Realization #2: I am self-employed but I am still trading my time for money.
You can give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. You can give a man a fishing rod and he’ll eat until he can no longer physically fish. Or you can show the man how to build a fish trap so he doesn’t have to spend his entire life fishing alongside the stinkin’ river.
I need to get me some fish traps.
I think I am fine and it happens. I get jerked around. Someone does something that I would never do… and I find myself pretending all is fine but instead I am insulted and fuming inside. STOP. STOP. I am in control of my reaction and I have decided that I am not going to be angry or hurt. I am just going to move on. Learn and move on.
Is there a book on the art of using people and making them feel grateful for being used? I clearly need to bone up. Or at least learn their tactics so I don’t get them used on me.
I took last Friday off. And now I need to get myself in gear. Charge forward! Onward HO! I had a realization last week that I am hoping I can make a part of me and my life. I find I often feel bad over silly things. I am embarrassed if I put myself first or I get upset if I have to possibly say no to a person and I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable! So anyway, I decided that everyone is living in the movie of their own life and you can cast it any which way you want. And in some weird way, I wasn’t casting myself in the role of heroine. Instead I was kowtowing to everyone and thus letting others take lead. I need to rearrange roles and let myself be the star of my life. The leading lady never cares what people think of her, doesn’t care how people react… because she’s the star. And I need to start thinking a little more egocentrically. Because if there is one thing I am finding, other people are already doing this. And they clearly aren’t embarrassed by their own very selfish actions… so why should I be?
Weeks fly by. Â I can’t believe it’s Dec 1. Â At least I can console myself by opening the first door of my advent calendar! Â I should get my tree up soon. Â I keep wondering if I could somehow invite people over, ply them with booze and get them to decorate it for me? Â Of course being the anal retentive type I’d find fault in their work and then I’d have to do it myself!
I have to get up real early tomorrow. Â I don’t want to!
Oh, I passed a lead to a sales guy at my old company today and he wrote me a thank you note that went like this:
Donna,
You are the best…..thanks for thinking of me. How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully you enjoyed the time off with the family (oh wait…..time off from what ? Joking of course…..that was a an unemployment joke…..pretty sure those are really not that funny….you know how I do……nothing is sacred……here you are being super nice and here I am joking about unemployment……..I really do suck)
Sometimes, guys– simple is better. In this type of situation a two word email would have sufficed. “Thank you!” Consider this a self-improvement exercise.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Today I am going to bake a Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows. Pookie and I will then head over to my parents’ house. My mom will have already started making stuffing and green beans and cranberry sauce, etc… My dad will have the peanut oil cooking in the cauldron set up on our back patio. I will film the dunking as I have for the last 9 years.
Our neighbors won’t be bringing their turkey for frying this year since their oldest son is taking over the Thanksgiving responsibilities at his house in Baltimore. I’m a little sad because I always enjoyed the hustle and bustle they brought to the day.
This has been a difficult year for me, as I am sure you regular readers know. Getting laid off twice, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, setting up my own business and working hard to get it to take off. I am grateful that I have been able to head down this path of setting up my own business. I am grateful that God has been directing me and nudging me so very firmly over the last year. I’ve never once felt alone or abandoned. I am grateful I have my family and Pookie who have all been so very supportive of me. I know I’ve gotten bitchy at times and yet they help me anyway. And as I said before, I feel so very grateful that my face is intact and I am not trapped in my body unable to move for 23 years.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
I woke up at 6:45. I walked into my meeting at 7:15. I am not sure how I did that since the meeting place was a 1/2 hour away.
This afternoon is THE MASSAGE. I came home after my early morning meeting and took a shower. I felt like I was getting ready for a date. This will be interesting.
Thanksgiving is approaching quickly. My dad and mom bought the turkey and peanut oil. We are ready to go!
I’ve been hearing about things that are making me feel even more grateful than usual…
Can I just tell you, MY LIFE IS GROOVY! Everything is wonderful!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
My to do list is long but my plan is to get as much of it accomplished today as possible. My hamper is overflowing, my carpets need vacuuming, my mail needs sorting, my finances need organizing, my work needs doing and my cameras need downloading. Oh, and my computers need to be backed up. Yeah, it’s a lot of stuff but I think I can make a good dent.
Last night I went to Audra’s fondue and flameless candle party. I opted not to buy a flameless candle. Honestly, it didn’t light my fire. If I want my house to smell like a sugar cookie, I’ll make sugar cookies. As the party started, the flameless candle woman was arranging the little vials of scents and I asked her what the codes on the lids stood for. “R is for romance, T is for tropical, M is for manly…”
“Manly?”
“Yes, these are masculine scents.”
I opened up a manly jar and took a sniff and said, “Mmmmmmm, fart.”
She didn’t find it as funny as I did. No one did. Ooops.
Found a super cute Website: My Parents Were Awesome. People submit pictures of their parents back during their parents’ heyday. The pictures are great. There’s a timelessness about many of the pictures… yeah, there’s a lot of 60’s and 70’s silliness going on but the people could so easily be popped out and plopped into right now. And there’s a wonderful amount of smiles and happiness that I just enjoy seeing.
I remember when I was about 15, we found some old pictures of my parents. My dad had a goatee and my mom was reclining on a leopard print pillow looking gorgeous. If I had these pics, I’d submit them. But Lisa lost them. Dangit.
Went to legalzoom.com and bought the enono-LLC package. The price was 149, but when I got to checkout the total was just under 600!?! Filing fees, fed id #, shipping and taxes add up. Still it was much cheaper than getting a lawyer to do it. At least it’s done.
And I got my hair cut. It’s been so long. I forgot how nice it feels to be pampered.
Next week I have an appointment with the creepy massage therapist. I decided to just do it. I had been fine with him prior to that conversation. Let’s just say he was having an off moment.