Wave Hello, Say Goodbye

I really should have written this post earlier. But, I didn’t.

I had my “Goodbye” party with people from work and those in Toronto on August 8th. It was fantastic! (As the following few pictures so nicely dictate). So if any of them are reading this, I want to say “Thanks!”

I don’t even have much to write here either. It started off with my two friends and I heading over to the mall to get our make-up done. This is a BIG deal for someone like me who hardly ever wears make up! (I’m a bit of a bum). However, it looked fantastic and it forced me to buy some overly priced eye stuff that I will probably wear 5 times and forget about.

We then headed back home to get ready, and were given the task of picking up ice for the party on the way. Seems like no big deal right? WRONG! Apparently there are NO convenient stores from the subway station to my friends house that sell ice. Are we in Canada?!?! Bogus! The crisis was averted when Luke walked a bit further out of our way to pick some up.

Then the pre-drink began. Oh boy. Then came the challenging task of trying to rally around 20 some odd people to the bar. NOT an easy feat by any means.  Again, crisis averted when my friend Jeff (bless his drunken heart) turned off the lights and shouted “Everybody get your shoes on, we’re going ouuuut!”

The bar was packed – which is status quo for a Friday night in Toronto. The drinks just kept coming my way. I knew I was in trouble. Then the shots started. I don’t remember when we left, nor do I really remember how we got home. A great way to say goodbye to Toronto! (Thankfully there was no karaoke – ahem Geoff, I’m pointing at you!)

In the meantime, enjoy these photos! (I had to sort through and pick out the tamest ones)

Me and my cubicle buds - Adam, James, Jeff

My hair must smell really good?

Allen and Greg - I must have just said something very interesting

Much love for Brenda - we used her Condo for the party

Jacqueline and I dancing up a storm

We tried to see how many people we could shove in 1 elevator - we filled up 2 of these.

And So It Begins

I’M FREE!

If you had been walking down Yonge & Eglinton on July 31, 2008, you would’ve heard me shout that repeatedly on my way home after my last day as a corporate pleb. On the outside I was thrilled, but on the inside I felt mixed emotions. Even though I would have rather gnawed my own arm off and beat myself with it than stay at that job one day longer, I will miss the people that I have made such close connections with. I will miss the morning coffee walks, I will miss my softball team (although I really wasn’t good enough for them to miss me), I will miss the after work socials and I will miss being able to walk to work.

Maybe I needed this in order to realize that the business world is not for me. Maybe I will need this trip in order to realize that maybe it really is. I have no idea what the next few years in my life have in store and that makes me excited! There are no more plans, no more set expectations, no more guidelines on how to live your life! Does being this independent mean I am truly a grown up now? Or does that mean that I’ve actually never grown up and am still living in the mindset of an 18 year old? Either way, it doesn’t matter. The beige walls of the 3 paneled cubicle are no longer closing in around me, and I am no longer finding myself being put to sleep by the eerie buzz of my computer screen.

There is one thing, however, that I am finding the most difficult to part with. LACK OF FUNDS! That magical paycheck that appeared in my bank account every 2 weeks is no longer in existence. I find that I now have to consciously think about that extra non-fat vanilla latte, that movie that I don’t necessarily have to see and those jeans that I already have enough of.

I have officially closed one chapter in my life to start another. However, before I can do that, the reality of moving back into my childhood home still needs to settle. Being in Dundas this past weekend, and waking up on my single bed in my tiny room felt like a nightmare. There are perks however – breakfast in the mornings via mother, access to a vehicle at all times and not having to rely on the Toronto Transit System, knowing almost every single person in town and CABLE! (A luxury when you’re living in downtown Toronto).

August 10th, 2008 – my official move date back to Dundas, Ontario. I have yet to start packing. It’s amazing the amount of things you can fit in a 600 sq. foot apartment. It’s amazing the amount of things you didn’t even know you had in a 600 sq. foot apartment! Everyday a new drawer of some sort is opened to reveal something new. It’s like your birthday everyday! Except most of these things are completely useless, however, you still feel a need to hang on to them regardless of the fact that you forgot they even existed over this past year.

So freedom is just around the corner. I just have to dig my out of my apartment to get there first.

Don’t Get Fired!

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

in·spired
–adjective
1. aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence
2. something of which I am not

Not by my current situation at least.

I have always been more of an “out the box” thinker. A “to-do” list always seemed to start well and fail, as I would never look at the page again after writing it. Class lecture notes inevitably had more scribbles and doodles on them than actual notes. My mind was always racing, always thinking. How could I escape “to-do” lists and not have to rely on anyones notes but my own? The answer was right there. Quit your job.

So I did.

Senioritis is apparently developed by showcasing a lack of motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school careers. Or in my case – my full-time career. Although I have already put in my notice of resignation it does not mean I am immune from being fired on the spot, without notice, without my 2 weeks, without being able to say my goodbyes. This is something I am trying to avoid, but as the days count down it is getting increasingly difficult. Today’s schedule consisted of the following: stroll in late, get a coffee, run into VP who knows you are currently playing hooky from a mandatory meeting, surf other travel blogs, send out a few work emails, conduct phone interview with my movie store manager (see: The Beginning of the End July 2008), answer another million questions about my decision to move abroad and try to prove to everyone around me that I am not experiencing a temporary episode of insanity. Whew. All in a days work.

There was once a time in which I wanted nothing more but to prove myself in the working world. Being a woman in business in tough. Don’t let anyone try to fool you by saying that equal opportunities are awarded now. Lies. Women still must work harder to earn respect. Maybe, that’s where my priorities changed. I was tired of trying to prove myself. Why can’t I just be satisfied in knowing that I AM good enough? At the end of the day I don’t want to wake up and think, “I made Company XYZ $1M!….now what?”

Instead, I want nothing more than to wake up in the morning, cuddle with my big stuffed red elephant (conveniently named Red Elephant), and not have to think anymore about that job that just doesn’t seem to want to end.

Q: Have you ever thought about switching career paths? What has stopped you?

P.S. I will be leaving questions related to my blog at the end of each posting. Feel free to post comments and discuss. I promise I’m not snobby and will read and try to respond to all of you.