It’s been weeks since I’ve written in this blog and I miss it so much. For seven months, I had my weekly ritual—yoga class, then breakfast and blogging. Whatever ideas had been percolating in my head throughout the week came to a bubble on Saturday morning, and poured out onto the page.
I’m mostly blogging on the Skirt! site now, which is fun, but I’m too busy to do much writing at all. The job I wanted is now the job I have—a clinical social work position in Newton. I’m very grateful to have a really good job in a really lousy economy. Lots of friends have been laid off and I know how tough it is. I’m counting my blessings. I’m also adjusting big-time. It’s exhausting.
For almost a year and a half, I followed my own natural biorhythms, such as they are at my age. My body likes to stay up late and get up late. Nothing better than Jon Stewart and David Letterman with a crossword chaser. Heaven. No more.
On the first day of my new job, I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m. Ouch! It was dark out. I had to be there at 8:00 a.m., ready to jump aboard a two-day intensive training. Whoa. Thank God for adrenaline! The brand-new team, a great group, pow-wowed straight through till 4:00, then reconvened for a corporate-style dinner at Legal Sea Foods (mmm, can’t complain about that). At least I wasn’t the only newbie. This was the first meeting among the new staff, the home team, and the client team. The rest of the week was similarly intense, in a good way, but my brain ceased to function yesterday so, no post-yoga blog for me. Sigh.
Now I’ll be one of those TGIF folks again. I’ve been there many times. I'm worried, what will happen to my writing? Will I be able to continue with my book? What about my essays—the ones partly written, the ones mostly written, the ones in my head? Am I being tested to see if I can go from 0 to 100 and retain my sanity? With my job, my other job, my chorus, my other chorus, my cat, my other cat, and everything else on my plate, it should be an interesting month.
But, like my clients say, “Keep it in the day. One day at a time.” Yeah. Sounds like a plan.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Beautiful Birthday Bonanza
This past week was wild, with the Boston Globe Magazine essay on Sunday and amazing feedback (plus comments and letters from desperate men), two job interviews, the Skirt! photo shoot on Wednesday, chorus rehearsal, writing group, work, another phone interview, and my birthday on Friday. Whew! Even typing that is exhausting.
The rhythm of my days is usually much slower and under some semblance of control. But I’m gearing up for big changes and looking forward to a faster pace, with more stimulation and new adventures.
I don’t want to say much about the job interviews because I don’t know the outcome yet, but I should be hearing back this week. I’m done with uncertainty. Come to me, clarity and structure. I’m ready. (And I'm really excited about one job in particular!)
As to being photographed for the 24/7 feature in Skirt!, I am not a photo shoot person. I don’t like posing and I don’t like seeing myself in photos. Whatever. I better tap into my exhibitionism pretty soon, because the publicity can only help my writing career. So I decided I better get a makeover. Was there such a thing as a budget makeover?
I thought Clinique at Macy’s would be perfect, buy a lipstick and get made up, but they were booked with promotional appointments. So, on Monday, I was buying throat lozenges at CVS and noticed that my checkout woman was wearing a nametag: Liz, Beauty Advisor. Hmm. But Liz’s makeup was overdone and clown-like, with those penciled-in Grandma-like eyebrows. I did not want her to touch my face. I tentatively asked her about getting make up done there. She said she just did sales, nothing hands-on. She referred me to Raquel, the aesthetician. I was wary. I mean, who goes for a CVS makeover? CVS?
Raquel, a plus-size mahogany-skinned woman, was in the cosmetics section making over another very attractive African-American woman who was going to appear on TV. That was reassuring. We chatted briefly, and she understood the importance of my mission, so I booked a 10 a.m. Wednesday appointment, an hour before my shoot.
Late Tuesday night, I dumped every cosmetic product I owned into a big travel bag—Lancome and Clinique samples from department store special offers, lipsticks, brushes, blushes, mascaras, eye-shadow palettes, various shades of under-eye concealer, and a foundation that probably expired before the millennium.
At the appointed hour, I surrendered my face and bag of products to Raquel in exchange for a lip liner and new foundation. She went for the smoky eyes and subtle coloring and, except for a couple of clumpy eyelashes, I looked divine and felt like a star. People gathered around to watch. My stomach was in knots.
The photo shoot itself went by in a blur. I met Alison in the lobby of the Watertown Library. She was with Shannon, a tall blond beauty, who had one of those high-powered lenses like the guys next to the dugout at Fenway. Truly intimidating. But they were both reassuring and patient and I did major deep breathing to get through it. Tilt a little to the right, chin up, now down a little. Good. Click, click, click. It might’ve been a faux pas to ask to look at some possibilities at the end, but I couldn’t restrain myself. Now I wait till April to see the results!
On Friday I turned 55. Very strange. I just can't grasp the number. It was a low-key day, gorgeous weather. Finally, I got to do my Charles River walk after months of snow—the geese are back and the waterfall gushed like Niagara. Later, I indulged in a massage (one of those cheapie intro versions where they try to talk you into buying a package deal, which I didn’t) and then went to my Annual Ladies’ Night Out Party. See my Skirt! blog for a full report.
So, mid-decade, I'm moving ahead. Sometimes it’s so hard to see the fruits of one’s labor, but I think I’m beginning to. I’m getting my writing out there, connecting with new, creative people, and manifesting so much of what I’ve been working toward.
I clipped my astrological forecast from the February 27 paper.
The rhythm of my days is usually much slower and under some semblance of control. But I’m gearing up for big changes and looking forward to a faster pace, with more stimulation and new adventures.
I don’t want to say much about the job interviews because I don’t know the outcome yet, but I should be hearing back this week. I’m done with uncertainty. Come to me, clarity and structure. I’m ready. (And I'm really excited about one job in particular!)
As to being photographed for the 24/7 feature in Skirt!, I am not a photo shoot person. I don’t like posing and I don’t like seeing myself in photos. Whatever. I better tap into my exhibitionism pretty soon, because the publicity can only help my writing career. So I decided I better get a makeover. Was there such a thing as a budget makeover?
I thought Clinique at Macy’s would be perfect, buy a lipstick and get made up, but they were booked with promotional appointments. So, on Monday, I was buying throat lozenges at CVS and noticed that my checkout woman was wearing a nametag: Liz, Beauty Advisor. Hmm. But Liz’s makeup was overdone and clown-like, with those penciled-in Grandma-like eyebrows. I did not want her to touch my face. I tentatively asked her about getting make up done there. She said she just did sales, nothing hands-on. She referred me to Raquel, the aesthetician. I was wary. I mean, who goes for a CVS makeover? CVS?
Raquel, a plus-size mahogany-skinned woman, was in the cosmetics section making over another very attractive African-American woman who was going to appear on TV. That was reassuring. We chatted briefly, and she understood the importance of my mission, so I booked a 10 a.m. Wednesday appointment, an hour before my shoot.
Late Tuesday night, I dumped every cosmetic product I owned into a big travel bag—Lancome and Clinique samples from department store special offers, lipsticks, brushes, blushes, mascaras, eye-shadow palettes, various shades of under-eye concealer, and a foundation that probably expired before the millennium.
At the appointed hour, I surrendered my face and bag of products to Raquel in exchange for a lip liner and new foundation. She went for the smoky eyes and subtle coloring and, except for a couple of clumpy eyelashes, I looked divine and felt like a star. People gathered around to watch. My stomach was in knots.
The photo shoot itself went by in a blur. I met Alison in the lobby of the Watertown Library. She was with Shannon, a tall blond beauty, who had one of those high-powered lenses like the guys next to the dugout at Fenway. Truly intimidating. But they were both reassuring and patient and I did major deep breathing to get through it. Tilt a little to the right, chin up, now down a little. Good. Click, click, click. It might’ve been a faux pas to ask to look at some possibilities at the end, but I couldn’t restrain myself. Now I wait till April to see the results!
On Friday I turned 55. Very strange. I just can't grasp the number. It was a low-key day, gorgeous weather. Finally, I got to do my Charles River walk after months of snow—the geese are back and the waterfall gushed like Niagara. Later, I indulged in a massage (one of those cheapie intro versions where they try to talk you into buying a package deal, which I didn’t) and then went to my Annual Ladies’ Night Out Party. See my Skirt! blog for a full report.
So, mid-decade, I'm moving ahead. Sometimes it’s so hard to see the fruits of one’s labor, but I think I’m beginning to. I’m getting my writing out there, connecting with new, creative people, and manifesting so much of what I’ve been working toward.
I clipped my astrological forecast from the February 27 paper.
If today is your birthday: Surround yourself with energetic people who can help you pull your ideas together and make them happen. It will be a year of meshing together all sorts of different aspects and elements of the things you’ve wanted to pursue. Don’t fear change when that is precisely what’s needed in order to bring things together for you.Yes!
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