It has been an incredible week. I went to Orlando for a tradeshow. The first time I attended was two months after I started my current professional journey. I really had no good idea about what I was selling, but was excited as hell. I call it ignorant enthusiasm. Each year I would attend with my boss and feel so inadequate believing I would never be able to explain our value proposition, products or anything else for that matter as well as him. As I prepared to attend my 5th show without him for the first time, I was nervous. Would I represent my company in a fitting way? Would I remember the people that would come by the booth and that I would run into? What kind of first impression would I make on my new boss who I had already spoken with three times? I didn’t spend a lot of time on these questions, but they did run thru my mind. In the end it all turned out well. I haven’t been as excited about my position and my future as I was after spending time with our CEO and my new boss. So much positivity transpired in a short period of time. I won’t bore you with the details other than to say for the first time in ages, I felt appreciated and recognized for my abilities professionally. There were several people that I have known for years that didn’t recognize me with my short hair. It was actually funny. Many of the others (mostly men) just stared at my hair until I explained what was going on. I was able to quickly explain and move on in most instances. I met a guy that lives in Atlanta and goes to the same chemo clinic as me. I also had several meaningful conversations with various people. I think this was the best show ever from several standpoints…business, personal, and helping me see how far I have come in my industry knowledge. We flew home on Southwest. I am not a fan only because I like to have a seat and not have to remember to check in to get a good spot for boarding. Long story as short as I can make it, I made friends with the gate agent and unbeknownst to me, one of the flight attendants. They let me pre-board so I got the first aisle seat which provided all the foot room I needed. The captain of the plane was pushing a lady in front of me onto the plane and helped her with her luggage. He then put my luggage overhead as well. I later found out his story and he is really a special man. The flight attendants were all wonderful. The two ladies were teaching me ways to wrap my scarf. One of them asked me if I want to go on vacation with her because I was so nice…I don’t think I will do that. The flight is very short and flew by thanks to the pleasant company. On the way home I stopped to pick up dinner. I saw the owner who I have had nice interactions with. He bought my dinner because I gave him some feedback and he wound up changing something pretty significant as a result. Even though I was really tired, I sat there and ate while we chatted. He is a pretty interesting guy and I find him rather fascinating. Too bad he isn’t single…that seems to be the story of my life lately. I meet seemingly nice guys and have great chats but they are married. Maybe I am supposed to practice my conversation skills for down the road. I actually find that hard to believe since I’ve never met a stranger. Oh well… Work was great Friday for several reasons. I was exhausted from the show and left work at 3:30 so I could nap for a couple hours. I have so much work to get done and knew nothing would get accomplished if I didn’t rest for a little while. I spent 4 hours at Starbucks working last night. The good news is I got tons of work done. I have lots of prep work for my new boss and put a good bite into one part. I had a long night’s sleep, although it wasn’t peaceful…I woke up every hour or so to use the bathroom. I am drinking lots of water as was suggested trying to get some of the swelling down. I got up and, shocking, went to an arts festival. I never cease to be amazed how my Gd keeps putting wonderful people into my life. The first artist I met was a lady in the corporate world that left to pursue her two passions…pottery and yoga. Her booth had the most amazing calm. I sat as she shared an amazing story about her grandmother and the signs she got to know she was doing the right thing. We both cried as she shared her powerful story. The next lady I met began her business and early on her journey her aunt died of lung cancer. She never smoked a day in her life. She wants to start a foundation to help provide early detection. Even though she was probably in her early 30’s, it felt like she had an old soul. I stopped at a lady making fun earrings. She made a comment about how much she liked my hairstyle. I laughed and told her it was a “chemodo”. It turns out she had bc 2 ½ years ago. Another lovely interaction ensued. During that time another lady came by that had a bead collection she wanted to sell and asked if the artist was interested. At one point she mentioned that she was leaving the country and would call her when she returned. I asked where she was going and she said Israel. Shocking that we got into a whole conversation. She is Christian and going to work with Holocaust survivors. She said she is going to call me when she gets back to tell me about her trip…I hope she does. Oh, I forgot to tell you something really neat. The Smyrna Library has a huge book sale every year during the arts festival. I found some incredible books this year…some with craft ideas, 2 for my new boss with 15 minutes team building ideas, one for my doctor that is a huge cycler, one for a friend in California and one for someone else, but I don’t remember what it was about. I got an entire box of books for practically nothing. I even found some great books with wonderful quotes that I will be able to cut out for different projects. I need to find a night this week to play. I didn’t realize there is another arts festival this weekend. It is a good one, so I need to stop by there tomorrow, at least for a little while. When I was at Jerry’s event last Sunday a lady was wearing an incredible necklace. We began chatting and she told me she got it at a thrift store she volunteers at for a no-kill shelter. Curiosity killed the cat, so of course I needed to run over there. OMG…it was like retail crack. It is a huge store with everything you can imagine. Clothing was 50% off. I found a very expensive pair of designer jeans for a whopping $1.50. I also found a never used large George Foreman grill along with a few other small things. The longer something is there, the higher the discount. I got some things for 70% off. I think that will definitely become a regular part of my weekend ritual. Unfortunately it is only about 20 minutes from my home. So here I sit at Starbucks, yet again, catching you up on my week. I am meeting a friend for dinner in about an hour. I am going to do some work while I wait. I had a great time at Zest with my girlfriend. I came home and worked on my Serenity Garden. Hugs
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 18:58:29 +0000
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