Showing posts with label Doing what you love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doing what you love. Show all posts

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Eyes burning, but snug at home with my hot tea and fuzzy pjs, I feel good about moving back to Missouri.

I've spent two days this week working in various parts of St. Louis; driving in city traffic, eating in city restaurants, and talking to city people. 

I've spent the other days in small town Missouri; taking my Class E driving test at the highway patrol office, getting my new license at the DMV (I can drive company cars now, woot!), jogging on trails in the woods, and appreciating the mornings' sunrises.

I'll leave you tonight with the promise of a horseback trail ride and campout blog on Sunday, and with this photo, taken out of the sunroof of my car in downtown St. Louis on Monday. I love being a tourist in my own city:



Good night, all!





Friday, March 6, 2009

Week One Recap (spoiler: I held a chincilla tonight!)

It's 9:49 p.m., and I'm sitting in my office in Potosi, Missouri after a full day of work, including eight hours in the office and several more with our board of directors. If ever before this year I had been told I would work in Potosi, Missouri, I would have bet everything I owned that you were lying. (And I'm not a better).

If you had told me I'd love my new position working in Potosi, Missouri, I would probably have laughed in your face. (And I'm generally very polite).

Yet here I am, tired after my first week of work here, but tired in the "sugarplums dancing in their heads" kind of way, where I feel an excitement about what's to come and such a deep peace about where I am in this moment that rest will come easily when I finish this post and crawl into my bed.

This week I have been woken up by the family dog, I've had coffee at the kitchen table with my dad before work, and I've watched my mom get so creative and excited about cooking really great, healthy meals for us.

Wednesday on my way home from work, I saw a deer cross the road in front of me and run down a hill and into a field. The weather has warmed up here, so I've continued to test out my new trail running shoes on jogs in the woods behind the office. Tonight, I held a chincilla in my hands (his little nose was adorable, and his "pricklies" were softer than they looked!).

My coworkers are gracious, thoughtful, and incredibly welcoming. Do not misunderstand me here, they are also hard-working, experienced, many of them very well-traveled professionals. They have brought me into my first week here at the Y with nothing but compassion and kindness, which heals my soul in ways that I didn't know it was even aching.

Do I miss New York City? Of course I do, in little ways, and sporatically. Do I love where I am though, professionally and personally; mentally, spiritually, and physically? Yes, wholly.

All things happen for a reason, and I believe that my new job and new home are no exceptions.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Sticktoitiveness



Photo Credit: Smalltowngirl, June 3, 2008

Sticktuitiveness an unsophisticated term that country people like myself use to describe what New Yorkers would call perseverence, determination, or dedication.

I'm beginning to see how that good'ole core Midwestern value of sticktuitiveness is valuable, especially in a city like New York where perseverence, especially at first, is vital to long term success (and simply to survival).

I arrived in New York eight months ago, and I've worked full time for a little over six. I also started freelancing about a year ago with just one single client.

In that time I've added three more music and dance organizations and groups to my client roster, and I've filled nine hours of every Saturday with teaching piano lessons to students in south Brooklyn. An opportunity has now come up for me to substitute teach a drumline again as well.

My dad and mom raised my brother and I to value honesty and hard work. These values are certainly paying off now, as I've stuck to my freelancing, stuck to my passion for the arts, and have seen my freelance and teaching income steadily increase. Sticktuitiveness may be an unsophisticated word, but there's something to be said for staying grounded, working hard, and doing something that you believe in.