4 days left

Another wonderful long weekend so I am relatively relaxed and content. As of this coming Friday I am on a leave from work officially which means 4 days of work to go! 4 days to go out of 7+ years...I have to say I'm more excited about that then anything else going on. Ideally I would be done already but I need the extra money desperately so I'll just have to make due. Technically I'm not unemployed, just 'on leave' and then when I go back in January I will be working part-time. This means that assuming I can make a success out of my business plan I will never have to work for 40+ hours a week there again. This is beyond liberating and I hope I can pull it off. Ideally if I work at least 12 hours a week there I can have enough money for rent and maybe car insurance which are the 2 big bills. Ideally I would like to phase it out completely by the summer so I do not have to be involved in the chaos of the 'busy season' ever again, but my contingency plan is to continue working part-time through the summer if needed. I have had a mixture of reactions as I keep telling more people, but most people seem to actually care & are happy for me. I am hoping that after 3 months I may not be a miserable pile of crap when I go back - and even perhaps enjoy my hours there. But, that may be way too much to hope for. I will settle for simple indifference.

I told my Mom finally - minus some details of course. I had it planned in my head and thought that it would end up being best if I segment the announcements. First - I'm visiting! Second (while visiting) - I'm going to Africa and here's my itinerary, and I'll be completely safe & don't worry! Third (after Africa) - I'm working at Christmas, sorry I can't visit! I love you, etc.! Fourth - I am running a successful pet-sitting business on the side so will only be at the office a few days a week and I'm making a crapload of money...!

Then last minute I opted to take the enforced furlough route since everyone has to take 3-4 weeks unpaid before the end of the year anyways. However, this was a major tactical error and I ended up blurting out that I would do some traveling when my Mom asked what I was doing with the time off, and then she kind of flipped out and then I said I wouldn't be back for Christmas and then she was upset. Luckily I managed to reign it in and not mention the business/work scenario. I am determined not to say anything about it at all until it's mid-January and actually happening. After a few brief and angry questions my Mom hung up. Then called again with a question and then hung up. And, then called again with another question and hung up. I was so pissed off, despite the fact that I know how she is I still wish for a more logical and supportive conversation which is crazy and unreasonable on my part.

Despite the rocky start she's actually dealing quite well now, though I get a call every day with another question. She called before work one day and asked if I had my passport, the next day was if I had my shots, that sort of thing. So she is processing it all in her own time. I am very thankful that she is doing okay with it and being moderately supportive. What I had to lie about was the full cost - I did not tell her the cost of the Safari (just the amount of my first deposit) because I don't want her to freak out. She has the most important details so that will be enough. I am not mean, I just have a strong sense of self-preservation.

Anyways, 4 more days and then crunch time. I was writing my to-do list for the next couple of weeks and it's massive so I am hoping I can pull it all off in time.