Saturday, February 19, 2011

I have a dream... some hope...

So my current job is sucking the life out of me I make 25-30 sales calls per day and get rejected face to face 95% of the time. It makes it hard to face the next stop and the next inevitable rejection. I was not cut out for sales. I know that and I knew it when I took the job BUT I had hoped I could make a go of it, that age and maturity would allow me to handle it better than the last time I did sales (1992) but no, I really can't force the motivation needed to really succeed at this horrible job. I dread every day, I don't put anywhere near my all into it and despite pep talks every day that I give myself I sometimes find myself sitting in the car just wanting to cry rather than go into the next rejection site.

So I had an epiphany yesterday. There is a very successful roadside restaurant/ice cream stand about 4 miles from my home. The people who own this rent it out as their business is the apple orchard and country store right next to it and they don't want to run a restaurant too. One of their son's built and opened this years ago but then lost interest and so for the past 4 years it has been rented to two different individuals. The first ran a great business there BUT had personality conflicts with the owners and eventually they just couldn't manage it anymore and parted ways. Then last summer they rented it to some carny folk. They thought it would be okay and at first it was BUT they ended up having major issues with food quality and cleanliness and they threw these people out.

So it sits empty and normally this place is open from April - October. I wondered if they had anyone to run it this summer and so today I went in and inquired. They do not. They were so burned by the last two renters that they were planning to just let it sit empty this summer. That would be a huge shame. These people have known me since I was in diapers. They know my parents. They know what kind of people we are (clean, hard working, honest) and I think that I may be able to talk them into renting it to me.

If they do I could quit my soul sucking job in April and instead be in charge of my own destiny for the first time. It would allow me to dip my foot into the world of restaurant ownership and see if this is something I really would want to do (I've dreamed of it for years) and I think it could be hugely profitable. This place is on a major thoroughfare to Cooperstown and gets tons of summer traffic. It also had a ton of local business that would come back if I advertise new management (and I will).

I would keep the menu simple - burgers, dogs, fried stuff (chicken, fish, fries, other snacks) maybe some salads and wraps. And ice cream - fantastically fattening and delicious ice cream!

I will be talking to the manager this week (talked to her dad who is semi retired today) and hopefully we can come to some sort of arrangement. I am very hopeful. I am envisioning hiring my youth group kids to work for me and what a great place we could have there. I'm liking the idea of maybe only working April to October but if needed during the off season I could find a job somewhere else waiting tables or working in a store. I have health insurance from the VA and don't need benefits so that is covered.

I'm feeling hopeful for the first time since October, it's good.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Vacation...

I wanted to take a cruise - but the airfare and the time needed wouldn't really allow us to do that now thanks to me not having any real time off from my job. So I figured we would do the next best thing. I got us direct flights to and from Orlando and booked us a fabulous resort hotel with so many things to do there we almost wouldn't need to leave the resort.

4 nights - 3 full days - and I wanted to relax and enjoy.

But the weather is not going to be nice enough to spend days by the pool. And my husband cannot sit still and just relax for 5 minutes much less 3 days. And since we are not confined to a ship my relaxing vacation which had turned into 1 day of relaxing and 2 days of theme parks is now 3 full days of theme parks - go - go - go - go - go - go.

No staying in bed til noon, sitting in the hot tub and laying by the pool or floating around on the lazy river. Nope - probably won't get to do any of that at all because every minute of every day is going to be jam packed with activity. When I get home on Tuesday night I will have had very little relaxation, and probably very little time to talk and work on our marriage which was really the only reason I agreed to a vacation anyway.

And 3 days of theme parks will cost an additional $500 at least I'm sure.

Yep - relaxing is out the window.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

What really matters?

I am reposting this from a blog I discovered today and will now be stalking - Ben Does Life.

The original can be found here ---> In the end, only two things matter...

How often did you laugh, and how often did you make others laugh?

It’s been said thousands of times, but it bears repeating. Do things not to make the most money or to make yourself look good. Do the things that are going to make you happy and, hopefully, help others along the way.

Do something big.

Do something crazy.

Do something because your ex-boyfriend hated it every time you did it.

Watch more movies.

Read more books.

Get inspired.

Fall in love.

Get your heart smashed and become a better person for it.

Be nice to that kid that everyone is always mean to.

Send a nice email.

Quit your cubicle job and start a restaurant.

Book a flight to Las Vegas and go alone.

Take a lot of pictures when you’re there.

Because nothing really matters. Not your blog, not your job, not your Facebook status, not your training plan, and not your mother-in-law.

Do your thing. Be happy and smile.

Everything is going to be okay.

----------------------------------------------------------

Here is Ben's story - he is inspiring to me...



Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Dreaming of escape

Is it wrong to dream of a place with just me and the animals, of peace and quiet, of no one to call me stupid, or expect me to read their mind? Is it wrong to think of starting over and yearning for a chance to just put all this behind me? Is it wrong to wish that I could just be alone with no one to bother me, to interfere, to harrass?

I wonder if the dog and the cats could come to the loony bin with me? Padded cell for 4 please.