Summer’s over

On By thestampsinmypassportIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The past few days on social media have been filled with photos and captions of last trips to the cottage, trips to resort areas, last days at the friends pool, new school uniforms, and all that lovely end of summer stuff that makes memories that last into the fall and winter. Tomorrow ‘it’ all begins again. Routines, lunches, programs, and scheduling…LOTS of scheduling.

For me, my summer officially ended two weeks ago when I started my new job. Although, it really didn’t feel like summer to me most of the past few months. It was filled with lots of ups and equal amounts of downs.

A few of the ups

My trip at the beginning of the summer. Any trip I take with B is a great trip, and this time it was amazing to see part of the US that I had never seen before, Oklahoma and Texas. Met some really amazing people had enjoyed lots of great conversations. At B’s high school reunion it was really the first time I was asked, “so what do you do” when I really didn’t have an answer. It was strange at first, but it lead to great conversation and a question that I will never get tired of answering, “what is the best place/favourite trip you have ever taken”. As I was answering that question several times in a 10 day period I realized that travel will always be a part of my life. Even if I did change industries, you can’t wipe out twenty five years of your life. It is part of who I am.

This year I had a Mirvish subscription with four of my friends for the first time. I love theatre, and it was such an exciting thing to be a part of. It gives you a standing date with your friends, great places to eat and seeing plays which I love to do. In July we had the final two plays Newsies and the grand dame of the season Kinky Boots. Even though they were two weeks apart, it was a busy time in the city, with the Pan Am games and lots going on in the city, and it was great to be downtown in the excitement. The two plays were amazing, and Kinky Boots, if you haven’t seen it yet, try to get tickets before it leaves. It was by far the best play of the season and a wonderful theatre experience.

Food, photography and blogging. A friend of mine, local foodie and social media guru invited me to my first ever media dinner event at the Sea Witch Fish and Chips on St. Clair. What a fantastic experience. I met a bunch of great people, ate great food, took lots of photos and got a feel of what it was like to start getting really socially active. Loved getting re-tweets on my tweets, likes and shares on my blog. I can’t wait to attend more events in the future.

Visiting my nieces at camp. It was a great weekend. A very hot weekend. We stayed made a weekend out of it, going to Peterborough and sitting by the pool in the afternoon, out of dinner and then up early to see the girls. My parents were there this year, and even though it was hard for them and it was so darn hot for all of us, the girls loved showing us around and it was nice to see a bunch of people who I knew from all different areas of my life. If we go up next year, I think we decided, skip the mess hall, set up like we used to do at Northland, under the trees near our car, and just hang out.

Having friends in the recruiting and consulting business as well as being part of The Employment Hub. I thought I had a pretty good resume before I lost my job (I was told by some executives), but of course it was very travel heavy. Until I started going to workshops at the Hub, I knew that I needed to create a skills based (functional) resume, but had no idea how. Now, not only do I know how, I am helping others create a new resume for their own future career paths. A new career for me, perhaps? Perhaps.

A few of the downs

In all aspects of life, you learn that your life is priority to you. The hidden job market workshop on the “hidden” job market went into great detail about working your connections, talking to people you know, make appointments. It may not be your friend that gets you the next job, but they may know someone. You may remember the commercial – you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on. It is harder than it sounds.

I sent out a lot of emails. I went for coffees with people, I had lunches with people. I  tried to get together with people. One of the biggest obstacles was to get someone to see me for something other than travel. At the Hub we had to make lists of all of our soft (transferable) skills. I still want to know, how does someone get into a new field, when you have all the soft skills if you can’t get a foot in the door.

I also realized that I was fortunate and unfortunate in many ways. In 25 years of working, I have been gainfully employed for almost all of that time. Hearing people say, “I’ve been through it many times” doesn’t really help. A friend that I had coffee with wrote me an email the next day that really made me feel like someone understood me. He wrote  “It’s a tough place to be, and even people who have been through it don’t always understand or appreciate how difficult it is emotionally.” That about sums it up.

Having a theatre subscription was on the list of ups from this summer, but also on the down list as well. It is one thing to spend money in advance for the tickets, but there is still the theatre day. Parking, eating out, snack, etc. Twice in two weeks. How the heck was I going to do that. I hadn’t even seen any money from EI at that point. Both times I just ordered appetizers for dinner. That was all I could do. I tried to not let it stop me from having a good time with my friends. You do learn to put on your best face when you are in a public situation, I learned that as well.

So here I am. Not starting school tomorrow, but looking forward to the possibilities that are laid out in front of me. Getting back to work after a “summer off”. Looking ahead to the season ahead, and hopefully a lot of growth of business again in the travel industry.

There were a lot of lessons learned this summer. I am not really sure I want to share them all publicly or maybe over time. Thank you to everyone that did reach out this summer and was a friend. There were times that it was pretty lonely.

Onwards and upwards as they say! Here’s to a new year! L’Chaim – to life.

Live your best life

Lisa

Anniversaries and dates we remember

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Aviva Barth, Boater safety, Uncategorized1 Comment

3027a-viandme

On my trip this summer I went to a lot of attractions that were filled with dates that will always be remembered. Started off in Dallas at Dealey Plaza, where those who were alive and old enough to remember, will never forget where they were on November 22, 1963. Moving on to the George W Bush Presidential library where the dates of September 11, 2001 and August 23, 2005 (Hurricane Katrina) were on full display. Then it was onto Oklahoma City where April 19, 1995 will always be etched in our memory from the events that took place there.

Anniversary – the date on which an event took place in a previous year. 

Those are dates that are a matter of public record. An indelible part of our history as a society. But what about dates in our personal life.  Just stop and think about how many dates we need to give memory to every year – every birth, first tooth, first day of school, wedding and of course death. In the social world we live in today, everything is an event, because it is shared instantly with your social network. The good, the bad and sometimes even the ugly.

Here I am again. Today is the 11th anniversary of the passing of Aviva. Just as I remember what I was doing on 9/11, I can actually remember every single thing that happened on August 7, 2004. Everything.

Just this week I was having coffee with a friend and we were discussing water safety after she was telling me some stories about her weekend beach day on Lake Simcoe, which is the same lake that took Aviva from us.

If you knew Aviva, I am sure you will take some time today to remember her.  Her larger than life personality. The way she captured a room with her stories and her infectious laugh. She had a gift and she shared it with the world around her. She was special and truly one of a kind.

Gone but never forgotten.

Miss you V,

 

 

 

Life Lessons – hitting on 16

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized1 Comment

blackjack-cards-casino-chips-24545977

I was in Las Vegas in the fall of 2003 playing Blackjack at a $1 table a the Sahara hotel. Yes, back then you could still play for a $1. It was our last night there and we were having a blast. Who knew getting blackjack and winning $2.50 would be so much fun. At some point in the evening, the seat beside me opened up and a nice guy sat down and started to play at our table. There was no way I would have known at that time, that this guy would end up becoming one of my best friends and subsequently has been a part of many of my life lessons for the past 12 years.

Okay, so you are probably asking what blackjack has to do with life lessons. There are probably many different life lessons you can learn/teach from gambling but I will share this one with you. It has to do with the number 16.

I know the basic skills about playing blackjack. I know about splitting 8’s and aces, doubling down on eleven, etc. I always got stuck when I was dealt a hand of 16. What is 16? It is a crappy hand. If you stay, you will probably lose and if you hit, you ‘could’ get a good card, but there are more cards that will make you bust than make a good hand.

This is where my first life lesson comes into play. I did not know when my friend first sat down at the $1 table that he actually knew how to play the game – very well, I might add. Over the years that we have been friends we have had many opportunities to play the game together. I learned a lot from him about the game and getting over my fear of that dreaded hand of 16.

The lesson is simple – you can stay, and probably lose your money. You can play, and you may win, or you may lose. Isn’t it better to play? You put your money on the table, and even though the house has the advantage, you “could” possibly win. If you don’t play you may never win.

How does this apply to my life 

Job seeking. It is a lot like a hand of 16 in blackjack. Every posting has the employer’s dream list, their ideal candidate for this role they are trying to fill. Blackjack (21) if you will allow me.

The list of requirements are the employers “dream list”. The ideal candidate should have the following skills and/or required education. How many people actually have all the requirements on the employers list? The trifecta? The perfect hand – blackjack! 

In the workshops I have been attending they have gone over the postings, and how to really find the right postings to actually apply for. If you have 70% or more of the requirements on the posting, you should apply. So, 70% would be my hand of 16. If you don’t have all the requirements, but you have 70% that is still a good reason to apply. Right? Why not? Like asking for another card on a hand of 16.

I put this theory to the test last week. I saw a posting for a job that was in my related field. I didn’t have everything the employer was looking for, however, I had more than 70% which was good enough for me to apply. So I did. Guess what? I got a call for a screening interview! Yes I did.

Nothing further has happened with it (as of yet), but I will keep you posted.

For now, I will keep playing my hands, and sending out relevent applications and continue my job search.

The search for blackjack continues!

Lisa