What with summer drawing to a close and long weekends and a quick trip across the border for a little return-to-school shopping and a day of fishing with a bunch of family members and a brain that is over-full with all of what this transition means, I have not really been in a writing mode lately. I was wracking my brain trying to think of something witty or wise to say this morning, but it all seemed a little scrambled, so I thought I’d just stick with a random list of some of the things you might be interested in knowing:
- I have just over 3 weeks of work left before I jump into self-employment.
- I am feeling relaxed, energized, and happier than I can remember feeling for quite some time.
- I only have minor moments when I stress out – like when I begin to think about details like medical insurance (which is – thankfully – a fairly minor issue in Canada – I just need to figure out how we’ll pay for dental expenses and prescription drugs).
- Speaking of possibilities, I’m rather excited to report that I’ve already been offered a few contracts – even before I started to look for them. Some are fairly small, but they all add up to a pretty decent way to start a consulting career.
- Just moments ago, I negotiated one of those contracts, and said “I believe I’m worth more to you than you’re offering and I want to work less days.” They agreed. Simple as that. I’m feeling pretty jazzed about that.
- Next week, I’l be going on my last business trip in this job.
- I just counted, and I’ve gone on 53 business trips since I started this job 6 years ago. About half of those have been to Toronto (where I’m going next week). I expect I went on nearly the same number in my career before this job, so I’ve probably been on about 100 business trips all told. Travel never gets old for me.
- Speaking of travel, I just bought a funky purple suitcase, because I KNOW that I will figure out how to incorporate travel into this new career, and I wanted something that will stand out on the airport onveyor belt when all the boring black suitcases roll past.
- Speaking of transitions, my oldest daughter starts high school tomorrow. HIGH frickin’ SCHOOL! How did that happen?
- In case you’re wondering how the running is going, I’m still doing it! And still enjoying it! Plus I’m still biking to work, which means I feel a little like a super-athlete this summer. No, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost significant weight (I think my post 40 year old body just likes being this size), but it does mean that I’m feeling pretty good physically.
- On the weekend I had a conversation with a runner friend about how to prepare for winter running because I want to try it. You can feel free to ask me about it in the middle of January. 🙂
- What with the kids going back to school and the leaves showing signs of the changing season, I’d say that I picked the perfect month for this transition.
- I’m looking for some way to mark this transition (like getting my nose pierced when I turned 40). Any ideas?