So one day I thought, well, I have been putting together meetings and movie premieres, big wig visits, company retreats and all sorts of parties and meetings for years.  I realized that it was my favorite part of the job.  I mean “here’s your budget, make something fabulous happen.”  Okay!  How fun is this!  the day of the event you run around like a crazy person, make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, get pulled in 100 different directions, deal with last minute issues….it was wonderful!  And at the end of the event, you would go to some party afterwards or sit and bask in the glory of pulling it all off despite all that happened!

I had gotten hired with a company as an Event Manager for web based events.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but it would give me a different view and knowledge of a different type of event. But with the video portion and the complexity of doing a regular on site event with an off site attendance was a twist. I started getting my ducks in a row to start my own business.  Brainstormed a name, a plan, and my timeline.  I was all set!  I had been attending Bridal Shows networking within the industry.  It was January 2008 and I had just gotten my business name registered and was “official.”  Then 2 days later my mother passed away.  Everything I had worked for seemed to not be important any more.  Being an only child, I was now in charge of my Mom’s estate.  Not exactly the type of event I was wanting to plan at all.

It took me a year before I would even look at all that my mom and I had come up with.  I was on the fence.  Do I let it die with her…I mean how can I go on with this without her.  So I played with it off and on for 3 years.  I was so conflicted.  I doubted myself and it was not looking good.

Then about a year ago I decided that I would put forth an effort and move forward.  I mean it’s what she would tell me I should do.  So in January 2012 I decided to revamp and move forward with all of this.  I did redesign the logo and over all feel.  I added some things that I would offer.  But because I was working my real job 50-60 hours a week, I really had no time to devote to this.

Dad passed away in March which totally made me realize that life is too short.  I mean only child, both parents gone.  I was next!   In June I decided that I needed to make a change.  If I really wanted to do this, and not have that “what if” on my mind I would need to put some time into it.  My job was not going to allow for this.  So, with my very supportive husband, I quit the end of the summer and started to figure out what direction I really wanted to take.

So for the last 3 months I’ve been revamping, learning, researching, deciding.  It took me a month to decompress from the schedule I had been working.  Another month to train myself to see if I can’t learn to put myself first. And this most recent month to start moving forward on my plan.

Of course my plan is not finalized…it’s going to be moving target…and I’m sure it will evolve and change daily.  But it will be exciting and interesting to see where it all leads to!

So here we are.  Almost 3 months after I have made one of the biggest decisions of my life.  That really sounds more dramatic than it is….

I quit my corporate job to try to see what I can do on my own.  I’m still trying to figure out the exact direction I want to go in.  I’ve made the list of “things to do” ….because anyone who knows me knows it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t have a list of some kind!

I have been toying with my new / old business, starting a new business or seeing how I can incorporate everything I want to do here.  So I’m taking until the end of the year to determine my fate.  The more research I do on things the more complex yet exact my list becomes.  Which I think is a good and bad thing.

My problem is that there are so many things I want to do that when people ask me what I want to do or like, there are just way too many things to come up with.

So as  I come up with my ultimate plan…both personal and professional, I have this most wonderful man in my life who is being so patient and understanding with me and letting me “find myself.”
Now I realized that I created this blog almost a year ago…if that gives any indication on how I keep going around in circles!  But now that I’m not being pulled in 500 different directions, maybe I can focus on one direction and stick with it.
And so the story begins.