I am back to work tomorrow, which makes my mother VERY happy. She has asked when I go back almost every single phone call for the past month. Our last argument was regarding the definition of 'happy' because she asked me "Aren't you happy to go back to work?" and my reply was "no". Yes, I am "RELIEVED" I have a job, I "NEED" to go back to work, I "WILL" go back to work, I will even "SHOW UP" for work relatively on time and "DO" my job to the best of my ability. But, no, it is impossible to be 'happy' to go back to my job. My mother has a very different perspective on job satisfaction than I do - meaning she believes you don't need to be even remotely satisfied with your job, valued, well-paid, treated well, etc., you just need a job and then you have money to live. On a very basic level I can appreciate this but in that case do not under any circumstances use the word 'happy' in association with me and my job. That's just frickin' illogical. So, things tend to get heated when the topic is mentioned. Anyways, this past weekend she said she would stop asking because I get angry. "Duh" was what I thought, but I refrained from commenting either way to avoid more fighting.
Anyways, I have to say taking 3 months off was one of the best decisions of my life and I highly recommend it to everyone if you can swing it at some point. I will be officially 'in debt' in February, not significantly but it will take a month or two to catch up. But, I managed to pay rent and all my bills up to the present, travel to Winnipeg, then Africa and spend 4 amazing weeks there. I also went on a balloon ride, 2 short boat tours, and zip-lining (and a side note: I saw a brief news report of someone falling into the gorge from the same place I went zip-lining but from the look of it I think they were not on the same line I was, though I have not looked into it - DO NOT tell my mother!). I also managed to still buy and mail all of my Christmas gifts, buy my new laptop, cell phone, and Bogs, pay for initial advertising, business cards, 1/2 of the lawyer's fee, and eat. Though a personal 'shout-out' to all my friends who have fed me and given me left-overs since I've been back. It's much appreciated.
I was not as productive this last week as I had hoped to a bad cold, but I feel better today and managed to get some stuff taken care of before the big day. I am celebrating my last dinner of freedom with home-made hummus because I had very little other options in the cupboard, but it did turn out delicious so it's quite enjoyable. I am officially running out of food though so I must venture out to get groceries with my last remaining cash. I have planned out what I'm purchasing and plan to make 2 of my casseroles to make it easy for lunch at work - the chicken & broccoli casserole, and cabbage casserole (not light options but nutritious!), and then my pasta dish and other necessities (which includes olives and soda crackers).
On the business front, it has been a very slow start, but I think it will still work out and just requires patience. I have one official customer and have walked their dog twice now. It was just an awesome feeling, and I know it's the right job for me. The hard part is lack of funds for advertising, but I will be contacting local pet-related businesses next (now that I am almost over my coughing stage) and put up some posters and get my business cards out there which is all free. The online advertising is still going on, but I may have to stop some of the campaigns at the end of the month until I can get a bit more money in the bank. I think Twitter and Facebook have been the most impactive and hope to build more awareness through my followers. Wish me luck!
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