Is it a vacation if you’re technically not working?

I’ve technically not been “employed” since September 1^st of this year.  Well, that’s not exactly correct.  Because technically I AM employed, but I don’t go into the office, and I don’t have to work the normal 9 to 5 day (which we all know is never 9 to 5 anymore). I work from home on various projects by logging in remotely.  But, while I’m in this strange “in-between” stage of working/not working, I am also interviewing for a new job that will be in an office, and will be 9 to 5 or whatever equivalent that comes in today’s work world.

After several months of speaking with mostly recruiters, and having just a few interviews, since there are very few job openings at my level, I am very close to receiving offers from 2 different companies (probably will hear about one next week). So it seems that this strange situation is going to be coming to an end soon.  With this in mind, I decided to get away from New York, the cooler weather, and the boredom of being at home too much!  Also, once I start a new job I will not have the opportunity to get away for a while. So it’s kind of a now or not for a very long time scenario. But, since I’m in this strange in-between job situation, is this technically considered a “vacation”?

Whatever it’s called, I’m down in South Florida, enjoying the beautiful weather, sitting by the pool and definitely not wearing a coat.  I plan to go to the Keys to do some snorkeling, and eat some yummy key lime pie!  I’m going to be able to hit the gym here every day (it’s a really nice gym, and not that crowded, so no waiting for machines or equipment!) and take some zumba classes.  There is a gorgeous, practically professional pool hall here.  Maybe I’ll come back to NY and be able to hustle someone! (probably not)

Tonight I’m going to the show.  Tonight's show will be a couple of singers.  Not sure if I’ll know the songs, but it’s entertainment. There are barbeques on Tuesdays and Thursdays here.  And I’ll get to see a couple of movies in the big movie theater they have here, for a cost of $2!!  I even plan to try my hand at golfing!!  If nothing else, it will be fun to drive the golf cart around!! 

We also plan to hit the casino that’s nearby (I’m not much of a gambler, but it will be fun for an evening).  And of course, I’ve signed up for a couple of meetup events to go to while I’m down here!  A board game one, and possibly a karaoke one!  Haven’t fully committed to the karaoke one yet.

But the best part of this  … whatever we want to call this … the cost is very economical!  Why?  Because I’m here at my parents’ place!  So, whether we want to consider me employed or not employed, I didn’t have to pay over a grand to take a vacation to a warm, fun place!!  And even better, I got to bring my dog with me!!  She loves coming to visit her Nanny and Grandpa!!

So, to all my NY peeps, I’ll see you guys when I get back.  But for now, please excuse me, because it’s time to go sit in the hot tub!!

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you

All relationships begin with a “Hello!”  Ok, maybe not those exact words, but they begin with that initial introduction to each other.  And when I say “relationships”, I mean more than just the romantic variety. ALL relationships: friendships, familial, romantic, acquaintance, professional … even enemy relationships.

The thing we need to remember is that all of those types of relationships are “built”.  They don’t happen overnight.  Some people just seem to click and those relationships grow strong more quickly than other relationships.  And those quickly growing relationships could be the ones that last a lifetime or they could be the ones that burn so bright that they burn out quickly too. But the thing is, all relationships still need to be built, and it takes time to actually get to know another person.  As people get to know more about each other is when they learn if they are compatible or not. 

I have heard that the thing that makes you smile about your significant other when you first start dating could become the thing that you hate the most about them later on.  That what was once cute and quirky ends up being so annoying that you want to just rip off that person’s face! (What?  Too intense? Ok, how about … it becomes the thing that makes you want to run away … FAST)

That cute laugh with the snort ends up making you think you’re living with a member of the swine persuasion.  The way they question the waiter about every item on the menu may seem like they are really in touch with what they put into their bodies in the beginning of a relationship.  But later on, you just want to scream at them to “F*ckin’ order something already!!!”  That guy who seems so dark and mysterious when you first meet him ends up just being that secretive, closed-off person that never really lets anyone truly know him.  Or that person who talks to the television show or the movie as if the actors can hear them … “Don’t open that door!!  See, I told you not to open that door!” … ok, that person is just super annoying right from the start!!

So, how long does it take to get to know someone?  I don’t think there is any specific timeline for that.  As a matter of fact, how many times has there been a news article about someone who does something really horrible, and the people closest to him or her will say “He really didn’t seem like the type to do this.” or “I never knew she was a homicidal maniac, who stored dead bodies in the basement.”  (ok, maybe we don’t hear that last one very often.  Thankfully!!)

But the point is still valid.  It takes time to get to know someone. And I don’t think we every truly get to know another individual completely. Heck, we don’t even know ourselves completely.  But, with time, we do get to know others better.

The beginning starts with the basics.  What do you do for work?  Where do you live?  Where did you grow up?  What do you do for fun?  (For those of you who are on the dating sites, these are the beginning questions you can ask.  Please don’t start off with questions about sex or how many kids someone wants to have!  At least wait until the 2^nd date for those kinds of questions.)

I spoke with someone at a party recently.  He was upset because he felt left out of conversations.  I tried to explain to him that it takes time to be “one of the gang”.  That the others there had known each other for a really long time, and had built up their friendships.  How at first we are all just circling any group of friends.  But if we are patient and understand that they need to get to know us and we need to get to know them, eventually we may be inside that circle.  Or, who knows, maybe we will learn that we don’t want to be part of that circle.  Unfortunately, my “words of wisdom” didn’t seem to help this individual, and he ended up leaving the party very upset.

So, after the basics of getting to know each other are out of the way, hopefully the conversations just flow naturally. You each will get to know more about the other, and more about yourself as well.  And if you spend enough time together, you will get to know whether that person will be more than just an acquaintance. The getting to know each other will determine what type of relationship you two will have. That is, until you find out about the bodies buried in the basement!

(for those who are now concerned about me … yes, I have a storage locker in the basement of my apartment building.  But I swear, I only have luggage and the Christmas tree and ornaments stored there!)

Drawing a blank!!

They say that all writers go through periods of writer’s block.  Where they can sit in front of their computer (or typewriter, for those who like the feeling of the nostalgic era of typewriters) and stare at the blank page in front of them. 

When someone is writing an article or a story that has a very specific topic or storyline, this can be a major problem.  Because these writers cannot just switch to something else to get those juices flowing.  They need to stick to the subject matter that they are working with.

For me, as a blogger, it’s a lot easier.  Because if one story line doesn’t seem to be flowing, I have the ability to switch to something else.  But, when I have 4 unfinished starts of blog posts, and none of them are “speaking to me” or they just seem so utterly boring as I read through them, it begins to be an issue.

I discussed this with a friend yesterday, and his suggestion was to just begin typing, in the way of stream of consciousness.  He said that eventually the words would start to point to one topic that I can go with, and then once done, I can just delete the beginning paragraphs that have nothing to do with the subject.

I tried this and this post is the result.  A blog post about having trouble writing a blog post!

I have some subjects and blog ideas that could become very good blogs.  And I do plan to eventually end up writing these posts. But for one reason or another, they aren’t getting down on paper well enough right now to post. Either my thoughts are still too jumbled on these subjects, or when I do put word to paper the resulting post is not up to the standard that I want to set for what you can read.

There are other topics that would possibly make good blog posts. Actually, they could be VERY interesting and VERY entertaining topics that are featuring prominently in my life right now. But I feel that some things are not meant to be shared.  Personal things that are making me excited, scared, frustrated and hopeful about, are definitely things I am more than willing to share with my close friends.  But these are not necessarily things I would share with the general public.

For now, this week’s post will be about how I had a lot of trouble writing a post for this week.  I will try to do better next week!  Hopefully the juices will start to flow better if I give it time.  In the meantime, if you have any ideas that you would like to see on this blog, definitely hit me up!  You can comment on this blog itself with a comment, or email me with any ideas (email address listed in my profile).

So let’s keep our fingers crossed for a better post next week, and my sincerest apologies for this week’s pathetic post!

Facial nightmare!!

I have somewhat sensitive skin.  I use facial wash meant for sensitive skin.  I also use moisturizer also that is meant for sensitive skin.  

This one time I decided to do a professional facial.  I had found a groupon or some other deal online and thought I’d give it a try.  Everyone always raves about how doing these can take years off your look.  How your skin will end up smooth and soft.

I called to make my appointment and spoke with the esthetician about my skin sensitivity.  She said that they have one form of facial peel that is very gentle.  I should have known better, because when you are peeling off a layer of your face, how gentle can that actually be??

Well …. As the saying goes … The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry!  And Oh My Goodness, did this go awry!!

Not only did my face become BRIGHT red, but it started to peel as if I had 3^rd degree burns.  I also ended up with a high fever from the experience.  It turned out that I was in bed, physically sick for days!  Thankfully I had planned the treatment for the first day of a break from work.

When all was said and done though, my face did look a lot smoother and younger.  But to go through all that, never again!!  I can’t fathom why I thought it was a good idea to ask someone, actually PAY them to rip off a layer of my skin!!

I have done at-home facial masks though.  The green clay that you put all over and let dry.  You look like a Martian, and can’t really eat, drink or even speak once it dries.  I’ve exfoliated.  I’ve even done those pseudo peel away masks, where the only thing peeling away is the filmy mask and maybe some oil from your face.  These are ok.  Actually removing a layer of skin … not so ok.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  I had a date with a guy that I had met a couple months ago.  A really good looking guy, who is also really nice.  Back then it just wasn’t good timing.  But now the timing was great.  Lucky me that he reached out to me again.  I was very excited.

So, the day of the date I looked in the mirror and thought that my skin looked a little “tired”.  I decided to try that new “pepto bismal” facial mask that’s all the rage in the beauty world.  I read up on it, and the only “negative” that I was reading was either that the person didn’t think it really did anything or that maybe their face was a little pink afterward, which was easily solved with a makeup remover cloth. 

So, off I went to the drug store to buy some pink stuff.

Once back home I painted it on, like I learned to do on YouTube and waited the requisite 20 minutes.  It smelled like that pink stuff smells, but that wasn’t too bad.  And as it was drying, my face did get stiff.  But nothing too bad. 

Twenty minutes later, I went back to the bathroom and washed it off.

My face wasn’t so much “pink” as it was very RED!  And extremely hot to the touch!  Here was my skin, my extra sensitive skin, being extra extra sensitive!!  OMG!!!  What was I going to do?? I had to be presentable … nay, not presentable, I needed to be HOT looking in 4 hours!!  And not “hot” in the way my face was bright red and burning hot!!

So I spent the next few hours alternating between cold compresses on my face, hydrocortisone cream and staring into the bathroom mirror to see how my face was doing.

THANKFULLY, the redness was completely gone within a few hours.  And, thanks to the Pepto facial, my skin was beautifully clear and smooth!  I looked refreshed!  And my date would never know that I was about to cancel on him just a couple hours before.  No way I would let this hottie see me in that state!

Next time I think to try something for my skin, someone please stop me!!!  Or at least remind me to do it when I don’t have a hot date planned within a few hours!!!