The days are passing
Yes, the days are passing. In that interminably slow but far too fast fashion. The days themselves drag by, but then I look at the date and realize we've been here for nearly three months. Shit! How did that happen?? And I'm still not working? Stress, stress, stress. Let go of the stress, let go of the stress, let go of the stress. It's this cycle that is counterproductive to changing the circumstances, so I'm bobbing between the anxiety of being unemployed and an overcompensating positivity. I'm reading a book by Daniel Pink right now called "To Sell is Human". It points out that selling, whether in the traditional salesman stream of work or otherwise, is now an important part of all of nine out of ten jobs. "Moving people" or "non-sales selling" he calls it. As a fundraiser, my job has, in fact, been selling. I've been very aware of it and have on more than one occasion likened my professional position to that of a used car salesman and all of the smarminess associated with that line of work (despite the fact that one of my friends, in fact, used to sell used cars and she is as far away from smarmy or the used car salesman stereotype as one can get). Anyway, this book points out some useful, modern techniques to non-sales selling and reassures that sales has grown far beyond that old institution.
This is all helpful because I had decided that if I wasn't working by February, I'd have to start applying for fundraising positions. Hello February, you came quicker than I would have preferred. The first fundraising position application has already gone out. And this book is helping me to feel better about the applications to follow. I have more than eight applications out at the moment that I'm still waiting to hear back on. Most have been out for well over a month. I am on a much narrower timeline than most human resources departments, it would seem. I've been turned down for four positions so far, though that wasn't unexpected. Those roles were a reach at best, but worth the effort. Still not confidence boosting. Even worse, I've been on two informational interviews lately and although the meetings were good meetings, they resulted in nothing more than suggestions to apply for entry-level positions. Both of those meetings left me in tears afterwards, ego deflated. Two executives that were impressed enough to hire me, but only while disregarding my last ten years of professional experience. Disheartening.
As if that wasn't enough to push me towards the anxious side, one of our laptops crashed last week and then I dropped my iPhone on a run this morning, cracking the screen. Is the universe trying to tell me something? Get off the computer? It sends you into a downward spiral? Oh yeah, I knew that already.
Pink's book also recommends his own version of the ABCs of selling. Attunement (listening to what the client wants), Buoyancy (keeping spirits up before, during and after sales and rejections) and Clarity (I haven't read this part yet, but I feel like it must be pretty straight-forward--ha!). So I've been taking the buoyancy and focusing on trying to get this back into focus. There's a 3:1 positivity to negativity ratio that you're supposed to keep in sales, and in life in general. Time to get my ratio back on target. And to remember that not every minute of every day has been spent mourning my unemployed status. :) We've kept busy!
We finished a few DIY projects. I finished the second coat of the horrible red finish a month ago, but we were still looking for cute, affordable knobs. And after my first informational interview ended in a bit of a bust, I took to walking around downtown and into Anthropologie, what I have discovered is a dangerously beautiful store. Along with clothes and random kitchen accessories, they also have a few hanging fixtures and...knobs! I found some funky ones for $3 and voila! our dresser became a finished piece of art! From beginning to end:
Didn't really take a "before" picture. Wasn't thinking about it. Also, we made nightstands! I found a DIY recipe sort of thing on Apartment Therapy and we totally made them! It cost around $60 for both of them, not including the stain which we already had from the dresser incident.
Hooray for having balconies that get a lot of sun and being able to do DIY on our own balcony! Also, the little earring hanger was another DIY project I did with my friend Libby. That picture frame on the finished nightstand was an ugly brown/red weird plastic thing with a picture of a monkey that we got at Value Village. Golden spray paint can do wondrous things.
I've also started crocheting a baby blanket for a friend I just found out is pregnant. It feels so good to make things with my hands. There must be something in my genes that craves creation and handiwork. Time to find my next craft. And to officially start a craft night with friends.
Aside from crafting, there has also been a few celebrations. First, Marcus and I celebrated our six year anniversary. Pancakes for breakfast, study time for the better part of the day (our version of the work day!) then got dressed up and went down to Ray's on the waterside in Ballard for happy hour and a lovely sunset.
Then, in the quick spate of celebrations in the first part of the year, we followed up two days later with Australia Day. A bunch of our friends came to celebrate with us at the Aussie/Kiwi bar down in Ballard. Marcus got to see what a Foster's beer is (they don't actually have them in Australia).
Then not long after that was the Superbowl! The Seahawks, for the first time ever, won the Superbowl!!! The city threw a parade for the victors the Wednesday after the win and Seattle saw its largest turnout in history. Over 700,000 fans lined the streets of the city to celebrate their champions. We tried to catch a bus in, but in typical Seattle public transportation failure, the buses were all full, passing us by and leaving us in a transportation lurch. I thought about hitchhiking, but we ended up hopping in the car and trying our luck in finding a parking space downtown. Would you know, we got princess parking? Seriously, two blocks away from the parade! Our friend Soo invited us to watch with her and her fiancée Seth at Seth's sister's apartment which was conveniently located right on the parade route. We got stuck in a sea of fans and got sardined in Westlake Center for a while. Eventually, like salmon swimming upstream, we made our way out and got to fully appreciate the celebration. In below freezing weather!!
I'm holding two cups of warm liquid, trying to keep myself warm.
We've also experienced some of the winter weather. In Seattle style, there were a few days where we got a lot of rain. And we witnessed again the incompetence of our real estate agents at keeping the property functional.
It's not all doom and gloom here, we're staying active and keeping our spirits up. This current state of being unemployed--it's temporary. At some point in the very near future it will change. Quickly. Then I'll be in the regular daily grind, dreading my alarm clock going off in the morning and looking forward all day to the arrival of 5 or 6 o'clock. I should appreciate this time while we have it. We're both overachievers and perfectionists, we don't like being idle. Marcus is far from idle, he's working his ass off so he can pass the bar at the end of the month. Which he will. I'm working on networking and meeting with anyone who can possibly introduce me to someone working at a company I want to work for. At least now I have a list. There are a few organizations at the top of that list where I do have connections. One of the nice thing about Seattle is that people want to connect you! Whenever I meet with anyone, they always wrack their brains trying to figure out who they should introduce me to. I don't even have to ask, it's an automatic. That's something to be valued, and I certainly do value it.
This will happen. I'm listening to upper podcasts every morning when I run and I've started listening to "The Secret" again during my stretching time. It helped me focus my energy once, and it'll certainly do it again. I suppose it's like my version of prayer--I do it when I'm really in need rather than on a regular basis. Well, I'm building on my regularity and healthy habits. Anyway, this is where I'm at. Trying to keep my energy high. It will happen. I will get a job. Marcus will get a job. And life will become normal once again! Normalcy, I'm looking forward to seeing your face again.
This is all helpful because I had decided that if I wasn't working by February, I'd have to start applying for fundraising positions. Hello February, you came quicker than I would have preferred. The first fundraising position application has already gone out. And this book is helping me to feel better about the applications to follow. I have more than eight applications out at the moment that I'm still waiting to hear back on. Most have been out for well over a month. I am on a much narrower timeline than most human resources departments, it would seem. I've been turned down for four positions so far, though that wasn't unexpected. Those roles were a reach at best, but worth the effort. Still not confidence boosting. Even worse, I've been on two informational interviews lately and although the meetings were good meetings, they resulted in nothing more than suggestions to apply for entry-level positions. Both of those meetings left me in tears afterwards, ego deflated. Two executives that were impressed enough to hire me, but only while disregarding my last ten years of professional experience. Disheartening.
As if that wasn't enough to push me towards the anxious side, one of our laptops crashed last week and then I dropped my iPhone on a run this morning, cracking the screen. Is the universe trying to tell me something? Get off the computer? It sends you into a downward spiral? Oh yeah, I knew that already.
Pink's book also recommends his own version of the ABCs of selling. Attunement (listening to what the client wants), Buoyancy (keeping spirits up before, during and after sales and rejections) and Clarity (I haven't read this part yet, but I feel like it must be pretty straight-forward--ha!). So I've been taking the buoyancy and focusing on trying to get this back into focus. There's a 3:1 positivity to negativity ratio that you're supposed to keep in sales, and in life in general. Time to get my ratio back on target. And to remember that not every minute of every day has been spent mourning my unemployed status. :) We've kept busy!
We finished a few DIY projects. I finished the second coat of the horrible red finish a month ago, but we were still looking for cute, affordable knobs. And after my first informational interview ended in a bit of a bust, I took to walking around downtown and into Anthropologie, what I have discovered is a dangerously beautiful store. Along with clothes and random kitchen accessories, they also have a few hanging fixtures and...knobs! I found some funky ones for $3 and voila! our dresser became a finished piece of art! From beginning to end:
Didn't really take a "before" picture. Wasn't thinking about it. Also, we made nightstands! I found a DIY recipe sort of thing on Apartment Therapy and we totally made them! It cost around $60 for both of them, not including the stain which we already had from the dresser incident.
Hooray for having balconies that get a lot of sun and being able to do DIY on our own balcony! Also, the little earring hanger was another DIY project I did with my friend Libby. That picture frame on the finished nightstand was an ugly brown/red weird plastic thing with a picture of a monkey that we got at Value Village. Golden spray paint can do wondrous things.
I've also started crocheting a baby blanket for a friend I just found out is pregnant. It feels so good to make things with my hands. There must be something in my genes that craves creation and handiwork. Time to find my next craft. And to officially start a craft night with friends.
Aside from crafting, there has also been a few celebrations. First, Marcus and I celebrated our six year anniversary. Pancakes for breakfast, study time for the better part of the day (our version of the work day!) then got dressed up and went down to Ray's on the waterside in Ballard for happy hour and a lovely sunset.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Wallingford called Cantinetta. Delicious food, good wine, friendly service, and particularly friendly bartenders. I had something called gnudi for the first time, which is like fluffy, parmesan gnocchi. It was the best gnocchi-type food I've EVER had, I couldn't believe how tasty it was. And so filling I didn't have room for dessert. There's a first time for everything. It was a nice way to celebrate the completion of our sixth year together and especially nice to get out and try something new! We've been tightening the belt lately and confining ourselves to DIY meals, too, in an attempt to make ourselves feel better about not working. It was a great night out together. Happy six years, Mr. Montana.Then, in the quick spate of celebrations in the first part of the year, we followed up two days later with Australia Day. A bunch of our friends came to celebrate with us at the Aussie/Kiwi bar down in Ballard. Marcus got to see what a Foster's beer is (they don't actually have them in Australia).
Then not long after that was the Superbowl! The Seahawks, for the first time ever, won the Superbowl!!! The city threw a parade for the victors the Wednesday after the win and Seattle saw its largest turnout in history. Over 700,000 fans lined the streets of the city to celebrate their champions. We tried to catch a bus in, but in typical Seattle public transportation failure, the buses were all full, passing us by and leaving us in a transportation lurch. I thought about hitchhiking, but we ended up hopping in the car and trying our luck in finding a parking space downtown. Would you know, we got princess parking? Seriously, two blocks away from the parade! Our friend Soo invited us to watch with her and her fiancée Seth at Seth's sister's apartment which was conveniently located right on the parade route. We got stuck in a sea of fans and got sardined in Westlake Center for a while. Eventually, like salmon swimming upstream, we made our way out and got to fully appreciate the celebration. In below freezing weather!!
I'm holding two cups of warm liquid, trying to keep myself warm.
We've also experienced some of the winter weather. In Seattle style, there were a few days where we got a lot of rain. And we witnessed again the incompetence of our real estate agents at keeping the property functional.
Did I post this picture already? The water is up to my shins. I thought ducks might start landing in our pond. Luckily it only took a week for them to call plumbers to come clear up the blockage.
We also got our second snowfall just over the past weekend. We had a nice time walking out in the snow and appreciating that we weren't driving in it! Walking outside in the snow is very calming, actually, and it feels special to us since we haven't been around snow much. For me, it's just been six or so years, but for Marcus it's the first time having it snow...at home!
It's not all doom and gloom here, we're staying active and keeping our spirits up. This current state of being unemployed--it's temporary. At some point in the very near future it will change. Quickly. Then I'll be in the regular daily grind, dreading my alarm clock going off in the morning and looking forward all day to the arrival of 5 or 6 o'clock. I should appreciate this time while we have it. We're both overachievers and perfectionists, we don't like being idle. Marcus is far from idle, he's working his ass off so he can pass the bar at the end of the month. Which he will. I'm working on networking and meeting with anyone who can possibly introduce me to someone working at a company I want to work for. At least now I have a list. There are a few organizations at the top of that list where I do have connections. One of the nice thing about Seattle is that people want to connect you! Whenever I meet with anyone, they always wrack their brains trying to figure out who they should introduce me to. I don't even have to ask, it's an automatic. That's something to be valued, and I certainly do value it.
This will happen. I'm listening to upper podcasts every morning when I run and I've started listening to "The Secret" again during my stretching time. It helped me focus my energy once, and it'll certainly do it again. I suppose it's like my version of prayer--I do it when I'm really in need rather than on a regular basis. Well, I'm building on my regularity and healthy habits. Anyway, this is where I'm at. Trying to keep my energy high. It will happen. I will get a job. Marcus will get a job. And life will become normal once again! Normalcy, I'm looking forward to seeing your face again.
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