New Adventures

At the moment, I feel like the comedian from whom someone has demanded, "Say something funny!" I have been teaching writing for a long time, and I've been editing books for longer than that. Now that I have the metaphorical pen, I'm at a loss for words. That's not exactly true, I'm not at a loss for words, I'm at a loss for which words to use in this moment and for what purpose.

I always like to "Begin with the end in mind." While Stephen Covey popularized this phrase in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the concept has been around for much longer than his book. What is my end for this project? Currently, the "end" is getting hired as a project manager, or a project coordinator if I need to start there, at a company that provides some benefit and value to humanity. Integrity is such a deeply innate value for me, that I can't imagine spending my days simply creating another widget. But, if that widget moves humanity toward understanding and peacefulness, Widget on! Ideally, I'd like to find a remote position as well, so that I'm not spending precious time and $$ on a daily communte, and so I have a bit more flexibility in my housing location. At the moment, I'm living in Austin, TX and I pay more in property taxes each month that many people pay in rent. But, that's Austin for you!

What I love about adventures is that you rarely come to an "end". If I learned anything from hiking in the Himalayas during grad school it was this: There's always a higher mountain. I've been doing what I've been doing for ten years and I've done it well. Really really well, and for all it's worth. I've "sucked the marrow of life" as Thoreau would say, and now that bone is dry. I've simply reached a point where I'm at the top of my game in that field and the only way up is out.

I'm truly looking forward to working with adults, to learning new skills, to meeting new people, to setting new goals, and meeting new challenges. I'm so grateful that so many of my skills that I've honed over my career will help me in this new venture.

Although we are no longer in National Gushing Month, I have to take a moment to be sincerely grateful to a few people who have been instrumentally influential. One of my husband's nicknames for me is "CSAP Radio." Turn up the volume because I'm going to be a bit mushy. I'm incredibly grateful to these gurus who have lighted and lightened the way! Dr. Ilana Nankin, of Breathe For Change yoga--getting my yoga certification had been a lifelong goal, and your excellent program not only helped me bring the power of mindfulness to my community, it helped me realize that I deserve a place in the universe, too. To Angela Watson, of the Truth for Teachers podcast, whose inspiration and encouragement sustained me through some really tough situations. "It won't be easy, but it will be worth it" was true for me, until it wasn't. I hope you continue to breathe light and life into the hearts of teachers. To Daphne Gomez of the Teacher Career Coach podcast that gave me the cosmic kick-in-the-pants and the confidence that I could make a meaningful and valuable change in my career path. And finally, to Andy Kaufman of the People & Projects podcast. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have found your podcast. After three years of "making it through the day" in my former career, your podcast brought information and inspiration. How satisfying it was to be excited again about the possibility in a day's work!

Hopefully, by the time anyone reads this, I will have made another post about the amazing job I've landed at an amazing company! Until then, let's do the best we can with what we have at this time!